Krista's Care

[daftcat75]

Seven ounces! That's excellent, Krista!
Yeah, we hate when that happens.

I'm lucky she eats leftover portions now. During the worst of her pancreatitis, she would only eat fresh portions. I was feeding her Tiki Cat Tuna with Pumpkin. Sometimes I'd only give her 1/2 an ounce and the rest went down the sink. "Better down the sink than on the carpet." I would feed her as many as six times a day. That was expensive. And stressful. I was going to the pet food store every couple of days. I didn't dare stock up too much because she might switch her food preferences. I'd buy a box of the pouches and tell the cashier, "this will last us about two days."

Only one of my four Rawz stores carries the rabbit and pumpkin. This makes me very nervous. On Friday, I will ask one of the others to order me a case or start stocking it regularly. They seem to have a better Rawz distributor anyway. The other one seems to only get them once or twice a month and they don't seem very clear on when that is. Very nervous indeed!

 

[tarasgirl06]

I'm lucky she eats leftover portions now. During the worst of her pancreatitis, she would only eat fresh portions. I was feeding her Tiki Cat Tuna with Pumpkin. Sometimes I'd only give her 1/2 an ounce and the rest went down the sink. "Better down the sink than on the carpet." I would feed her as many as six times a day. That was expensive. And stressful. I was going to the pet food store every couple of days. I didn't dare stock up too much because she might switch her food preferences. I'd buy a box of the pouches and tell the cashier, "this will last us about two days."

Only one of my four Rawz stores carries the rabbit and pumpkin. This makes me very nervous. On Friday, I will ask one of the others to order me a case or start stocking it regularly. They seem to have a better Rawz distributor anyway. The other one seems to only get them once or twice a month and they don't seem very clear on when that is. Very nervous indeed!

I would be, too! Fortunately my three are very good about their food. I have auto-delivery from Petco of a wide variety of foods and there are very rarely any leavings.

 

[daftcat75]

Another solid !

But she left half of first dinner.

I haven’t given her stock today. I don’t know how many days I trust the stock in the fridge past four days or so. I have plenty in the freezer. I simply need to thaw a jar in a double boiler on the stovetop. Then I remove another four days worth to the fridge to set back up like meat jello. The rest goes back into the freezer. I wanted to see what a day off of stock might do for her. I don’t want to stop offering it if she enjoys it and it helps her. I just got lazy about refreshing the fridge portion.

With the 20 g remainder from first dinner removed, she is now scheduled to eat 5.75 ounces if she finishes second dinner on the plate. She can burst up to 7.25 ounces if she finishes both feeders. I expect her to finish right around 6 to 6.5 ounces.

Among the many projects I have worked on in my professional career, one of them was testing quality of service (QoS) software for a computer networking device like a cable modem or a small business router. QoS is configured with scheduled network load or how much traffic you expect your upstream provider to guarantee you. Additionally, you can buy “burst” or extra bandwidth capacity above your scheduled load for your busy hours.

It is from this work experience that I think and talk about Krista’s meal plan in terms of scheduled load and burst capacity. It’s not like I’m trying to burst my cat. Crashes and denial of service would be counterproductive to network availability and stability.

I plan her plated portions for how much I (eventually) want her eating for a minimum baseline. Her scheduled load. Right now it’s about six ounces. Then I add additional burst capacity in her feeders for the daytime and the overnight. Up to nine ounces if she left no plated remainders and ate the feeders clean. I don’t expect her to finish the feeder portions. But they are there for her anyway to bridge the daytime and overnight until the next scheduled meal.

I record all plated and feeder portions as tentative (yellow color code) when I put the food down. I weigh what I pick up and adjust the tentative numbers accordingly and remove the tentative color. I do this all in a Google Sheet so I can maintain her food journal from any device. Each tab is one week of meals. Each week I duplicate the previous week’s tab and zero out the numbers to fill in each day.

As I said before, I do far more meal planning for her than myself. I couldn’t tell you my own daily calories and that’s the way I prefer it.

 

[daftcat75]

I had to chase her down yesterday to give her Mirtaz. I wonder if the stress of it caused me to give it inappropriately (like on my opposing finger instead of her ear.)

Final score yesterday: just a hair above six ounces. And since rabbit-kin is about 25% less calories than the turkey, this won’t do. She’ll need to eat more to reach the same calories. Or I will need to keep a small amount of turkey in her diet to boost the numbers. Maybe I can mix them later and do some A-B testing with two plates.

She seems far more interested in cuddling with me than eating since sometime last night. Sweet. But sweet doesn’t put the pounds back on.

 

[tarasgirl06]

I had to chase her down yesterday to give her Mirtaz. I wonder if the stress of it caused me to give it inappropriately (like on my opposing finger instead of her ear.)

Final score yesterday: just a hair above six ounces. And since rabbit-kin is about 25% less calories than the turkey, this won’t do. She’ll need to eat more to reach the same calories. Or I will need to keep a small amount of turkey in her diet to boost the numbers. Maybe I can mix them later and do some A-B testing with two plates.

She seems far more interested in cuddling with me than eating since sometime last night. Sweet. But sweet doesn’t put the pounds back on.

I pay far more attention to my cats' diets than mine, too, and pay far more for it than I do my own food. Well, there are three of them and they are obligate carnivores. I'm like a shadow and mostly vegetarian with an occasional tuna melt and an occasional junky noodle kit with a suggestion of shrimp.
It would be good if Tarifa could talk with Krista. She really is blossoming! from a svelte and lithe little beauty to a football-shaped cutie. I'm glad for this. She harangues me for food, too.
You're right! I wouldn't trust any meat or meat-derived substance past four days in the refrigerator.

 

[daftcat75]

She's eating very slowly today. I plated 34 grams of rabbit-kin and she ate only 14 grams of that. Since it is Thanksgiving, I decided to bust out the Stella Selects Turkey for her. Since it is a new food (she's had it before but not lately), she only gets a quarter ounce. She ate that quarter ounce I offered her. It was only after she was nearly finished with it that I realized how calorically dense it is. It is 1.88 calories per gram. So I'll give her several hours before offering more. Rad Cat was only 1.07 calories per gram. Rawz turkey is 1.28. Rawz rabbit with pumpkin is 1.07. Rawz rabbit is 1.11. That 7 grams of Selects was worth almost twice as much rabbit and pumpkin.

The big Metabolic Energy (ME) number on the back of cat food around the feeding guidelines and guaranteed analysis is stated in kilocalories per kilogram. Divide that number by 1000 and you get calories per gram. This is a quick and easy way to compare all cat foods to each other based on energy density. A typical dry food will be as much as 4 calories per gram. A typical pate is 1 to 1.3 calories per gram. Shredded textures tend to be "underweight" (less calories than weight) at less than 1 calorie per gram.

A food that is 1.88 calories per gram that Krista likes? Yes please! For every six ounces of turkey or seven ounces of rabbit-kin Krista has to eat for calorie goals, she only needs to eat 4 ounces of the Stella Selects. If she likes it well enough and it treats her well on the transit and exit, I may replace her first breakfast with Stella Selects. I would lik to eliminate this waiting and worrying game of, "will she finish first breakfast before I have to change the plates and leave for work?" A 42 gram portion of rabbit and pumpkin that I'd like her to eat for each of her meals can be replaced with 23 grams, or just about 1 medallion of Selects.

 

[daftcat75]

I inadvertently turned the radiator off last night. There’s two switches and a dial. The two switches can give you three heat settings depending on how they are set (four if you count “off”). The dial provides extra gradients (numbered up to 6) for each of those switch settings.

What I didn’t realize until this morning is that the dial has a zero. What?! I had the dial set to six on the lowest switch setting. So I moved it to the next switch setting last night and spun the dial to a lower setting not realizing I had spun the dial to zero. My air purifier was reading the room at 72 yesterday. It’s now reading the room at 66.

Krista’s food plated fresh from the can got cold as leftovers from the fridge. That could be why she’s eating slower. Rather than heating up her food just for it to get cold again. I have heated up a bowl of water and placed it beneath her plate. That should take longer to warm her food but provide longer lasting warmth to the plate.

I’ll also move the Dyson heater I have into the front room. That one has smartphone controls. Maybe I just leave her to hug the radiator and nibble at her cold food until the heaters fix my mistake from last night. We’ll make up for lost calories with more Stella’s Selects later.

 

[tarasgirl06]

I inadvertently turned the radiator off last night. There’s two switches and a dial. The two switches can give you three heat settings depending on how they are set (four if you count “off”). The dial provides extra gradients (numbered up to 6) for each of those switch settings.

What I didn’t realize until this morning is that the dial has a zero. What?! I had the dial set to six on the lowest switch setting. So I moved it to the next switch setting last night and spun the dial to a lower setting not realizing I had spun the dial to zero. My air purifier was reading the room at 72 yesterday. It’s now reading the room at 66.

Krista’s food plated fresh from the can got cold as leftovers from the fridge. That could be why she’s eating slower. Rather than heating up her food just for it to get cold again. I have heated up a bowl of water and placed it beneath her plate. That should take longer to warm her food but provide longer lasting warmth to the plate.

I’ll also move the Dyson heater I have into the front room. That one has smartphone controls. Maybe I just leave her to hug the radiator and nibble at her cold food until the heaters fix my mistake from last night. We’ll make up for lost calories with more Stella’s Selects later.

Seems to me like the heated water method would be more palatable, too. Heating food, especially animal protein, changes the smell and I would assume, the taste, but with the water method, it's more gentle. I'd prefer that.

I get sick if there's heat on while I'm sleeping. But I can't afford the HVAC anyway, so it's 48F outside right now and IDK how cold it is in here, but it's COLD. Except for the warmth provided by my tortleshell laptop, I'm pretty uncomfortable but I don't want to disturb her to get my third layer.

 

[daftcat75]

I looked up the manual online. The dial is the heat setting. The switches are how much power to draw. The first switch is 500W. The second is 700W. And both of them together is a circuit-breaking 1200W. Krista and I learned that one this morning. So 700W at 6 it is until we get the room back to 75. Or at least until that’s what the air purifier near the radiator reports. I like it warm in the winter. I hate shivering. I do enough of that outside. When I’m at home, I want an option to go sock-less in a tee and PJ bottoms. I still get up a few times a night to pee or clean Krista’s litter box. I’d prefer not to have to dress for an expedition to use the bathroom and then reassemble a blanket stack when I climb back in bed. I figure it’s easier to shed layers and turn the heater down than it is to warm up the place once I’ve let it get too cold. Shivering is more troubling and painful than sweating.

 

[tarasgirl06]

I looked up the manual online. The dial is the heat setting. The switches are how much power to draw. The first switch is 500W. The second is 700W. And both of them together is a circuit-breaking 1200W. Krista and I learned that one this morning. So 700W at 6 it is until we get the room back to 75. Or at least until that’s what the air purifier near the radiator reports. I like it warm in the winter. I hate shivering. I do enough of that outside. When I’m at home, I want an option to go sock-less in a tee and PJ bottoms. I still get up a few times a night to pee or clean Krista’s litter box. I’d prefer not to have to dress for an expedition to use the bathroom and then reassemble a blanket stack when I climb back in bed. I figure it’s easier to shed layers and turn the heater down than it is to warm up the place once I’ve let it get too cold. Shivering is more troubling and painful than sweating.

Oh, I'm the opposite -- I LOATHE hot weather! and I'm very careful about energy usage, both financially and from an environmental standpoint. But yeah, it's HARD getting out of bed when it's freezing.

 

[daftcat75]

She had such a perfect poop earlier, she left it for me to witness rather than covering it up. I’m okay with that. It’s easier to pick up and flush in the toilet if it doesn’t have much litter over it.

She’s finally nibbling some. Time for me to make myself scarce so she can do the sleep, food, pee circuit for the next few hours.

 

[daftcat75]

She’s had 2.5 ounces so far today. About an ounce of that is the Stella Selects. So that’s a wildcard. Hopefully it treats her well all the way through. I’d love to feed her something she loves to eat that doesn’t require her to eat very much of it. I would feed her 4 x 1 oz portions and that would be all she would need. Whatever canned she wants to eat between those meals would be bonus. For now, she gets half a medallion or about 9 grams for a portion until we know how it’s going to transit and exit.

 

[daftcat75]

I’m going to call an internal medicine specialist tomorrow and get Krista on her calendar. I’m hoping since there are four at this one hospital, the wait times won’t be as ridiculous as dentists. I’d rather get her on pred that would treat inflammation than keep her on Mirtaz which only seems to be a bandaid. But I only want to start her on pred under the supervision of someone who has the time and expertise to supervise and provide guidance.

I don’t know what happened today. It’s like the last two weeks of eating didn’t happen. I’m hoping it’s just a misfire on the Mirtaz yesterday. Because she has new food in her belly, I’ll wait for tomorrow morning’s dose rather than trying the Mirtaz dose again early (tonight.)

 

[daftcat75]

Witness it!

Very nice, Krista!

Her eating didn't pick up on the overnight. Her final score: 4.1 ounces.

I spent an extra moment making sure I got the Mirtaz dose in her ear this morning.

I plated 10 grams of the Selects and she only got through 6 grams. This medallion was especially meaty and the toothless one lost her patience. I will have to cut the next piece up with poultry scissors before serving.

I'm doing A-B-C testing for the remainder of her first breakfast: turkey, rabbit with pumpkin, and rabbit without pumpkin. Waiting for her to eat to record the results. In the meantime, she's waiting for me to finish blogging so she can sit in my lap for her oxy fix.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Witness it!

Very nice, Krista!

Her eating didn't pick up on the overnight. Her final score: 4.1 ounces.

I spent an extra moment making sure I got the Mirtaz dose in her ear this morning.

I plated 10 grams of the Selects and she only got through 6 grams. This medallion was especially meaty and the toothless one lost her patience. I will have to cut the next piece up with poultry scissors before serving.

I'm doing A-B-C testing for the remainder of her first breakfast: turkey, rabbit with pumpkin, and rabbit without pumpkin. Waiting for her to eat to record the results. In the meantime, she's waiting for me to finish blogging so she can sit in my lap for her oxy fix.

There's always the old food processor, blender, or mixer for that medallion, too...
Vets say pred does not have the deleterious effects on cats that it can on humans.

 

[daftcat75]

There's always the old food processor, blender, or mixer for that medallion, too...
Vets say pred does not have the deleterious effects on cats that it can on humans.

I'm told at a low dose for inflammation, it's low risk. At higher doses for immunosuppression, there is a greater risk of organ stress and damage. I want someone who can discuss all the risks with me and set out a plan of "let's treat for so long, come back in this time, we'll re-test and assess." And someone who returns my calls!

Easier said than done when an excited Krista is climbing all over the kitchen counter waiting for me to serve that. Besides, she doesn't eat very much of it yet. I'd lose a lot to the inside of the blender/food processor/etc compared to what she's eating right now. The scissors are probably quickest and easiest.

 

[daftcat75]

It must have been a Mirtaz misfire on Wednesday. The A, B, and C piles have been cleaned. My market research tells me that my cat has the munchies again.

Hopefully this holds for the rest of the weekend so we can maybe clock in a weight gain for Monday weigh-in.

 

[MissClouseau]

I saw this at a vet clinic today, Viyo Recuperation. Front page | viyo

The same company also has this product called Reinforces as an appetite stimulant and prebiotics. Cat

both are liquid, to drink. I haven’t used their anything yet but I read good reviews. In case it helps, maybe for post-operation if Krista has one.

 

[daftcat75]

View attachment 309881
I saw this at a vet clinic today, Viyo Recuperation. Front page | viyo

The same company also has this product called Reinforces as an appetite stimulant and prebiotics. Cat

both are liquid, to drink. I haven’t used their anything yet but I read good reviews. In case it helps, maybe for post-operation if Krista has one.

Thanks for the recommendations. Unfortunately, these are both chicken-based and that's a no-go for Krista.

 

[daftcat75]

Another solid poop! Pooping like a pro once more. Which is good because her interest in the rabbit and pumpkin seems to have run its course.

She also ate her first whole Stella and Chewy's Selects turkey medallion. After thawing it, it came out to 16 grams. Those 16 grams at 1.88 calories per gram are 30 calories. Those 16 grams are worth 23.5 grams of Rawz turkey. That's over half her dinner portion in one go. If she could eat two medallions in a meal, four times a day, that plus daytime and nighttime nibbles would be enough. I suspect we'll have to keep working some combination of raw and canned for some time. But I'm extremely satisfied with how excited she seems to be with the Selects.