Feed/shoot schedule?

I feel like I have so many questions right now!

So up until last week, my cats were fed in the morning around 5:30am. Then I would just leave the food out and go to work so they could eat during the day. Then I would feed them again around 3:30-4:00pm when I got home from work.

I've been trying to get them on a 5:30am-5:30pm feeding schedule, but it hasn't been going well. When I get home at 3:30, I pick up their food to make sure there is a two hour gap between food and the PMPS, but then both cats prowl around crying for two hours. It's killing me. Plus, it's giving them that scarcity mindset, so when I finally do feed them at 5:30pm, they devour the food instead of grazing on it, then cry during the night because all of their food is gone.

Any suggestions?

 

Hmmm...offhand I don't have any great suggestions for daytime. You could split their evening food up. Do you have a pet feeder? You could give them most of it at dinner time, but then set the pet feeder up to open sometime during the night to give them a snack. That way, they're getting a bit sometime mid-night.

 

That's a great idea for night time! Thank you, Rachel! I do have a feeder, so that would be easy enough.

What would you think about testing and feeding at around 4:00, and then giving the shot like an hour later? It's okay to tell me if that's a terrible idea.

 

Hmmm...I would worry about that. I just wonder about how that would work. I mean, I don't know that you're shooting at the TRUE preshot number, since it could go up in an hour, but you wouldn't know. Plus, I wonder if they wouldn't then expect morning food at 4?

Let me ask this. Do they eat all the food during the day? Because it's possible you could set up the pet feeder again to give them a snack around 2:30/3 so they had a little something to eat, but you could shoot at the same time? Not sure that will work, but maybe.

 

They don't eat all of the food. I leave out a frozen puck of raw, and a can of fancy feast. From watching them on the weekend, I think that after around noon, they don't eat anymore of it - they just wait until it's time and I give them fresh food.
Maybe I just need to leave the house and go run errands between 3:30-5:30. I know they aren't going to die from waiting two extra hours, especially since during the night they go even longer. I just hate hearing them cry. On nights when I get home later, they are always sleeping when I get here, so I think this whole thing is harder for me than it is for them!

 

They know how to work us!

 

Hahaha yeah I think they know what they're up to! Try taking a long shower at that time? Or maybe distract them with some play?

 

Or maybe catnip? That usually occupies my three for a while.

 

Catnip! That's brilliant!!! I haven't had much luck with getting them to play. They can be very focused on feeding time. But catnip makes him so high he can barely stand up. That's a great idea! Plus, it might make the testing and shooting part a little more relaxed.

 

Glad I thought of it! Mine get goofy and roll around and often end up napping.

 

Maybe I should start a new thread for this...but I'm getting a little impatient/frustrated with his numbers. Look at the three tests earlier today. His numbers didn't budge. Tonight I gave him a fat 1.25. It was really closer to 1.5, so that may count as a dose increase, but I'll be home this evening to keep an eye on him. Am I just in need of more patience? When I look at these numbers, it feels like I'm injecting him with water.

 

I think it's time to try 1.5 u.
Patience is always a good thing in this game though ...

 

I'm so glad you thought an increase was okay. After I gave it to him I was worried I had been too impulsive. And I may need frequent reminders to be patient. Not exactly my strength.

 

It's okay...we have patience pants in every color on this board if you need them!