3/11 Bonk PMPS 506

Yesterday's Condo:

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=115225

He must have gotten into something he shouldn't have during the night. His numbers were off the scale this morning. I'm going to have to rethink these appetite stimulants, they work too well. Thanks Marje and Sienne for your suggestion to up his dosage to 2.25. I haven't done so yet though, as I didn't read your posting until after the dosage this morning. And I need to take action to get access to Faolan's dry food away from him.

He wasn't happy about the injection this morning either. Seems the poke hurt this morning, and he let me know. He didn't even want me to pet him afterwards. :YMSIGH:

Re: 3/11 Bonk AMPS "Hi"

Hi Brian,
Some days are like that. ohmygod_smile I hope that as the day progresses Bonk will slide down and that he won't be able to get into any kibble. Will Faolan eat wet food? Switching them both to a wet-food diet would solve a lot of problems.
Hang in there! Good luck with the dose increase. Those "ouchies" are not fun, but the kitties recover and forget quickly. You probably hit the muscle. I have given Rusty "ouchies" that were so bad that he pulled away and bent the needle.

Ella & Rusty

Re: 3/11 Bonk AMPS "Hi"

Brian --

The "Hi" doesn't necessarily imply that Bonk got into contraband. Between yesterday's AMPS and your +9, Bonk dropped 300 points (and it may have been a larger drop depending on where his nadir was). When a diabetic cat's numbers drop low, drop fast, or drop into ranges that are lower than their body is used to, it can trigger their liver and pancreas to overreact. When this happens, a stored form of glucose (i.e., glucagon) along with counterregulatory hormones are released by the liver and pancreas which causes the numbers to spike upward. This is a normal response and as Bonk gets used to being in those lower ranges, he should bounce less. It's also worthwhile to note that it can take some cats up to 72 hours for a bounce to clear.

Re: 3/11 Bonk AMPS "Hi"

Morning Brian and EXTRA sweet BonkyDonk!

Aren't bounces fun? ....and confusing? Yep, they iz!

HUGS AND DANCES!

Re: 3/11 Bonk AMPS "Hi"

Could you transition the other cat onto wet? Or a low carb dry?

Maybe work over the next few days to try and fill in some data blanks i.e. get a AMPS +5 or a PMPS +8. Cats can nadir at different times.

Wendy

Re: 3/11 Bonk AMPS "Hi"

Hi Brian and Bonk!

It's just my opinion, but I think it might be a good idea to hold on the 2 unit dose, at least for a little while longer. As Sienne pointed out, he dropped 300 points on the AM cycle yesterday and since we don't know where he was before the +9, it's totally possible he went even lower.

If this is a bounce (which it very well could be with that big of a drop), and you increase the dose, when the bounce "breaks" and he comes back down, you could have problems with him going too low.

As for the possibility of contraband....what I did was go through my house on my hands and knees to get the "cats eye view" and clear out anything China could get into that she shouldn't.(yes, I'm a crazy cat lady...LOL)
I know you're still working with Faolan, but the sooner you can get rid of all the dry, and know for 100% sure that Bonk isn't getting into anything he shouldn't, the easier it'll be to know what's really going on.

It's wonderful to hear he's feeling better!! It's so great when we start to see the cats we "used to know" come back to us! China had lost her "queen of the cat tree" title before we got the diagnosis, and I thought she was just suffering from "Old cat disease"..slowing down, sleeping more, not so interested in what was going on around her. Now that she's better controlled, she's back to the top of the hierarchy where she belongs!

Hopefully you'll get some more opinions on the dose as the day goes on.

Re: 3/11 Bonk AMPS "Hi"

Hi Brian, just stopping by to say hello to you and Bonk. Good luck on the dose. Hope Bonk slides down some today with no dramarama. Have a nice day

Re: 3/11 Bonk AMPS "Hi"

i'm a little confused - you're talking about the possibility of contraband, but didn't you feed him dry food yesterday?

he could be bouncing, but the dry food alone could be responsible for the HI. Between the two factors (bouncing + dry food), he might stay HI for a while. even a couple of days.

we've had people do little experiments with dry food and found that in some cats, even 3-4 kibbles can send them high and keep them there for another day or two. it's powerful and long-lasting in a diabetic cat.

Re: 3/11 Bonk AMPS "Hi"

Bounces can drive you crazy. It took me a while to learn they can bounce from a fast drop in addition to low numbers. I hope Bonk comes back down soon.

Re: 3/11 Bonk AMPS "Hi" +8 402

Just a reminder Brian,

It's always important to get ketone tests, but it's especially important when their numbers are so high. You don't want to have to deal with DKA along with everything else.

If it's anything more than a trace, it's an emergency and he'd need to go to the vet. If there's some, but only a trace or less, we may be able to help you treat him at home.

Re: 3/11 Bonk AMPS "Hi" +8 402

Thanks everyone for the support! High numbers, but good appetite tonight.

Ella, yes, I'm learning all about bounces. Oh well. And yes, Faolan will eat canned food, and I do plan on transitioning him as well. But I have so much money invested in a bit of dry food, I'm going to let him finish it off as I transition him over to the same diet as Bonk. I can't see throwing perfectly (although a bit less healthy) food away. What I am doing now though, is taking the food dish off the floor when I'm not around to watch. This way I'm sure who is eating it. And yes, I prbably did hit a mussel. Bonk wasn't amused, but he forgave me.

Sienne, thanks for the information. And that makes sense. It's just weird watching it go from mid 200's to off the scale, with no known sources of high carb food. So that could be it.

Thanks Lyresa. yes lots of fun....Oh well. We'll get there.

Wendy, yes, I will be transitioning Faolan to all wet, but I'm not going to transition him as fast as Bonk. In the meantime, I'll just watch his dry food a little more closely to keep Bonk out of it. And I'm trying to work on some of those other bits of blank data. It's tough on a hectic schedule though.

Thanks Chris, I think I will hold off on the dose increase until at least tomorrow PM shot. I want to let this bounce settle before I change again. He is still pretty high in numbers right now.

Thanks Ann!

Julie, actually it was Sunday night I gave him the dry food. it was Monday AM I saw him go from 572 to 272. I assumed by that point the effects of the dry would have been cleared out if I was getting numbers that low, but maybe that's how it works. Now I'm confused. :? :smile:

Thanks Carla! I'm learning all about bounces, not what I expected to happen, that's for sure!

Re: 3/11 Bonk AMPS "Hi" +8 402

Ah, welcome to the wonderful world of bouncy kitties! It looks like Bonk is slowly working his way back down. I have a couple kibble-heads in my house (they WON'T eat wet food...no way, no how!), so I spend a lot of time policing food bowls. Crazy cat lady at your service!

Have a great night, Brian!

Re: 3/11 Bonk AMPS "Hi" +8 402

Thanks Amy! I've always fed a mix. Mostly kibble, and about one 3 oz can of wet per day. It was not the best diet, but it was easy. Especially since I like to take several camping trips over the summer. I could set up a timed feeder, and have a relative stop by once a day to check on everyone, clean the litter box, and put out a dish of wet food. Doesn't look like that's going to happen this summer though, unless I can find a cat sitter.

You pack Bonk up and take him with you!

We have a few members who have taken their sugarcats on vacation, as well as camping. It's not necessarily something you'll have to stop.

If you do choose to leave him at home while you're camping, start looking early for a good sitter that's willing to come visit enough so they're not a stranger, and can do the testing as well as the shooting. Sometimes you can find a vet tech who's willing to earn a few extra bucks, but there's also a lot of pet-sitting companies now you can hire.

Good to hear Bonk's appetite is better!! I know you were concerned

Silly Bouncy Bonk :razz: Let's make it a quick one sweet boy!
I hear you on the 'getting away' hurdle. Love Chris' suggestion We actually had a year round and the neighbors would bring their 2 cats and a rabbit. All three were leash trained and I would think 'who in their right mind takes cats and rabbits camping?' Now I think 'how the heck am I gonna get 9 cats leash trained by summer?' :lol:

Have a great night Brian!

Transitioning from dry food can be tough, and keeping it away from the FD cat can be challenging! I know Cinco never missed a piece of kibble that hit the floor when he was transitioning. Once I got him eating wet food all the time, he lost interest in the dry food, and now I can leave the pantry door open with the bowl of dry food on the floor and he doesn't go near it (okay, now that he's blind, he probably doesn't know it's there, :lol: but before he lost his sight he was ignoring it, too).

Bounces are confusing and can be scary, but once you get a grasp on how your cat handles the insulin, you will learn to anticipate them, and hopefully minimize them.

I can totally sympathize on the travel issues now that you have an FD kitty. We are in the same boat. We used to go away for the weekend on a whim and leave bowls of dry food around the house. No more! We are lucky to have a trusted friend that stays with our tribe most times, but when she can't come, we board our sugar cat and our female Siberian, who is on thyroid meds, at a nearby vet that has 24 hour care. It's not as expensive as it sounds, so that might be something to look into for Bonk, too.

Hope Bonk comes down a bit more and surfs for you.