About Batman

TJ Penn

Member
I posted Batman’s curves earlier because I’m new and haven’t had a chance to do a SS yet. We have not given him any insulin since the morning of 9/4. I changed his diet from a mix of Friskies canned and Meow Mix dry to a good quality LC wet food only on 9/4 and his BG dropped drastically. He was on 4 units twice a day of PZ. Any advise greatly appreciated. Here’s his curve for the last full day on insulin and then yesterday with no insulin.
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When he was on Lantus, were you home testing?

What are you now feeding him? What is your feeding schedule like? Are you giving snacks during the early portion of the cycle?
 
When he was on Lantus, were you home testing?

What are you now feeding him? What is your feeding schedule like? Are you giving snacks during the early portion of the cycle?
Our new vet prefers PZ and the Lantus wasn’t working. Don’t have the curves from back then.

No snacks at all until afternoon, I’ll give him about 10 pellets of Vital raw food. He typically eats at 8:00am and 8:00 pm, a snack if he asks for one around 2:00 or 3:00 pm and then bedtime snack of Stella and Chewy coated dry food (5 pellets). His meals are Stella and Chewy Chicken, freeze dried wet food.
 
Eating twice a day is not a good feeding schedule for a diabetic cat on insulin. They need snacks during the early portion of the cycle (before nadir). I coach a lot of ProZinc users here and I generally recommend feeding a small low carb wet food snack at +2, +4 as a beginning feeding schedule. The snacks can really help stabilize the BG during the cycle and help prevent steep drops that can set up a bounce. I do not recommend feeding after nadir (lowest point in the cycle) because it can shorten the duration of the insulin and cause numbers to rise prematurely.
 
Oh, I forgot- by a small snack, I mean a teaspoon or two of low carb wet food. How is Batman’s weight? Is he at a healthy weight?
 
So I should feed him the same food for snack as his regular meal, just a smaller amount? Can you recommend a different snack so he can have some variety? My husband had him so spoiled, he rotated flavors of food every day plus a couple different high carb/high calorie treats. I struggled to find a wet food all three would eat and Stella’s was very well received.

He has some Maine Coon in him, but his frame isn’t that of a full blood MC. He weighed in at 17.8 yesterday but would be much better off at 15 lb.
 
So I should feed him the same food for snack as his regular meal, just a smaller amount? Can you recommend a different snack so he can have some variety? My husband had him so spoiled, he rotated flavors of food every day plus a couple different high carb/high calorie treats. I struggled to find a wet food all three would eat and Stella’s was very well received.

He has some Maine Coon in him, but his frame isn’t that of a full blood MC. He weighed in at 17.8 yesterday but would be much better off at 15 lb.
I’m off to bed and thank you again for coaching me. I will catch your reply in the morning and add in the two wet food snacks
 
It is also important to withhold food for two hours prior to the morning and evening pre-shot tests (or in your case the pre-shot scans of the Libre) to make sure that the BG number you get at pre-shot time is accurate ad not inflated by food - so that you know it’s safe to shoot or if a reduced dose should be considered.
 
So I should feed him the same food for snack as his regular meal, just a smaller amount? Can you recommend a different snack so he can have some variety? My husband had him so spoiled, he rotated flavors of food every day plus a couple different high carb/high calorie treats. I struggled to find a wet food all three would eat and Stella’s was very well received.

He has some Maine Coon in him, but his frame isn’t that of a full blood MC. He weighed in at 17.8 yesterday but would be much better off at 15 lb.
Any low carb wet food will work for a snack. Either the Stella and Chewy food or another one. It’s okay to just let it be the same food, but another LC food that he likes would be fine, too. It’s nice that he was spoiled, well… except he can’t have high carb snacks nowadays. As soon as you can get a spreadsheet set up we can get some data put into it and talk about the dose. I definitely would not shoot 4 units now that he’s on LC food. You have already seen how dramatically the BG can be reduced by switching to low carb food.
 
Yes! We are east of Asheville near Edneyville where all the apple orchards are.
You are near me…we live near Black Mountain, and my daughter is really near you in Hendersonville. So glad you found this forum! You are in good hands here and the members have so much experience and knowledge. Suzanne (Suzanne & Darcy) was my lifesaver and coach as I navigated this diabetic journey with my kitty, Liberty. I’ve learned so much from her, and I’m so grateful for all her help. Good luck with Batman!
 
You are near me…we live near Black Mountain, and my daughter is really near you in Hendersonville. So glad you found this forum! You are in good hands here and the members have so much experience and knowledge. Suzanne (Suzanne & Darcy) was my lifesaver and coach as I navigated this diabetic journey with my kitty, Liberty. I’ve learned so much from her, and I’m so grateful for all her help. Good luck with Batman!
Small world . I’ll be in Black Mountain at an event at Ridgecrest tonight through Sunday. I belong to Daughters of the Holy Cross and we are having our annual assembly there.

This board is amazing. Every member truely cares for our kitties and their wellbeing
 
Small world . I’ll be in Black Mountain at an event at Ridgecrest tonight through Sunday. I belong to Daughters of the Holy Cross and we are having our annual assembly there.

This board is amazing. Every member truely cares for our kitties and their wellbeing

It is indeed a small world! And yes, this board is amazing!
 
Anyway, about Batman. Who is going to be taking care of him over the weekend while you are away? Will he be getting insulin? Will someone be scanning the Libre sensor at certain times? Can that person write down the times and the blood glucose numbers?
 
Anyway, about Batman. Who is going to be taking care of him over the weekend while you are away? Will he be getting insulin? Will someone be scanning the Libre sensor at certain times? Can that person write down the times and the blood glucose numbers?
I’m only gone during the day and my husband has always been the main caregiver — he’s retired while I work full time. Randy will be around all weekend and keeps a close eye on the Libre readings. The app is actually on his phone.

Batman has had NO insulin since the morning of the 4th. He does go to the vet tomorrow but honestly, I trust this boards approach to managing this condition much better than the typical vet protocol for diabetes. I want Batman to thrive, not simply survive.

I have photos of each days curves and will be working on setting up a SS asap
 
Anyway, about Batman. Who is going to be taking care of him over the weekend while you are away? Will he be getting insulin? Will someone be scanning the Libre sensor at certain times? Can that person write down the times and the blood glucose numbers?
We will use a Libre transmitter for 2 more weeks and I’ll need help after that with manual testing. Any tips for black cats? Batman’s ears are black on the inside as well as outside plus he has the hairy ears of a Maine Coon. Very difficult to see blood droplets and can’t see veins at all.
 
We will use a Libre transmitter for 2 more weeks and I’ll need help after that with manual testing. Any tips for black cats? Batman’s ears are black on the inside as well as outside plus he has the hairy ears of a Maine Coon. Very difficult to see blood droplets and can’t see veins at all.
You don’t really need to look for the vein necessarily. If you aim for the outside edge of the ear. What about a headlamp? I actually have a set of magnifying lighted glasses. The light is really bright and you can choose the level of magnification. I never used them for my diabetic cat, although the light would have come in handy when I woke up at night to test him and I didn’t want to turn on the overhead lights. There are lots of tips and tricks I can give you. We will start with some photos of the “sweet spot”
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Very helpful, now we just need to find a little straight jacket to hold him

when he was feeling good, Batty was the instigator of all things naughty at our house. He still starts wacking my husband at 9:15 drawing blood because he WANTS his night time treat!
 
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