8/7 Bob PMPS=300 When should I buy new insulin?

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Lkldcatlady

Lkldcatlady

Member Since 2013
yesterday's condo

Good morning all! Happy Wednesday!

Well, I have a couple of issues I could use some advice on:

First issue - DOSE - If Bob follows his pattern (and is actually bouncing at this point), he should go lower tonight. That may cause ANOTHER bounce. If he doesn't go low tonight, then I guess the food is making his BG high just like the regular dry. Either way, I need to know what I should do with his dose.

1. If he is bouncing, how can I adjust his dose to minimize his bouncing? I can't let him just stay this high - his ketones are at .6 and have just been gradually creeping up - the results started at LO, then .2, then .3 or .4 and now .6. I've tested him 3 times and all results are .6. It's kind of a catch 22, because increasing the dose will just make the 1 day he goes low even lower. Why is this so complicated?? :?

2. If we determine the food is actually making him go high, do we just increase his dose by .5?

Second issues - HAIRBALLS - poor Bob. He has hacked up 3 enormous hairballs this week alone. Bob hardly ever throws up hairballs. The YA has coconut oil in it and I've been feeding him 2 of the Vermont hairball treats each day. Shouldn't all that make him poop out the hairballs? Why are they coming the opposite direction and does anyone know of some way to stop it?

Sorry for all the questions this early in the morning!!

Thoughts and prayers for Ann and Jamie and all kittehs who need them.
 
Re: 8/7 Bob AMPS=273 Dosing and hairball advice?

Hi guys .. hmm, I don't have any answers to your questions, I'm sorry :sad: I do hope the hairballs stop and I do hope that bob starts the bouncing too .. and fingers crossed the ketones do not get any higher .. hang in there guys, I know it can be frustrating at times! Have a great day!
 
Re: 8/7 Bob AMPS=273 Dosing and hairball advice?

Poor Bob,we get hairballs here and have tried coconut but they still get them,not as bad but there still coming out to top end :lol: Good luck
 
Re: 8/7 Bob AMPS=273 Dosing and hairball advice?

I can't help with the dosing, but the biggest help for Nikki's hairballs has been brushing her a LOT more than I ever did. She's shedding like crazy, so I'm brushing her about 3 times a week. It's cut the hairballs down to once every 2 weeks or so. She never really had hairballs before the diabetes, so I'm working on a theory that because unregulated diabetic cats are not getting the full value of their food, their coats shed more (and are not as sleek). :thumbup

Dee shed a ton when I picked her up off the street, I thought she was never going to stop! It's gotten a ton better since I got some decent food into her...

Where's the shrugging smiley? :lol:
 
Re: 8/7 Bob AMPS=273 Dosing and hairball advice?

We hardly ever get hairballs, but we brush Tess daily. She loves to be brushed and it's her reward for letting us brush her teeth! The Kong Zoom Groom is great for getting lots of hair out.
 
Re: 8/7 Bob AMPS=273 Dosing and hairball advice?

Thanks guys! I just thought it was so weird that he's thrown up 3 BIG ONES in like 3 days. I mean, where is he hiding these things??? I think I'm going to order that Kong groomer and brush the kitties. Poor Penelope has a pretty bad case of dandruff and I've just kind of let it go because I'm a bad mom these days! All my focus is on Bob.

Nikki - didn't you just start feeding Nikki canned food when she became diabetic? I read somewhere that when you stop feeding the regular dry with grains that they start to detox from the inside out and will shed their entire coat to make room for a new one! Maybe that's what's happening to her.
 
Re: 8/7 Bob AMPS=273 Dosing and hairball advice?

I think fish oil is supposed to help w/ dandruff.

I also follow up brushing w/something softer that will pick up the loose stuff. A fine brush or I've found my gardening gloves w/ the kind of rough latex palms work great.
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Re: 8/7 Bob AMPS=273 Dosing and hairball advice?

Nikki had been on grain-free dry for a couple of years before her dx. Then when she was sick last fall she was on dry Hill's z/d. I shudder to think of the carb load! :shock: In January she decided she'd had enough of the dry z/d and went on a hunger strike, so I switched her over to the wet z/d. So she was on canned for maybe three months before her dx? The canned z/d was still 34% carb and I didn't get her fully transitioned over to low carb until mid-June.

I also don't know how much the prednisolone contributed to all of this. She barely shed when she was on it. I do think that between the diarrhea and diabetes that she wasn't getting good nutrition out of her diet until recently....
 
Re: 8/7 Bob AMPS=273 Dosing and hairball advice?

Hi Dara & Bob,

I can't advise you on dose issues - I'm still new & Tigger bounces like crazy, too - I think it's part of the natural reflex mechanism doing its job, & we have to be patient. As their bodies becomes more accustomed to the lower numbers rather than the higher numbers being the new normal, they will bounce less & less. ECID...do you get tired of hearing that? :lol:

I would check the Vermont hairball ingredients - I think there is a sweetener in them that might be contributing to the higher BGs - I seem to recall that in mine.

Tigger gets alot of hairballs since he's a Maine Coon type. Out house has dust buffalos constantly roaming the hallways from 3 indoor cats & I've done some research as to what to do....

LOVE LOVE LOVE Ann's suggestion of the rubber gloves - will try that on a feral we have with hyperthyroid & lots of previous fur loss

I give one of my cats pumpkin & t helps some - more with constipation, but hair is the primary culprit there.....

Also, other members have used Vasoline - I have resorted to that for Tigger, & he LOVES the taste, & its effective, but its PETROLEUM - UCK :evil:

Marje has recommended coconut oil, which seems to have good response; I read some not great things about it. However, it has to be better than vasoline!!!!!! Others have used butter (I haven't, don't know - is Bob sensitive to dairy?). I've used salmon oil, which helped some & just made others oily.

I've been reading about & am thinking of ordering EGG YOLK lecithin (NOT SOY lecethin which is a CARB) in capsules - try a google search, alot of raw feeders use it. The egg seems to actually work dissolving the hair. Side effect is that it gives some sensitive cats diarrhea. :cry:

The options I'm most enthused about are; coconut oil, butter (dairy) & the egg yolk lecithin caps.

let me know if you find something that works - I'd LOVE to know!!!
 
Re: 8/7 Bob AMPS=273 Dosing and hairball advice?

Hi guys,
Rusty is a Maine Coon mix and has very long, thick hair. Even though he works a lot on his coat, licking it, He rarely gets hairballs because he gets combed several times a day. We also give him 1/2 teaspoon of NaturVet hairball gel daily. I don't think it has any effect on his blood glucose.

Good luck!

Ella & Rusty
 
Re: 8/7 Bob AMPS=273 Dosing and hairball advice?

Those were the cheapest gardening gloves I could find at Miner's (Ace) Hardware and they are great. Get the latex covered gloves, don't get the nitrile coated ones, too smooth.
 
Re: 8/7 Bob AMPS=273 Dosing and hairball advice?

Thanks, Ann!

Good luck to all - guess we should start sending hairball vines! :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
Re: 8/7 Bob AMPS=273 Dosing and hairball advice?

Yes - thanks everyone and hairball vines to us all!!! :lol:

I appreciate all the info - I am going to give some of those options a try.
 
Re: 8/7 Bob AMPS=273 Dosing and hairball advice?

dara, the blood ketone readings you're getting are normal.
the most current studies show ketones on a blood ketone meter will show up around 2.4 - 2.55.

here's a couple of posts including links to studies with blood ketone meters that you might find informative:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=99426&p=1062735#p1062735

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=99426&p=1062829#p1062829

like sienne mentioned yesterday, she'd become concerned if BK readings were at or close to 2.0. i totally agree with her.
 
Re: 8/7 Bob AMPS=273 Dosing and hairball advice?

When Sammy got sick with DB, her hair came out in handfuls, until her coat was sparse and dry (crackly!). I used the zoom groom together with a flea comb. Big thumbs up on the zoom groom :thumbup

Sammy also wasn't grooming back then, so no hairballs. Lately though, her coat has become much thicker, and she's started grooming, and has started that hairball cough. I started her on coconut oil yesterday, hoping that will help. With Bob in the blues and greens these days, maybe he is also starting to grow back his new pretty coat, and is shedding that old dry coat?
 
Re: 8/7 Bob AMPS=273 Dosing and hairball advice?

Jill & Alex said:
dara, the blood ketone readings you're getting are normal.
the most current studies show ketones on a blood ketone meter will show up around 2.4 - 2.55.

here's a couple of posts including links to studies with blood ketone meters that you might find informative:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=99426&p=1062735#p1062735

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=99426&p=1062829#p1062829

like sienne mentioned yesterday, she'd become concerned if BK readings were at or close to 2.0. i totally agree with her.
Click to expand...

Thanks Jill! That makes me feel better! I even went and picked up some fluids to give Bob at home. I'll just hang on to them for now - you never know! My vet said not to be concerned until he gets to .8. Where is she getting that I wonder??

TokyoKitty said:
When Sammy got sick with DB, her hair came out in handfuls, until her coat was sparse and dry (crackly!). I used the zoom groom together with a flea comb. Big thumbs up on the zoom groom

Sammy also wasn't grooming back then, so no hairballs. Lately though, her coat has become much thicker, and she's started grooming, and has started that hairball cough. I started her on coconut oil yesterday, hoping that will help. With Bob in the blues and greens these days, maybe he is also starting to grow back his new pretty coat, and is shedding that old dry coat?
Click to expand...


Well, I'm glad Sammy's coat is coming back in! Unfortunately, Bob was only in the blues and greens for a week (while he was eating canned food, which he no longer eats). Unfortunately, Now he is back to mainly pinks and a yellow every now and then. Sigh!
 
Re: 8/7 Bob PMPS=300

I hope you can find something that will help Bob with the hairballs. I've found brushing works the best for my kitties, especially during Spring when they shed a lot.

Good luck with the dose decision. Those bounces can be so frustrating. It is hard to be patient. I just went through some crazy bouncing with Furball over the last 3 days and I was tempted to reduce her dose, but I held the dose and today I came home to some wonderful blues.
 
Thanks Carla - I'm going to start brushing them. I really haven't been doing that. I've been a neglectful mom!! :sad:
 
My insulin is 2 months old tomorrow but I still have 1/2 bottle. I've heard it can last up to 6 months, but I want to make sure it's as potent as possible! Any thoughts?
 
I think your insulin should still be good. If you treat it like liquid gold.....no rolling, no bouncing around, kept at good temp, you should be good for several months. I read that if your numbers get wonky for no good reason, it might be time to suspect your insulin.
I'm sure someone with more experience will chime in soon.
I looked at Bob's pictures....he is soooo cute. I just want to hug him up!
 
Thanks Mary - I have treated it like liquid gold! The only time I had a problem was when my fridge died for about 3 hours. I kept the door shut and it stayed cool, but I'm sure the temp was higher than usual. I'm sure it's ok though. Just making sure!

Awww....thanks! I think Oliver is a cutie too!
 
Mine was good for 100 days.... ( maybe longer but that's how long it took us to go otj :thumbup )

I dropped it 4 times.... I had it in the door for the first month... I left it out for 4 hours... and it kept going....
 
Bob, what are you up to today?

stinky poops? check

bouncing? check

hairballs? check

Adorable as can be? check

Gotta love that Bob

~kelly
 
Just so I can be the first....

Happy Birthday, Dara!!!
Hope you have a very special and wonderful day.

Carl
 
I know how frustrating it is. Sometimes you think you finally have it under control, and then you get a spike. It is very annoying for both me and my human. But I know that he loves me and is trying to do his best. I even tolerate the ear sticks now because I know he loves me.

We will keep working at it. We really don't have any choice so the annoying things that happen are just things we must deal with. I love to hop on my human's stomach and purr to thank him.
 
So, Carl let the cat out of the bag!! Happy Birthday Dara!!!

I wish for you a hairball free day, beautiful numbers for Bob (or at least no bouncing), and maybe a liking for some wet food!!

Hope you have a wonderful day - you deserve it!!!

Jane
 
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