Introductions - Cole and Senna

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Cole & Senna

Member Since 2014
Hi all. Senna is a DSH blonde tabby who weighs about 16 pounds. I have been reading through the boards this weekend, and found this site to be very informative and supportive.

Senna was diagnosed last week after taking him to the vet for excessive drinking and urination. His lab work (after 11 hour fast) came in with the following glucose values: blood 303 and urine 3+. He also had some blood in his urine, so he is getting Clavamox for UTI. He was initially prescribed 2u of ProZinc 2x daily (both were given on Friday), and Purina DM dry. He has never been a picky eater, and initially ate the DM. But, Saturday morning I woke to him vomiting, and he wouldn't touch it (even mixed) afterward. The vomiting could have been from one or more things - insulin, new food, antibiotic... So I decided to hold off the insulin until I became more informed and spoke with the vet.

This where you guys come in. Long story short, he transitioned to wet food Saturday and is loving it. I bought the ReliOn Confrim Sunday and was able to get a few practice tests in before we started back on the insulin. The tests ranged from 187 to 218 before and after feeding. When I spoke to the vet Monday, the dose has been reduced to 1 unit. After reading everything this weekend, the reduction made me feel better. My father had diabetes, so I am well aware of how serious low sugars can be. Also, I'm not sure if it is the diet change or antibiotic (or both), his drinking and urination is close to normal now.

We started his insulin again this morning. His PSAM (I think that's right) was 197. So, as recommended, I waited 20 minutes. The next test was 208, so I gave him the 1 unit and fed him. I plan on testing through out the day to track his progress, and I will work on getting the spreadsheet up today.

My main question at this point is about feeding. I need to pull some weight off him, and I'm not sure how much I should be feeding him. He has been getting 1/2 can FF classic every four hours (2 1/2 to 3 cans a day). I'm not sure that is enough. I did some research and he was getting between 330 - 400 cals a day on the Iams. The FF is about 225 - 270 a day. His target weight for now is 12 pounds. I don't want to go too fast. Any suggestions?

This seems to be a great board. I am glad we found y'all.
 
Find the Fancy Feast KITTEN Turkey and Giblets which is designed for growth (works for weight regain).

Also, cats seem to run on 0.5 to 1.0 ounces of wet food per pound, divided into 2 or more meals. Tweak up or down as needed for weight management.

Cat Info has more details on safe weight loss in cats. You want to go slowly to avoid hepatic lipidosis, where the fat overwhelms the liver, disrupts digestion, and can be fatal.
 
Getting Senna to test has been easier than expected. His +3 was 151, and +6 is 157. I know we just started, but I kind of expected a bigger drop. I'm pretty sure I got a good shoot this morning. Is this normal for starting out on ProZinc?

Thanks
 
We usually figure it takes a few cycles for his body to start using the insulin and the wet food efficiently.

They aren't awful numbers. A regulated cat is usually in the mid 200s at preshot and in double digits at nadir ( +5-7 hours after the shot). But not below 40 which is hypo territory.
 
Concerning the amount of food, Senna should get 0.5 - 1 oz of WET cat food per pound of healthy weight. So, since Senna should be about 12 lbs, I would start at 10 oz of food per day, as this is in the middle of the range for food. For Fancy Feast cans, this would mean ~3 cans per day.

To see if this amount is working for Senna, weight Senna weekly. Baby scales are very handy for weighing cats. Often used baby scales are available on Craig's List or other such sites. You can also get new baby scales at Target, Walmart, Amazon, etc.

You want Senna to lose about 1-2% of her body weight weekly. Faster weight loss is not better!

If Senna is not losing weight, decrease the food to 9 oz per day for 1 week and reweigh Senna. If Senna is losing too rapidly, increase to 11 oz per day.

Physical activity also has a large impact on how many calories Senna will use. I purchased a 'Knock out Nibbler' for Gus (my cat) that basically is a wobble toy into which I could put a few treats. Gus would bat it around and and every so often a treat would fall out. This way, he got a few treats even if I wasn't around, but he had to work for it. :-D

I hope this helps!
 
Hi Cole & Senna and welcome to FDMB.

You are doing a great job so far. I have one suggestion. The order you should follow is test, feed, then shoot. In your post below, it appears you are testing, shooting then feeding. The reason we recommend feeding before insulin is that you want to make sure your cat eats before giving insulin. If you give insulin before your cat eats, you risk low readings if for some reason he decides he is not hungry. If possible, test, feed and wait about 30 minutes before giving insulin.
 
Liz, I really like the treat in a toy trick. I'll look for one. Can you get the freeze dried treats at a store? I saw a list in one of the posts, but haven't seen a mention of stores that carry them.

Lisa, will do. I'll switch it to test, feed, then shoot.

Thanks much.
 
He has never been a picky eater, and initially ate the DM. But, Saturday morning I woke to him vomiting, and he wouldn't touch it (even mixed) afterward.
Click to expand...

I wonder if others have had this experience?

My experience with DM has been similar to yours. Here is my story:

Clarence, our diabetic, has always been a very healthy eater and not picky at all. We fed him DM and the next day he wouldn't eat a single bite of anything.

Malcolm, non diabetic, also eats like a miniture horse and is not picky. I decide to see if he likes it. The vet said it would be ok for non diabetics so I thought I would try Malcolm on some left over DM. Guess what happens? Next day he is puking and will not eat a single bite of anything.

Things that make you go hmmmmmm.
 
Welcome, welcome! You are doing a great job already!

My lIly wouldn't touch the DM food either. She loves her FF and Friskies Pate!
 
krazyfourkats said:
He has never been a picky eater, and initially ate the DM. But, Saturday morning I woke to him vomiting, and he wouldn't touch it (even mixed) afterward.
Click to expand...

I wonder if others have had this experience?

My experience with DM has been similar to yours. Here is my story:

Clarence, our diabetic, has always been a very healthy eater and not picky at all. We fed him DM and the next day he wouldn't eat a single bite of anything.

Malcolm, non diabetic, also eats like a miniture horse and is not picky. I decide to see if he likes it. The vet said it would be ok for non diabetics so I thought I would try Malcolm on some left over DM. Guess what happens? Next day he is puking and will not eat a single bite of anything.

Things that make you go hmmmmmm.
Click to expand...

Yeah, this happened with Mikey and the Hill's Wet m/d. :lol: That was the initial clue that led me to discovering he was allergic to all red meats (the wet Purina DM and Hill's m/d contains pork liver; not sure about the dry).
 
Cole & Senna said:
Liz, I really like the treat in a toy trick. I'll look for one. Can you get the freeze dried treats at a store? I saw a list in one of the posts, but haven't seen a mention of stores that carry them.
Click to expand...

I used EVO Cat and Kitten Kibble as treats. It has 7 or 8% carbs (I can't remember off the top of my head). Any treat should work as long as it is small enough.
 
Most pet stores carry some sort of pure protein freeze dried treats. From Petsmart and Petco, to your local mom and pop pet store, they should offer something. My cats love the Halo Liv-a-little freeze dried chicken, the Pure Bites freeze dried chicken and Whole Life freeze dried liver treats.

Where do you live? US, Canada? International? We may have other food ideas for you, depending on where you live.
 
Cole & Senna said:
I'm in the Dallas area. There is a Petsmart not far from here. I'll give them a try.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I was going to ask if you were in Dallas "PA"...but I see that you used "y'all" in your first post. Must be in Texas. I am in Dallas PA. :smile: :lol:

Petsmart carries the PureBites Freeze Dried Chicken Treats.

BTW....Welcome To FDMB. :-D
 
If you go to the dog section, the bag is bigger and ends up costing you less than the tiny bags of the Pure Bites they make for kitties. You just need to break the larger pieces into smaller bites and they last a long time.

Other food ideas for you, since you told us you live in the US in the great state of Texas. This food chart was put together by vet Dr. Lisa Pierson food chart and has most of the canned foods available in the US. Look in the 3rd column of numbers, for carb percentages <10% to help your diabetic kitty Senna.
 
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