First Post - My cat Jasper is OTJ, but I have some questions

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I joined this forum in early February when my 11 year old cat Jasper was diagnosed with diabetes, but this is my first time posting. Everything was so overwhelming and I felt so guilty at first, but it was reassuring to read the posts on this forum about many success stories. I admit that I was intimidated at the thought of home testing, but finally got the nerve to start and purchased a Relion Micro from Walmart. His BG reading for the first successful test (on Mar. 30) was in the 60's and I haven't given another insulin shot since as his readings have all been in the double digits except one at the vet's office (138 on my meter and 171 on the vet's meter). I'm so glad I did start testing as I hate to think what could have happened if I hadn't. Now I am somewhat paranoid that I will do something that will send him out of remission, so I have a few questions for those of you with more experience.

First, Jasper was happy to switch to low carb canned food (currently a mixture of Wellness grain free and FF pates), but my other two cats (Clark and Addison, 4 years old) are not so easy. Both had some issues with diarrhea in switching to lower carb dry food, so I had to make that switch over a few weeks. Now I am working on switching them to the low carb wet food. Clark is willing, so I'm switching him slowly. Addison won't come near the canned food unless I mix in Fortiflora. Is the Fortiflora OK if Jasper eats it, too? Once I have them all switched to 100% wet food will I need to worry if Jasper is eating from Addison's bowl?

Second, Jasper has had some issues with hairballs in the past as he spends a lot of time grooming. Is there a safe treatment that I can use for him that won't spike his blood glucose?

Last, how often does everyone test their OTJ cats? I am thinking that I will test a couple of times a week for now since I am still a novice and need the practice. I also want to keep him in the habit since he comes to me when I set the testing supplies (including the Bonita flakes) on the coffee table.
 
Re: First Post - My cat Jasper is OTJ, but I have some quest

Addison won't come near the canned food unless I mix in Fortiflora. Is the Fortiflora OK if Jasper eats it, too? Once I have them all switched to 100% wet food will I need to worry if Jasper is eating from Addison's bowl?
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Flortiflora is a combination of beneficial bacteria. These are safe for all cats. They are one of the things sprayed on the outside of the dry food to make the dry food appealing to your cat. Other wise, the cat probably wouldn't touch the dry food.

Yes, it's safe for Jasper to Addison's food with the fortiflora on it.

You've probably already seen this about transitioning dry food addicts to canned food. I must have used at least a dozen of these tricks for my Wink Wink. http://www.catinfo.org/docs/TipsForTransitioning1-14-11.pdf Just some more ideas for you. If my Wink had his way, he would load up the shopping cart with the 20 pound dry food bags and start ripping them open with his teeth before we got out of the store. He'd probably even try to drive himself to the store with the help of his two cohorts on crime, Delta and Monet. You need 3 cats to drive, one to steer, one to brake, one for the gas pedal.:lol: :lol: :lol:

Second, Jasper has had some issues with hairballs in the past as he spends a lot of time grooming. Is there a safe treatment that I can use for him that won't spike his blood glucose?
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For hairballs, straight vaseline works. No sugar in that, unlike the laxatone. You can try putting some of the vaseline on his paw for him to lick off. I would start with a small dab to see if he is willing to lick it off. I would suggest trying this in the bathroom in case your cat decides he hates it and runs all over the house, splashing that glob of vaseline all over the cabinets, furniture, floors, etc. ohmygod_smile Can you tell this happened to me and I've learned better?

Last, how often does everyone test their OTJ cats?
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Testing after remission. I tested AM and PM for two weeks straight to ensure Wink's numbers were staying low. Then I tested once a day for a week, and I'm now testing once a week, every 10 days or so. It's been about 7 weeks since Wink officially went OTJ. Eventually, I'll only test every two weeks or so. He still loves to get those freeze dried chicken treats, even without the poke! ;-)

I keep my eye on the size of the pee patches in the litter boxes, still normal size. I keep my eye on water intake. He is only eating the wet food with the added 2 tablespoons of water, 4 times a day. Never touches a water dish anymore. If he started going to the water dish, I'd be concerned and test more.
 
Re: First Post - My cat Jasper is OTJ, but I have some quest

Like Deb said, the fortiflora is good for any cat, won't hurt them any altho' they may eventually not like it. Shadow doesn't want it anymore so I quit using it. I am nearly always
having to crumble some of her freeze dried turkey on her low carb foods to get her to eat.

You can also put a pea size dab or slightly larger of vaseline on your finger and rub it off inside their mouth on their palate.... then they can't fling it everywhere. They have to deal
with it and swallow.

there are many here using coconut oil. You start them out really slow... just letting them lick a little off your hand. Too much can give them a little diarrhea. Go slow.
tropical traditions coconut oil
And some use a little olive oil.


As for otj testing,
Shadow has always been teetering right on the threshold. She was on insulin 100 days and it's now been 167 days off.
I'm testing a little more because I want to make sure I catch it early and get right back on a drop or two of insulin ... rather than waiting until she's back to needing half a unit.
You can see how we are in her ss.

She had a dental recently and a little bit of anal gland issues which raised her bg.... and we discovered arthritis which we are addressing now.
And I'm feeling like one of her foods is affecting her and trying to figure out which one .... since I rotate them so much.
The main thing is I need to quit testing one hour after she eats.... and I keep doing it without meaning to. :evil: :roll:
I'm guilty of bad timing this past week... :roll: but when I check again... she's down.
 
Re: First Post - My cat Jasper is OTJ, but I have some quest

rhiannon and shadow said:
She had a dental recently and a little bit of anal gland issues which raised her bg....
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by"anal gland issues" do you mean clogged, full or infected?
 
Re: First Post - My cat Jasper is OTJ, but I have some quest

Shadow had full anal glands. That has never been an issue for her. She's had them expressed only 2 separate times in her almost 12 years.
But I learned here that it can raise bg's when their is pain ....too full....
 
Re: First Post - My cat Jasper is OTJ, but I have some quest

Gob's anal's get full somewhat often (this is yukky--I have squeezed them in the past--no worse than changing a crappy diaper) but I haven't checked lately. I'm going to take a look; it makes sense that if they are in pain, their BG can go up.
 
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