So, I'm guessing this is good news...

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I was wondering about you and Max. Yes, that is lovely news! We consider a cat OTJ when they have ranged from 40-120 without insulin for 2 weeks, spending most of their time in double digits. So he is on his way to an OTJ party (anti jinx)

Remember once a diabetic, always a diabetic. He needs to stay on the wet low carb diet for the rest of his life. Small price to pay for no more shots!
 
Yes, this is quite awesome news! You just have to be patient for a few more days (anti-jinx) and it looks like a party is happening by the end of the week in PZI!

Love it when this happens..
:-D :-D :-D
Carl
 
The game changer was the autofeeder. That is when his numbers started to drop. I feed him in the morning and evening and the autofeeder feed him throughout the day and into the wee early hours of the morning for a total of 6 small daily meals. 1/2 can fancy feast classics each feeding for a total of 3 cans a day, although the other cats gobble up what he doesn't eat. Anti-jinx! Anti-jinx! Anti-jinx! I was hoping this was good news!
 
Thanks for posting about how the auto feeder seems to be what did the trick! That's great information to use with other kitties in the future. :smile:

Carl
 
You are welcome, Carl. Back in June, my Mom was watching Max at her house while we were on vacation. After the first day that she had him, his bgl dropped to 87. I was terrified that it would drop too low and that she wouldn't know what to do, so I instructed her not to give him insulin for the rest of the week. She continued to test him twice daily and fed him his Fancy Feast, putting him on a schedule to eat 4 times per day. When I picked him up and scanned through the meter, I was surprised that his bgl's had stayed consistently in the low 200s without the insulin.

After we returned home, his numbers started going back up, despite starting him back on insulin injections, again. At that time, I only fed him twice a day. I began to wonder if that wasn't part of the problem, so I bought the cheap PetsSafe autofeeder from Petsmart. Since it was $35, I thought it would be a good one. The feeder was so inconsistent about opening that I gave up on it after a few days. The only other option locally was the more expensive PetSafe 5 Meal Programmable autofeeder. Given that it was also a PetSafe model, I decided that I didn't want to waste anymore money.

Max's numbers weren't getting any better and started to climb to the 400 range. I started researching autofeeders again and came across a post on this forum that raved about the programable model by PetSafe. I searched for reviews and most were positive, so I finally bit the bullet and bought it. I started using it consistently, cutting the Fancy Feast servings in half and freezing them for the autofeeder. I still feed him half of a fresh can in the morning and the other refrigerated half in the evening. During the rest of the day and night, the autofeeder feeds him the frozen food (which thaws pretty quickly).

Once I started this routine, it didn't take long and his numbers started dropping. I can't believe that they are as low as are right now. I never dreamed....So thank you guys for this board and working with all of us newbies. It has made all the difference! If I had listened to my vet, Max might be more sick right now. My vet meant well, but he is just listening to the advice of other vets (most of whom also have no clue about how to properly deal with Feline Diabetes). I know that we are not out of the woods yet, but hopefully we will have an OTJ celebration for Max shortly. It would be nice to be able to continue to control his diabetes via a low carb canned food diet and frequent small meals instead of having to give insulin.
 
Make sure and include your Mom on that list of people to thank! It sounds like her putting him on the 4x a day feeding schedule made all the difference in the world. That's awesome!

Carl
 
At what hours after shooting did you feed? My guy gets a good drop at nadir but goes back high at Ps.
 
What wonderful news!

I'm going to jump on the bandwagon for the auto feeder for another reason.

One of my fears (used to be anyway) was Poopy dropping too low and I wouldn't be home to help. Having the auto feeder set to where Poopy has access to food except for the 2.5 hours before testing soothes my nerves. Cats will eat when they feel the need for food, and I'm assuming most cats would feel the need to eat if their blood sugar was dropping too low. That may be a dangerous assumption on my part. Knowing Poopy is a snacker and will munch as long as there's food...the auto feeder works for him. :-D
 
Actually, I think that's a safe assumption, Teresa. I've read a lot of times this past year how people describe kitty acting like a starving raving lunatic mid-cycle, and when people test the BG, it's usually low as opposed to high. I think they "know" when they need the carb boost. Much the same way a person knows they either need some insulin or something sugary when their BG is high or low. Kitty just can't "say that", or we're too inferior a species to understand what the different meows mean!

Carl
 
Carl & Bob in SC said:
Make sure and include your Mom on that list of people to thank! It sounds like her putting him on the 4x a day feeding schedule made all the difference in the world. That's awesome!

Carl
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She came to visit this weekend and I made sure to thank her, too, Carl. She can't believe how well he is doing! Neither can I. Usually my luck goes the other way, but I guess Max's luck trumped mine. Btw, he was 71 this evening, 1.5 hrs after his supper. I wasn't home to do the before supper reading, though.

I have noticed that his coat is shinier and less brittle looking. Also, he had a limp and that has gone away, too. He has also started sleeping with me again. All around good news for my Max kitty.
 
I'm betting that he wasn't much, if any, lower than 71 before eating, so I wouldn't sweat that. The 71 after an hour and a half? Yep, his pancreas is keeping up! Super news!

Carl
 
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