5/06 Noogi - AMPS 131, +2 113, +7 99, PMPS 97, +2 88

Helen + Noogi

Helen + Noogi

Member
First post! Hello, hello 👋

So glad to be here. Thank you Tim for all your hard work setting this up. Looks and works great so far. ❤️

Noogi is doing very well. Trying a dose reduction - down to 0.75u as of yesterday morning. So far he's been in the blues and this morning's AMPS was the highest number he's had for the last fortnight. Hoping he eases down back into the greens soon.

Weather has got chilly here and he has been super cuddly.

Looking forward to catching up with everyone's news.
 
Last edited:
These are definitely teeth that need a clean aren't they.
20250112_174508.jpg

When I popped in to the vet's last week I asked the receptionist what are the options and she gave me a small vial of toothpaste to try before I buy. She suggested I use my finger to rub on his teeth. Only tried once so far, with limited success ("What on earth are you doing, mom?").
I'm not scared of him biting but he did just move his head away. I'll have to look at toothbrushes or those finger things (if available here - unlikely). Is cleaning myself daily (but possibly not very thoroughly) better than taking him in to the vet for a proper cleaning periodically?
Guess I should ask the vet this too - we are in the fortunate position that Noogi doesn't mind going to the vet, and it is just down the road.
 
Last edited:
Good morning! Good luck with the increase.

Brushing certainly won't hurt if you can figure out what he'll tolerate. If Noogi's gums are not beet red, inflamed, and causing pain I would think brushing may be enough to prevent that.

Apparently cats can have some major dental things going on that no amount of brushing will help, stomatitis, periodontal disease and resorption. Petey had the last two.

My thought is at our cats age, just one cleaning could be enough to prevent anything major.

EDIT: If anyone wants to see a pic of what Petey's painful before pic looked like I'm happy to share/PM, but it should come with a warning. 😳
 
Last edited:
Hi Helen, so glad Noogi and you are doing well. So great to catch up here.
Huge thanks to our friend, Tim for his hard work 🙏🙌👏🏻🎊

Hope the reduction works well and good luck with the toothpaste 💕🐈
 
Laurie & Petey said:
Good morning! Good luck with the increase.

Brushing certainly won't hurt if you can figure out what he'll tolerate. If Noogi's gums are not beet red, inflamed, and causing pain I would think brushing may be enough to prevent that.

Apparently cats can have some major dental things going on that no amount of brushing will help, stomatitis, periodontal disease and resorption. Petey had the last two.

My thought is at our cats age, just one cleaning could be enough to prevent anything major.

EDIT: If anyone wants to see a pic of what Petey's painful before pic looked like I'm happy to share/PM, but it should come with a warning. 😳
Click to expand...
I know it's a been an ordeal for both, Laurie, but Petey's recent troubles have done a great deal for awareness of dental health for the rest of us.
Certainly made me want to do what I can to prevent major issues down the line.
So thank you for all the info shared 🙏
Not sure I'm brave enough to look at a pic of periodontal disease tho :oops:😂
 
Incredible live action shot, Helen!! Glad you and Noogi are doing well. Sending extra good vibes that he finds those greens soon with this reduction 😸

Definitely contemplating the same dental questions for Binx and we will be doing it hopefully soon. Like Laurie said, some things can be worked on and some just need the dental. Hopefully Noogi can tolerate some brushing and it’ll help you see improvement. @Laurie & Petey I’d be interested in the before picture, I’ll try to prepare myself based on the warning.
 
Briana + Binx said:
Incredible live action shot, Helen!! Glad you and Noogi are doing well. Sending extra good vibes that he finds those greens soon with this reduction 😸

Definitely contemplating the same dental questions for Binx and we will be doing it hopefully soon. Like Laurie said, some things can be worked on and some just need the dental. Hopefully Noogi can tolerate some brushing and it’ll help you see improvement. @Laurie & Petey I’d be interested in the before picture, I’ll try to prepare myself based on the warning.
Click to expand...
Not quite sure how I got that photo. My camera roll is 90% blurry cat pics :D
 
Hello Helen and Noogi!
Good luck with the reduction. Hope it sticks.
And good luck with the toothbrushing. It's a struggle for us as well but I do what I can and when i can. I figure something is better than nothing. It seems a few of the kitties around here are doing their dental including Nestle later this month.
Happy Tuesday 😻 😻
 
Good luck with the reduction, Helen. It sort of appears (early on) that somewhere between .75 and 1U is the 'just right' dose for Noogi. 😻

Enjoy the cooler weather!
 
Karolina & Nestle said:
Hello Helen and Noogi!
Good luck with the reduction. Hope it sticks.
And good luck with the toothbrushing. It's a struggle for us as well but I do what I can and when i can. I figure something is better than nothing. It seems a few of the kitties around here are doing their dental including Nestle later this month.
Happy Tuesday 😻 😻
Click to expand...
What do you use with Nestle? Like Helen, I've been "inspired" (more like terrified) by Petey's recent experience and am hoping to take preventative measures. I've seen dental wipes before that fit over your finger. Was thinking about something like that or toothpaste and a little finger brush.
 
CharliesMom22 said:
What do you use with Nestle? Like Helen, I've been "inspired" (more like terrified) by Petey's recent experience and am hoping to take preventative measures. I've seen dental wipes before that fit over your finger. Was thinking about something like that or toothpaste and a little finger brush.
Click to expand...
Careful with the ingredients in the finger wipes, I bought some blindly and they’ve got a chemical in them that supposedly isn’t great for cats!
 
Tim & Pookey said:
Careful with the ingredients in the finger wipes, I bought some blindly and they’ve got a chemical in them that supposedly isn’t great for cats!
Click to expand...
Thank you Tim, I was wondering about that! There are a lotttt of them on amazon which definitely gave me pause. That's usually not a great sign lol. Looks like I have some research to do. What did you end up going with, if anything?
 
CharliesMom22 said:
Thank you Tim, I was wondering about that! There are a lotttt of them on amazon which definitely gave me pause. That's usually not a great sign lol. Looks like I have some research to do. What did you end up going with, if anything?
Click to expand...
We’re trying a little cat toothbrush! Even some of the toothpastes list sugar as an ingredient. I know @SqueeM3 has some experience too maybe they can chime in.
 
Karolina & Nestle said:
Hello Helen and Noogi!
Good luck with the reduction. Hope it sticks.
And good luck with the toothbrushing. It's a struggle for us as well but I do what I can and when i can. I figure something is better than nothing. It seems a few of the kitties around here are doing their dental including Nestle later this month.
Happy Tuesday 😻 😻
Click to expand...
Thanks Karolina. Just tried to clean his teeth again with very little success. Going to have to find a better way!
And yes, it seems May is Dental Awareness Month for sugar kitties 🙂
 
Mary & Jude said:
Good luck with the reduction, Helen. It sort of appears (early on) that somewhere between .75 and 1U is the 'just right' dose for Noogi. 😻

Enjoy the cooler weather!
Click to expand...
I find the quarter unit doses a real challenge so between will be just about impossible for these eyes of mine.
I seem to remember you'd got calipers and were going to give them a try? How is that going?
 
Tim & Pookey said:
We’re trying a little cat toothbrush! Even some of the toothpastes list sugar as an ingredient. I know @SqueeM3 has some experience too maybe they can chime in.
Click to expand...
Appreciate all the info. I didn't even think about whether the toothpaste is diabetic-friendly 😮

I've had a look at what is available in SA, and it seems there is only one brand available here. It's a local manufacturer and they do a toothpaste and an oral gel. I need to double-check but I think it's the toothpaste that I got as a sample from the vet practice. Just the active ingredients are listed online, so I guess I will need to inspect the box and/or email to ask if they contain any sugar. I can get a little brush that fits over a finger which looks like might work for us as Noogi doesn't seem to mind a finger in his mouth. They recommend brushing twice a week, which sounds like is more realistic for me than every day!

Found another product that calls itself an Oral Hygiene Dental Powder, for oral health without brushing. You sprinkle it on food.
Sole ingredient Ascophyllum Nodosum arctic-boreal marine algae (Norwegian Seaweed), and definitely zero sugar. Anyone ever used anything like this?
 
Last edited:
Helen + Noogi said:
I find the quarter unit doses a real challenge so between will be just about impossible for these eyes of mine.
I seem to remember you'd got calipers and were going to give them a try? How is that going?
Click to expand...
I haven't taken them out of the box yet 😜
I'm going to need to sit down and figure out how to use them, and for some reason, my motivation for learning new things is tanked right now. I've got a break coming up between semesters, so I might tackle the calipers then. Or maybe not. 🙃
 
Mary & Jude said:
I haven't taken them out of the box yet 😜
I'm going to need to sit down and figure out how to use them, and for some reason, my motivation for learning new things is tanked right now. I've got a break coming up between semesters, so I might tackle the calipers then. Or maybe not. 🙃
Click to expand...
I completely get it!
I'm lucky to have a colleague who is very practical and into DIY and building stuff, and he explained how they work. I even bought one (a pair? a set?) but he took one look at them and said they need to go back as not well-made or fit for purpose. Haven't found the energy to buy a replacement and feeling very resistant to the whole business. Already have so much diabetes-related paraphernalia :rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
Mary & Jude said:
I haven't taken them out of the box yet 😜
I'm going to need to sit down and figure out how to use them, and for some reason, my motivation for learning new things is tanked right now. I've got a break coming up between semesters, so I might tackle the calipers then. Or maybe not. 🙃
Click to expand...
I was hesitant and did the same thing originally Bought the calipers and then ignored them as it seemed overwhelming.

Marje’s tutorial on FDMB is great, if you use one of the brands of syringes where the 1 unit measurement is listed (although I feel like the BD syringe measurement is “off”)

Once I began using the calipers I could never turn back. And Ivy many times likes an “in between” dose.

I hope you will try to use them. I really feel that you are dosing more consistently than “eyeballing” it.
Just my opinion 💖
 
Staci & Ivy said:
I was hesitant and did the same thing originally Bought the calipers and then ignored them as it seemed overwhelming.

Marje’s tutorial on FDMB is great, if you use one of the brands of syringes where the 1 unit measurement is listed (although I feel like the BD syringe measurement is “off”)

Once I began using the calipers I could never turn back. And Ivy many times likes an “in between” dose.

I hope you will try to use them. I really feel that you are dosing more consistently than “eyeballing” it.
Just my opinion 💖
Click to expand...
I will definitely get them in use soon. I bought them because I have a difficult time seeing the .25 doses, and like you said, I know the calipers will help me be more precise. I use the U100 UltiCare Vet Rx syringes, so I'm guessing those aren't the BD syringe--are you mentioning them because they are the ones that Marje uses in the tutorial? I've watched that tutorial, I just don't remember the specifics. And it is a great tutorial. Staci, do you use the light box and magnifying glass? I saw where Bhooma was talking about using the zoom on her phone and the light of the phone. I measure my doses under a bright plant light, but I think it would be better if I could lay down the syringe on something like a light box. Thanks for the encouragement!
 
Seth&Bell said:
I'm going to try the toothbrushing thing soon too, Helen! We can learn together. I love Noogi in your avatar. What a sweetie
Click to expand...
Thank you! He is being a particular sweetie at the moment. Our bond has really changed since he became an only child and his diagnosis.

End of the bed there is his favourite place. He has stairs to get up, so I can plonk myself down on his stairs and we can have a face to face chat/petting session ☺️
 
Mary & Jude said:
I will definitely get them in use soon. I bought them because I have a difficult time seeing the .25 doses, and like you said, I know the calipers will help me be more precise. I use the U100 UltiCare Vet Rx syringes, so I'm guessing those aren't the BD syringe--are you mentioning them because they are the ones that Marje uses in the tutorial? I've watched that tutorial, I just don't remember the specifics. And it is a great tutorial. Staci, do you use the light box and magnifying glass? I saw where Bhooma was talking about using the zoom on her phone and the light of the phone. I measure my doses under a bright plant light, but I think it would be better if I could lay down the syringe on something like a light box. Thanks for the encouragement!
Click to expand...
Hi Mary, I don’t use a light box, but I use readers which I actually don’t need in real life, but I use them just for this purpose and leave them at my dosing station. I hold it up under an under cabinet light with all lights on in the kitchen, so I feel like I have a lot of good light.

Marje uses monojet syringes I think in her video, which is what she used to use.
I believe they are no longer made. The video is not new, but it’s incredibly accurate and helpful. She’s so good at teaching!

The BD syringes are listed in that post. You’ll notice there are several brands listed. (But I think the 1 unit factor is too high).
Perhaps someone can correct me on this if they are using them.

I’ve been using the Relion brand syringes for a few years, and believe it or not, I really like them and they’re so inexpensive.

Unfortunately, they recently stopped making the 8 mm length needle, I can only get the 6 mm needle now.
I have to decide whether to switch brands or just use the 6 mm needle, which I am trying to use at present.

If I have to switch brands, then I have to make sure to change all of my calculations to accommodate a new brand syringe. 💗
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top