? Early feeding, shoot later?
- Thread starter Debbie Do
- Start date
- Status
Tuxedo Mom
Very Active Member
As long as you have at least 2 hours with no food before you do your pre-shot test you should be okay. You need at least 2 hours before the pre-shot test so that the reading is not food influenced. It is often suggested not to feed any substantial amounts of food after the nadir (lowest reading in a cycle) since at that point the insulin is starting to wearing off and this can bring numbers up higher. A smaller snack after the nadir might be a better option if Bubba just can't wait until shot time to eat.
Tuxedo Mom
Very Active Member
If you are going to give the shot, then just do a pre-shot test first if it has been 2 hours since he ate. You can give him a bit of food with the shot or wait a while and give some later. With Prozinc it is not critical that they eat at exactly the same time as the shot as long as you know Bubba will eat.
Debbie Do
Member
His preshot was 229, and he ate a little more. He's up and down since I upped his dose from 1.5 to 1.8. Is that an indication that I need to increase? That's what the vet did when he first started and his nadir was very low.
Generally, he eats for a while, wanders off, and wants to finish up after an hour or so.
Generally, he eats for a while, wanders off, and wants to finish up after an hour or so.
Tuxedo Mom
Very Active Member
The higher numbers you are seeing are most likely from bouncing. Yesterday Bubba got down to a 94 which is much lower than he has been since starting insulin. When a kitty drops too much or to lower numbers than his body "thinks" are normal the body releases counter-regulatory hormones which cause glucose (glucogen) stored in the body to be released, which causes the numbers to go up. It can take a few days before the effects of this wear off, One thing you could try to do is to get a test or two after the PM shot. Some kitties will drop more at night, so it would be good data to try and get a night time test each day.
Tuxedo Mom
Very Active Member
So you're saying that bouncing may stop with no change in insulin? I'll test him before bed, and again if I have a middle-of-the-night bathroom break.
Some kitties bounce more than others when they hit lower numbers than they are "used" to. A rule of thumb is that it can take up to 3 days for a bounce to clear, so most people will wait it out before deciding to do dose changes. Each kitty is different, but that is a general average. A test or two at night can show whether Bubba is dropping at night time, which can be very useful data.
Debbie Do
Member
As it turns out, I had to walk off and foot cramp in the middle of the night, so Bubba got stuck. He went from +2 227 at bedtime to +7 145. This morning I couldn't get him to donate a drop of blood from anywhere, then he found his way into the dry food while I was distracted with big storms heading our way, so I felt ok shooting him anyway.
Sue and Oliver (GA)
Very Active Member
He is really all over the place, Debbie, but the nice thing is that he does have some lower numbers. Once the dry food clears his system (find a cat proof place for it 
) you might try a curve this weekend. That's getting some numbers during the cycle to see how the insulin is working. A good start might be +2 to see how soon it starts to work, maybe +5 and +7 to see if you can find the lowest point (nadir) and then around +8/10 to see when it starts to wear off. As you are new to testing, you might try to collect the data over several days and at night.
) you might try a curve this weekend. That's getting some numbers during the cycle to see how the insulin is working. A good start might be +2 to see how soon it starts to work, maybe +5 and +7 to see if you can find the lowest point (nadir) and then around +8/10 to see when it starts to wear off. As you are new to testing, you might try to collect the data over several days and at night.
Tuxedo Mom
Very Active Member
Great job getting the night time test...Sorry about the foot cramp though..I get those and calf cramps and they are literally a "pain" in more ways (and places) than one
The extra data is good to have, so you can see how low Bubba is dropping at night. Too bad about the dry food, but the manufacturers spray it with some sort of kitty crack that just makes it irresistible to kitties.
Debbie Do
Member
I'm transitioning the rest of the household (well, not hubby or DD) to a lower carb dry, but it's not there yet. And, I know that's still not OK for Bubba on the whole, but at least when he sneaks in and joins his fur-sibs, it won't be quite so detrimental.
I'll keep testing through the weekend and try a curve on Sunday... and closely monitor the dry food when it's out!
I'll keep testing through the weekend and try a curve on Sunday... and closely monitor the dry food when it's out!
Shorty
Member
@Debbie Do Kelly and I are trying to do the same thing. 3 cats, all of whom are used to free feeding dry kibble food. Nunu is one of those stereotypical cats, where if the bottom of the bowl is visible anywhere, then she is starving to death and needs more food in the bowl, so it's exceptionally hard with her. She is used to wet food being an occasional treat, not real food. Right now, we are just taking a single can and splitting it between the cats. They get fed their biggest amounts at the same time as Shorty's main feeding. After an hour or so, we put whatever is left in the fridge, and try again a little before Shorty's nadir.
We are still learning. And trying to get all of the cats used to all of this.
We are still learning. And trying to get all of the cats used to all of this.
Debbie Do
Member
This is my Lucy Lu through and through. She doesn't even wait until the bottom of the bowl is visible.
We have an odd setup here. Being in the country and having collected such a herd of cats, and big ones at that, converting them all to wet food is not an option, even though it's best for them. I get Bubba started on his can of food, then put down bowls of dry for the others. I've figured out that, once Bubba has had his fill (which sometimes doesn't take long), someone has to keep watch until the dry feeders are finished, then pick up the food. Such kitty drama.
One benefit to feeding twice daily instead of free feeding is that a bag of cat food last much longer. Before, two big bags barely made it through two weeks. Controlled feeding gets an extra week out of the bags. That will help offset the cost of moving to low carb dry.
- Status