Testing when cat is eating mini-meals?

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Christianna

Member Since 2014
Noodle had pancreatitis two months ago and the vet said to feed him mini-meals every 2 hours to reduce stress on the pancreas. That was when he was also diagnosed with diabetes. He was switched to Lantus today and the vet wants me to do ear pokes every 2 hours for a couple of days and then again in a week. How do I get an accurate picture of where the BG actually is when Noodle is eating every 2 hours. Wouldn't his food be influencing every test I take? How could I handle this?

Christi
 
Another diabetic IBD cat! Welcome!

I am a newbie myself but from what I have learned thus far, the mini meals are the way to go, so if that is going to be his new regular feeding schedule, I think you are ok with the testing because as long as you are being consistent in your feeding and testing schedule the trends will still show.

Is your vet wanting the every two hour feeding to be a permanent thing? Skooter, my cat went from two DRY feedings a day to four WET feedings a day when he was finally switched over to all wet, which I think has helped a lot.

However, I am sure you will get a response from a more experienced member in the morning, perhaps one that has had experience with pancreatitis.
 
Skootersmom said:
...I think you are ok with the testing because as long as you are being consistent in your feeding and testing schedule the trends will still show.
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Yes, quite so.
The only thing to try to avoid is feeding within the 2 hours leading up to a preshot test. That's because the food may inflate the preshot number, and at that point you ideally want to see a number that isn't influenced by food.

Eliz
 
Just do the tests and feed every two hours. All yo want is for the results to reflect the normal habits. Feeding every two hours is the normal now.
 
Hi Skootersmom!
So you have an IBD kitty too? A challenge by itself, isn't it?
We changed vets yesterday, when our existing vet dumped us because he said we were "too complicated" and he didn't want to spend the amount of time it took to sort Noodle out. Nice, huh? So the new vet has a different idea and wants me to gradually change Noodle's feeding schedule gradually from every 2 hours to 4 times a day, then later to 3 times a day and then ideally to every 12 hours. He said it would be easier to regulate Noodle if I fed him twice a day but I do NOT think Noodle is going to go for that :shock: Like so many diabetic kitties, Noodle had been on vet-prescribed dry food and grazed throughout the day and I had a real tough time converting him to all wet food at specific times. So any change will have to be gradual and consistent.
Thank you so much for the welcome and for your helpful advice. I appreciate it so much!

Christi
 
Thanks so much, Eliz. The hardest part of the morning testing before feeding is that Noodle acts like he is starving and just about goes nuts until he gets his breakfast :-) Some of the forum members recommended a timed feeder with the last available food given at least 2 hours before his morning shot. My husband says he thinks Noodle needs to hire a full-time assistant to keep up on the every-2-hour feedings. I told him Noodle HAS a full-time feeding assistant and that it is ME! :smile: Thanks so much for your helpful input. I really appreciate it!

Christi
 
Skooter was on a dry Rx food twice a day and up to 5u of insulin twice a day....

I started a gradual change to wet food (giving part wet and part dry) for a week or so, slowing increasing the wet and decreasing the dry....during that time he went down to 4u twice a day....

On July 11 for his PM cycle he transitioned to a full wet diet. He now gets 4 meals a day....as of now he shot meals are a little bigger and then gets two additional smaller meals throughout the day. He is currently on 2u twice a day. From what I have been told by the more experienced people on here, I believe the mini meals are actually better for the pancreas.

Skooter had been on dry food since I got him and never thought I would be able to get him off his Rx food because of the reactions he had from his IBD. Since the change he has thrown up ONLY once.

I am not sure what you are feeding your cat or if you are home testing. Since the wet food can drop bg up to 100 mg/dL, you do not want to change to all wet unless you are home testing.

I am hoping in the coming weeks to transition him to an all raw diet, which may also help lessen the amount of insulin he will need.
 
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