What does 'Eat' mean? as in 'Eat before shot'?

[Squeaky and KT (GA)]

Please unconfuse me - what does 'eat' mean as in 'be sure they eat before their shot'. KT's not a big 'come and get it' eater, he likes to eat on HIS whim. When it's time for his shot, sometimes he's not yet interested in large amounts of food.

 

[Carl & Polly & Bob (GA)]

I've always fed my kitties twice a day (breakfast and dinner), and used to leave dry out for grazing during the day. I think the "eat before a shot" assumes that's the norm. Since the shots are 12 hours apart, and the meals are too, then the "normal" sequence is to test pre-shot, then feed their canned food, and shoot right after or even during the meal. The sequence is that way so that you are testing BG before food has an effect on it, then feeding (which will make BG rise), and then shooting. This allows you to make sure kitty has eaten well (hopefully) before giving insulin so that you can be safe doing so. If kitty doesn't eat, then you have to either skip or reduce the dose, or you have to delay the shot until food is consumed in order to avoid exaggerated effects from the insulin (hypo for instance). Skipping, reducing dose and delaying shots - none of those options is really attractive. So most people try to feed the major part of kitty's daily food intake just before shooting insulin. Basically, you want to make sure kitty has food in his/her belly when it's time for a shot.
Of course, kitties don't always cooperate, and they live on their own little schedules in their own little worlds! So sometimes us Beans have to adjust accordingly.

Carl

 

[Anonymous]

OH, you have what we call a free feeder.
I wish all cats were like that. Most of the time when you get off the dry and go to wet food they love it so much they hoover it down like a high performance vacuum.
So, if you have a free feeder you can actually not worry about Eat First.
Your cat will eat when she/he wants.
As long as he/she is not the type to 'fast' and go all day without eating you are fine.
You might want to pick up her food an hour or so before testing her amps and pmps so you can get a number uninfluenced by food.
Does that help?

 

[Just-As-Appy]

It depends somewhat on the type of insulin that the cat is getting. For Caninsulin or Humulin N, it is important that the cat have eaten perhaps 2 to 3 teaspoons up to 10 minutes before the shot. The insulins hit fairly quickly and drop the bg quickly, so you would want to be sure that the cat had some food in the tummy. For the longer acting like Lantus and Lev, I want to be sure that my cat is eating, but not so important that he eats a certain amount b4 his shot. In Tony's case, I keep him in the room with his food for an hour, then let him out to explore the world (he's an outdoor during the day cat). By then his bft is about 2/3 eaten. He comes back for a snack, and his timed feeder opens at +4 and +8.

I would want to be sure that the cat was going to eat and not feeling ill b4 I gave insulin, but if you know how your cat behaves, then you can adjust your test-feed-shot routine to suit.

I haven't used Prozinc or PZI, so not sure exactly what the onset is like. Perhaps someone who uses those can help.

 

[Squeaky and KT (GA)]

Thank you all! Humulin N right now - Lantus very shortly! I'm MUCH less confused now. I can always get 2-3 teaspoons down him at any time but if he needed to have like 1/4th cup or something, THAT doesn't happen easily. I DO feed twice a day but he doesn't always eat a lot. I leave the wet down, he'll come back later and eat more.

How long does it USUALLY take for food to begin registering in the BG numbers?

 

[Just-As-Appy]

Sheesh - you ask all the tough questions!! Just kidding, but this is another, it depends answer.

It depends on the cat, the type of food, and the insulin being given. For the short acting insulins, there is basically none in the system at 12/12 shot times so the food registers fairly quickly, perhaps within an hour you would see the bg begin to rise and then stay up for about 1 - 2 more hours before the insulin would begin to drop it down. For the longer acting, there is still insulin in the reservoir (or shed as its called) in the cat's body and so food sometimes takes longer to affect the bg and does not have such a dramatic effect. The bg will rise a bit and then lower, but not usually at the same scale.

As an aside, in a hypo situation, this is why people always ask what type of insulin and when was the last dose. It affects how long the owner needs to monitor and how often carbs or sugar needs to be given to the cat. It is also why some people feed small amounts of food often - when the insulin begin to drop the bg, the drop can be managed with small amounts of food and the result is a more stable bg throughout the day. All this is subject to the huge caveat that every cat is different.

 

[Squeaky and KT (GA)]

:lol:

I pull all food overnight so everyone's hungry in the morning....all 80 legs of cats and droolers. I've been trying to test KT before I feed everyone but that's NOT good for our schedule. If it takes more than 30 minutes or so for food to register, I can test just fine about 15-20 minutes into the schedule. He's usually just finishing his food that he wants right then. I can also give his insulin then as he's got food in his tummy. With the Humulin N, I'm not concerned with his BG being too low to shoot as it doesn't last 10 hours. I'll be MUCH more diligent when I switch him to Lantus.

Boy you sure made my mornings easier!

 

[Just-As-Appy]

20 mins, esp of low carb food, shouldn't make much difference. However, if you really want to know - one day when you have help or maybe a weekend, test KT an hour b4 feeding, then just b4, then 30 mins and an hour after. It is not just for fun! If he ever goes too low on a dose, you will have some data to tell you how much and how quickly his bg rises on low carb food. Hopefully he will not ever go too low, but it really useful to know how he responds to food and how quickly.