Xander 9/7 AMPS 129 +2 68 +3 62 +4 58 +5 53 +5.5 64 +7 71 +9 89 PMPS 127 +2 96 +3 52

Uh oh, down to 53 at +5 even with that food. I'll see if he'll eat some of the higher carb FF gravy food.

I just gave him 15g of the higher carb gravy lovers fancy feast and he ate it all. Should I wait and recheck in 30 min? Anything else I should be doing?
 
Yes, I would recheck in 30 min. The HC will likely pull him up. 53 is safe, but you're right to begin using carbs to bump those numbers up, especially since they are dropping. Please let us know with the next test where he is.
 
Mary & Jude said:
Yes, I would recheck in 30 min. The HC will likely pull him up. 53 is safe, but you're right to begin using carbs to bump those numbers up, especially since they are dropping. Please let us know with the next test where he is.
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Just checked at +5.5 and he is at 64. Whew

For future reference, is that about the amount of higher carb food you would feed if this happens in the future?
 
Is that the carb value for each of those intervals that you fed him? Or did you ultimately feed him a higher carb food? And, if so, what was that value?

Also, it's helpful when you need to carb manipulate a number to note in the comment section of your spreadsheet the carb value of the food and when you gave it.
 
Mary & Jude said:
Is that the carb value for each of those intervals that you fed him? Or did you ultimately feed him a higher carb food? And, if so, what was that value?

Also, it's helpful when you need to carb manipulate a number to note in the comment section of your spreadsheet the carb value of the food and when you gave it.
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Thanks! Just went and put a note.

All of his food today was his regular low carb other than the 15g given at +5 of higher carb FF gravy lovers chicken/beef. I have a post it note written down that that food is 15% carbs from the spreadsheets on here
 
Okay, good, I see on your SS that you gave MC at +5 and the other foods prior to that were the regular LC. 15% carbs is considered the high end of MC.

For me, I do not like for Jude to go below 60, so anytime I see a number below that, especially when the numbers are trending down, I begin feeding a tsp or two of MC food, and then I test again in 20-30 mins to make sure he's responding to the carbs by going up. If he isn't, I give him a little bit more food. You want to bump up the numbers, but not so much that he goes too high.

It looks like Xander responded very well to the MC food by going up about ten points in 30 mins. So, you're learning how carb sensitive he is, which is something you haven't really had to deal with until now, when he is experiencing lower numbers that you need to carb manipulate. Some cats respond well to their regular LC and their bg will increase, others need the MC, and others need HC to get them up into safer numbers. ECID.

Be sure to continue testing him. The insulin is beginning to wane as he moves past his mid-cycle, but you want to make sure he remains safe and begins to trend up. Remember also that the food he's eaten is manipulating his numbers and bumping them up. The food typically remains in his system for about an hour or two after ingesting it. You want to be sure to keep testing to make sure he doesn't drop when the food bump has cleared his system.

Good job, Albert!
 
Mary & Jude said:
Okay, good, I see on your SS that you gave MC at +5 and the other foods prior to that were the regular LC. 15% carbs is considered the high end of MC.

For me, I do not like for Jude to go below 60, so anytime I see a number below that, especially when the numbers are trending down, I begin feeding a tsp or two of MC food, and then I test again in 20-30 mins to make sure he's responding to the carbs by going up. If he isn't, I give him a little bit more food. You want to bump up the numbers, but not so much that he goes too high.

It looks like Xander responded very well to the MC food by going up about ten points in 30 mins. So, you're learning how carb sensitive he is, which is something you haven't really had to deal with until now, when he is experiencing lower numbers that you need to carb manipulate. Some cats respond well to their regular LC and their bg will increase, others need the MC, and others need HC to get them up into safer numbers. ECID.

Be sure to continue testing him. The insulin is beginning to wane as he moves past his mid-cycle, but you want to make sure he remains safe and begins to trend up. Remember also that the food he's eaten is manipulating his numbers and bumping them up. The food typically remains in his system for about an hour or two after ingesting it. You want to be sure to keep testing to make sure he doesn't drop when the food bump has cleared his system.

Good job, Albert!
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Very helpful, thank you so much!

I see that you also feed Jude fancy feast pates. Which foods do you typically use to carb manipulate that are a little lower carb? I'll continue to watch him and test soon.

For now, its cube nap time. 🙂

20250907_144859.jpg
 
Albert & Xander said:
Very helpful, thank you so much!

I see that you also feed Jude fancy feast pates. Which foods do you typically use to carb manipulate that are a little lower carb? I'll continue to watch him and test soon.

For now, its cube nap time. 🙂

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I use the FF Gravy Lovers Beef Feast, but it's only a little over 15%, so it's just barely HC, but Jude responds well to it. I also use some of the Weruva brands which are both MC and HC (and many of them are LC). Here is a chart on our site that has some of these foods listed: FDMB chart. You're going to be looking at the first column, the % calories from carbs. There is another chart that I also like: Andrew Hall's CKD Food List. Again, you're looking at the "carbs % of cals" (third column over). This list is updated regularly, and it has the added benefit of including phosphorous % content. Cats with kidney disease (CKD) need to avoid foods with high phosphorous content, but high phosphorous isn't good for any cat, really. And by the way, FF pates are high in phosphorous.

Sometimes, what I will do is combine Jude's LC with a HC food, which sort of ends up making a MC. I do this depending on his numbers and how much I want to manipulate the number.

Those babies are adorable!! Your tabby reminds me of Jude!
 
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Mary & Jude said:
I use the FF Gravy Lovers Beef Feast, but it's only a little over 15%, so it's just barely HC, but Jude responds well to it. I also use some of the Weruva brands which are both MC and HC (and many of them are LC). Here is a chart on our site that has some of these foods listed: FDMB chart. You're going to be looking at the first column, the % calories from carbs. There is another chart that I also like: Andrew Hall's CKD Food List. Again, you're looking at the "carbs % of cals" (third column over). This list is updated regularly, and it has the added benefit of including phosphorous % content. Cats with kidney disease (CKD) need to avoid foods with high phosphorous content, but high phosphorous isn't good for any cat, really. And by the way, FF pates are high in phosphorous.

Sometimes, what I will do is combine Jude's LC with a HC food, which sort of ends up making a MC. I do this depending on his numbers and how much I want to manipulate the number.

Those babies are adorable!! Your tabby reminds me of Jude!
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Great idea, don't know why I didn't think about mixing the foods to tailor the carb %.

He does! I remember my first thought seeing your profile pic on the .org website was "wait, is that Flare?" haha. Flare was originally my fiance's cat and we introduced them together 7 years ago. Flare is the big guy who doesn't quite know how to play gently but Xander quickly grew to love him, always coming to lay next to him and sometimes looking a bit creepy doing so:

20250907_144705m.jpg
 
Mary & Jude said:
52 is not too low. You want to boost that number, though. How is he acting?
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He seems perfectly normal except for being a little mad about me putting karo on his mouth.

He didnt eat as much as he usually does tonight, maybe thats why he dipped. He's almost eaten all his calories today, but it was front loaded in the morning with only about 50g in the PM (before the HC food).
 
78 is much better. You did well to boost him up, and def keep an eye on him. We all get nervy with big drops. On TR, he doesn’t earn a dose reduction unless he falls below 50. Feel free to leave your ? up to receive input from more experienced folks.
 
Mary & Jude said:
78 is much better. You did well to boost him up, and def keep an eye on him. We all get nervy with big drops. On TR, he doesn’t earn a dose reduction unless he falls below 50. Feel free to leave your ? up to receive input from more experienced folks.
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2 50s in one day was quite the day for me haha.
I think what causes the anxiety for me is not knowing how much lower its gonna go. Feeding those two drops to the 50s did make me feel better about how much a little higher carb food can help out though.
 
Albert & Xander said:
2 50s in one day was quite the day for me haha.
I think what causes the anxiety for me is not knowing how much lower its gonna go. Feeding those two drops to the 50s did make me feel better about how much a little higher carb food can help out though.
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Yes, understanding that you can boost the bg with food is key.
 
Mary & Jude said:
Remember that the food bump lasts an hour or two, so you want to make sure to test him 1-2 hrs after that to ensure he doesn’t drop.
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Right, I know the karo last even shorter than that so testing now. At +4 he is stable at 82 . I'll keep an eye on him tonight, hopefully he appreciates me giving up some sleep 😆

Btw thank you for the reply so late! I appreciate all your help since I started posting here
 
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