What tricks do you use to get a diabetic cat to eat?

[Sandi Durtschi]

Hello. My cat was recently diagnosed with diabetes. He also has ckd. Sinde the diagnosis and starting insulin he's lost weight, which is bad, so we've been trying all kinds of tnings to get him to eat. He's been on Hill's K/D for several years since his diagnosis of kidney disease. We've just recently been able to get him on canned food,but he is SUPER picky. The only canned food I've been able to get him to eat is Fancy Feast Flaked Fish and Shrimp. But he doesn't always eat it all. It's like he licks the food and leaves most of the chunks no matter how much I try and mash it up. He won't touch anything Pate. It seems he will only eat canned foods that have a strong smell of fish or tuna. He LOVES tuna! I've tried the parmesan trick, but he seems to mostly lick it as well. Any suggestions on what else I can try?

 

[JanetNJ]

Maybe you can add a little of the food he likes to the top of the pate to try to get him interested. Or you can add some FortiFlora. If it's because he's a kibble addict there are a handful of dry foods that are ok. One in particular is Young Again Zero Mature which is both low in carb (1%) and low in phosphorous (.5%) It's also high in calorie and nutrient dense.

they will send a free sample of the food if you ask.

https://www.youngagainpetfood.com/zero-mature-health.html

Dr. Elsley is another dry that is only 5% carb. I'm not sure on the phosophorous content... They will send a free sample as well.

 

[Yong & Maury GA]

Welcome Sandi and kitty!
Have you tried heating the food up?

 

[JanetNJ]

here's the wet food food chart.... Look through and find one you think he might like. Fish flavors tend to be high in phosphorous, so use them sparingly for a ckd cat, but maybe if you mix a little tuna flavor in with a chicken flavor it would entice him enough to try it.

 

[Sandi Durtschi]

He won't go near the pate. He takes one smell of it and walks away. I might try the FortiFlora. But in reading what it's used for, it says it's for diarrhea. Is it safe to use if he's not having diarrhea? And I will definitely look into the Young Again Zero Mature since he does love his dry food. Problem is, I'm having a hard time getting him to eat enough of the dry food as well. He unfortunately just doesn't have the appetite he used to have. I've even tried putting a little bit of tuna on the canned food to get him to eat it, but like I said before, it's like he eats the bit of tuna, and just licks the rest of the food. I've even tried putting tuna juice on the remainder of the canned food to see if I can get him to eat it and he mostly just licks that as well. I went to the vet on Saturday and they gave me several samples of canned food for him to try and he would just take a whiff and walk away. Not interested at all. It's just so frustrating.

 

[JanetNJ]

He won't go near the pate. He takes one smell of it and walks away. I might try the FortiFlora. But in reading what it's used for, it says it's for diarrhea. Is it safe to use if he's not having diarrhea? And I will definitely look into the Young Again Zero Mature since he does love his dry food. Problem is, I'm having a hard time getting him to eat enough of the dry food as well. He unfortunately just doesn't have the appetite he used to have. I've even tried putting a little bit of tuna on the canned food to get him to eat it, but like I said before, it's like he eats the bit of tuna, and just licks the rest of the food. I've even tried putting tuna juice on the remainder of the canned food to see if I can get him to eat it and he mostly just licks that as well. I went to the vet on Saturday and they gave me several samples of canned food for him to try and he would just take a whiff and walk away. Not interested at all. It's just so frustrating.

It's OK to use FortiFlora even if they don't have a diarrhea problem. Was he checked for pancreatitis? Do you give sub q's for the ckd? It's really important cats eat as they can quickly develop fatty liver. Young Again Zero mature is high in calories and nutrient dense. They don't need to eat a lot of it. I think it's something like 1/4 or 1/3 cup a day. Ask for a free sample. In the meantime get that cat eating anything. Will he eat boiled chicken? Are his teeth ok? Chicken baby food (with no onion or garlic)?

 

[Wesley and Spicoli]

FortiFlora is a probiotic. Just like with humans, it's not going to hurt your kitty if he eats it.

Have you tried warming the cat food in the microwave? Or adding warm water to the food?

Are his teeth ok?

Painful teeth can definately have an affect on his appetite.
Has he been sneezing? A stuffy kitty can't smell his food as well.
I have no experience with CKD but right now staying away from high carb food doesn't really matter, give kitty whatever he will eat.

 

[Jan Radar (GA)]

The most successful trick I use to help Radar eat is to heat the food in the microwave. I think he's particularly sensitive to the smells of warm meat and his instincts take over and propel his head into his dish.