New kittie's spreadsheet!

[Andy & Pimp]

last condo

Hello! Anyone who is interested please take a look at Pimp's ss that I finally got around to, and let me know your opinions, thanks!

Pimp's SS

 

[Suzi_S]

Welcome! I'm not knowledgeable enough yet to give opinions on spread sheets but just wanted to say hi!

 

[Vyktors Mum]

Good work getting the spreadsheet up and running. Looks like you have quite the bouncer there which is very common in kitties just starting out. Bounces can happen when a kitty drops fast or goes into numbers lower than it's been used to for a while. They can last for up to six cycles (three days) but tend to decrease in duration and height as the kitty becomes more accustomed to lower numbers again and spends more time there.

Have you decided which protocol you want to follow (TR or SLGS) there are stickies that explain each at the top of this forum if you haven't checked them out. When you've decided would you add that information to your signature as dosing advice will vary depending on which protocol you're using. If Pimp is getting dry food then you'll need to go with SLGS.

You might want to stick with the relion meter too. The strips are a lot cheaper and most people use human meters so that is the 'language' most easily understood.

I've got to ask - do Pimp and Hustler go outside? I'm picturing you going out to call them back in by name and the looks on your neighbours faces LOL

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Well, my first thought is that it would be good to see Pimp in more blue numbers!

There's a note in your comments about dry food. Is Pimp eating any dry? If so, unless you are able to transition your kitty over to a completely low carb, canned food diet, you will need to follow the Start Low Go Slow (SLGS) approach to dosing.

 

[Andy & Pimp]

Looks like you have quite the bouncer there which is very common in kitties just starting out. Bounces can happen when a kitty drops fast or goes into numbers lower than it's been used to for a while. They can last for up to six cycles (three days) but tend to decrease in duration and height as the kitty becomes more accustomed to lower numbers again and spends more time there.

Do you think he is actually bouncing, or it this just the effects of eating different amounts of dry food? Wellness Core is free-fed because of his brother. Switching to YA Zero Carb soon as it arrives in the mail. Was thinking of starting back at 1 iu when the new food comes, any one have input on this?

Have you decided which protocol you want to follow (TR or SLGS) there are stickies that explain each at the top of this forum if you haven't checked them out. When you've decided would you add that information to your signature as dosing advice will vary depending on which protocol you're using. If Pimp is getting dry food then you'll need to go with SLGS.

Yes, we're using the SLGS protocol. Or something very similar. Vet said bump dose by .25-.5 every 4-5 days until seeing good numbers.

You might want to stick with the relion meter too. The strips are a lot cheaper and most people use human meters so that is the 'language' most easily understood.

The Reli-on is here to stay, can't justify $1.04 each test on AT.

I've got to ask - do Pimp and Hustler go outside? I'm picturing you going out to call them back in by name and the looks on your neighbours faces LOL

They are indoor-only...I was 22 when I got them and had to have some "creative, cool" names.

 

[Andy & Pimp]

Well, my first thought is that it would be good to see Pimp in more blue numbers!

Agreed, that's why I'm here

There's a note in your comments about dry food. Is Pimp eating any dry? If so, unless you are able to transition your kitty over to a completely low carb, canned food diet, you will need to follow the Start Low Go Slow (SLGS) approach to dosing.

I believe we are using SLGS. We started at 1 iu and worked up to 2 before i started recording data.
He nibbles on the dry kibble through the day while we are at work (wellness core currently) on top of 3-4 oz canned food morning and night.
He had lost so much weight, was 6lb1oz at dx. I want him to be able to eat as much as he wants to.
YA zero carb should be arriving this week.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Thanks! FWIW, a lot of us will use a timed feeder that has canned food available. There are some feeders that have space for a cold pack that will keep food fresh.

One tidbit -- if you change or skip a dose for whatever reason, your cycle count starts over. Given the temporary dose reduction on 10/23, you will need to restart the cycle count before increasing.

 

[Andy & Pimp]

added some earlier data and some more notes to the SS

 

[Vyktors Mum]

Do you think he is actually bouncing, or it this just the effects of eating different amounts of dry food? Wellness Core is free-fed because of his brother. Switching to YA Zero Carb soon as it arrives in the mail. Was thinking of starting back at 1 iu when the new food comes, any one have input on this?

Absolutely bouncing you can see the pattern to it. If you look at the numbers post the missed shot you have 4 cycles while the depot refills than a yellow, followed by high numbers (the bounce) which breaks on the fourth cycle (as evidenced by the blue AMPS) then the high numbers again for another 3 cycles until PM 10/24 - from that drop at +2 I suspect Pimp at least made it to blue that night and now back into a bounce. He's actually got a shorter bounce duration that a lot of kitties this early in the dance

Heads up for you - with most kitties if there's a large drop from the PS to +2 that indicates an active cycle.

Dropping back to 1 unit when the new food arrives may be a bit much but lets wait and see. Post that question again when you're ready to make the swap and we'll see where he's at - it's near on impossible to plan too far in advance with FD

 

[Andy & Pimp]

This is exactly why I joined here, thank you so much. This kind of guidance seems priceless!!

Absolutely bouncing... (the bounce) which breaks on the fourth cycle (as evidenced by the blue AMPS)

Did you see in the notes on Oct 22 (PM before that one GLORIOUS blue number) I put the dry food up before I went to bed? Had been assuming that low number was from less carb intake, hence the order of YA zero carb.

Heads up for you - with most kitties if there's a large drop from the PS to +2 that indicates an active cycle.

How large? +2 was down 150 today but he surfed in pinks.

 

[julie & punkin (ga)]

That was a large drop this morning, so it was good to do what you did and get another test later.

The dry food can increase blood sugar by literally hundreds of points. We've had people see their cat get as few as 3 pieces of dry crunchies and that resulted in high numbers for the next day. Just depends on how carb sensitive a particular cat is.

When we're thinking about dosing, we're looking at answering the question "how low does this dose make this cat go?" In Pimp's case, he's at least getting to 158 on it when he's not getting dry. Does he like canned food? If there is any way to get him to transition to it, you'll be amazed at how much less insulin he will need to get controlled. It's not uncommon for newly diagnosed cats to work off of insulin with a switch to canned low carb and a little bit of insulin support. We don't know which cats can do that and which can't, but it does happen fairly regularly.

I have 3 cats (no diabetics as Punkin has passed away) and I feed all of them low carb canned. They have to eat in 3 separate rooms because there's one that would eat everyone else's. I put one in the laundry room, one outside the laundry room door, and one in a bedroom. Wait about 10 minutes and open up the doors. If you have a hard-core kibble addict, you could try a system like that. We're used to it and it's become no big deal at all.

Has anyone given you the link to www.catinfo.org yet? It's run by a vet and she has a lot to say about appropriate food for cats. She also has a section on how to transition dry food addicts to canned food.

Dropping back to 1 unit when the new food arrives may be a bit much but lets wait and see. Post that question again when you're ready to make the swap and we'll see where he's at - it's near on impossible to plan too far in advance with FD

I agree completely with Serryn (Vyktor's mum) about making changes when the new food comes. Usually people make small changes anyway so as not to upset the cat's stomach. I think there are some guidelines on that on the catinfo site as well. If you adjust the food slowly, you'll be able to adjust the insulin dose as it's needed as well.

and welcome to Lantus/Lev Land! Glad to have you and Pimp here!