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Vinnie Van Gogh's Mom

Vinnie Van Gogh's Mom

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Thanks again @Deb & Wink Yes, he has a waist at 15 pounds. Right now, he is about a 3 on the body condition scale (very little fat, bones of the spine are visible) but not as bad as he was before. Do you think I should wait until he is a 4 before removing his food midway through the cycle? Or should I just go ahead and start that as soon as the timed feeder comes in tomorrow?
 
Vinnie Van Gogh's Mom said:
Right now, he is about a 3 on the body condition scale (very little fat, bones of the spine are visible) but not as bad as he was before.
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OOOH! A 3 is bad, too underweight. He needs to gain weight. Will he eat earlier in the cycle for you? Before +6 or so? Does he like his bigger meal first thing?

If not, then keep feeding him at the times you are feeding him, to help him gain weight. I would NOT cut back on the feedings if Vinnie reaches a body condition score of 4. I would not pull back on the feedings until he is more like a 5 body condition.

I'd make sure he is ok with the timed feeder too. Some cats get scared by the noise, or don't notice if it is open. You may have to train him a bit to use the timed feeder.

p.s. If you could note his body condition score on your SS, that would be helpful.
 
Okay, thank you again. We had an old feeder that I was using at night to make sure he wasn't eating 2 hours before the AMPS and he freaked out the first time it moved, but after that was fine. It doesn't allow specific time settings which is why I had to get the new one. Anyway, it came in today and I tested it - much quieter than the old one and he went over and ate right away.

He eats a large amount (maybe 4 ounces) right after the AMPS and about 2-3 ounces right after the PMPS (because his food was taken away 2 hours earlier and he's hungry). But throughout the day and night he likes to go back and graze. He was eating 15+ ounces (5-6 cans) of FF a day, but lately he's been eating 12-13 ounces (maybe since his numbers are coming down, he's utilizing the food better?). I can try to encourage him to eat more earlier on to see if that keeps him from being hungry later. But I will continue feeding him whenever he wants until the body condition is about a 5.

BTW, I got my first middle of the night BG number last night and it was a 101 with no pm insulin shot! I'll try to get more over the weekend.
 
Vinnie Van Gogh's Mom said:
He was eating 15+ ounces (5-6 cans) of FF a day, but lately he's been eating 12-13 ounces (maybe since his numbers are coming down, he's utilizing the food better?).
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Maybe he is using the food better.
Vinnie Van Gogh's Mom said:
BTW, I got my first middle of the night BG number last night and it was a 101 with no pm insulin shot!
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That is a nice BG for Vinnie.

I see from your SS Remarks, that Vinnie needed some terbutaline last night, due to an asthma attack. I did read up on that medication a little bit, and it can raise the BG levels. Vinnie certainly needs something to help with his breathing. You might ask your vet about an alternative medication, since that drug raises the BG levels.

Is there any correlation between past BG levels and Vinnie getting the terbutaline, would be one question I have.
 
He is new to the terbutaline as they have stopped the steroid treatment so I really don't know about any correlations. His #s were not up too bad today though. His inhalers just came in today which is what they are saying we should switch to, however, he has been off of steroids for two months now and has really just had two asthma attacks in that time. I'm wondering if the food change has helped his asthma. I am going to ask the doctors if we can just do a rescue inhaler instead of the everyday inhalers since he doesn't seem to be as bad asthma-wise as he used to, but I will also see if there is something else we can try. I remember experimenting with a holistic asthma medicine with another asthmatic kitty and it seemed to help her.
 
I know there are other people that have cats with both diabetes and asthma.

You might want to start a new thread in the Feline Health forum, asking what meds others have used for their cats.
 
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