Why are there sometimes food spikes, and other times not?

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Catticus Maximus

Catticus Maximus

Member Since 2016
My understanding is that food spikes at +2 are fairly common, but why do they happen sometimes, and other times they don't?

I use Caninsulin, and the vast majority of the time we get a small drop at +2 (eg: Dropping from 20 to 18). However, once in a great while, I get a small increase. For example, PMPS was 19, then +2 was 21. +4 was 14.4...our nadir is around +4.5/+4.75.

Could it depend on how fast the cat eats? Maximus has been grazing the past few weeks, but last night he ate fairly quickly. I was wondering if all the food hitting at once caused the spike.
 
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Food spikes are more common with the longer lasting insulins since they take 2 -4 hours, depending on the type of insulin, before they begin to work in the system. Usually a food spike will happen it the first 2 hours (more or less) after eating, and then start to settle down. Of course this is if the food is a wet low carb type.

Caninsulin starts acting much quicker than the long lasting insulins, which is why you need to feed a decent meal 30 minutes before giving the shot. The numbers you mentioned...PMPS of 19 mmol and +2 of 21 mmol are basically the same number. Since all meters are allowed to have a variance of +/- 20% when the numbers ar that close together it is more likely that the difference is due to allowable meter variance.
 
Tanya, I'm in the UK so am not familiar with US and Canadian foods, but could it be that some of the Friskies pates have a higher carb value...?
Mary Ann @Tuxedo Mom , do you happen to know...?

Eliz
 
Elizabeth and Bertie said:
Tanya, I'm in the UK so am not familiar with US and Canadian foods, but could it be that some of the Friskies pates have a higher carb value...?
Mary Ann @Tuxedo Mom , do you happen to know...?

Eliz
Click to expand...

That's a very good question. I know some are slightly different from others. I actually emailed Purina this week and they are mailing me their as-fed values for some of their flavours so I can get some updated carb info.

That said, I've actually decided for now to stick with one flavor [Chicken Dinner - he seems to really like it] so everything is consistent. This is something I only just started so don't have any real idea of how it affects things yet.
 
Tuxedo Mom said:
Caninsulin starts acting much quicker than the long lasting insulins, which is why you need to feed a decent meal 30 minutes before giving the shot. The numbers you mentioned...PMPS of 19 mmol and +2 of 21 mmol are basically the same number. Since all meters are allowed to have a variance of +/- 20% when the numbers ar that close together it is more likely that the difference is due to allowable meter variance.
Click to expand...

Good point. I could re-phrase the question to: What could cause a fast acting insulin to have a delayed effect?
 
Catticus Maximus said:
Good point. I could re-phrase the question to: What could cause a fast acting insulin to have a delayed effect?
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Caninsulin is made up of two separate fractions:

"Caninsulin® is formulated for effective blood glucose control Caninsulin® has a unique formulation, specifically designed for a rapid onset and sustained effect:
• 30% amorphous insulin fraction for rapid blood glucose-lowering effects
• 70% crystalline zinc insulin fraction for sustained effects"

http://www.caninsulin.co.uk/downloads/caninsulin-vetpen-detail-aid.pdf

This means the 30% fast acting will be the first to act and will bring numbers down very quickly. The second fraction 70% is more of an intermediate acting insulin which is intended to keep the numbers in a slightly lower range for a period of time. Any insulin can have slightly different actions on any given day since the absorption rates can vary on a daily basis. Since insulin is a hormone it acts by influencing other areas of the body and will have variances.
 
Elizabeth and Bertie said:
Tanya, I'm in the UK so am not familiar with US and Canadian foods, but could it be that some of the Friskies pates have a higher carb value...?
Mary Ann @Tuxedo Mom , do you happen to know...?

Eliz
Click to expand...


In Canada the Friskies Chef's Dinner pate is actually more of a medium carb...if I remember correctly it is around 12-14%??? I am not sure what the US version of the Chef's Dinner might be called though.


ETA The Friskies US version which is slightly higher is called the Mixed Grill I believe.
 
Tuxedo Mom said:
In Canada the Friskies Chef's Dinner pate is actually more of a medium carb...if I remember correctly it is around 12-14%??? I am not sure what the US version of the Chef's Dinner might be called though.
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Ah - up until last week I was giving Chef's Dinner. It should be interesting if removing it from the diet will affect things. Is it the same as Mixed Grill in the US?
 
Catticus Maximus said:
Ah - up until last week I was giving Chef's Dinner. It should be interesting if removing it from the diet will affect things. Is it the same as Mixed Grill in the US?
Click to expand...


I just looked up the US version of the Chef's Dinner and I am 99% sure it is the Mixed Grill..so that would also be more of a medium carb. I use the Chef's Dinner when I need to bring lower numbers up a bit but don't quite need high carb
 
Critter Mom said:
Not sure whether you've been given the link to the Canadian food list yet. Maybe you'll be able to get the carb values for the food you're giving from that:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...0KlRA2ZVTk_tYNVRaoG_3Dfy64/edit#gid=964479244

There can be variations in response to an insulin dose, even if it is the same size as previous ones.


Mogs
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Yes I've seen the list thank you! :bighug: Unfortunately it doesn't have the Friskies, but I used it when buying the President's Choice food on occasion.
Purina is supposed to send me their nutrition info so I should be able to figure out their most recent carb breakdown for the Canadian Friskies.
 
Catticus Maximus said:
My understanding is that food spikes at +2 are fairly common, but why do they happen sometimes, and other times they don't?

I use Caninsulin, and the vast majority of the time we get a small drop at +2 (eg: Dropping from 20 to 18). However, once in a great while, I get a small increase. For example, PMPS was 19, then +2 was 21. +4 was 14.4...our nadir is around +4.5/+4.75.

Could it depend on how fast the cat eats? Maximus has been grazing the past few weeks, but last night he ate fairly quickly. I was wondering if all the food hitting at once caused the spike.
Click to expand...


I believe Mogs said it best in a previous post, "Cats. :rolleyes:". LOL
 
Tuxedo Mom said:
I just looked up the US version of the Chef's Dinner and I am 99% sure it is the Mixed Grill..so that would also be more of a medium carb. I use the Chef's Dinner when I need to bring lower numbers up a bit but don't quite need high carb
Click to expand...

I actually got confirmation of this from Purina. Also good to know is the Chicken Dinner flavor is called Country Style Dinner in the US:

Hi, Tanya!

We appreciate your response. Please allow 10-14 business days for the delivery of the nutritional information you requested.

Please know that the printed material you will receive is from Nestlé Purina in the United States and the brand name of two of the products is slightly different: Friskies Chef's Blend is referred as Purina® Friskies® Cat Food Classic Paté Mixed Grill, and Friskies Chicken Dinner is referred as Purina® Friskies® Cat Food Classic Paté Country Style Dinner.

If we can be of assistance in the future, please let us know. Questions or comments from our valued consumers are always welcome!

Your Pet Advisor,
 
I requested nutritional info on the majority of the Friskies pates and got info back on three (via email). I had asked for as fed values and this is what they sent back (these are from February):

Friskies Cat Food Paté Turkey & Giblets Dinner has 31.95 kcals/per ounce
protein 10.0%
moisture 78.0%
fat 5.0%
fiber 1.0%
ash 3.0%
carbs 1.8%
phosporous 0.40%

Friskies Cat Food Paté Chicken Dinner has 32.54 cals / per ounce
protein 10.0%
moisture 78.0%
fat 5.0%
fiber 1.0%
ash 3.0%
carbs 1.8%
phosporous 0.41%

Friskies Cat Food Paté Salmon Dinner has 33.71 cals/per ounce
protein 10.0%
moisture 78.0%
fat 5.0%
fiber 1.0%
ash 3.0%
carbs 1.7%
phosporous 0.40%


Dr.Pierson has a note on her food chart regarding Fancy Feast and Friskies - when she contacted Purina, they listed moisture, protein, fat, fiber, and ash as guaranteed analysis, with the same numbers for all the flavours in each food type (ie. pates, shreds, etc). She did say that carbs were listed under typical nutrient composition, so they're hopefully a bit more accurate. Her note is just prior to the Fancy Feast entries on her food chart: http://catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf From the looks of it, those are the same values they gave me.

I'll be interested to see if the information they mail to you is any different from the values they emailed me.
 
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