? 430am wake up

Discussion in 'Feline Health - (Welcome & Main Forum)' started by Peppersmom72, Jan 17, 2018.

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  1. Peppersmom72

    Peppersmom72 Member

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    Nov 20, 2017
    Hi All. I told you all yesterday I would be back to have questions. So, here is my paragraph. haha

    I was just wondering if any Mama/Daddy Bean had to deal with their sugar baby waking them up in wee hours of the morning. Pepper does not eat hardly ever at night. She's not hungry after 10 pm. But since she has been on insulin she wakes me up at 430 to feed her. Its getting exhausting.:coffee::coffee::( I give her a couple pieces of boiled chicken and go back to bed. But when I get up for work at 6, shes already had her boiled chicken in her for an hour, so her BG is elevated. Its to the point where if I don't get up to feed her, she will sit on my pillow, meow in my face and then make herself spit up on my bed. Is there a better feeding schedule I can put her on that won't mess up her insulin routine of 615 am and 615 pm? During the day Pepper eats a 1/2 can of FF every 4 hours and if she is hungry in between hubby gives her another 1/4 can. So she is eating roughly 2-1/2 cans of FF every day. Is this enough? Is this too much? Could I supplement her in between snack of 1/4 can with something else that has less carbs? I always thought that Pepper is "carb sensitive". I say that because Pepper has NEVER been on any dry food. She has eaten Friskies Pate her whole life and here she is with FD. I switched her to FF earlier last month thinking it would possibly make a difference, but in my gut it doesn't seem like it really has. I know the change in insulin definitely has helped.

    Your opinions would be greatly appreciated.
     
    Last edited: Jan 17, 2018
  2. FurBabiesMama

    FurBabiesMama Well-Known Member

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    Hi. I feed my girls four times a day, one of those times is midnight. I started that based on the AAHA guidelines which say four feedings is ideal; they also say free feeding is okay if your cat is underweight. Any food that remains stays out for them to graze on until the next meal or until two hours before Mia's shot time. A lot of people use auto-feeders for this.

    Unless Pepper is overweight, I would let her eat as much as she wants. Also, when a diabetic is not regulated, they are not able to properly use the food; they are starving and should be allowed to eat more.
     
  3. Critter Mom

    Critter Mom Well-Known Member

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    The Petsafe 5 automatic feeder might help, Missy. Amazon sometimes have them on special offer.

    You can set the Petsafe 5 to dispense one or more timed feeds for Pepper to eat overnight and then to rotate round to an empty compartment 2 hours before her preshot test is due.


    Mogs
    .
     
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  4. Peppersmom72

    Peppersmom72 Member

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    Nov 20, 2017
    I understand what your saying. I leave food out for Pepper when I go to bed. She doesn't touch it. So, I am wasting 1/2 can every night. She will not eat it in the morning, since it has been sitting out all night and now she wants me to get up at 430 am to give her fresh food.
     
  5. Peppersmom72

    Peppersmom72 Member

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    I don't know if she is overweight now or still under weight or right where she should be. She is 11 lbs. But the vet says she has a big body structure for a cat. She said she would be happy to see Pepper at around 12 lbs. to be a healthy weight for her.
     
  6. Critter Mom

    Critter Mom Well-Known Member

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  7. Nan & Amber (GA)

    Nan & Amber (GA) Well-Known Member

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    Hmmm.... Well, I'm not sure this advice will work (it sounds kind of like Pepper mostly likes having her human get up to serve her ;), so it may not be about the food itself), but one thing you could try would be to freeze little blocks of wet food for the overnight. That's what people who use the automatic feeders to to keep the food fresh over time.
     
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  8. Peppersmom72

    Peppersmom72 Member

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    Pepper would be a 4. You can see her back end vertibrae by her hips but cannot see her ribs.
     
  9. Peppersmom72

    Peppersmom72 Member

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    I was thinking the same thing too. I think she's a sassy girl sometimes and I don't want her to get into a bad habit. But I also don't want her to gag up stuff on my bed either. How much boiled chicken can she have a day? Maybe I can put a few frozen pieces in the automatic feeder to hold her off in the middle of the night so I can sleep.
     
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  10. Peppersmom72

    Peppersmom72 Member

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    @Critter Mom

    Can I send you a picture of her later so that you can see for yourself and give me an honest opinion?
     
  11. Maggies Mom Debby

    Maggies Mom Debby Well-Known Member

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    You could use foodsicles. That is small lumps of frozen cat food. If you put it out in her dish at midnight, it will be thawed and fresh for a middle of the night snack. It can't hurt to try.
     
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  12. Peppersmom72

    Peppersmom72 Member

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    I will do that. Thank you so much.
     
  13. Critter Mom

    Critter Mom Well-Known Member

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    Sure, Missy. Post away and I'll do as best I can via the Intertube. You need to take a 'bird's eye view' photo and a side-on view photo. Also if you could get a bit of a closer shot of her backbone it would help.


    Mogs
    .
     
  14. FurBabiesMama

    FurBabiesMama Well-Known Member

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    :D
     
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  15. Tracey&Jones (GA)

    Tracey&Jones (GA) Well-Known Member

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    Do you have some freeze dried treats that she likes?

    Maybe a bag beside the bed. Give her a couple to deal with any acidic tummy issues (the spit up issues) but they shouldn't cause too much BG increase as they are not as dense as the whole chicken pieces.
     
  16. Peppersmom72

    Peppersmom72 Member

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    Blue for PMPS.....go Pepper!
     
  17. Peppersmom72

    Peppersmom72 Member

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    Nov 20, 2017
    She can't eat hard treats do to scar tissue in her small intestine from previous hairball removal surgery. They will get stuck
     
    Tracey&Jones (GA) likes this.
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