Murphy update

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Merlin said:
Keeping my fingers crossed on the sardines, liver shake and canned chicken. Seems like one of those excellent suggestions would work.
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Hi Cindi - so happy to see you on the board - we have all been thinking about you and Merlin and sharing in your grief - well, better life through chemicals (didn't we say that in the 60s)? - what is working is cerenia and cyproheptadine (anti nausea and appetite stimulant) He ate Evo today and a very little tiki cat - not exactly ravenous this evening but he ate some I did buy everything for the liver shake (yuck) and the sardines and chicken as well
I mistakenly bought some Nature's Variety Instinct limited ingredient dry and fed him some last night - no wonder his +4 was in the 400s - I wrote to the company and the carb % is about 25%. Hopefully he will continue eating Evo although I wish he would go back to Young Again-not optimistic though - I try to give him some every day and he just turns away I'm going to continue with canned in small quantities although my vet admonished me not to yesterday Here's hoping he eats more food tonight!! and Cindi - tell us how you are doing :bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Carol! I'm so sorry, I just now saw that you had tagged me yesterday. For some reason, I didn't get notification of it...I wasn't ignoring you I promise!

I'm glad to hear that Murphy is eating some. If some meds are what it takes, that is what it takes. :)

Cindi, glad to see you! Just wanted to let you know we are all thinking about you.
 
Rachel said:
Carol! I'm so sorry, I just now saw that you had tagged me yesterday. For some reason, I didn't get notification of it...I wasn't ignoring you I promise!

I'm glad to hear that Murphy is eating some. If some meds are what it takes, that is what it takes. :)

Cindi, glad to see you! Just wanted to let you know we are all thinking about you.
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Hi Rachel - no worries - I was just freaking out because when he doesn't eat, or eats very little, I don't know how to dose him - he's a grazer - even with a good appetite, his MO is to eat about 20 pieces of kibble, go drink water, sometimes go down the basement to use the litter box, then lay down, then come back and eat some more - I usually try to shoot him after the first 20 pieces of kibble -otherwise I could be waiting for an hour and too long a time between testing and shooting. So I cross my fingers that he'll eat more - I hope this isn't too dangerous
 
Carol, These aren't limited ingredient, but here are the carb % of the Natures Variety kibble the co. sent me. I give my civies the chicken. Colin hasn't had any so I don't know how it affects BG's


image.jpg
 
Hi Carol, keeping good thoughts that Murphy's appy will pick back up. Sounds like you have an arsenal of flavors for him. Fingers and Paws crossed. :bighug:
 
Bobbie And Bubba said:
Hi Carol, keeping good thoughts that Murphy's appy will pick back up. Sounds like you have an arsenal of flavors for him. Fingers and Paws crossed. :bighug:
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Wow Bobbie - a green amps - I don't think I would have the courage to do the shot - Murphy is better today and eating Evo - I have the big guns now if I need them for later - your success with Lantus and the R protocol is remarkable
 
Carol & Murphy said:
Wow Bobbie - a green amps - I don't think I would have the courage to do the shot - Murphy is better today and eating Evo - I have the big guns now if I need them for later - your success with Lantus and the R protocol is remarkable
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The reason I can shoot the green amps is because it is actually his nadir. It was discovered that he nadirs at +1 and +12, so that is his lowest point and then he starts coming back up again. Remember when I was convinced that he was getting too much insulin and started taking him back down again? Well, the late nadir thing confused the heck at of me.

I am glad that Murphy is better and eating EVO. He's got to eat so what ever it takes and then adjust the insulin. Keeping my fingers and toes crossed.
 
Bobbie, I am so so happy to hear how well Bubba is doing. He was such a puzzle for us, and I'm so glad that Lantus and R is working for him!
 
Rachel said:
Bobbie, I am so so happy to hear how well Bubba is doing. He was such a puzzle for us, and I'm so glad that Lantus and R is working for him!
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Thanks so much Rachel. He sure has been a puzzle. The R got him over the ketones and allowed to get more insulin in him and to break through the glass floor he was stuck on. He hasn't had the R since Christmas Day. I am so very grateful for all the help I have received. :bighug: Fingers and Paws crossed.....
 
Bobbie And Bubba said:
The reason I can shoot the green amps is because it is actually his nadir. It was discovered that he nadirs at +1 and +12, so that is his lowest point and then he starts coming back up again.
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Hi Bobbie, I don't want to hijack Carol's post, but what you just wrote about Bubba makes me think about the (uncharacteristically) low PMPS I got last night... @Rachel - what do you think? You can answer on Wynk's thread, I really don't want to take over Murphy's postings! I am SO Happy Murphy is eating better, Carol!!
 
Cara and Wynken said:
Hi Bobbie, I don't want to hijack Carol's post, but what you just wrote about Bubba makes me think about the (uncharacteristically) low PMPS I got last night... @Rachel - what do you think? You can answer on Wynk's thread, I really don't want to take over Murphy's postings! I am SO Happy Murphy is eating better, Carol!!
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don't worry about hijack - that's what these threads are for @Bobbie And Bubba - how did you get your 2016 spreadsheet to pop up before 2015?
 
Here is the reply I got to that very question:

Hi Sharon – Thanks for contacting us!


The Instinct Original Chicken for cats and the Raw Boost kibble in Chicken are the same as far as the kibble with 83% of the protein coming from pure animal ingredients and 17% from fruits, vegetables and other nutrients. The difference between the two is the raw freeze dried pieces in the Raw Boost kibble.


The Ultimate Protein is going to have 95% of the protein from real chicken with the other 5% being fruits, vegetables, and nutrients.


All of the nutritional information for carbohydrates and protein are found on our website:

http://www.instinctpetfood.com/instinct-healthy-natural-kibble-products-cats


Scroll to the variety you are interested in and click on it. Then scroll to the bottom of that page to see the ingredients and nutrients tabs.


Thanks for your interest in Nature’s Variety


Sincerely,

Ronni
 
First of all, thank you all for your kind thoughts. I am doing ok. Missing Merlin but trying to spend more time with the other kitties. I have been out busy rescuing Red Tail Hawk and Great Horned Owls which is taking some time away from the household. So all is better ... thanks.

Secondly, @Carol & Murphy; I don't know if this will help but I stumbled on this moist/dry food at Pet Club (you probably don't have this store near you - only in the West it appears) but am sure you can find online. Anyway, it is a moist dry food and this is what I ended up giving my dad's kitty. Here is the email with the carb & phosphorous content. It is not as low as YA but in an emergency. I bet that the company will send you a sample pack if you are interested.

Hi Cindi,
Thank you for interest in our product it is greatly appreciated. All three flavors contain the same amount of protein, carbs, and phosphorous. Our food is fairly high in protein (roughly around 40%) and is low in carbohydrates (less than 12%). Our food also is starch free which contributes to the concept of no added sugar.

The percentage of phosphorous is 0.7%, the dry matter is 72.56% and the calorie content is 3750 Kcal per bag and 475 Kcal per cup.

I hope this answered your question Cindi and have an awesome weekend!

Sincerely,

Waggers Customer Service

--
Helping people nurture & share happy moments with their pets

Molly Bailey
Customer Service/ Administration
Waggers Pet Products
W: waggers.com
E: molly@waggers.com
T: 1-888-962-4763

Thirdly - Wow @Bobbie And Bubba . I like all the blues in the last few days. Sure looks good. You are now such an expert on what ever you did to get him to this point. Amazing! I am so happy for you two.

Happy New Year Everyone!
 
Merlin said:
First of all, thank you all for your kind thoughts. I am doing ok. Missing Merlin but trying to spend more time with the other kitties. I have been out busy rescuing Red Tail Hawk and Great Horned Owls which is taking some time away from the household. So all is better ... thanks.

Secondly, @Carol & Murphy; I don't know if this will help but I stumbled on this moist/dry food at Pet Club (you probably don't have this store near you - only in the West it appears) but am sure you can find online. Anyway, it is a moist dry food and this is what I ended up giving my dad's kitty. Here is the email with the carb & phosphorous content. It is not as low as YA but in an emergency. I bet that the company will send you a sample pack if you are interested.

Hi Cindi,
Thank you for interest in our product it is greatly appreciated. All three flavors contain the same amount of protein, carbs, and phosphorous. Our food is fairly high in protein (roughly around 40%) and is low in carbohydrates (less than 12%). Our food also is starch free which contributes to the concept of no added sugar.

The percentage of phosphorous is 0.7%, the dry matter is 72.56% and the calorie content is 3750 Kcal per bag and 475 Kcal per cup.

I hope this answered your question Cindi and have an awesome weekend!

Sincerely,

Waggers Customer Service

--
Helping people nurture & share happy moments with their pets

Molly Bailey
Customer Service/ Administration
Waggers Pet Products
W: waggers.com
E: molly@waggers.com
T: 1-888-962-4763

Thirdly - Wow @Bobbie And Bubba . I like all the blues in the last few days. Sure looks good. You are now such an expert on what ever you did to get him to this point. Amazing! I am so happy for you two.

Happy New Year Everyone!
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Cindi, it was so nice to hear from you! I think of you often and I am glad that you are okay and staying busy. Thanks for cheering me and Bubba on. He is responding to Lantus nicely and it's like Sue always said, "the best insulin is one that works for your cat" He was helped also with the addition of Novolin R and Jill and Libby are quite the "ketone busters" ! Happy New Year to you and all my ProZinc family. :bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Hi Cindi
Thanks for sending the food information - turns out, according to their website, there are several stores that sell that near me - I'm definitely going to pick some up!!! Probably equivalent to Evo, which is what he is eating now (when he is eating) he will almost always eat something he has never eaten before, at least once, so hopefully this will save me at least three times.
Did you ever pick up "Wesley the Owl"?

Happy New Year to all my wonderful friends on this forum helping Murphy and I get through this
 
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Glad to hear you are keeping busy, Cindi while helping birds of prey. I know your heart is sore right now, but it will heal in time. I admire you so much for the care and love you give to your pets and apparently even wild animals! :bighug:
 
Sadly, Murphy is not eating tonight - he seemed okay during the day - tonight he seemed hungry right up until the time I put his Evo down - then, no.
So I offered him Epigen 90- no; core wellness, no; brand new Nature's Variety Chicken,no; he ate a few Royal Canin glycobalance kibble, Hill D/M - no; Natures's variety rabbit, no; nature's variety duck, no. He clearly seems nauseated although no lip licking - I gave him cerenia and an appetite stimulant. I'm having to give him both almost every day. Even since he got so sick after eating the canned venison, he rarely plays or runs anymore. This is so difficult - I never have any idea if he will eat or what he will eat. I will be so thankful once his tests are completed. I wish I had scheduled the ultrasound for this coming week instead of the 12th Thus far, the cerenia and cyproheptadine are working, and I have the ingredients for the liver shake, canned chicken and sardines just in case. But it's clear something is wrong with the little guy - and of course, I'm scared to give him too high a dose of insulin
 
Oh Carol - I hate to hear this! I was hoping that out of the many things that you had he would be interested in something. Although I have never made the liver shake, the things that I read about it sounded extremely good… apparently kitties will eat it when they won't eat anything else. So I'm hoping that you'll be able to entice him with that.

Can you call first thing Monday morning and see if they will move you sooner for the ultrasound? If you tell them you're very worried maybe they can squeeze you in.

I'm sorry that I don't have any guidance on the insulin, but I'm sure that others on the board will. I'm sure thinking about you both! :bighug:
 
Cara and Wynken said:
Oh Carol - I hate to hear this! I was hoping that out of the many things that you had he would be interested in something. Although I have never made the liver shake, the things that I read about it sounded extremely good… apparently kitties will eat it when they won't eat anything else. So I'm hoping that you'll be able to entice him with that.

Can you call first thing Monday morning and see if they will move you sooner for the ultrasound? If you tell them you're very worried maybe they can squeeze you in.

I'm sorry that I don't have any guidance on the insulin, but I'm sure that others on the board will. I'm sure thinking about you both! :bighug:
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thanks Cara but they are having to call in a radiologists to come to the cat hospital to do the procedure, plus I have to drive 100 miles to have the ultrasound done, and I need to take my Mom to the doctor toward the end of this week. I think (I hope) we'll be okay until next Tuesday - I just gave him the cerenia and appetite stimulant - it usually takes an hour or so to work (in fact, it looks like he's walking to his multiple bowls of food now - keep your fingers crossed)
 
You have a lot on your plate!

I have both my fingers and my toes crossed and sending thoughts to Murphy that he really needs to eat. I hope the medicine kicks in and he eats a satisfactory amount! Please let us know. :bighug:
 
Carol I'm so sorry Murphy isn't wanting to eat. Fingers and paws crossed the appetite stimulant works. If not, do try the liver shake-yuk I know, but while I've never tried the shake, I have used chicken liver for sick kitties to help encourage them to eat, and it usually works. Please keep us posted:bighug:
 
Well, &$@/!. I am so sorry you and Murphy are still having such a tough time, Carol. I hope the appetite stimulant will get him interested in a little bit of dinner. What are you thinking about insulin?
 
He is eating now but being so picky - he would definitely eat wet food, but I'm having to be so careful of reintroducing it very slowly - given his history - and now he will hardly eat any dry food - looks like the only dry food he will eat is --drumroll.....Royal Canin glycobalance and Hllls DM-- so after all these months, I'm now back to the very beginning of his diagnosis and what the vet prescribed. God knows what he will eat tomorrow I'm taking this day by day
I gave him 3 units of insulin - I was going to give him 3.5 but cut back - but as I said originally, with these higher carb foods, it's like a game of darts. I never know what dose of insulin to give him now This is definitely not going forward - and just one month ago, I was so optimistic :(
 
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Ah, Carol, so sorry that you are still having trouble with Murphy's eating. I can feel your frustration and disappointment. You are doing such a good job, I sure wish you would be rewarded with some positive progress soon. I know we all wish we could give you a big hug. No matter what, I know your Murphy has to know how much you love him! Hang in there, sweetie. :bighug:
 
Lynn & Rupert said:
Ah, Carol, so sorry that you are still having trouble with Murphy's eating. I can feel your frustration and disappointment. You are doing such a good job, I sure wish you would be rewarded with some positive progress soon. I know we all wish we could give you a big hug. No matter what, I know your Murphy has to know how much you love him! Hang in there, sweetie. :bighug:
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Oh, thanks Lynn I am fairly certain he has IBD/chronic pancreatitis.
 
Carol I'm glad he ate a little for you this evening, even if it was high carb stuff. My friend has a diabetic cat with IBD and all she can feed him is Hills WD which is very high carb. She has had to up his insulin some, but he's staying in good numbers. Hope the tests point you in the right direction and you're able to find a combination that suits Murphy. In the meantime, as Lynn said, hang in there!
 
Carol & Murphy said:
He is eating now but being so picky - he would definitely eat wet food, but I'm having to be so careful of reintroducing it very slowly - given his history - and now he will hardly eat any dry food - looks like the only dry food he will eat is --drumroll.....Royal Canin glycobalance and Hllls DM-- so after all these months, I'm now back to the very beginning of his diagnosis and what the vet prescribed. God knows what he will eat tomorrow I'm taking this day by day
I gave him 3 units of insulin - I was going to give him 3.5 but cut back - but as I said originally, with these higher carb foods, it's like a game of darts. I never know what dose of insulin to give him now This is definitely not going forward - and just one month ago, I was so optimistic :(
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Hi Carol, so sorry to hear of Murphy's troubles. It stinks to have our hopes dashed, especially after things really start looking up. I hope things work out quickly and smoothly, have already said a prayer for you and Murphy. :bighug:
 
Oh Carol, reading thorough all these post and with each one I was so hoping you were going to say "he's eating"! Still hoping that. Sounds like the liver shake is the only thing you haven't tried yet. What is the liver shake anyone. Maybe it would be a good idea to have that recipe in my files. Please keep us informed. :bighug:
 
Carol I'm so sorry Murphy is feeling so poorly. You're doing everything you can and hopefully the tests will give you some answers. For now I would not worry about the carbs. If he will eat it, feed it. We can adjust insulin up if needed.
 
thanks everyone - he is better today - he actually ate Young Again this morning with some Evo - because of this, I gave him less insulin because his numbers were so low and good with Young Again, but it turns out that 3 units was not enough. I think he is eating solely due to the appetite stimulants and I'm trying a new anti-emetic (Zofran) which I think I can give every day - so I am just going to keep on doing that. I will keep the liver shakes for the day when he won't eat and doesn't respond to the meds. I'm terrified about upping the insulin doses though. He is a grazer and it takes him at least an hour to eat his main meal, and to keep on schedule, I've been shooting him within the first 10 minutes or so of eating. I should probably stop trying small amounts of wet food (tiki cat chicken with NV duck or rabbit toppers), so if he doesn't feel well, I don't know if it is from that or not. But now he doesn't reliably eat dry food any more. So this is no longer a fun dance - too many pieces of the puzzle to solve. Shockingly, I weighted him yesterday and he gained weight (from 11.4 lbs to 11.7 in a few weeks)!!
 
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So glad he's eating today-hope that continues! Also hope the Zofran helps. It's good he's keeping his weight up despite his inappetance. I guess that where it's good that YA and Evo are such high calorie so it doesn't take as much. That's a tuff one deciding on insulin dosage when you don't know if he's going to eat. Sure hope you get answers soon.
 
Carol & Murphy said:
Shockingly, I weighted him yesterday and he gained weight (from 11.4 lbs to 11.7 in a few weeks)!!
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Maybe he has his own stash of something and that is why he is not eating for you! Glad at least he isn't losing weight. About the insulin when he grazes, my thought is that the insulin onset is not immediate anyway so maybe you'll be okay. There was a great sticky floating around (I think it was from Carl) about shooting when the cats aren't eating and that DKA is a much bigger threat to the kitties that hypo. If I can find it I will post it for you in case you haven't seen it. Carol, I know how exhausted you must be to have so many things to worry about.Fingers and paws. :bighug:
 
Sharon14 said:
So glad he's eating today-hope that continues! Also hope the Zofran helps. It's good he's keeping his weight up despite his inappetance. I guess that where it's good that YA and Evo are such high calorie so it doesn't take as much. That's a tuff one deciding on insulin dosage when you don't know if he's going to eat. Sure hope you get answers soon.
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Thanks so much, Sharon! The worst part is that he hasn't been playing or running or really doing anything for a few weeks now He just sleeps and gets ear pokes :( How is Colin doing?
 
Colin's high as usual. We're getting used to it(bad I know). He doesn't seem to feel bad, eating good, grooming...he doesn't play either, but he's always been a sedentary cat, so that's not new. Thanks for asking.
 
Carol & Murphy said:
Thanks so much, Sharon! The worst part is that he hasn't been playing or running or really doing anything for a few weeks now He just sleeps and gets ear pokes :( How is Colin doing?
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Since I have not let Bubba outside, two weeks tomorrow, that's all he does too, eat, sleep and gets poked........it is sad.....
 
Sharon14 said:
Colin's high as usual. We're getting used to it(bad I know). He doesn't seem to feel bad, eating good, grooming...he doesn't play either, but he's always been a sedentary cat, so that's not new. Thanks for asking.
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Hopefully the highs will be a thing of the past soon!
 
Carol & Murphy said:
thanks everyone - he is better today -----Shockingly, I weighted him yesterday and he gained weight (from 11.4 lbs to 11.7 in a few weeks)!!
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Carol- that is so encouraging that he is eating and his weight is up a little! Glad you are saving the liver shake... Maybe you'll never need it. If not, maybe chop up the liver and see if he likes it?

That makes me think of the expression "what am I... chopped liver?" (Apparently not especially appetizing...):rolleyes:
 
Glad he ate some. Looking at the SS, even when he is not eating, he seems to stay in safe numbers on 3 units. If you want him lower, you could try 3.2 on cycles where you know you can monitor. My thinking is that, until you get his testing done, staying in lower numbers would be good for him.

What do you think?
 
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