8/15 Sushi: AMPS~284 | +5~259 | PMPS~314

[Sushi (GA 5/05-3/14)]

Hi everyone!
Hope you all had a great weekend. I haven't posted since Friday...

Sushi has really perked up over the past few days. He's playing and there's even a little of grooming going on! I forgot how ornery he can be--he's not tolerating testing as much now that he's feeling better. But it's so fun to have him more himself!

We're still figuring out canned food. He's up to eating about ~6oz a day, but that's still less than I'd like to see.
> He truly likes it, it's just getting him to eat enough of it! I tried sprinkling parmesan cheese on it and heating it up in the microwave, but neither seemed to make it more appealing. He gets plenty excited about it, it's just that he won't finish and usually doesn't come back to it.
> I'm trying to implement some of what Ann suggested Friday--trying different feeding times, frequencies, amounts...
How often are you feeding him? If he was used to grazing during the day on dry, you may be changing how often he eats as well as what.Does he ever come back to a meal that was left unfinished? Some cats don't like food that sits out for longer periods, others don't mind or get used to it. Try to observe how much Sushi usually eat at a time and just give that amount, several times about an hour apart.
...he is used to grazing (on a portioned amount of) dry food during the day. The problem with this is that I'm not going to be able to cater to him so when I start working again; I'll be gone all day! Hopefully we'll figure this out before then! A few of you have suggested a timed feeder; I actually have one, and Sushi found a way to break into it and eat all of the food. :?
> I've concluded that he's really crazy about the juice/gel that comes in the can. What is that stuff? I've heard you can add cooking oil to an animal's food. Is that what it is? Should I try that? Can he have olive oil? Or regular cooking oil?
> Is it possible that he's getting used to eating something that's not crunchy?
> I left some frozen out while I went to Baton Rouge last night, and I came home to find he ate almost all of it! So that's what I'm trying now--I froze some this afternoon and I'm putting some out bit by bit. It seems to be the best trick I've tried so far. Just re-reading Friday's condo, and Julie had this good idea: "you can put one down and some not-frozen canned food on top of it and they'll both stay fresher." I'll try that next.

The only constant is that once you think you have it figured out and stock up, he will change his mind!! ohmygod_smile

Oy! You posted this right as I was at Wal-Mart stocking up!! ohmygod_smile

Still getting the hang of the tent method of giving injections. It doesn't seem to be impacting his BG levels. But...
> I've been giving it between the shoulders. Is that the scruff? Or is it a bit higher?
> I watched a bunch of YouTube videos on how to do it, and some of them suggested pulling the plunger back a bit after inserting the needle to make sure you didn't hit a blood vessel. Is that correct?

Another "bad habit" I'm trying to break is squirting the solution back into the vial to get rid of air bubbles. I'm still struggling with air bubbles. No matter what I try, one always forms on top of the stopper. I can tap the syringe and it will float to the top just below the needle, but I'm still not able to get rid of it completely. I've tried...

withdraw the amount of insulin you need plus a tiny extra. withdraw the needle from the stopper, hold it pointed upwards, tap out bubbles and squirt the excess insulin into the air.

...but it doesn't get rid of the bubble.

On a fun note, since you are all crazy cat folks like me, you can appreciate this. Have you ever seen it? It makes me cry every time! I want to adopt every kitty in the world when I see it:
[youtube]rskFaiDIEwA[/youtube]
...do you ever think about what kind of voice your cat would have? I think that's my favorite part!! : )

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Re: 8/14 Sushi: AM+6~335 | +8~298 | PMPS~244

The gelatinous stuff that's in the cat food is just stock. If you've ever made homemade chicken stock, if it's cooked down and then chilled, it has the consistency of jello. It's not oil. You can feed your cat oil. However, I would be cautious. Too much oil and your cat may end up with poo problems.

 

[julie & punkin (ga)]

Re: 8/14 Sushi: AM+6~335 | +8~298 | PMPS~244

i was just reading today that you can give your cat mineral oil or vaseline to help slide hairballs through their gut. everything else slides too, though!

glad to hear sushi's feeling better! wahoo! that's the best. and you survived the weekend with the wonky schedule!

re the shots - i wouldn't pull the plunger back. i get allergy shots and when someone got the brilliant idea to start doing that - well, it hurts. they only started doing that a few years ago. i hate it that the nurse does it. it hurts even more. i just pull up a tent of skin above his shoulder blades - i go to one side, not straight on his spine, and then insert the needle and shoot.

my cats like the gelatinous broth stuff too.

sushi must be part cat burglar. speaking of which, did you see that news report video on the cat burglar maybe 6 months ago? ohmygosh that was too funny.

ok, i had to stop and find that video, just in case you haven't seen ithttp://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/cat-steals-from-neighbors-12922846

sushi's talented to be able to break into the feeders - i bet punkin would do that too. but punkin would eat it - it's funny that sushi wants to get at the food but doesn't want to eat it. odd.

 

[Ann & Tess GA]

Re: 8/14 Sushi: AM+6~335 | +8~298 | PMPS~244

We like to hear about kitties getting back to their old selves! That video is just adorable. I always visit the shelter cats when i go to Petsmart! And find one I would love to take home every time.

A lot of us are still trying to refine feeding after years of this. An average cat needs about 20 calories per pound, so Sushi would need around 320. It can vary a lot. The higher end foods are higher in calories so they eat less of those, you can find the kcal/can on J&B's list. Unfortunately a lot of cats are more finicky about the better foods. Tess was easy to transition to canned food, but it took over a year to get her to like Wellness,

Unless something else is wrong cats usually eat what they need. He is still adjusting to the canned food and it will work itself out. It sounds like the frozen catsicles are going to work though. It really isn't a problem to leave room temp cat food out either. Tess will often go back later to clean up a dish, even if it has dried up a bit. I've heard of cats breaking into the 2 compartment pop up feeders, but not the 5 compartment rotating ones.

 

[Sushi (GA 5/05-3/14)]

Hi!
I'm breaking the rules and keeping yesterday's condo! Livin on the edge!

Sushi continues to perk up. In fact, I went to test his BG and his ears were--get this--FREEZING COLD!!! I can't tell you the last time his ears have been normal temperature, let alone COLD! They're usually burning up like he has a fever! He's also harassing his sister, begging for food, etc.

We continue to improve with the canned food! Sushi's eaten ~10oz today! Wahoo!
I tried adding olive oil to his food; no dice. (and I'm glad due to your poop warnings!)
My current experiment is a dot of chicken baby food diluted. I'm trying to mimic the "stock" that comes in the can:

The gelatinous stuff that's in the cat food is just stock. If you've ever made homemade chicken stock, if it's cooked down and then chilled, it has the consistency of jello.

Can you buy it in a can at the store?
Current conclusions are: frozen catsicles, and make sure the food is mixed reallllyyy well so that it has plenty of stock going on.

"sushi's talented to be able to break into the feeders - i bet punkin would do that too. but punkin would eat it - it's funny that sushi wants to get at the food but doesn't want to eat it. odd."
Yes, it is one of the 5 compartment rotating feeders. He broke into it when we were still on dry food; haven't tried it with canned food yet.
That's been the strangest thing about our transition to canned food--Sushi has always been sooooo food obsessed; it's really odd that I'm having to push him to eat!

did you see that news report video on the cat burglar maybe 6 months ago? ohmygosh that was too funny.

ok, i had to stop and find that video, just in case you haven't seen ithttp://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/cat-s ... s-12922846

My sides hurt from laughing!! My favorite is the night cam footage of him carrying a bra, the little boy's testimony and that "it's a purrfect night for a heist"

I always visit the shelter cats when i go to Petsmart! And find one I would love to take home every time.

Oh my I can't handle that!! My heart literally hurts! I love animals so much, and volunteering with a shelter or foster agency would be perfect for me but I would have 1908320 animals if I did!! It took me about a week to get over little kittens that happened to be in the vet's lobby when I went to pick up food one day. :roll:

As always, thanks for all of the answers and info! : )

 

[Ann & Tess GA]

That's been the strangest thing about our transition to canned food--Sushi has always been sooooo food obsessed; it's really odd that I'm having to push him to eat!

It's because he is finally getting food he can metabolize and use! Diabetes is called the "starving disease" because they can eat and eat and eat but the energy from the food can't get into the cells, so they eat more!