HELP! Feeding before giving the shot.

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Deborah Martin

Deborah Martin

Member Since 2018
I'm in need of guidance here.
I give Doody his insulin at 5 am and 5 pm. He's on 1 unit each time. I've just been doing this dance since Thursday evening, so it's still new to me.
Anyway, he seems to be doing great, but I've always just "free fed" both cats, and neither of them is happy about this "come on and eat around 5 routine. It's like pulling teeth to get either Doody or his non diabetic sister to get up from their cat naps and eat!
It's just after 4 p.m. here in Maryland, and both cats are asleep in the living room, so I'm sure I'm going to be dealing with this problem again soon. I need help!
What can I do? The Vet stressed the importance of getting food in him prior to the insulin shot.
***I should mention: they're eating the Science Diet MD wet food. (too tough to keep healthy piggy cat from eating it too, so I'm biting the bullet this week, but will buy Fancy Feast when this stuff is gone). Neither of them seems crazy about it, but they gradually eat it.
 
Sometimes adding a topper like parm cheese will help. Warming it a bit to entice the flavor aroma. I've not had grazers, so not sure about how switching them to a schedule will work. They sound adorable tho! I am sure there are others here who do deal with the grazing. :) big hugs :bighug: it's a dance in patience pants.
 
Phoebes said:
Sometimes adding a topper like parm cheese will help. Warming it a bit to entice the flavor aroma. I've not had grazers, so not sure about how switching them to a schedule will work. They sound adorable tho! I am sure there are others here who do deal with the grazing. :) big hugs :bighug: it's a dance in patience pants.
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Thanks for the reply! I'm actually frying a few pieces of bacon to crumble over the stuff! They like that. Hoping it helps. Also, I just noticed that every dang can the Vet game me is Pork flavor. Other than bacon, my cats don't like pork. Lucky me! Grrrrrrr.
 
Deborah Martin said:
Thanks for the reply! I'm actually frying a few pieces of bacon to crumble over the stuff! They like that. Hoping it helps. Also, I just noticed that every dang can the Vet game me is Pork flavor. Other than bacon, my cats don't like pork. Lucky me! Grrrrrrr.
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My cat isn't super picky and she hated the canned MD food. Just go get ff. Lol. You can return the unopened MD cans.
 
you can still free-feed. A big reason why i chose Lantus insulin was so that i could continued to free-feed after tux got diagnosed (only stopped doing so a couple months ago because he gained over a lb too much back). everything fed was low carb so it didn't affect his random daily BG readings by much. you still pick up food 2hrs prior to BG readings before injection though, so when you start adjusting his dose based on BG, they are not food influenced.

am jealous of where you live here in MD, sounds relaxing and wonderful!!
 
Thought I'd update. Again, thanks a ton for all of your help. I went to Sam's Club yesterday, and bought a case of Friskies wet food. All included flavors were the low carb "fishy" ones. The cats LOVED IT last evening, and, this morning at 5 a.m., they gobbled it up again! What a pleasure to finally see Doody eat before his shot....without me begging and pleading.
I take him to the Vet on Thursday morning, leave him there for the day (they will be checking his glucose, etc) and pick him up that evening. I'll be returning the yucky-poo pork food they sold me and letting them know exactly what flavors of Friskies I'm feeding him. I'll also let them know I plan to add Fancy Feast to his diet too. AND, I'm going to talk to him about home monitoring! I already know Thursday's visit will cost me $90. Other than the costs, I think it's foolhardy to only have a Vet check things occasionally. You don't do that for a human!
Again, I can't thank you all enough, and feel soooo blessed to have found this wonderful site!
 
It is so easy to home check. I panicked when I found out Mango was diabetic and had to check his BG and give him insulin shots. we both got used to it and it was easy peasy from there on. and don't waste your money taking your cat to the vet to get his blood glucose checked when you can easily do it at home and keep a spreadsheet.
 
I agree with you on how awesome this site is. they saved mango! literally the advice this form gave me help me save Mango. if it wasn't for this form I don't know where we would be today it is so awesome!
 
Free feeding is fine. Just pick up food two hours before insulin so that your before insulin tests are not food influenced. I did try to feed most of his food in the first half if the cycle though. Max had only one curve at my vet’s office and that was after his first shot. Home tests take the stress out of the equation.
 
tiffmaxee said:
Free feeding is fine. Just pick up food two hours before insulin so that your before insulin tests are not food influenced. I did try to feed most of his food in the first half if the cycle though. Max had only one curve at my vet’s office and that was after his first shot. Home tests take the stress out of the equation.
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Hmmm...how many tests should I do per day? I was hoping doing one would be good, when I get home each day. I could do an actual curve (test him every 2 hours over a 6-8 hour period) on a weekend day if I absolutely need to.
I have to be honest and say that attempting a test before I leave in the A.M. for work (I leave at 5 a.m.) would be a disaster, for Doody and for me. It's all I can do to shower and put on mascara while growling and muttering bad words. ;-)
 
Deborah Martin said:
It's all I can do to shower and put on mascara while growling and muttering bad words. ;-)
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Oh I feel you on this one. I don’t think I will ever be a morning person. It doesn’t take long for it to just become part of the morning routine though. Just like giving the shot. And it will help give you peace of mind that Doody will be in safe numbers while you’re away.

It is important to get a test before every shot at a minimum. And then as many in between as your schedule allows. It sounds daunting at first but it really does get easier with time and practice!
 
Most can test,feed, shoot in about 5-10 minutes. I wasn’t going to test at home when Max became diabetic. My vet had me coming in every couple of days at first at +6-7. When his nadir was 60 there I was a little concerned. The next time I was at the vet he handed me the needle. I think I became a testaholic when I tested one morning and got a 60 before insulin. Had I shot and not been able to watch him and steer with food I don’t know what might have happened. Max often dropped throughout the night!

With your work schedule I would consider getting an auto feeder.
 
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