A couple questions and help with dosing

[Chloe007]

Hey guys! I created my first post the other day regarding my recently diagnosed diabetic Oscar. You all were so helpful, and I have a couple questions from the past two days that I could use some help with! I tried to set up my spreadsheet, I only have about three days worth of data so far, but if someone could take a look and made sure I did that right, I would be very grateful.

So anyways upon everyone's suggestion, I've been dosing Oscar with 1u the past two days. I have only gotten AMPS and PMPS tests for every dose so far and nothing in between yet (more on that in a moment) and he usually tests around late 300's early 400's. But this morning I woke up to a test of 538!!! This really scared me, and I'm wondering how you all feel about me raising his dose to 1.5u? I'm feeling like the 1u isn't going to be enough for him.

I have a 1 week checkup at the vet's office on Saturday to check his glucose. Why do I need to go to this if I'm testing him at home? They want me to bring him in +6 hours so they can see what his nadir is, but can't I just do this at home? He's been really good and patient with testing, getting better by the day. Which brings me to my next point..

I've only been testing him for 2-3 days now and only once once have I had to jab him multiple times for a sample, yet his ears already look bloody and bruised. He is an orange cat, so I'm sure it shows up more on him than it would a darker cat, but they just look so painful. I feel like the vet will look at me sideways when I bring him in and his ears look this way. Are there any known tips for preventing bruising, and cleaning blood? I usually feel bad messing with his ears anymore than I need to, so lately I've just been quickly pressing on the injection site after tests and letting him run after.

His appetite is still huge, he's constantly hungry and constantly begging for food from the moment he finishes his breakfast/dinner. I'd like to start trying multiple small meals, but am afraid to start switching things up before he's regulated. Am I starving him by keeping food away? With a BG of >500, I'm scared to feed him any meals in between his shots. Am I right in doing this? Or should I be leaving a little extra food out for him? I can currently hear him trying to lick the remnants out of his bowl from this morning...

Thank you all so much. I can not reiterate enough how helpful you all have been, I'm starting to feel like I can really handle this.

 

[FurBabiesMama]

You should not base dosing decisions on just pre-shot test results. You need to know how low the dose is taking him during the cycle.

When you test, are you poking between the vein and the edge of the ear? You do not want to poke directly in the vein (it happens occasionally, but don't aim for that). The vein is more painful and will look worse. I always wet the corner of a washcloth with very hot water then wring it out. I hold it to Mia's ear a few seconds before poking (a warm ear bleeds better), then I use it to wipe the area and apply very light pressure for a few seconds afterwards. Mia has light colored hair/ears, and her ear does not look bad at all.

For most cats, several small meals work out better. I feed my girls 4 times a day and leave the leftovers out for them to graze on. A common formula for determining how much to feed is 20 calories per pound of healthy body weight. So, you can figure out how much food to feed and break it up in smaller meals. Until he is regulated, his body is unable to properly use the food, so he really is 'starving' and may require some extra food.

 

[FurBabiesMama]

Oh, and if you are testing at home, you would not have to go to the vet for a glucose test! Have you let your vet know that you are testing and can provide whatever info they want/need?

 

[Chloe007]

You should not base dosing decisions on just pre-shot test results. You need to know how low the dose is taking him during the cycle.

When you test, are you poking between the vein and the edge of the ear? You do not want to poke directly in the vein (it happens occasionally, but don't aim for that). The vein is more painful and will look worse. I always wet the corner of a washcloth with very hot water then wring it out. I hold it to Mia's ear a few seconds before poking (a warm ear bleeds better), then I use it to wipe the area and apply very light pressure for a few seconds afterwards. Mia has light colored hair/ears, and her ear does not look bad at all.

For most cats, several small meals work out better. I feed my girls 4 times a day and leave the leftovers out for them to graze on. A common formula for determining how much to feed is 20 calories per pound of healthy body weight. So, you can figure out how much food to feed and break it up in smaller meals. Until he is regulated, his body is unable to properly use the food, so he really is 'starving' and may require some extra food.

Ah, I see. There was one test we did where I needed to poke a couple extra times, that must have been where the bruise came from. Every since I made a rice sock to warm his ear berore injecting, it's gone A LOT smoother. There was one morning I had to miss his test because it was unusually cold in the house and I couldn't warm his ears up, it was impossible to get a sample, which is when I learned about the rice sock. It's mostly just one larger bruise and then some smaller visible red spots on his other ear.

Tomorrow I have the day off from work, so I plan to do some semblance of a curve. I'll post the results here so I can show everyone a more full picture and hold of on raising his dose until then.

So you think it'd be okay to give him a snack right now? He's really hungry, my boyfriend and I are arguing on whether it's okay to give him a small snack. I know not to give him anything two hours before his test.

Thank you for your help!

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Hi Chloe I took a look at your SS and see that you are not doing any testing
during each cycle, day or night. Its really important to grab a few during each cycle to see how the insulin is affecting Oscar. I am not familiar with Prozinc so you might what to post on the Prozinc forum to see about the dosage. I think you really have to
test a few times during each cycle and scatter the times. For example test @+2, +4, @+6 Then maybe @+3, @+5 and @+7 It will give the experienced members to be able to see how the dosage is affecting Oscar.
I happen to see you are feeding Oscar Crave Chicken Pate I was wondering what the carb content was since its not on Dr P food chart. I looked on the Chewy site, is this what you are feeding him, It lists the carbs which seems to be fine
Perfectly Portioned Patés
Premium patés are a break, peel and serve away! These easy-to-open wet cat foods are crafted with 12% premium protein to help your cat thrive and to fulfill their desire for a meaty meal. One tray equals two servings of a delicious, unforgettable meal. These satisfying wet foods also have added vitamins, minerals and other valuable nutrients.

Animal Protein Is the 1st Ingredient
Cats instinctually desire protein rich diets, because that's how their ancestors ate in the wild. Crave cat recipes deliver high quality animal protein as the first ingredient to help them maintain lean bodies and help provide cats with the energy to chase.

About Crave
All cats share a connection with their cat ancestors. Crave cat food helps you cater to your feline friend's instinctual needs with the protein-rich diet they are hardwired to eat. That's why Crave recipes are grain-free and always crafted with real, high-quality animal protein that's just plain delicious!

Shop Crave

Ask a Question

• Is the food supposed to be stored in a dry place or in the refrigerator?
  Unopened, this will remain fresh until the expiration date when stored in a cool and dry location. Once opened, leftovers should be stored in the refrigerator and used within 3 days.
  
  By on Jul 21, 2018 Answer This Question
• Carb count?
  The Carbohydrate content for this formula is 1.5%.
  
• Caloric Content
  1196 kcal/kg, 45 kcal/serving

I
Feeding Instructions
For Adult cats, feed 4 servings daily for every 8 lbs of body weight.
We don't know what Oscar weighs
If this is what you are feeding it says its only 45 calories per serving , don't know how much you are feeding him, maybe that's why he is hungry

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Ah, I see. There was one test we did where I needed to poke a couple extra times, that must have been where the bruise came from. Every since I made a rice sock to warm his ear berore injecting, it's gone A LOT smoother. There was one morning I had to miss his test because it was unusually cold in the house and I couldn't warm his ears up, it was impossible to get a sample, which is when I learned about the rice sock. It's mostly just one larger bruise and then some smaller visible red spots on his other ear.

Tomorrow I have the day off from work, so I plan to do some semblance of a curve. I'll post the results here so I can show everyone a more full picture and hold of on raising his dose until then.

So you think it'd be okay to give him a snack right now? He's really hungry, my boyfriend and I are arguing on whether it's okay to give him a small snack. I know not to give him anything two hours before his test.

Thank you for your help!

As FurBabiesMama said most of us feed our cats 4 times a day
My cat eats about 2 cans of Fancy Feast Chicken Pate or the Beef Flavor a day, they are 3 ounce cans
So he eats a good portion in the am and the pm and whatever is left over I will feed him it during the day

 

[Chloe007]

Hi Chloe I took a look at your SS and see that you are not doing any testing
during each cycle, day or night. Its really important to grab a few during each cycle to see how the insulin is affecting Oscar. I am not familiar with Prozinc so you might what to post on the Prozinc forum to see about the dosage. I think you really have to
test a few times during each cycle and scatter the times. For example test @+2, +4, @+6 Then maybe @+3, @+5 and @+7 It will give the experienced members to be able to see how the dosage is affecting Oscar.
I happen to see you are feeding Oscar Crave Chicken Pate I was wondering what the carb content was since its not on Dr P food chart. I looked on the Chewy site, is this what you are feeding him, It lists the carbs which seems to be fine
Perfectly Portioned Patés
Premium patés are a break, peel and serve away! These easy-to-open wet cat foods are crafted with 12% premium protein to help your cat thrive and to fulfill their desire for a meaty meal. One tray equals two servings of a delicious, unforgettable meal. These satisfying wet foods also have added vitamins, minerals and other valuable nutrients.

Animal Protein Is the 1st Ingredient
Cats instinctually desire protein rich diets, because that's how their ancestors ate in the wild. Crave cat recipes deliver high quality animal protein as the first ingredient to help them maintain lean bodies and help provide cats with the energy to chase.

About Crave
All cats share a connection with their cat ancestors. Crave cat food helps you cater to your feline friend's instinctual needs with the protein-rich diet they are hardwired to eat. That's why Crave recipes are grain-free and always crafted with real, high-quality animal protein that's just plain delicious!

Shop Crave

Ask a Question

• Is the food supposed to be stored in a dry place or in the refrigerator?
  Unopened, this will remain fresh until the expiration date when stored in a cool and dry location. Once opened, leftovers should be stored in the refrigerator and used within 3 days.
  
  By on Jul 21, 2018 Answer This Question
• Carb count?
  The Carbohydrate content for this formula is 1.5%.
  
• Caloric Content
  1196 kcal/kg, 45 kcal/serving

I
Feeding Instructions
For Adult cats, feed 4 servings daily for every 8 lbs of body weight.
We don't know what Oscar weighs
If this is what you are feeding it says its only 45 calories per serving , don't know how much you are feeding him, maybe that's why he is hungry

Thank you for responding! I have the day off work tomorrow so I plan to do a curve and check him every +2 hours, so I'll post the full results after I do that. I plan to also do some night time tests after his pm shot tonight so I'll have that info as well. Hopefully I'll get a better idea of what's going on after I do that. The reason I've been hesitant to do more than the two tests until now is because his ears are starting to look a little battered (and I was trying to kind of slowly introduce them to him, but I think we're getting to a point where they don't worry him anymore). I've been thinking about paw testing too, do paw tests usually hurt? He's so finnicky with people touching his paws, I feel like he really won't like it.

Yes that's what I'm feeding him! He eats two of the portioned containers a day. And I usually leave an extra portion out or a handful of his dry food (also Crave) out when I go to work. I'm worried the dry food may be causing the spikes though and have been thinking about eliminating it all together. If you think the two portion sizes aren't enough I can start feeding him an extra in between shots. It always seemed like enough before diabetes, but now he's just SO hungry.

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Thank you for responding! I have the day off work tomorrow so I plan to do a curve and check him every +2 hours, so I'll post the full results after I do that. I plan to also do some night time tests after his pm shot tonight so I'll have that info as well. Hopefully I'll get a better idea of what's going on after I do that. The reason I've been hesitant to do more than the two tests until now is because his ears are starting to look a little battered (and I was trying to kind of slowly introduce them to him, but I think we're getting to a point where they don't worry him anymore). I've been thinking about paw testing too, do paw tests usually hurt? He's so finnicky with people touching his paws, I feel like he really won't like it.

Yes that's what I'm feeding him! He eats two of the portioned containers a day. And I usually leave an extra portion out or a handful of his dry food (also Crave) out when I go to work. I'm worried the dry food may be causing the spikes though and have been thinking about eliminating it all together. If you think the two portion sizes aren't enough I can start feeding him an extra in between shots. It always seemed like enough before diabetes, but now he's just SO hungry.

Hey Chloe that's great you will be able to do mid cycle tests. I have never tested in the paws. I know their poor ears. You can put a thin layer of neosporin pain relief ointment on them.
How much does Oscar weigh. I can tag a few people about the food and see what they say, I mean they are only 45 calories each. How much does Oscar weigh?
You don't have to take Oscar to the vet to do a curve, its stresses them out and he cwill probably read higher than he would at home.
Just send the vet the results.
I don't know what to tell you about the dose, I will tag a few members who might be able to help. In regards to the dry Crave food it says on the chewy site
What is the carbohydrate count/percentage?
The typical analysis percentage of carbohydrates in Crave with Protein from Chicken cat food is 22.39%
That's pretty high.
I will tag a few members OK
You are doing a good job with Oscar.
After poking is ear sort of on a 45 degree angle get a cotton round and try to apply slight pressure for about 20 seconds, pet him while you are doing that and tell him he's a good boy lol. I take the cotton round ( the ones you take make up off with and fold it so one side is on the inside of the ear and the other half on the top of the ear

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

@FurBabiesMama @MrWorfMen's Mom , @Marje and Gracie , @Sienne and Gabby (GA)
I hope you don't mind I tagged you all but Chloe has some questions about how much to feed Oscar. I found what she was feeding him on the Chewy site its called Crave Chicken Pate, I posted a pic for her to make sure that was it and she said yes
I notice its only 45 calories per serving and she said he is really really hungry
and feeds him about 2 serving a day is that enough calories? and sometimes leaves a handful of the Crave Dry food , that says it's 22.39 %. I also show that above with the pics of the food. I asked her what he weighs also
She is concerned about the 1 unit of Prozinc it's enough. If you read her post at the top of this page maybe you can answer some of her questions.
She what she wrote #7 and #1 and any of her other replays.
I hope no one minded I tagged you.
Thanks in advance

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

There's a formula that gives an approximate number of calories that a cat needs. It's on Dr. Lisa's site. The formula is: [13.6 X optimal lean body weight in pounds] + 70. For a cat that weighs 12 lbs, this calculates out to 233.

90 calories per day sounds like way too few calories unless this is one very tiny cat. It looked like they were recommending 4 portions per day or double what is currently being fed.

 

[Chloe007]

There's a formula that gives an approximate number of calories that a cat needs. It's on Dr. Lisa's site. The formula is: [13.6 X optimal lean body weight in pounds] + 70. For a cat that weighs 12 lbs, this calculates out to 233.

90 calories per day sounds like way too few calories unless this is one very tiny cat. It looked like they were recommending 4 portions per day or double what is currently being fed.

I'll definitely switch to 4 portions then. I was doing 2 portions at morning and night with dry food left out in between, but since I want to cut the dry food out all together I'll start replacing it with extra portions of the wet food. He's 10lbs by the way, so that seems about right. Thank you!!

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

I may have misunderstood and thought that. you were feeding Chloe 45 calories per meal. As long as your feeding her around 200 calories per day, you should be good

 

[Chloe007]

Hey Chloe that's great you will be able to do mid cycle tests. I have never tested in the paws. I know their poor ears. You can put a thin layer of neosporin pain relief ointment on them.
How much does Oscar weigh. I can tag a few people about the food and see what they say, I mean they are only 45 calories each. How much does Oscar weigh?
You don't have to take Oscar to the vet to do a curve, its stresses them out and he cwill probably read higher than he would at home.
Just send the vet the results.
I don't know what to tell you about the dose, I will tag a few members who might be able to help. In regards to the dry Crave food it says on the chewy site
What is the carbohydrate count/percentage?
The typical analysis percentage of carbohydrates in Crave with Protein from Chicken cat food is 22.39%
That's pretty high.
I will tag a few members OK
You are doing a good job with Oscar.
After poking is ear sort of on a 45 degree angle get a cotton round and try to apply slight pressure for about 20 seconds, pet him while you are doing that and tell him he's a good boy lol. I take the cotton round ( the ones you take make up off with and fold it so one side is on the inside of the ear and the other half on the top of the ear

I'm definitely going to be switching him off of the dry food asap! I just gave him his PMPS about an hour ago and he went down to 297, whew! I'm definitely going to hold off on increasing his dose until I can get a better idea of what's happening in the middle of the cycle. I do have one +2 test for his night time dose that I accidentally left off of my SS (just fixed that). On 10.28 he went from 426 (PMPS) to 357 +2 hours after, so it does seem to be doing something. I'm going to shoot for getting a +4 and +6 test in tonight. Thank you! Hopefully I'll have a good amount more of data by tomorrow night!

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

There's a formula that gives an approximate number of calories that a cat needs. It's on Dr. Lisa's site. The formula is: [13.6 X optimal lean body weight in pounds] + 70. For a cat that weighs 12 lbs, this calculates out to 233.

90 calories per day sounds like way too few calories unless this is one very tiny cat. It looked like they were recommending 4 portions per day or double what is currently being fed.

Thank you Sienne @Sienne and Gabby (GA)

 

[Chloe007]

Oh, and if you are testing at home, you would not have to go to the vet for a glucose test! Have you let your vet know that you are testing and can provide whatever info they want/need?

@FurBabiesMama

So I ended up calling the vet and talking to them (actually they called me to check up on Oscar which was pretty nice) and I told her that we started home testing and read of some SS numbers that I had for the past couple days since we last spoke. She told me that his numbers seem to be pretty much what they expect to see when a cat is first starting to get regulated. She informed me that if I'm home testing there is no need for a glucose check at the office, so we skipped that today and she instead recommended a fructosamine(sp?) check in two weeks.

This morning I was having big troubles with my meter, the strips wouldn't pick up enough blood to test (despite there being enough) andI ha after 3 tries I decided to give Oscar a break and just went ahead and gave him his insulin, knowing that I would be home all day to keep an eye on him and check him a bit later on. Then I went to test him at the +5 mark, and hit a vein, ugh. My poor boy, there was blood everywhere and the reading was higher than I expected but I'm not sure if that can be partially blamed on stress. When I did his PMPS later on, I ended up not getting enough blood the first time, and then too much blood the second (although I don't think I hit the vein this time, just an unusual amount of blood)….he read at 501. Again, I'm not sure if stress raised that number since the tests all day have been rather traumatic for him and he seemed pretty nervous before I even poked him. I'm not sure what to think of today's results, I'm hoping things go better tomorrow and he forgets about our bad day today. So anyways, didn't get the amount of tests in as I was hoping to today after everything that happened.

P.S: Do you know of any actual low carb dry foods? Do they exist? It's really convenient to leave him some dry food out in between cycles while I'm at work, and it's easy to just pick up 2 hours before his tests. He currently eats Crave dry food, and I know it's probably awful in carb content so I plan to cut it out soon.

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

@FurBabiesMama

So I ended up calling the vet and talking to them (actually they called me to check up on Oscar which was pretty nice) and I told her that we started home testing and read of some SS numbers that I had for the past couple days since we last spoke. She told me that his numbers seem to be pretty much what they expect to see when a cat is first starting to get regulated. She informed me that if I'm home testing there is no need for a glucose check at the office, so we skipped that today and she instead recommended a fructosamine(sp?) check in two weeks.

This morning I was having big troubles with my meter, the strips wouldn't pick up enough blood to test (despite there being enough) andI ha after 3 tries I decided to give Oscar a break and just went ahead and gave him his insulin, knowing that I would be home all day to keep an eye on him and check him a bit later on. Then I went to test him at the +5 mark, and hit a vein, ugh. My poor boy, there was blood everywhere and the reading was higher than I expected but I'm not sure if that can be partially blamed on stress. When I did his PMPS later on, I ended up not getting enough blood the first time, and then too much blood the second (although I don't think I hit the vein this time, just an unusual amount of blood)….he read at 501. Again, I'm not sure if stress raised that number since the tests all day have been rather traumatic for him and he seemed pretty nervous before I even poked him. I'm not sure what to think of today's results, I'm hoping things go better tomorrow and he forgets about our bad day today. So anyways, didn't get the amount of tests in as I was hoping to today after everything that happened.

P.S: Do you know of any actual low carb dry foods? Do they exist? It's really convenient to leave him some dry food out in between cycles while I'm at work, and it's easy to just pick up 2 hours before his tests. He currently eats Crave dry food, and I know it's probably awful in carb content so I plan to cut it out soon.

@Chloe007 if you must leave some dry food out that I'd low carb there isv Dr Elsey's Clean Protein Chicken Flavor
Go to Chewy.com and read about it
Click to open expanded view

video

video


PrevNext



Dr. Elsey's cleanprotein Chicken Formula Grain-Free Dry Cat Food
By Dr. Elsey's

213 Reviews
31 Answered Questions

• List Price:
  
  $16.29
  
  
• Price:
  
  $14.69FREE 1-2 DAYSHIPPING OVER $49
  
  
• You Save:
  
  $1.60 (10%)

Autoship: &Save

$13.96(Save an extra 5%)

Simply select Autoship at checkoutfor easy regular deliveries

In stock
Size: 2.0-lb bag

• 2.0-lb bag
  
• 6.6-lb bag

Quantity
How many carbs in this cat food
This formula has a carbohydrate content of 4.69% on a dry matter basis.
Caloric Content
4,030 kcal/kg, 554 kcal/cup

Don't know where you live they only ship to the US
You can find this on Chewy's site

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

@Chloe007 just make sure you take in to consideration how much the calories are, because they are pretty high, I feed my cat 2 cans of Fancy Feast Classic Pate
and if he hollers for dry food I only limit him to 1/3 of a cup a day and I actually will give him less because the calories are pretty high per cup which I posted above for you to see

 

[Chloe007]

@Chloe007 if you must leave some dry food out that I'd low carb there isv Dr Elsey's Clean Protein Chicken Flavor
Click to open expanded view

video

video


PrevNext



Dr. Elsey's cleanprotein Chicken Formula Grain-Free Dry Cat Food
By Dr. Elsey's

213 Reviews
31 Answered Questions

• List Price:
  
  $16.29
  
  
• Price:
  
  $14.69FREE 1-2 DAYSHIPPING OVER $49
  
  
• You Save:
  
  $1.60 (10%)

Autoship: &Save

$13.96(Save an extra 5%)

Simply select Autoship at checkoutfor easy regular deliveries

In stock
Size: 2.0-lb bag

• 2.0-lb bag
  
• 6.6-lb bag

Quantity
How many carbs in this cat food
This formula has a carbohydrate content of 4.69% on a dry matter basis.
Caloric Content
4,030 kcal/kg, 554 kcal/cup

Don't know where you live they only ship to the US
You can find this on Chewy's site

Awesome thank you for this! I definitely want to switch to leaving out wet instead but there are a couple factors that could be an issue. He has two sisters, the youngest being a little slow. She thinks like a fish, if you put food out she will eat it till it's almost gone, get distracted, quickly remember she has food again and will keep going back and forth until both her, her sister, and her brothers food is all eaten. Even if she's full and just ate, if I put more food down, she will do the same routine and eat it until it's gone. Dry food works because she doesn't like dry, and therefore won't eat any food I leave Oscar. I'm with them for their AM and PM wet food meals, so I'm always able to monitor that Oscar eats all his food and his sister doesn't eat it instead. But that's why for when I'm gone, dry food is currently much more convenient for snacking, I know Oscar will have the ability to eat it, and his little sister won't eat all his food before he gets the change.

 

[Chloe007]

@Chloe007 just make sure you take in to consideration how much the calories are, because they are pretty high, I feed my cat 2 cans of Fancy Feast Classic Pate
and if he hollers for dry food I only limit him to 1/3 of a cup a day and I actually will give him less because the calories are pretty high per cup which I posted above for you to see

Ah, yeah I didn't really notice that until you pointed that out. I need to try to find a solution here. Speaking of which...am I supposed to be giving extra calories while he's still trying to gain back the weight he lost before he got diagnosed? I'm honestly kind of confused on if I should be allowing him to eat more because he's so hungry, or if I should be strict with his food and (as in no snacking) and wait for the insulin to start regulating his appetite. It's still all just very confusing to me lol.

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Ah, yeah I didn't really notice that until you pointed that out. I need to try to find a solution here. Speaking of which...am I supposed to be giving extra calories while he's still trying to gain back the weight he lost before he got diagnosed? I'm honestly kind of confused on if I should be allowing him to eat more because he's so hungry, or if I should be strict with his food and (as in no snacking) and wait for the insulin to start regulating his appetite. It's still all just very confusing to me lol.

how much does he weigh now, you don't want to starve him, if I remember correctly the crave wet food you are feeding Oscar is 45 calories per serving, how many cans or whatever it comes in are you feeing him
What are the total calories are you feeding
What did your vet say about his weight loss, didn't the vet tell you how many calories he should be getting per day?, like we all said we do feed our cats through the day. Just read about the Dr Elsey's Clean Protein on the Chewy site, maybe other members have more suggestions than I do
One other thing, I see on your SS you are not testing enough mid cycles day and night
Its important to do so

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

There are some other alternatives to dry food. There is freeze dried raw food. Most of the folks that mention using this type of food seem to use Stella & Chewy's. Another option is ZiwiPeak which has a line of air-dried cat food. It looks a lot like jerky style treats. Both of these options are low carb. I use the ZiwiPeak as a treat for Gizmo (he has IBD so I need a novel protein treat). He loves the stuff!!

There are also feeders that are microchip enabled. Chloe would need to wear a collar and the chip on the collar would open the feeder. That way, your other kitties can't eat her food. The feeders are expensive although someone posted that they've gotten them at a good price on Ebay.

 

[Chloe007]

There are some other alternatives to dry food. There is freeze dried raw food. Most of the folks that mention using this type of food seem to use Stella & Chewy's. Another option is ZiwiPeak which has a line of air-dried cat food. It looks a lot like jerky style treats. Both of these options are low carb. I use the ZiwiPeak as a treat for Gizmo (he has IBD so I need a novel protein treat). He loves the stuff!!

There are also feeders that are microchip enabled. Chloe would need to wear a collar and the chip on the collar would open the feeder. That way, your other kitties can't eat her food. The feeders are expensive although someone posted that they've gotten them at a good price on Ebay.

Interesting, I might end up having to look into that....thanks! I'll look into that freeze dried raw food too. I have already bags of freeze dried foods, but I think they're mostly just treats, not actual food. They are low enough in carbs but they're advertised and packaged to be like treats. I can't think of the name off hand, I want to say they're called pure bites?

Anyways, thank you for the suggestions!

 

[Chloe007]

how much does he weigh now, you don't want to starve him, if I remember correctly the crave wet food you are feeding Oscar is 45 calories per serving, how many cans or whatever it comes in are you feeing him
What are the total calories are you feeding
What did your vet say about his weight loss, didn't the vet tell you how many calories he should be getting per day?, like we all said we do feed our cats through the day. Just read about the Dr Elsey's Clean Protein on the Chewy site, maybe other members have more suggestions than I do
One other thing, I see on your SS you are not testing enough mid cycles day and night
Its important to do so

hey @Diane Tyler's Mom I hope it's okay that I tag you to ask you a question. I ended up calling his vet to get some more clarification on the food. From this point forward he will be getting 4 cans of fancy feast throughout the day (we could have kept with the Crave, but it would get really expensive) and we are slowly taking dry food away. I did that pretty quickly, and he didn't seem to notice it being gone with him having extra wet food around. My other cat who likes to eat everything wet food may still end up being a problem later on, but for now it's been working.

I do however feel like I still need to raise his dose. Even with dry food being cut out, he's just not going any lower. It's starting to worry me, and I have some more numbers to back my theory up now. Would you mind taking a look at my SS, and if I'm wrong to raise his dose yet, tell me? His vet also seems to think it's time for a dose increase, but at the same time this is the same vet that started him out way too high, so I'm not super influenced by her opinion. I got a 196 +4 after a PM shot the other day, but I think that was a fluke of some sort since he woke up with numbers >500 (561 to be exact).

 

[Chloe007]

how much does he weigh now, you don't want to starve him, if I remember correctly the crave wet food you are feeding Oscar is 45 calories per serving, how many cans or whatever it comes in are you feeing him
What are the total calories are you feeding
What did your vet say about his weight loss, didn't the vet tell you how many calories he should be getting per day?, like we all said we do feed our cats through the day. Just read about the Dr Elsey's Clean Protein on the Chewy site, maybe other members have more suggestions than I do
One other thing, I see on your SS you are not testing enough mid cycles day and night
Its important to do so

@Diane Tyler's Mom one more question, sorry I keep singling you out here, but you've been so helpful and I don't want to continue littering the boards with my questions/concerns/thoughts lol. How do you all afford testing? I have a job, but I'm still a student and while I can handle the insulin/syringes/vet visit costs, the testing supplies are killing me. I just bought a 50 pack of strips like 5 days ago and I'm going to be out probably within 5-10 days. They cost $40!! I can't afford to do that multiple times a month. Have I been testing too much or something? Because this just doesn't seem feasible.

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

hey @Diane Tyler's Mom I hope it's okay that I tag you to ask you a question. I ended up calling his vet to get some more clarification on the food. From this point forward he will be getting 4 cans of fancy feast throughout the day (we could have kept with the Crave, but it would get really expensive) and we are slowly taking dry food away. I did that pretty quickly, and he didn't seem to notice it being gone with him having extra wet food around. My other cat who likes to eat everything wet food may still end up being a problem later on, but for now it's been working.

I do however feel like I still need to raise his dose. Even with dry food being cut out, he's just not going any lower. It's starting to worry me, and I have some more numbers to back my theory up now. Would you mind taking a look at my SS, and if I'm wrong to raise his dose yet, tell me? His vet also seems to think it's time for a dose increase, but at the same time this is the same vet that started him out way too high, so I'm not super influenced by her opinion. I got a 196 +4 after a PM shot the other day, but I think that was a fluke of some sort since he woke up with numbers >500 (561 to be exact).

@Chloe007 hi Chloe I am so sorry but I can't help you out about dosing, first of all because I am not that experienced yet to give you that type if information, I would suggest that you post that question on the Prozinc forum. You might want to title it
? Need advice on dosing. I'm sorry I can't be of any help

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

@Diane Tyler's Mom one more question, sorry I keep singling you out here, but you've been so helpful and I don't want to continue littering the boards with my questions/concerns/thoughts lol. How do you all afford testing? I have a job, but I'm still a student and while I can handle the insulin/syringes/vet visit costs, the testing supplies are killing me. I just bought a 50 pack of strips like 5 days ago and I'm going to be out probably within 5-10 days. They cost $40!! I can't afford to do that multiple times a month. Have I been testing too much or something? Because this just doesn't seem feasible.

@Chloe007 me again, I assume the meter you are using is a pet monitor. Yes I know the pet strips are expensive. My meter is a pet meter and the strips are very expensive.
I think most members use human meters because the strips are more affordable.
You can start another thread and title it ? Need advice on human meters
I have no idea about reading the numbers on a human meter. Again so sorry.

 

[Chloe007]

@Chloe007 hi Chloe I am so sorry but I can't help you out about dosing, first of all because I am not that experienced yet to give you that type if information, I would suggest that you post that question on the Prozinc forum. You might want to title it
? Need advice on dosing. I'm sorry I can't be of any help

Oh no problem, thank you anyways! I appreciate you saying that, rather than making any kind of guess if you are unsure. I think I'll post a thread there tomorrow and see what they think over there. I've unfortunately become quite skeptical of my vet and would feel a lot safer getting a second opinion on this board, that I already have a great deal of trust in. Thank you for the title advice, I always worry a bit posting in another forum that I'm titling things wrong lol.

 

[Chloe007]

@Chloe007 me again, I assume the meter you are using is a pet monitor. Yes I know the pet strips are expensive. My meter is a pet meter and the strips are very expensive.
I think most members use human meters because the strips are more affordable.
You can start another thread and title it ? Need advice on human meters
I have no idea about reading the numbers on a human meter. Again so sorry.

Ah yes, I probably should have seen that you were using an Alpha Trak, I know those are super expensive too. It's insane the markup they put on these strips just because they're for pets. I was hoping to wait a little until I was more experienced in testing before I changed to a human meter...it just feels safer I guess? It probably sounds silly but being new to all of this still, it seemed like a safe bet. I'll probably start looking around for a human meter soon, I really do like the meter I have because it requires so little blood but geeeze. the price is insane. Do you use the actual Alpha Trak strips with the meter or do you supplement with those freestyle ones? I read something about how they're much cheaper and work with the Alpha Trak.

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Oh no problem, thank you anyways! I appreciate you saying that, rather than making any kind of guess if you are unsure. I think I'll post a thread there tomorrow and see what they think over there. I've unfortunately become quite skeptical of my vet and would feel a lot safer getting a second opinion on this board, that I already have a great deal of trust in. Thank you for the title advice, I always worry a bit posting in another forum that I'm titling things wrong lol.

If I didn't come across this group I don't know what I would have done. In my opinion they have more experience than some vets do when it comes to diabetes. I see that two other members responded to this page, try tagging them and see if they can maybe help you, by the way Oscar is adorable

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Ah yes, I probably should have seen that you were using an Alpha Trak, I know those are super expensive too. It's insane the markup they put on these strips just because they're for pets. I was hoping to wait a little until I was more experienced in testing before I changed to a human meter...it just feels safer I guess? It probably sounds silly but being new to all of this still, it seemed like a safe bet. I'll probably start looking around for a human meter soon, I really do like the meter I have because it requires so little blood but geeeze. the price is insane. Do you use the actual Alpha Trak strips with the meter or do you supplement with those freestyle ones? I read something about how they're much cheaper and work with the Alpha Trak.

I use the Alphatrak2 strips, yes I have seen that posted here also about using the freestyle ones, but some members don't agree on using them.
Sooner or later I might have to switch to a human meter also be because of the price for the damn strips.By the way how much does Oscar weigh.
I feed Tyler the Fancy Feast Classic Pates both the chicken flavor and beef flavor.
You should also buy the Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers to keep on hand just in cade Oscar ever drops really low and you might have to feed him a little to get his BG up
Buy medium carb and high carb. Look at Dr Pierson's chart its on the main forum page and you will find
the FF Gravy Lovers listed. I think one was 15 carbs for medium and the other was 20 carbs for the high
13 298 81
FANCY FEAST
Gravy Lovers
Gravy Lovers Gourmet Beef
Feast in Gravy 20 carbs
Gravy Lovers Gourmet
Chicken Feast in Gravy 15 carbs

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

@Diane Tyler's Mom - those percentages are correct. LC is under 10%, MC is up to 15%, and HC is over 15%. Dr. Lisa's food chart is linked at the top of the board if you are looking for alternatives and she lists the carb counts.

Chloe - I don't know if you can find strips for a pet meter at a reduced cost. I'd check on Amazon and Ebay. Human meter strips are sold there, as well, and are much cheaper than at a pharmacy. One other place to check is ADWDiabetes. They may stock pet meter strips.

 

[Chloe007]

@S

@Diane Tyler's Mom - those percentages are correct. LC is under 10%, MC is up to 15%, and HC is over 15%. Dr. Lisa's food chart is linked at the top of the board if you are looking for alternatives and she lists the carb counts.

Chloe - I don't know if you can find strips for a pet meter at a reduced cost. I'd check on Amazon and Ebay. Human meter strips are sold there, as well, and are much cheaper than at a pharmacy. One other place to check is ADWDiabetes. They may stock pet meter strips.

@Sienne and Gabby (GA) thank you for the suggestion! I decided that once I run out of my pet meter strips, I'm definitely going to be switching to a human meter. I think the idea of using a pet meter at first was more comforting for me, but now that we're starting to understand everything better, a human meter is just way more affordable.

I do have a question if you have a moment. I've been having trouble with Oscar's ears. We get samples very easily. and he's very good about the whole thing. But his ears look a little more beat up than I feel like they should, and they are also routinely kind of warm. I started using Neosporin with pain relief which has been helping us, but I still can't shake that I'm doing something wrong to be causing this. After looking around on the forum, I saw that a lot of people starting out especially will use 26 or 28g lancets. The one's that came with the pet meter (Advocate Pet Test) appear to be 21g....does this same way too large? Because that feels like a huge jump from 26g and maybe that's why its been so easy for me to test, and also why his ears look painful. Or maybe I'm reading it wrong, because I've never even heard anyone here mention a 21g lancet...what do you think?
https://www.amazon.com/Advocate-Test-Twist-Lancets-PT-130/dp/B00MPX42NG/?tag=felinediabetesfdmb-20

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Wow! A 21 gauge lancet? That's huge.

Ideally, after a few weeks of poking, the capillary bed in the area where you've been testing will begin to build up. In other words, Oscar's ears will bleed more easily. I would transition to a thinner gauge lancet. I believe I used a 30 gauge for Gabby. Using the thinner lancet should help.

 

[Chloe007]

Wow! A 21 gauge lancet? That's huge.

Ideally, after a few weeks of poking, the capillary bed in the area where you've been testing will begin to build up. In other words, Oscar's ears will bleed more easily. I iwould transition to a thinner gauge lancet. I believe I used a 30 gauge for Gabby. Using the thinner lancet should help.

Yeah as I was re-ordering them today, after I placed the order I realized my mistake. When I first got the meter I couldn't find anything written anywhere that said what size the lancets were, I just knew they were working well, so I reordered them thinking they were probably 26 at the largest. Honestly my heart dropped a little when I realized they were 21, it just seems like insane overkill! No wonder his ears look so painful . He's such a good boy, he doesn't even flinch when I poke him, I feel so bad now. His ears do bleed really well now, although now I'm not sure if that's from new capillaries or because I'm poking such giant holes! I'll definitely go get smaller ones tomorrow, although he's going to have to tough it out just a couple more times before I can get to the store. Thank you for confirming that for me, ugh I feel so awful now!

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

If it's any consolation, there aren't a ton of pain receptors on a cat's ear.