Help with dosing Buddy

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It sounds complicated but isn't too bad.

Start with making sure you have a Google account. Then go to the thread I gave you and choose the link to the spreadsheet.

If you get stuck, ask.
 
JanetNJ said:
Just so you know, purina overweight management dry is 15% carb.... So much higher than is recommended for a diabetic cat. It's best to keep all food under 10%. If you are looking to keep him in dry, the only two dry that I know of under 10% are Evo cat and kitten in the purple bag and my favorite Young Again Zero carb.
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The vet gave me a list of foods Buddy could eat as a diabetic and Purina OM was the only dry food on the list. I had a choice between Royal Canine wet and Feline OM wet. I asked her about FF classic and she told me she did not know about diabetic cats eating FF classic.
 
wolfey said:
The vet gave me a list of foods Buddy could eat as a diabetic and Purina OM was the only dry food on the list. I had a choice between Royal Canine wet and Feline OM wet. I asked her about FF classic and she told me she did not know about diabetic cats eating FF classic.
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My cat gets prescription Purina DM wet food and I mix it with either Fancy Feast or Friskies pates. We recommend wet food only, no kibble. Even the prescription dry food sold as a diabetic diet is too high in carbs. Many people here feed only Friskies and/or Fancy Feast pate type wet foods.
 
wolfey said:
The vet gave me a list of foods Buddy could eat as a diabetic and Purina OM was the only dry food on the list. I had a choice between Royal Canine wet and Feline OM wet. I asked her about FF classic and she told me she did not know about diabetic cats eating FF classic.
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There is nothing in the prescription wet food that makes it better than a low carb wet food from the store, despite the price tag. This is why most of us feed ff classic or Friskies pate. I fed wet dm before joining this board and wasted $2/can.... And then she decided she hates it. I have a bag of 13 if then I'm donating to a shelter.

The prescription om and dm dry are lower than most dry but at over 10% carb they are a mid carb food.
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JanetNJ said:
There is nothing in the prescription wet food that makes it better than a low carb wet food from the store, despite the price tag. This is why most of us feed ff classic or Friskies pate. I fed wet dm before joining this board and wasted $2/can.... And then she decided she hates it. I have a bag of 13 if then I'm donating to a shelter.

The prescription om and dm dry are lower than most dry but at over 10% carb they are a mid carb food. View attachment 25769
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I intend to change food as soon I get Buddy regulated with his insulin. My new vet might release Buddy from her care when I do.
 
Just know that if you get Buddy regulated at a dose before the food changeover, that could all change when he's eating a low carb wet food diet. Some cats are greatly affected by the carb content of their food.
 
You will be. :) It's a steep learning curve, but you can do it. We all came here complete newbies! And if you have any questions, just ask. That's why we're here!

Don't be too anxious about the spreadsheet. It's important and will really help us, but it's nothing to make yourself feel upset about...now that Marje knows you need help, she'll get you taken care of. She's awesome!
 
There is actually a class action law suit in california against the "prescription" diets pushed by the companies and vets. It's really false advertisement.
 
I am going to change to ff classic @ some point, my new vet is very adamant about certain prescription diets with diabetes. Buddy was eating ff grilled before diabetes. I might be going to a different vet if need be. I like my old vet but she is only in 3 days a week and her & the other docs take no after hrs. call. There is no emergency vet or 24hr. veterinary hospital close by and sometimes you gotta have some help. The hospital where Bud's new vet works does take after hours call.
 
JanetNJ said:
Just so you know, purina overweight management dry is 15% carb.... So much higher than is recommended for a diabetic cat. It's best to keep all food under 10%. If you are looking to keep him in dry, the only two dry that I know of under 10% are Evo cat and kitten in the purple bag and my favorite Young Again Zero carb.
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Janet, I have received in the mail today Young Again 0 carb dry food, what can you tell me about this food. Now that it is here I am afraid it will mess up Buddy's readings. Please let me know how you feed and the results on numbers.
 
wolfey said:
Janet, I have received in the mail today Young Again 0 carb dry food, what can you tell me about this food. Now that it is here I am afraid it will mess up Buddy's readings. Please let me know how you feed and the results on numbers.
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I have been using it since August. I have never seen it raise her numbers AT ALL. I give a bit of wet food morning and evening and leave the young again food out all the time for her to eat whenever she wants. I truly credit this food with helping my cat into remission.
 
JanetNJ said:
I have been using it since August. I have never seen it raise her numbers AT ALL. I give a bit of wet food morning and evening and leave the young again food out all the time for her to eat whenever she wants. I truly credit this food with helping my cat into remission.
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Buddy does not want a bit, he wants a lot. At least a can or a can & 1/2 of another. He is now eating FF classic wet. Has having the dry cut down on her consumption of wet.
 
wolfey said:
Buddy does not want a bit, he wants a lot. At least a can or a can & 1/2 of another. He is now eating FF classic wet. Has having the dry cut down on her consumption of wet.
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My cat was always a kibble lover. (It's how we got into this predicament). If I give her a ff can or half a Friskies can in the morning there is almost always half left in her bowl by the time I get home from work. Sometimes she surprises me and eats it all, but that's not usual. Before we got the ya after her diagnosis she didn't really have a choice but to eat the wet. She was super happy to get dry food again.
 
wolfey said:
Are you feeding Young Again Zero Carb, if so are you still giving wet food. If feeding wet, did you cut back on the wet.
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I had to put the YA on hold because I tried free feeding and Chuck ate 3 days worth of food at once. 1 whole cup. He was a sick kitty. At PM meal he ate .2oz of pumpkin and then puked all over my kitchen. Then ate more wet food and begged me for more all night. Silly boy.
This amount of YA will most likely increase numbers. They told me that cats can convert protein to glucose. Chucks increased a lot because he ate SO MUCH. Usually 1 tablespoon will make chuck "surf" instead of continue dropping but this is because he's so sensitive to ANY food.
YA suggests feeding JUST YA. Because of Chucks higher than normal dose I won't be just cutting out wet food right away. I will be giving an ounce or two at meal time at first then cutting down on it as he gets use to the YA. After a few days of 2 tablespoons of YA a day he started to eat less of his wet food so I know with Chuck he will probably only have wet for a snack or if he needs to be steered.
YA said if you need to do restricted feeding that you should break down the daily amount into 3 meals a day for a month. Then try free feeding and see if they have adapted to the lower amount needed to meet the nutrition they require.
 
StephG said:
I had to put the YA on hold because I tried free feeding and Chuck ate 3 days worth of food at once. 1 whole cup. He was a sick kitty. At PM meal he ate .2oz of pumpkin and then puked all over my kitchen. Then ate more wet food and begged me for more all night. Silly boy.
This amount of YA will most likely increase numbers. They told me that cats can convert protein to glucose. Chucks increased a lot because he ate SO MUCH. Usually 1 tablespoon will make chuck "surf" instead of continue dropping but this is because he's so sensitive to ANY food.
YA suggests feeding JUST YA. Because of Chucks higher than normal dose I won't be just cutting out wet food right away. I will be giving an ounce or two at meal time at first then cutting down on it as he gets use to the YA. After a few days of 2 tablespoons of YA a day he started to eat less of his wet food so I know with Chuck he will probably only have wet for a snack or if he needs to be steered.
YA said if you need to do restricted feeding that you should break down the daily amount into 3 meals a day for a month. Then try free feeding and see if they have adapted to the lower amount needed to meet the nutrition they require.
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I'm glad they were so helpful with giving suggestions. The good news is he likes the food. Now he had to learn to slow down. Lol. Maybe spread it out too so it's harder to gobble.
 
StephG said:
I had to put the YA on hold because I tried free feeding and Chuck ate 3 days worth of food at once. 1 whole cup. He was a sick kitty. At PM meal he ate .2oz of pumpkin and then puked all over my kitchen. Then ate more wet food and begged me for more all night. Silly boy.
This amount of YA will most likely increase numbers. They told me that cats can convert protein to glucose. Chucks increased a lot because he ate SO MUCH. Usually 1 tablespoon will make chuck "surf" instead of continue dropping but this is because he's so sensitive to ANY food.
YA suggests feeding JUST YA. Because of Chucks higher than normal dose I won't be just cutting out wet food right away. I will be giving an ounce or two at meal time at first then cutting down on it as he gets use to the YA. After a few days of 2 tablespoons of YA a day he started to eat less of his wet food so I know with Chuck he will probably only have wet for a snack or if he needs to be steered.
YA said if you need to do restricted feeding that you should break down the daily amount into 3 meals a day for a month. Then try free feeding and see if they have adapted to the lower amount needed to meet the nutrition they require.
Click to expand...
I got the YA yesterday, so I gave him some. Most of the Buddy is starving, but not today. Maybe it is because of the YA. Started feeding Buddy FF classic and I do not intend to cut out the wet food. He was eating wet and dry before and I wanted him to have both.
 
wolfey said:
I got the YA yesterday, so I gave him some. Most of the Buddy is starving, but not today. Maybe it is because of the YA. Started feeding Buddy FF classic and I do not intend to cut out the wet food. He was eating wet and dry before and I wanted him to have both.
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The first few days I put ya out yep of my kitties over ate. They learned to slow down. Haha! I have two bowls of it out all the time now.
 
StephG said:
I had to put the YA on hold because I tried free feeding and Chuck ate 3 days worth of food at once. 1 whole cup. He was a sick kitty. At PM meal he ate .2oz of pumpkin and then puked all over my kitchen. Then ate more wet food and begged me for more all night. Silly boy.
This amount of YA will most likely increase numbers. They told me that cats can convert protein to glucose. Chucks increased a lot because he ate SO MUCH. Usually 1 tablespoon will make chuck "surf" instead of continue dropping but this is because he's so sensitive to ANY food.
YA suggests feeding JUST YA. Because of Chucks higher than normal dose I won't be just cutting out wet food right away. I will be giving an ounce or two at meal time at first then cutting down on it as he gets use to the YA. After a few days of 2 tablespoons of YA a day he started to eat less of his wet food so I know with Chuck he will probably only have wet for a snack or if he needs to be steered.
YA said if you need to do restricted feeding that you should break down the daily amount into 3 .
JanetNJ said:
The first few days I put ya out yep of my kitties over ate. They learned to slow down. Haha! I have two bowls of it out all the time now.
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I gave Buddy some YA last night and he seemed to like it. This morning he would only eat about 1/4 can of his FF, then later he started crying around wanting to eat so I gave him YA as a snack. About 2 hrs. later I ran a check on him @2:02 his # was 319 and @ 11:00 it was @210. Have you had this happen to you.
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It took about 2 weeks for the ya to start obviously lowering my preshots. If you look at my spreadsheet I put a black bar when I started feeding it, and you can see the numbers change after a short time.

Your numbers were good at 0.5, just a LITTLE lower that one day, but not in hypo range. (Esp with a human meter). I think 0.25 is a a bit of a conservative dose. I personally would do 0.5 or A "skinny" 0.5 (0.5 minus a drop or two) if you were nervous or not around to test, when it's over 225. (Although 0.25 is ok if you aren't around.)
 
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@Nan
Nan & Amber said:
Oh, wow, that all sounds so stressful, you poor thing! Have to say, it doesn't sound like you are getting great support from your vet.

You have a lot of questions, let me pick off a couple that I'm most comfortable answering:

1) ear pokes. I also had a cat with "one good ear" for testing, so that ear got quite a workout. A couple things to help speed healing and decrease the chances of bruising/pain-- first, a little pressure on the spot after the poke/test (use a bit of tissue or cotton and lightly grip the ear) for 20 seconds or so will decrease bruising. Second, put a little dab of Neosporin/Polysporin antibiotic ointment (not the cream) on the ear, wait a bit, then gently wipe off excess with a tissue.

2) food. The dry food is most likely too high in carbs for a diabetic, but don't remove it all at once. Carbs in food can have a dramatic (100+pt) impact on blood glucose numbers. My guess is that eating the dry food is what has kept Buddy safe with the high doses of insulin he's been getting. Once you get comfortable with a testing routine, you can gradually reduce the dry, but the transition should be done when you can monitor closely, to prevent crashes like the recent one when you aren't around.

If the diabetes was caused by prednisone, Buddy's insulin needs may change rapidly now that he is off it, but every cat is different and that is outside my area of expertise so I'll leave the discussion to others.
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@Nan & Amber was reading this post it says not the cream the ointment. What's the difference? I got cream because I did not see ointment and grabbed the one on shelf.
 
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