9/21 Jenks PMPS 260 +7 109 +9.5 42 +10.5 71 +11 114
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julie & punkin (ga)
Member Since 2011
Re: 9/21 Jenks AMPS 60 +2 97 +6 243
wow, that is a surprise to see him starting at 60 this morning.
and what a jump from +2/67 to +6/243. He was off and running. ohmygod_smile
great to see him back in green, though. :mrgreen:
wow, that is a surprise to see him starting at 60 this morning.
and what a jump from +2/67 to +6/243. He was off and running. ohmygod_smile
great to see him back in green, though. :mrgreen:
Re: 9/21 Jenks AMPS 60 +2 97 +6 243
I think he and Gracie's must have been plotting. She started the day at 53.
How's he feeling these days? How is his weight and his neuropathy?
I think he and Gracie's must have been plotting. She started the day at 53.
How's he feeling these days? How is his weight and his neuropathy?
AZJenks
Member Since 2014
Re: 9/21 Jenks AMPS 60 +2 97 +6 243 PMPS 260 +7 109 +9.5 42
Good grief. I swear this cat is out to get me.
Really Jenks? 260 at PMPS? Now 42?
He's not very carb sensitive, so I hit him with 3T of HC gravy with a little karo and will check him again in about 30min. Who needs sleep anyway? @-)
Good grief. I swear this cat is out to get me.
Really Jenks? 260 at PMPS? Now 42?
He's not very carb sensitive, so I hit him with 3T of HC gravy with a little karo and will check him again in about 30min. Who needs sleep anyway? @-)
Re: 9/21 Jenks AMPS 60 +2 97 +6 243 PMPS 260 +7 109 +9.5 42
I eslly cannot overstress the importance of getting a +2 test every single cycle that you can. You would have likely seen his +2 less than his preshot and then could have tested sooner and managed the curve with food
Bounces can be caused by lower numbers or big drops and the big drops can really trigger big bounces.
I eslly cannot overstress the importance of getting a +2 test every single cycle that you can. You would have likely seen his +2 less than his preshot and then could have tested sooner and managed the curve with food
Bounces can be caused by lower numbers or big drops and the big drops can really trigger big bounces.
AZJenks
Member Since 2014
Re: 9/21 Jenks AMPS 60 +2 97 +6 243 PMPS 260 +7 109 +9.5 42
From all outward appearances, he's feeling good. All 5 Ps accounted for. He seems happy. He goes about his daily routine without much in the way of issues, and generally behaves like a contented cat.
At his low point in February, he was 19-19.5lb, which was thin for his frame. At that point, we began 4x daily feedings to stave off any further weight loss, and that feeding schedule persists even today. Having said that, he's steadily regained some weight. He held a pretty consistent weight from about March to August. But according to my lame scale, he looks like he put on 1/2 to 1lb within the last 6 weeks or so. I want to keep him at a healthy weight for his body type, but I don't want to negatively impact his diabetes. So as of yesterday, we're working on eliminating one, if not both, midcycle feedings. It's a work in progress because two cans split between three cats sometimes doesn't seem enough.
When he was first diagnosed, his neuropathy was pretty bad. He could only walk short distances before he needed a break. He had to lie down in the litterbox because it was too exhausting to get out. And when he did eventually get out, he'd need another break to lie down and catch his breath. He also was relegated to the floor because he couldn't reach any of his favorite places.
We started Zobaline at the end of March, and I think he has made some very good progress. He can traverse pretty much the entire length of the house without a break. He no longer requires any breaks when using the litterbox. And recently, he began jumping up to all of his favorite places (a small table, a chair, the couch, a love seat, and a cubbyhole in the entertainment center). Only one place still eludes him, and that's the bed, But it's much higher than his other perches.
There's quite a ways to go, however. His back legs are still pretty weak overall. When lying down, he tries to scratch his head and neck with his rear foot, and while he can get it airborne and make the scratching motion, he has yet to get it all the way up to his head. He has trouble holding his back end up in the litterbox. He usually pees first in one box, and then poops right after than in the second one. He seems to have the strength to hold himself up while peeing, but that strength mostly is gone by poop time, so I often have to clean his hiney. He's also still regularly hock-walking on his back legs. I don't know why he isn't on his tip toes. He also has a bad habit of duck-walking, with his back feet turned outward and a hunched back, which makes me concerned for the effect of that on his joints back there. He has a lot of hair between his back pads, and I know it can be slippery on a wood floor, so I'm not sure if it's his attempt to stabilize himself to get traction or if it's just a sign of persistent weakness. I'm considering trimming that hair down to give his pads full contact with the floor to find out.
Overall, it's a noticeable improvement.
Marje and Gracie said:
From all outward appearances, he's feeling good. All 5 Ps accounted for. He seems happy. He goes about his daily routine without much in the way of issues, and generally behaves like a contented cat.
Marje and Gracie said:
At his low point in February, he was 19-19.5lb, which was thin for his frame. At that point, we began 4x daily feedings to stave off any further weight loss, and that feeding schedule persists even today. Having said that, he's steadily regained some weight. He held a pretty consistent weight from about March to August. But according to my lame scale, he looks like he put on 1/2 to 1lb within the last 6 weeks or so. I want to keep him at a healthy weight for his body type, but I don't want to negatively impact his diabetes. So as of yesterday, we're working on eliminating one, if not both, midcycle feedings. It's a work in progress because two cans split between three cats sometimes doesn't seem enough.
When he was first diagnosed, his neuropathy was pretty bad. He could only walk short distances before he needed a break. He had to lie down in the litterbox because it was too exhausting to get out. And when he did eventually get out, he'd need another break to lie down and catch his breath. He also was relegated to the floor because he couldn't reach any of his favorite places.
We started Zobaline at the end of March, and I think he has made some very good progress. He can traverse pretty much the entire length of the house without a break. He no longer requires any breaks when using the litterbox. And recently, he began jumping up to all of his favorite places (a small table, a chair, the couch, a love seat, and a cubbyhole in the entertainment center). Only one place still eludes him, and that's the bed, But it's much higher than his other perches.
There's quite a ways to go, however. His back legs are still pretty weak overall. When lying down, he tries to scratch his head and neck with his rear foot, and while he can get it airborne and make the scratching motion, he has yet to get it all the way up to his head. He has trouble holding his back end up in the litterbox. He usually pees first in one box, and then poops right after than in the second one. He seems to have the strength to hold himself up while peeing, but that strength mostly is gone by poop time, so I often have to clean his hiney. He's also still regularly hock-walking on his back legs. I don't know why he isn't on his tip toes. He also has a bad habit of duck-walking, with his back feet turned outward and a hunched back, which makes me concerned for the effect of that on his joints back there. He has a lot of hair between his back pads, and I know it can be slippery on a wood floor, so I'm not sure if it's his attempt to stabilize himself to get traction or if it's just a sign of persistent weakness. I'm considering trimming that hair down to give his pads full contact with the floor to find out.
Overall, it's a noticeable improvement.
AZJenks
Member Since 2014
Re: 9/21 Jenks AMPS 60 +2 97 +6 243 PMPS 260 +7 109 +9.5 42
His nighttime cycle is pretty much all downhill, so a +2 for Jenks is guaranteed to be less. With that in mind, what else would I be looking for?
Tonight, for instance, he was still 109 at PMPS+7. Honestly, I didn't think a blue number needed steering so when I fed him, I gave him some 5% stuff. He then dropped an additional 67 points on me.
Sometimes I feel like I'll never figure all of this out.
Marje and Gracie said:I eslly cannot overstress the importance of getting a +2 test every single cycle that you can. You would have likely seen his +2 less than his preshot and then could have tested sooner and managed the curve with food
Bounces can be caused by lower numbers or big drops and the big drops can really trigger big bounces.
His nighttime cycle is pretty much all downhill, so a +2 for Jenks is guaranteed to be less. With that in mind, what else would I be looking for?
Tonight, for instance, he was still 109 at PMPS+7. Honestly, I didn't think a blue number needed steering so when I fed him, I gave him some 5% stuff. He then dropped an additional 67 points on me.
Sometimes I feel like I'll never figure all of this out.
I'm glad he's doing better. I hoped that with his diabetes a little more regulated and the zobaline, you'd see a bit more progress on the neuropathy.
When reducing his food intake, go slow. It seems that eliminating 1 or 2 feedings is a bit much even if you do one at a time. You only want him to lose 1-2% of his body weight per week. Here's a great discussion on Dr. Lisa's website. If you scroll through the page there is a lot of good info on weight, maintaining weight, weight loss, etc. I have a digital cat scale (it wasn't expensive) and I weigh my kitties every 2-4 weeks. If you are trying to get them to lose or gain weight, it's good to weigh, implement the feeding changes for a week, and then weigh again to see if you need to adjust it keeping in mind the 1-2% safe weight loss per week.
With Jenks' habit of coming down at night, if you test mid cycle and he's dropped quite a bit (260 to 109 is a good drop), then I'd test again in an hour to see what the rate of drop is and whether you need to slow it down with food. Of course, if he's much lower at mid-cycle (say in green), you might want to recheck in 30 mins. I've steered high blue numbers because I tested and knew Gracie dropped a considerable amount in an hour. The sooner I can get her stopped from dropping, the less the bounce will be. So, even if slowing her down means she stays in mid blue, I'm ok with that because I know when the carbs wear off, she will likely slide down slowly instead of continue a big drop that she will bounce from.
When reducing his food intake, go slow. It seems that eliminating 1 or 2 feedings is a bit much even if you do one at a time. You only want him to lose 1-2% of his body weight per week. Here's a great discussion on Dr. Lisa's website. If you scroll through the page there is a lot of good info on weight, maintaining weight, weight loss, etc. I have a digital cat scale (it wasn't expensive) and I weigh my kitties every 2-4 weeks. If you are trying to get them to lose or gain weight, it's good to weigh, implement the feeding changes for a week, and then weigh again to see if you need to adjust it keeping in mind the 1-2% safe weight loss per week.
With Jenks' habit of coming down at night, if you test mid cycle and he's dropped quite a bit (260 to 109 is a good drop), then I'd test again in an hour to see what the rate of drop is and whether you need to slow it down with food. Of course, if he's much lower at mid-cycle (say in green), you might want to recheck in 30 mins. I've steered high blue numbers because I tested and knew Gracie dropped a considerable amount in an hour. The sooner I can get her stopped from dropping, the less the bounce will be. So, even if slowing her down means she stays in mid blue, I'm ok with that because I know when the carbs wear off, she will likely slide down slowly instead of continue a big drop that she will bounce from.
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