Advice Sought About Feeding Schedule for Lantus

[Critter Mom]

Saoirse's pancreatitis symptoms have improved with the help of her cyproheptadine and ondansetron (now only getting them once a day on average). Trouble is she seems to have forgotten how to be hungry properly.

I have been feeding her very small amounts (c. 12-16g) approximately 2 hours apart but sometimes she needs the food put in front of her before she'll eat. When I don't prompt her she sometimes leaves timed feeds untouched and the long fasts are causing her BG to spike. It makes me too scared to follow a 12/12 dosing schedule most of the time because I'm worried that she won't eat her timed feeds and go too low while I am unconscious.

I get confused about what rests the pancreas more and also what might retrain the liver to accept lower BG levels as OK again and not panic all the time: lots of very small meals fed very frequently, or fewer smaller meals fed at longer intervals so that the pancreas gets a little bit more rest before the next meal is due? Which is better for glycaemic control? Now that Saoirse is no longer vomiting if she goes more than a few hours between feeds, ideally I would like to give Saoirse fewer, larger mini meals to try to reduce the likelihood that she will leave food uneaten and cause her liver to panic. It would also reduce the fear that she may not have eaten enough before I try to sleep (or if I pass out with fatigue at an unexpected time - a major problem for me). She needs just over 200g of her low carb wet food per day to maintain her current ideal weight. I am looking at the following options:

1. Feed 26g every 3 hours.

2. Feed 33g every 4 hours.

Which would be better for Saoirse? I would be extremely grateful for advice about this. It has been wrecking my head for the last fortnight trying to work out what's best for my little one, and I'm getting nowhere with the problem. Help!!!

confused_cat

 

[BJM]

This may be a case of test each approach for a couple of days and see what works best. The glucose test data will show you that.

 

[Melanie and Smokey]

Unfortunately the answer is, whatever works best for your kitty ;-) Some cats do better with more smaller feedings, some cats do better with more rest between meals. Some cats rise on food, some cats flatten or drop on food. I think either one of your options are perfectly fine and you could try both or either to see which one works out the best.

We've done a wide variety.
Smokey: at first we had timed feeders that moved every 4 hrs. Later when she was older and skinny she was free fed.
Cecil: Feed 4 times a day, 2 main meals 12hrs apart, 2 smaller meals just before out the door and just before bed -anywhere from 2-6hrs after previous meal.
ChrisFarley: Feed no farther than 4 hrs apart if possible. Done best on the days we've given him small snacks every 2-3hrs and days he's stolen food and gotten excess.

To give yourself a little more time between feedings to sleep and do other things, I'd probably try the 4hr with larger feeding and see how that goes.

 

[Critter Mom]

Thanks for your replies, BJM and Melanie. It has helped a lot to know that the meal sizes aren't too big. I don't want to do anything to set Saoirse back or put unnecessary strain on her little pancreas.

I think I'll try the three-hourly feeds for a few days so that it won't be too big a change for her. If that goes OK, then I'll try the four-hourly feeds. It's tricky with the cyproheptadine in play, but the med seems to help Saoirse with digestive discomfort as well as pepping up her appetite. Ondansetron alone doesn't do enough. I suspect she may have IBD as well as the pancreatitis. I do wonder whether slippery elm might help her with that.