**FIRST WET FOOD** 7/4 Skooter PMPS 387 +2 314 +4 244

Yesterday's Condo:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=121219

Greetings Everyone and for those in the USA, party_cat party_cat HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!! party_cat party_cat

Yesterday was full of many highs and lows and ups and downs for this fur mamma.....BUT after a GREAT conversation with Chris and some people who have a lot of knowledge on IBD, I have decided to attempt to transition Skooter from his Royal Canin HP dry food to a raw food diet. I am a bit nervous and scared as I am not quiet sure how to do this, especially with they way my work schedule is going to be for the rest of the summer as far as my ability to come home during the day, but I am willing to try whatever I can to help Skooter.

I DEFINITELY have some questions about transiting (Do I still give the same amount of insulin while transiting or do I lessen his dose, how do I know how much to give him, etc)

This momma had a late night due to the great convos with Chris and the IBD peeps, so I slept through my alarm and Skooter got his shot 30 minutes later, but I felt ok because it was still within the hour window....I will be trying once again, starting with dinner to gradually get him back to around 30 or so.....

Skooter slept with me for most of the night, which was nice. I still am not too sure about my own perspective on the WCR because as I said before, I am reading into every little thing he does...that should make the transition from dry to wet a breeze, eh? I won't be freaking out about anything LOL

Welpers I am hoping the pet store I want to go get his raw food at is open today, so I can get started tonight at dinner time.....wish us luck (and by "us" I really do mean me because as with everything through this dx, Skooter for the most part has handled everything fine...it is his basket case mom who is having the issues)

and Congrats to Oliver for being OTJ drinking24 party_cat :RAHCAT .....due to my misunderstanding that Skooter HAD to be on the food he was , I never thought remission was possible, I am a bit more hopeful now that I will be attempting the transition.....

Re: 7/4 Skooter AMPS 415 +2 302

I wanted to go get some grocery shopping done as well as pick up more test strips, lancets just to make sure I have way more than I need to...with this I think it is better to have too much than not enough....I plan to get 300 strips, and I am pretty sure I will not have a problem using them before the expiration date

I am going to be putting together my own little HYPO kit in the hopes that I never have to use it. I am planning on putting a box of 100 test strips and lancets in it, syringe, and caro syrup for now.....

I will add some of the other higher carb foods once Skooter's transition from his dry food to his raw food diet is in process....

with an AMPS of 415 and a +2 of 302....I should be ok to be gone for a couple of hours, yes? Or should I wait and get a +3 before heading out?

Re: 7/4 Skooter AMPS 415 +2 302 OK 2 LEAVE FOR A COUPLE HOU

I think you are good to go for a couple of hours. Good luck on the shopping trip. I'll stop in later with some thoughts on transitioning as both my crew are on raw food now,

Re: 7/4 Skooter AMPS 415 +2 302 OK 2 LEAVE FOR A COUPLE HOU

That would be awesome....I am a bit nervous as with my work schedule (I will be training a newbie for the next 3 months)....I won't be able to get home to test him during the day....the weekends no problem...I can test and monitor while transitioning....just a bit concerned with the week days....

I am hoping that I will be able to get coordinating treats with the same novel protein to give him when he is testing....I am assuming the same rules apply, want it to be under 5% carbs? I am assuming that just getting the same brand and novel protein as his raw food will be ok?

Re: 7/4 Skooter AMPS 415 +2 302

Aren't the people here just wonderful!!! I'm so glad to be a part of such a loving and caring group of people.
Have a wonderful 4th!!!! :RAHCAT

Re: 7/4 Skooter AMPS 415 +2 302

Hi!!!
Lucy has IBD and diabetes.
Unfortunately, she didn't do well on raw diet, but I know that many cats with GI issues have their symptoms improve on raw.
But please be cautious.
When Lucy was on raw, I didn't even realize it wasn't working for her for a long long time because she loved it and ate well and her energy seemed up.
But she wasn't absorbing the nutrients from it.
By the time she was showing symptoms by occasional vomiting and diarrhea, her intestinal linings were so thickened she had to be put on steroids immediately.
She was losing weight sort of slowly over a few month, so I didn't catch that, and I was totally fooled by her good appetite and energy.

I think the intestines of IBD cats can easily get over-populated by the bad bacteria, and that over-powers the good bacteria.
I think it might be a good idea to put Skooter on regular probiotic prior to transitioning to sort of prepare his tummy.
Skooter may do just perfectly. Lucy is extra sensitive and she always has problem sustaining good bacteria.
But I just wanted to share my experience.

I do think that raw diet is totally worth trying.
My other cat, Ginger, has been on raw, and she has never had to see a vet for internal issues all her life until she recently developed CKD.
She stayed like a kitten for the longest time.
I hope it works for him, but it is extra tricky for an IBD cat.

Re: 7/4 Skooter AMPS 415 +2 302 +4 273

Where do I get probiotics? Can I use the same type that is used on humans?

I am very pleased to see his numbers going down throughout his curve today!! I am trying to be very diligent about getting an every two hour read for the AM and I am thinking trying to get as many every two hours as I can for PM as well.....while it may mean a late night for momma, I am really encouraged to get as much data as I can to ensure Skooter is at the right dose insulin and getting him moved in the right direction.

Thanks for the input about the raw diet...I think I will still try to give it a try as I am hoping it is better than the dry he is on. He is on a regular dose of .5 ml of budesonide, so I am hoping that will help his transition off of the dry.

We shall see how it goes!

Re: 7/4 Skooter AMPS 415 +2 302 +4 273

Hi!

many people give fortiflora as a probiotic. You can buy it off Amazon or from vets - it's not available in pet stores. I've given people probiotics to punkin, but i'd start with the fortiflora.

You're doing a super job of testing. I think i'd start transitioning slowly and don't do any significant reduction of the dry food until you can be around to test every couple of hours. Typically, if you went all at once, you'd see a dramatic decrease in the insulin needed within the next 24 hrs as the dry food carbs wore off. With his IBD you'll want to go slowly, so if you're going to be off for 2 days, i'd pick the day prior to that to begin any significant amount of transitioning.

When a cat gets low numbers (under 50), we give a bit of high carbs and then wait 20-30 minutes to retest. if they are still under 50, we repeat the process. if they are over 50 we wait 30 minutes and retest again. there are detailed instructions in the "Shooting and Handling Low Numbers" yellow starred stickies. I just want to give you the general idea to make the point that for people who are gone, you can use a timed feeder to replace yourself. We got punkin used to eating at +3 from the feeder, both am and pm cycles. When I started back to work, the timer was set to go off every day at +3. He'd been diabetic for a while by then, so i knew his pattern was to fairly consistently, drop down until about +5.5, then start back up. So if his preshot was lower, I'd have the usual +3 snack, and would set additional times to open at +3.5, +4, +4.5 and put some food in each one. Then either my husband or i would jet home from work to test him. I only have 30 min for lunch so i had to eat while i drove home. That's just an example - your situation will determine what works for you.

The reason I asked if you had other cats was to see what options we could suggest for feeding. I used the PetSafe 5 Compartment feeder. We just had a discussion about them for someone else: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=121121&p=1262140#p1262140.

You don't have to test every 2 hrs all the time. What you're looking for is the speed of the drop until he hits his nadir (low point) in a cycle. Then he will start coming back up. Cats don't necessarily drop at a consistent rate, but observing how many points per hour he's dropping will help you know when to test next. So for example, today he went from amps 415 to +2/302 (drop of 113 pts in 2 hrs) and then only 29 pts in the following 2 hrs. So the speed of his drop is already declining. When he begins to come back up, you can probably take a break from testing and just get the next preshot test.

Most people buy strips online - they are much cheaper. I registered first through http://www.mrrebates.com then went through them to http://www.americandiabeteswholesale.com. My favorite syringes were http://www.americandiabeteswholesale.com/product/terumo-thinpro-insulin-syringe_5891.htm. The Terumos have a narrower barrel than many syringes, which makes it a little easier to fine-tune dosing when you get to that point. If you go through mrrebates you'll get a rebate check from them every so often on what you've spent at ADW. Some people order off of ebay and have great success there.

ok, not to overwhelm you with too much! this is a wonderful community - usually it's fairly hopping but with the 4th of July it might be quieter this weekend. Keep asking questions and we'll do our best to help you. I'm glad you found us.

Re: 7/4 Skooter AMPS 415 +2 302 +4 273

almost forgot - here is a spreadsheet for another Scooter who went from 5.5u to OTJ in one day when the dry food got removed. Look at what happened on Feb 17-19 when she removed the dry food. As I mentioned yesterday, your particular Royal Canin food wasn't on the food chart, so we don't know exactly what the carb count is that he's eating, but the others listed were 10-20% carbs for their canned foods.

I think i misunderstood yesterday - i thought he was eating a canned Royal Canin, but it sounds like it's a dry food. Do I have that right?

Linda (Scooter's bean) thought Scooter wasn't eating the dry food she had for her other 12 cats, but apparently he was. This is the power of high carb food! I'm not saying that Skooter will go off of insulin with the change to a different canned food that has lower carbs, but his dose will likely decrease significantly. The higher the carbs of his current food, the greater the decrease in needed dose is going to be.

Getting a food that is ok for him is going to be a top priority. What do you think of trying one of the ones that Liz (Zener's bean) suggested works for Zener's IBD? The best source of info on cat food in general is http://www.catinfo.org. I'd spend some time looking at her site.

Re: 7/4 Skooter AMPS 415 +2 302 +4 273 +6 352

Did you see my post last night with a link to the hypo toolkit? That will help you with your shopping.

As Julie said, it's better to just get spot checks than to do a curve where you test every two hours. I'd give his ears a break and as long as he's high, get different tests each cycle. However, I will say that we have found it fairly important to get a +2 as many cycles as you can. Generally speaking, if the +2 is much higher than the pre shot (PS), it's going to likely be an inactive cycle and you could wait and test mid cycle. If the +2 is similar to or much less than the PS, then it's likely to be an active lantus cycle (see below) and you might want to get a test at +4 or so depending on how much he's dropped.

Example of an ACTIVE, but NOT necessarily typical Lantus cycle:

+0 - PreShot number.
+1 - Usually higher than PreShot number because of the last shot wearing off. May see a food spike in this number.
+2 - Often similar to the PreShot number. You'll probably see an active cycle if the +2 is the same/similar or lower than the preshot number. Continue testing!
+3 - Lower than the PreShot number, onset has started.
+4 - Lower.
+5 - Lower.
+6 - Nadir/Peak (the lowest number of cycle).
+7 - Surf (hang around the nadir number).
+8 - Slight rise.
+9 - Slight rise.
+10 - Rising.
+11 - Rising (one of the quirks of Lantus/Levemir: some cat's blood glucose numbers dip around +10 or +11... not to be confused with nadir).
+12 - PreShot number.

Click to expand...

We made need to change the test times as you move him from dry to raw food; in other words, you might find the need to test a little bit more if he starts coming down fast.

Re: 7/4 Skooter AMPS 415 +2 302 +4 273 +6 352

Julie...yes, the Royal Canin HP Skooter has been eating for the last 7 years is the dry form. The ingredient list is a "who's who" of what not to feed a cat!

Rice, Soy Protein Isolate Hydrolysate, Chicken Fat, Natural Flavour, Powdered Cellulose, Soybean Oil, Dried Beet Pulp, Fish Oil, Calcium Sulphate, Calcium Carbonate, Monopotassium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Sodium Silico Aluminate (Zeolite), Fructo-Oligosaccharides, Salt, Taurine, Borage Oil, Vitamins (DL-Alpha- Tocopherol [Source of Vitamin E], Inositol, Niacin, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate [Source of Vitamin C], D-Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride [Vitamin B6], Riboflavin [Vitamin B2], Thiamine Mononitrate [Vitamin B1], Vitamin A Acetate, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12 Supplement and Vitamin D3 Supplement), Choline Chloride, DL-Methionine, Marigold Extract (Source of Lutein) and Trace Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Oxide, Ferrous Sulphate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Copper Sulphate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate and Sodium Selenite). Naturally Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols, Rosemary Extract and Citric Acid. Approximately 341 kcal/cup, 412 kcal/100 g, 83 g/cup - See more at: http://www.royalcanin.ca/index.php/Vete ... tpvyt.dpuf

I have told her when she transitions she'll need to be very watchful of his numbers since if he's going from a dry to a low carb canned (she's going to try canned Natures Variety first...then when she finds a protein Skooter likes and tolerates, move to raw)

Re: 7/4 Skooter AMPS 415 +2 302 +4 273 +6 352

So I just did a +8 like 10 minutes early and his at 582.....

I am freaking, should I shoot him early or just ride it out and see how he does?

Re: 7/4 Skooter AMPS 415 +2 302 +4 273 +6 352

So at 13:39 I did a test and it said 582


Then I did his "official" +8 and it just read HI, so I did another test and it came up 388.....

What number should I go by or should I wait and to a +8.25 ?

Re: 7/4 Skooter AMPS 415 +2 302 +4 273 +6 352

I'd give his little ears a break and just wait until PMPS time. He's on the way up, nothing new to be learned by an additional test.

Re: 7/4 Skooter AMPS 415 +2 302 +4 273 +6 352

So should I put anything on his chart for the +8 and if so should I do the 388 or the 582 or both?

Re: 7/4 Skooter AMPS 415 +2 302 +4 273 +6 352

i'd do the 388. unless your cat is headed into low numbers, you'll just make yourself crazy by retesting. it's rare to get the same number twice. if he's been 300 at the last test, then 2 hrs later you get a 38, that's the time to retest. Otherwise, save your strips.

just fyi, you can change your subject line as many times through the day as you want to ask questions or update numbers. Just keep editing the subject line of the first post in the thread. then put your new topic here - that keeps your info all in one place. With so many people posting daily on the TR forum, one condo per person per day will keep everyone on the front page and keep people from being missed.

Re: 7/4 Skooter AMPS 415 +2 302 +4 273 +6 352

Here's the link to your question about transitioning from dry food to raw: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=121286 and your question:

Skootersmom said:

Greetings one and all....

I was just able to confirm that Petco (which is open today) has the raw food that I am wanting to try and transition Skooter to.

I wanted to give an outline of my plan and see what people's thoughts were. My problem is going to be with my work schedule, I cannot guarantee being able to come home at lunch every day and test him to see how he is doing.

I am going to start with the Instinct Originals Cans for Cats so I can find a protein that he will like and eat. Once I find that, I would like to then get him into the bag variety with the medallions.

I would like to start at dinner tonight, so any feed back would be great.

What I would like to do is do the transitioning over the weekends, when I will be home to test him and make sure he does not hypo. My plan would be to slowly replace his dry food with the raw starting at dinner time on Friday nights. Then based on how he does with that and maintains, do any changes during the weekend. By Sunday night, whatever dry/wet food proportions I would like to keep until the following Friday night and continue on until he gets totally on the raw. I know this may be at a slower pace, but I tend to freak out easily and get paranoid and think it would help me keep sane if I can do it this way. I don't want to be worrying about him all day at work....while this may not be ideal, I am thinking with my current work situation it would be best.

He gets approximately 1/2 cup twice a day (in the morning and when I get home from work). He is 12.8 pounds, which is not overweight, we like to keep him between 12-14 pounds and currently on 5U 2xday

Here are my questions:

1. If I start tonight, do I still want to give him the full 5U or should I do a lower dose? If so, what dose of insulin should I go down to?
2. What is the ratio of dry food to raw food should I be giving?
3. If I want to try and make changes at each meal throughout the weekend, what should I adjust the ratio to each meal or will it depend on what his numbers look like during the cycle following the change?
4. How often should I feed? Should I break down his cup of food into 1/3s and do a morning, night and before bed meal?
5. How will I know when/if to reduce his insulin? (I am trying to be able to learn how to read the data and determine based on that what to do, I know some of that will come with experience. I guess it would be helpful when suggesting a dose decrease to explain to me why as I am thinking that is the only way I am going to be able to start figuring it out on my own).

I think that is it for now....I am trying really hard to do tests every 2 hours today, in order to get some good numbers/data....so off to run all my errands I go, hoping to be back in 90 minutes in order to get that +8 reading.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Skooter's human, Molly

Click to expand...

Since Wendy has already gone through this process successfully, I'd start with her suggestions. Doing this gradually is going to accomplish both letting his body get used to the new food and hopefully avoid any IBD problems, as well as letting you gradually adjust the dose to fit the current numbers.

Wendy&Neko said:

Hi Molly - some thoughts on transitioning from dry food to raw food. First here is a general description of converting from the place where I get Neko's raw food. One important thing they say and I've heard elsewhere is that it's best (if you can) to switch from dry food to wet food, then switch from wet food to raw. Dry food is digested at a different speed than raw food so it's easier on their digestive systems to step to wet food first as it's digested faster than dry but not as fast as raw. If you are going with Instinct Raw, they also have some canned foods of similar proteins and you can try those first to see if he likes them.

It's easier to put the probiotic on a wet food, others have suggested FortiFlora which is a good one. I've used PetDophilus although Marje found it raised Gracie's BG. It didn't for Neko. If the cat tolerates dairy, some use plain greek yoghurt with probiotics. I've know some people who have built up the probiotics in the gut for a week or two before doing the switch to raw. So gradually switching to canned food with probiotics for while before introducing raw may be the way to go.

When I converted my cats, I switched to all canned wet food first, then started with mostly canned food with a spoon of raw. Once I saw that was accepted I moved to 1/4 raw and 3/4 wet. I increased the percentages slowly as they wanted. Neko was practically an instant switch within a few days, my civie took longer. I added warm water to their meals to enhance the smell. It's good to add water to a diabetics meal as they can be dehydrated.

More smaller meals are better for the healing pancreas, so spreading out the meals in the first part of the cycle is better if you can. Since you are working, you should consider an autofeeder. Since raw shouldn't be left at room temperature very long, get one where you can fit in an ice cube in the feeding compartment along with the food, or one that has room for an ice pack.

Click to expand...

Keep asking questions!

Re: 7/4 Skooter AMPS 415 +2 302 +4 273 +6 352

I do believe Skooter is starting to feel like his old self....

He has been coming up to cuddle with me a lot today (something he hasn't done in a while....normally he goes off by himself)....

And he is hunting for any scrap of food he might have missed, including trying to naw on his bag of food.....something else he hasn't done for a very long time.....


I am cautiously optimistic....

Re: 7/4 Skooter AMPS 415 +2 302 +4 273 +6 352

Did you by any chance feed Scooter between your +4 and +6 tests? Since you are feeding a high carb food, that might be the reason his number went up so much.

Re: 7/4 Skooter AMPS 415 +2 302 +4 273 +6 352

it's awesome to hear a cat is feeling back to normal. As his numbers come down and he gets used to be in lower numbers, you'll likely see it even more.

Did you find some food to try?

Re: 7/4 Skooter AMPS 415 +2 302 +4 273 +6 352

Yes! I got Nature's Valley Instinct Chicken, Beef, Duck and Rabbit....

It looks like all are good, but I couldn't find the carb content on the Rabbit, so I am gonna hold off on that one until I know for sure. I got two cans of each and I am thinking I will start with the chicken

Re: 7/4 Skooter AMPS 415 +2 302 +4 273 +6 352

So Skooter will get dinner in about two hours as I woke up late and he got his last shot at 45, so trying to bring him back down to 630 in 15 minute increments....


I want to try the wet food as part of his dinner tonight, should I start with just a couple of tablespoons to see how he likes it or should I go for more than that?

And how often should I be testing him tonight to see how it effect his numbers?

Re: 7/4 Skooter AMPS 415 +2 302 +4 273 +6 352

i would start with roughly 80% dry 20% canned. I'm just putting numbers out there to give you an idea. you want to do this slowly.

then i'd get a +2 to see how it compares to the preshot and decide from there when to test next.

Re: 7/4 Skooter AMPS 415 +2 302 +4 273 +6 352

Sounds good.....

I am going to take a nap now and get up when its time to eat and give him the a little wet and some dry....I am guessing even though I probably won't have to, I am such a wreck of a fur momma I will be up most of the night wanting to check on him..... lol

Re: 7/4 Skooter AMPS 415 +2 302 +4 273 +6 352

it can take a day for dry food carbs to work their way out, so you might not see an immediate difference. that's ok - we don't want you to have the kind of day that Linda/Scooter had when the dry food that she thought he wasn't eating, finally went away. she spent the whole day fighting low numbers.

Re: 7/4 Skooter AMPS 415 +2 302 +4 273 +6 352

I am going to start him with a couple teaspoons of his new wet food and see how he takes to it and then give him his dry....I know that it will be a longer road than probably desired to get him off the dry, but like I said, I don't want to do a lot of changing during the week as I cannot be sure I can come home to check him....but I figure if I can do some changes with each meal on the weekends, starting Friday nights (so 6 meals)...I am hoping to be able to transition within 3 weeks or so....

off to take an hour nap before his feeding as I have a feeling I will up late again tonight with him because I am a worry wort

Re: 7/4 Skooter AMPS 415 +2 302 +4 273 +6 352

http://www.amazon.com/FortiFlora-FELINE-Box-gram-packets/dp/B0023UD8D6?tag=felinediabetesfdmb-20

Is this the one I want to get? If so, I mind as well order one tonight, the sooner I order the sooner I can get it.

Also, they are 1 gram packets, do I start out giving him a whole packet or just part of one?

Or is it not a good idea to add the probiotic at the same time as changing to the wet food...is that too much change at once?

Re: 7/4 Skooter AMPS 415 +2 302 +4 273 +6 352

I'd add FortiFlora at the same time as changing to wet. It's made with animal digest, some of what is in dry food, and can be a way to interest cat's in wet food if they are not otherwise keen on it. Cats tummies can be upset from the change from dry to wet and the probiotic will help with that. You've got the right one. For getting cats interested in food, I think you can just sprinkle some from the packet on top.

One thing to note with raw food, the volume of food served is less than wet food. For example, Neko gets 1/4 of raw or 4 oz a day. Boht wet and raw food have a lot less "filler" in them than dry, so it may look like you are feeding less but look at the calories per serving and feed by that. A couple of tablespoons of raw food is half on Neko's dinner. So starting with a tsp or two to see if Skooter likes it is a good idea.

Re: 7/4 Skooter AMPS 415 +2 302 +4 273 +6 352

Thanks, I will go ahead and order a box tonight....

I am about to do my PMPS and then drumroll.......his first bit of wet food.....

Oh I have a feeling this will be a long night since I am such a paranoid worry wart fur momma!

He has been pawing at his food bag for the last 30 minutes....planning on giving him the wet food first, so hopefully because he is hungry he will eat it

Re: **FIRST WET FOOD** 7/4 Skooter AMPS 415 +2 302 +4 273 +6

So getting him to WANT to eat the wet food.....soooooooooooo not gonna be an issue...

He ate the 1 teaspoon right up, so I gave him a second teaspoon and he enjoyed that as well....I have given him 1/3 cup of dry food and he ate some of that as well.....

He got his 5U of Lantus, so now the waiting game begins.....

Here is to hoping he keeps everything down and his numbers look good....I am already anxious and scared....but that is typical of me, so

Please send us some good thoughts for what will be a long night for this momma.....I plan on getting a +2 and then asking for advice at that point as to when to test from that point on.....

Holding my breath......

Re: **FIRST WET FOOD** 7/4 Skooter AMPS 415 +2 302 +4 273 +6

WOOT! Great news on the wet food. Some take to it like "where have you been hiding the good stuff all this time". :lol: What protein did you try tonight?

Don't forget to change the subject line of your first post to include the PMPS number. you can remove the AMPS numbers as you need room throughout the evening. We'll be here watching for that +2 update.

Re: **FIRST WET FOOD** 7/4 Skooter AMPS 415 +2 302 +4 273 +6

I went with chicken.....no specific reason why, just went with it lolol


Now I have the other cans here, but if he likes the chicken and his stomach holds well, I want to stick with the chicken, right?

I am doing some more shopping tomorrow, so I can pick up more cans if needed, I just wanted to get a couple small cans of a few varieties in case there were ones he didn't like....

I will update the subject line, removing his AMPS and doing his PMPS....which by the way was only up 5 from his +11. It was suggested to get a +11 to see what he was like right before his shot.....

I hope I am able to unhold my breath before the night is over.....I am sure I am overreacting, but man I am freaked out....I just want to make sure I do this right....and look at that, as I type this, Skooter has left his hiding spot and has his paws on the keyboard.....

Re: **FIRST WET FOOD** 7/4 Skooter PMPS 387

Not a bad PMPS today. Food changes should be done gradually, give it a couple weeks on one protein to see what the effect is - as long as it's not immediately obvious you are getting a bad reaction.

Re: **FIRST WET FOOD** 7/4 Skooter AMPS 415 +2 302 +4 273 +6

Mama...Give me the good stuff!!



Woo Hoo on the fuds! Now let's all hope it doesn't cause any problems with his tummy!

Re: **FIRST WET FOOD** 7/4 Skooter PMPS 387

So far so great....I am ordering his probiotic tonight via Amazon and will hopefully get that here shortly as well and then I will start added that to his diet......

Fingers crossed!!!

Stupid question, but what are healing vines???? I see people sending them all the time, if they are good things, I sure could use some coming our way tonight

Re: **FIRST WET FOOD** 7/4 Skooter PMPS 387

You aren't a worry wart. You just love your cat.

If you look at Oliver's spreadsheet, you will see that there was a period of about 10 days when I got very little sleep. I was up half the night testing. Hypoglycemia is a very real concern. However, Scooter is a long way from dangerous numbers. It is scary, though. Just remember that you can stop a plunge. And I am sure there will be people here waiting with you in case you need help.

Re: **FIRST WET FOOD** 7/4 Skooter PMPS 387

I think what is hard for me right now, because I am so used to red, pink and yellow.....

Blue scares the living crap out of me even though I know it is good, I am just so not used to seeing them so I see blue I automatically think OMG he is gonna go Hypo on me, when he is so far from that it isn't even funny.....

I am anxious to get his +2 tonight to see how he is doing.....

Usually if he throws up his dry food, he does it within about 10-15 minutes of eating....he had his 2 teaspoons of wet and 1/3 cup of dry (some of which he still hasn't had) about an hour ago....and so far everything is staying down.....

Re: **FIRST WET FOOD** 7/4 Skooter PMPS 387

Vines....accidental misspelling of the word "vibes", so when we're sending good vetty vines, or good appy vines, it's sending good vibes

Another one you'll see a lot is "beans"...as in "human beings"

There's a list of a lot of our jargon here http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=1124

Re: **FIRST WET FOOD** 7/4 Skooter PMPS 387

Someone on here told me that I would reach a point when I would crave those low numbers and they were right. But the first time Oliver dropped into green numbers I packed him up and rushed him to the Pet ER (at midnight.) I knew he wasn't in dangerous numbers yet, but it scared the bejesus out of me anyway.

You're doing really well.

I check Scooter's spreadsheet several times a day and I am always happy to see anything yellow or even blue. The danger isn't in reaching those numbers. It is in having him drop when you aren't aware of what is happening. (Makes sleeping a bit difficult.) Remember, you really can stop a plunge. Unfortunately, you won't be confident about that until you have to do it a couple of times and that is really, really scary.

I am very much a newbie at all this, so I don't have a lot to offer except my own experience for the last couple of months. I will tell you that I didn't really intend to stop giving Oliver his insulin. He just tested low one night in his PMPS reading (126) and I didn't have the energy to fight another plunge, so I skipped his shot. He was still low the next morning (108), so I skipped another shot. And the rest is history. Today was his 20th day without insulin.

Re: **FIRST WET FOOD** 7/4 Skooter PMPS 387

Hi. Don't give too much of the new food to avoid GI upset. It's great that he likes it as that is over half the battle usually, getting them to eat the food we want them to eat.

Re: **FIRST WET FOOD** 7/4 Skooter PMPS 387

I haven't checked downstairs yet, but so far he seems to be holding everything down just fine.....


I have 15 more minutes until my +2 check.....I am hoping they are ok to the point where I can get some sleep for a bit and maybe wake up to do some later readings around 3 or 4, but we will have to see what his numbers show....

I am also wondering if I need to do a +4 on him as he will get his IBD medicine about 15 minutes after his +2.....

Looks like it might end up being a movie watching night.....


Currently we are watching Girls Just Want To Have Fun....obviously my pick....Skooter isn't thrilled but at least it is sorta drowning out the firework noises........

Re: **FIRST WET FOOD** 7/4 Skooter PMPS 387 +2 314

I am pretty pleased with his +2 number of 314.....wasn't a HORRIBLY drastic change...and according to the example thingie for Lantus cycle it appears as this number really should be a surprise to me...I am also preparing myself that hopefully his +4 will be lower than is PMPS.....I love having this chart....it can really put me at ease when comparing his numbers to this.....I know it is not how every cycle is gonna go, but at least it gives me a guide...

On Chris' advice I am going to get a +4 and that should determine how late I have to stay up....

So far so good....no throwing up or anything like that.....I am a little bit more calm, but we shall see what his +4 brings....

Re: **FIRST WET FOOD** 7/4 Skooter PMPS 387 +2 314

he's not likely to go low tonight with that +2, but it's not a bad idea to get another test in a couple of hours and see what he's doing.

glad that he liked the canned food. great first step. i would stay with that exact same food for a while (like a week) before considering something else. my cats don't have IBD but i still give them basically the same food at every meal. some cats want variety, but some are fine with the same thing over and over.

Re: **FIRST WET FOOD** 7/4 Skooter PMPS 387 +2 314

I have no plans to change any food any time soon lolol

I am actually going out tomorrow to get more of this specific protein one....I got two of four different kinds to see and happen to start with chicken....we will be sticking with that for awhile for sure

He is just so nice and calm....it's hard to explain, but he just seems different.....a good different......and I think he might know when it is time for his IBD medication as he was coming up the stairs just as I was going to the fridge to get it....

So Skooter's +4 is 244.....

soooooooooooooo does momma get to sleep tonight!?!?!

Nice gentle drop into the sunny yellows!

Yes, he's come down nice and gentle, so I think you're fine to go to bed and get ready for another day of the sugardance tomorrow

Don't have to tell me twice!!!

Yay sleep for momma tonight!!!!!


Looking forward to what tomorrow brings