9/11 Huey AMPS 154 PMPS 140, 9/12 AMPS 104

[Nancy & Huey]

Just checking in and making notes. Huey was a little weirdly constipated this morning, moving in and out of the box, which he's usually not doing in the morning and it looked like he was straining. Hopefully things will have cleared up *ahem* by the I get home today...

 

[julie & punkin (ga)]

Re: 9/11 Huey AMPS 154

some people report that both constipation and hairballs can increase the blood sugar in some cats. not sure if that's true for huey or not.

do you know about the +9 "trick?" when we see higher preshots in a cat that is close to OTJ, we often suggest giving a bite to eat at +9. just a teaspoon or so of low carb canned food. Eating then stimulates the pancreas to produce insulin, and if the pancreas is sputtering back to life, it can be enough to produce just enough to pull the preshot number back down into normal range. When it's the pm cycle, people usually would rather use a timed feeder instead of waking up, but it's your choice.

He's doing so well - i would give it a try if i were you.

 

[Nancy & Huey]

Hmm, he puked up a furball a few days ago and he hadn't pooped as of this morning... nailbite_smile

I LOVE THE +9 TRICK! I think it's made a big difference in the PMPS since I started using a feeder. The only thing with the +9 snack for the AMPS is that when I tried it a few times before, the feeder would open but he wouldn't eat it until right before test/shot time. I'll give it another go though, I gave him a bit of food around 2:30am last night before I went to bed, not sure if that explains the 104!! this morning.

 

[julie & punkin (ga)]

a little bit of something greasy might help with the constipation - some people add butter, coconut oil or olive oil to the food.

i'd suggest you make notes on his spreadsheet when you do the +9 snack. Little bits of data, even that he's constipated, can help make a picture clearer if we're puzzled by what's going on. Sometimes you can look back and notice that every time he was constipated, for example, his BGs were up.

 

[Nancy & Huey]

He pooped! Never have I been so disappointed to not have that little turd emoji you can use in gmail! :lol:

On my spreadsheet, I try to put down an asterisk if he gets fed aside of the normal 9am/pm, including elevenses, +9s and midnight snacks. I'll try to note down all the rest of it though. Is adding the fat a preemptive thing though? Or is it good for, uh, acute constipation? It's not a normal thing for him, is there anything I can do while it's happening if it comes up again?

 

[julie & punkin (ga)]

on a regular basis, you can add canned pumpkin (or you can cook squash or pumpkin yourself, no spices) to his food. my vet also suggested adding a tiny amount of either oat or wheat bran to the food - like 1/8 tsp. i've heard of people feeding cooked green beans to give a little extra fiber too. no personal experience with that.

i'm thinking the added fat is more for when you want action now, or you're trying to move hairballs through. vaseline is another option people use for hairballs and i'm sure it would have the same effect as any fat. apparently cats like it. :shock:

are you adding extra water to his food? that's always good for diabetic cats - as much as he'll tolerate.

hahaha only here can people understand the special occasion excitement that poop can provide! :lol: