QUESTION ON PROCEDURES...

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popposgrl

Member Since 2012
Hi Everyone...
I would like to know if it is written in stone that you have to test, then feed...can you feed and then test 2 hours later? Or some other number? My problem is, my civvie cats are up to be fed at 5:30 am(I don't know WHO picked that ungodly hour, but it best remain a secret now!!) Anyhoo, I have been testing Cocoa at 5:30, then feeding her, but she always runs and hides after I test so she doesn't eat right away(like maybe an hour later?) I've had her food ready and try to give it to her right after her test, but she won't have anything to do with it, or treats...She's punishing me, I know it, but I still feel guilty. It's like I'm singling her out for a morning torture fest...any thoughts, recommendations (besides grow a pair?) Thanks!!
~Patti and her poor abused kitty
 
Hi Patti. You really should test, feed then shoot (or you can shoot while Cocoa is eating, but that doesn't work for Zeus). The reason is that you want a fasting test so that you know whether it is safe to shoot or not. Food will spike Cocoa's Bg.

You could try enticing Cocoa, if she'll have it, with freeze dried treats, bonito flakes, fortiflora, Parmesan cheese, or maybe even a little tuna water on the food. I also put warm water on Zeus' food to make it a little more soupy. Lots of times now when the liquid is gone, Zeus will stop eating and look at me to put more water.

Have a good day,
Kathie
 
Hi Patti,

My system is somewhat more relaxed (rightly or wrongly!) but it works for us!

I free-feed my cats. All of them, including my diabetic, have canned food available at all times. They 'graze' food as and when they want it rather than having set mealtimes. So the schedule of 'test, feed/shoot' isn't quite so rigid for us. I test Bert's BG when I get up and then give the shot (if his BG warrants it...) along with a small amount of his favourite food (which he only gets at shot times). It's highly likely that he may already have a little food on board.

Bertie is a tricky diabetic (with a Pancreas that likes to come out to play quite a lot) so I do a lot of tests, currently an average of 7 or 8 a day (according to my glucometer stats). My experience is that his grazing lifestyle doesn't interrupt the flow of the insulin cycle. Sometimes he'll have a little BG spike after the snack he gets with his shot. Sometimes he doesn't. If there's a spike it will settle out after about an hour.

It would be really helpful to have a fuller picture of how your cat responds to feeding. Does she have a big BG spike after eating? How much of a spike? How long does that last? What is 'typical' for her? But I realise that this would be difficult for you to do because Cocoa hates being tested! (Oh, poor you. And poor Cocoa...)

It seems to me that the real issue that needs to be addressed here is that of trying to make testing easier for you both.

What exactly is it that Cocoa hates so much? Can you say a little about exactly how you test her? Maybe someone here has some useful suggestions.

All good wishes to you both,

Elizabeth
 
Good questions!!!
Cocoa usually has no problem with food,if it don't eat her first...it's gone...thus the nickname "meatloaf" (she used to weigh 24 lbs!) I am gathering the things I'll need to start ALL of them on a raw diet, bur for now, we have wet food. Good idea with the warm water, because they all lick the gravy and then quit eating. I can see Zeus looking at you!! haha. Where do these freeze dried things come from?
Ok, Testing Cocoa goes something like this...I get up and start the water to warm the washcloth. I then gather the supplies test with...I put the strip into the meter and as soon as the "beep,beep" sounds, Cocoa disappears. I spend 20 minutes looking high and lo for her, finally corner her and pick her up and carry her to the bathroom. I shut the door, get the washcloth, sit on the floor, talk and pet her, hold the cloth to her ear for a few minutes and then poke her. She is crying this WHOLE time...she has a very deep meow. I then pet her and give her a treat, or attempt to.She refuses on the grounds that she knows I'll feel guiltier if she refuses to eat. I then open the door, she runs for it...(in case I change my mind and want to pull her toenails out for extra sport)...I put her food down and wander away. She eventually comes out and eats, I then give her the shot...she avoids me like the plague for 5-6 hours...then forgives me and lets me pet her.
I feel that she hates being poked in the ear. Especially with Mommy's S-L-O-W-E-R THAN MOLASSES learning curve! I just recently managed to get it on the first poke. (like 2 days ago!) So, being poked 5-6 times was traumatic for both of us. I tried putting the washcloth in a plastic baggie, but Cocoa didn't like the feel or the noise it made next to her ear. I have also put her in the bathroom with me while I gather things, but she screams and cries and kills my ears not to mention waking up the household. (Drama queen?)But ANY suggestions are welcomed...my husband says use masking tape...both Cocoa and I gave him withering glances!!
Thanks for all the feedback!!!
~Patti
 
popposgrl said:
Hi Everyone...
I would like to know if it is written in stone that you have to test, then feed...can you feed and then test 2 hours later? Or some other number? My problem is, my civvie cats are up to be fed at 5:30 am(I don't know WHO picked that ungodly hour, but it best remain a secret now!!) Anyhoo, I have been testing Cocoa at 5:30, then feeding her, but she always runs and hides after I test so she doesn't eat right away(like maybe an hour later?) I've had her food ready and try to give it to her right after her test, but she won't have anything to do with it, or treats...She's punishing me, I know it, but I still feel guilty. It's like I'm singling her out for a morning torture fest...any thoughts, recommendations (besides grow a pair?) Thanks!!
~Patti and her poor abused kitty
Click to expand...

Maybe if you were told the reason why you hold food until you have tested, it would make sense, and you could adjust your schedule accordingly.

It is advised to withhold food for 2 hours prior to your shot time, and to feed only after you have tested and made the decision whether to give a shot or not. You are testing just before every am and pm shot, yes?

The 2 hours is likely the length of time for any foods to pass through the cat's system and a BG test after that 2hour period will be a 'clean' number, not one which is spiked because of food.

If you tested and got a number lower than you have ever seen at shot time what would you do?
Well, it's wise to wait 15min or so, then test again because you want to see if your cat's numbers are still dropping or if they are on the rise. If you feed, then test and got that low number, 15min later, you would get a higher number.. not because your cat's numbers are rising, but because you gave food!
Wait wait wait, then once you decide to give a shot of some dose, or decide to skip the shot altogether, you can feed.

A spike from food does not last that long, so you could feed, then 2hrs later, test and give the shot. ..... exactly what time are you giving the shots?

You want to have your BG test within 15min before the shot because that number can change alot in 15min, with or without food. If you are feeding at 530am, you can test at 730am and give the shot at the test time.... is that what you are doing?

I can test my cat and get maybe a 110, then feed. When I test a couple hours later, he could be around 70 or lower, but that's because he's off insulin at the moment and his pancreas is working fine. He eats and the food's used to make his insulin and control his own numbers naturally.

The test, then feed rule applies to just before shot time.
 
Instead of a warm washcloth, you might try using a warmed rice sock instead - KT HATES wet washcloths on him. He doesn't mind baths but wet cloths - NO WAY JOSE! Put about 1/4th c of uncooked rice in the toe of a thin sock and tie it up. Heat in microwave for 15-20 seconds until warm - NOT hot. Don't know if it will help or not but it's worth a try...

BIG HUG!!!
 
If Cocoa's problem is she doesn't like the beep (neither did Sneakers) then take the sample before you put the meter in. Also, if you read the instructions the strips only have 5-10 seconds to give an accurate reading once inserted. If you have it in for 20 minutes while you chase the cat it has a greater chance to give you error messages. My testing kit sits out on the shelf- meter, strip bottle, lancets in a little pouch, paper and pen.

This is what I do:
- pick up Sneakers and pet her, massage her ears- both of them, starting with the one I don't want to test at that time and then move onto the one I do
- set her down and pick up the lancet with one hand- have the tab pulled off already- while scratching her scruff or her head with the other
- move one hand to hold the ear and poke with the lancet and put it aside, massage the blood drop up with your fingers
- scrape the blood drop onto a fingernail and lightly pinch her ear at the hole for 3 seconds (unless you got a 'gusher' then for 6 or 8) and rub the bridge of her nose (Sneakers is sometimes drooling at this point)
- Open the lid of the strip bottle and shake on out, insert, and take the sample from your fingernail (if you have a lot DO NOT wash it off until you get a result or an error and you need to redo with the sample rather than re-poking her) You can do this away from her if you like if the beep continues to annoy/scare her. And look in the manual- you should be able to turn the beep off.
- feed. Yes, Lantus is a slower insulin and doesn't hit for another few hours but having food in her system would still really help her in the long run :lol:

Hope this helps.
 
With some meters, you can turn off the beep noise. Check the instruction booklet.

Can you test/feed/shoot in the bathroom with the door closed? You might have to chase her around the tub, around the toilet, etc but that's a lot better than going all over the house.

I could never get the damp hot washcloth to work. It would never stay warm for more than a second or two :roll: A rice sock worked much better.
 
You might try Neosporin ointment with pain relief. Apply a dab to the ear for a few minutes before testing. Wipe it off and test. The ointment will help the blood bead up and reduce the annoyance of being pricked.

Follow up testing with a tasty high protein treat, such as a bit of boiled chicken, every time you test, even if unsuccessful. Positive things associated with testing may reduce resistance to the process!

If you are using a device to spring the lancet, you might experiment with free-handing the lancet without the device . I found I could see better and had more control over where it went.
 
When we started hometesting I couldn't bear the thought that it would be something that Bertie would come to be frightened of. I needed him to 'want' to be tested. So I started out training him to associate all the sights, sounds and sensations of testing with happy-making things.

I'd rub - or hold - one of his ears and then give him a treat. I'd click the lancet pen next to his ear - or rattle the vial of test strips - and give him a treat or make a big fuss of him, or groom him. Etc, etc, etc.... I had no idea whether this would actually work, but it did. It really, really did. Now, I can rattle the test strips and Bertie comes running to the testing table (my desk!). If I get up in the night to go to the bathroom Bertie thinks it's testing time and scoots ahead of me into the office and jumps up on the desk.

I aim to make test times essentially 'treat giving and cuddling and head-scritching times' that 'just happen to have a blood test in them...'

Our tests typically go like this:

I go into office. Bertie follows (if he isn't already ahead of me) and jumps up on desk. I make a fuss of him and then set up the test kit. I crumble a few no-carb treats and Bertie starts to gobble them up. I scratch his head, move my hands across to his ear, prick his ear, scratch his head, take the meter reading, scratch his head, press a little cotton wool on the test site, scratch his head. Then give him a cuddle and lots of praise. The entire test takes place while Bertie is eating the treats. If I'm feeling slow, or the meter is having a bad day, I just crumble a couple more treats to keep him occupied.

We are lucky in that Bert no longer needs a warm rice sock against his ear. That was the only aspect of the whole testing malarky that he hated (although he never let that put him off the treats!). His ear has, as we so often find on this forum, 'learned to bleed'.

I can also test him if he's dozing in his basket just by scratching his head to soothe him, and he'll generally purr through the whole thing.

When I read the challenges that some people - and their cats - go through with testing then I realise that I am very lucky. Especially given that Bertie has quite a few tests in the course of a day. Or a night...

Although you have a test routine now I still don't think it's too late to begin to try get Cocoa to associate sights and sensations of testing with treat giving and other happy-making things. Maybe starting with something like warming her ear briefly and then giving a treat and a cuddle - but no test. And then just walking away. Or taking her into the bathroom and just cuddling or grooming her. And then walking away.

I do so hope you find ways of making testing easier - for both your sakes. You are clearly hugely dedicated to your cat's wellbeing and deserve to be having an easier time of things... ((((Hugs))))
 
The freeze dried treats...Pure Bites. Zeus likes the chicken and turkey and beef. He isn't fond of the fish - salmon or whitefish, and doesn't like the shrimp either. He also doesn't care for the liver varieties. Yes, he is spoiled, I have tried everything that I could find... Sometimes you can find the same stuff but in the dog section, and it is cheaper. Just make sure that is says 100% of whatever meat you have chosen, and shouldn't have any additives or anything other than the meat.
 
THANK YOU ONE AND ALL FOR THE GREAT ADVICE!!!I I will be implementing them A.S.A.P. Walking me thru all the tests helps...I even went as far as to buy a "thunder jacket" for Cocoa...I'll let you know how that goes!! Thank you all and I will answer specific questions tomorrow, I'm beat right now!! :dizcat
 
HI - I actually feed Sitka first, then test & shoot. As long as you test with 15-20 minutes the food hasn't had time to get digested. During my work days - I feed her, get showered/dressed, test/shoot - then eat my breakfast and leave. On my days off I set my alarm, feed, hang out on the couch for 15 mins, then test/shoot and go back to bed. It keeps her shooting schedule regular and while I don't like getting up at 4:30am on my days off - at least I can go back to bed for a little more shut eye. Jan
 
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