A tablespoon of dry food

[Tiger and the squid]

Tiger has been on a purely wet food diet since his diagnosis. Hes is given two to three cans a day, about 200-250cals a day. He is still dropping weight like a madman. He is down to 7 pounds. There was a time where he weighed in at 8, but that has come and gone and hes back down to 7. Previously when he was free feeding on dry, he was closer to 12 pounds (he is a big cat, not overweight)

I recently got a simple of young again zero mature to try. Now I know this is one of the better dry foods but I'm still hesitant to give it to him while Tiger is still trying to get his numbers under control. I'm just wondering what to expect when adding a tablespoon or two to his diet.

(If my math is right and it's probably not there's about 40cal in a tablespoon)

 

[Bama Kitty Mom (GA)]

It's hard to predict his reaction until you try it. If he's a lifelong eater of dry, his appetite may improve to where he'll eat more and put on weight. How many times per day are you feeding? Does he seem hungry or like he would eat more if offered? I checked your SS. With numbers that high, you should be testing for ketones. You can get a bottle of 50 strips you dip in urine from Walmart for about $7.

Bama has been on all wet for a couple months but it is a struggle to get him to eat it. Plus he's had issues with hairballs and constipation that he didn't have when he was fed both wet and dry. Last week I got a couple samples of Dr. Elsey's Clean Protein Chicken that he loves so I placed an order for a 6.6 lb. bag that should deliver on Monday. I've just been adding a few pieces--10 or 12 up to 20--per meal after he eats his wet or to get him to finish the final couple spoonfuls of his wet. His reaction to his food is like night and day. Whereas he shows little to no enthusiasm for any of the canned food when I present it to him, as soon as he hears me open the dry food container, he perks up, then attacks the food like he is starving. For that reason alone, I am inclined to give him more dry. What's the point of his eating if he finds no pleasure in it?

Once the big bag of dry has arrived, I plan to slowly increase the amount of dry. I want to start making him some homemade chicken pieces and broth from the bones so I can keep his fluid intake high. Fingers crossed he doesn't lose interest in the Dr. Elsey's once it gets here.

 

[Tiger and the squid]

I sent in a request to dr elseys also, so hopefully he'll get some variety and see some weight being put back on. I'm only planning, max, a tablespoon with each meal. I feed twice a day.

He's always sure to let me know that he knows its food time - by 630 Tiger is waking me up, even though breakfast is at 7. But then he will have a few licks, and walk away. Usually the dish is cleaned by dinner time, and hes ready for more, but he doesnt clean his plate right away.

I thought about trying to put some of the kibbles on top of his wet to ... trick him to eat more lol I wouldnt want them to get soggy though. So it'll probably be served on the side.

Last time I checked for ketones, he was negative. I'll try to catch him going potty this weekend to check again. He has been having more good numbers lately, but I suppose it's still a concern, especially given his age.

 

[JoyBee&Ravan]

I know this is one of the better dry foods but I'm still hesitant to give it to him while Tiger is still trying to get his numbers under control

I'm curious why you're not on the Lantus forum? There are People there with many years of experience that can help you get your cats Blood glucose down.You need advice from "Experienced People" They can advise you about the correct dose to give Tiger.
On his SS you switch dose frequently. That's not how your supposed to dose Lantus.

Those High #'s aren't good. My Cat Ravan goes into High Bounces & his BG goes to black sometimes. He was recently diagnosed with Kidney disease. I think the High bg damaged his kidneys.
Your goal is to try to get his bg to blue & green.

I feed Ravan when ever he's hungry as much as he wants. He's 16 yrs old & also a big Kitty,not over weight. He started to lose weight but now he's stable. (He's 12 lbs )He eats mostly a Raw diet all his life. If you read the Information on the insulin Lantus you'll understand better what's happening & why he's Hungry.

There are some people that took their cat off dry food & the Kitty went into remission. The dry food your giving Tiger is probably why his BG is so HIGH. Once his BG comes down he won't be so Hungry or lose weight.

Please go on the Lantus Forum & ask for Advice. They will help you to Help your Tiger.

Best of Luck to you & Tiger

 

[Tiger and the squid]

I'm curious why you're not on the Lantus forum? There are People there with many years of experience that can help you get your cats Blood glucose down.You need advice from "Experienced People" They can advise you about the correct dose to give Tiger.

I posted here because it's not a question about his insulin or dosing. Honestly, I just assumed this would be the best place to find general info, that other folks might have input on, who may not frequent the lantus forum.

On his SS you switch dose frequently. That's not how your supposed to dose Lantus.

Those High #'s aren't good. My Cat Ravan goes into High Bounces & his BG goes to black sometimes. He was recently diagnosed with Kidney disease. I think the High bg damaged his kidneys.
Your goal is to try to get his bg to blue & green.

Believe it or not, I do want to keep Tiger steady on his insulin dose. The random (I think two) 1.5u doses are because I was nervous about his lowish number - coming from vetsulin and not seeing those good numbers made me scared for a hypo, when I wasn't going to be around to monitor him. I was attempting a .25u decrease from 2u, when he had a <90 reading, but my vet suggested I go back to 2u since we were still getting those 600+ more often than not.

I feed Ravan when ever he's hungry as much as he wants. He's 16 yrs old & also a big Kitty,not over weight. He started to lose weight but now he's stable. (He's 12 lbs )He eats mostly a Raw diet all his life. If you read the Information on the insulin Lantus you'll understand better what's happening & why he's Hungry.

I feed the cats twice a day, to coincide with Tiger's insulin and my work schedule. Neither cat eats their entire meal right away, they will have some, then come back later. I do not take away the food during the day/night, but also I'm at work or sleeping so I can't give more smaller meals. I give one can every meal for sure (Two cans a day, per cat). Sometimes I do one can each kitty, and split a third between them. Sometimes this extra is cleaned, sometimes it's left.

There are some people that took their cat off dry food & the Kitty went into remission. The dry food your giving Tiger is probably why his BG is so HIGH. Once his BG comes down he won't be so Hungry or lose weight.

I have NOT given Tiger dry food in almost three months. Not since his diagnosis, with the exception of a fairly serious drop when I was trying to get his number back up. I was seeking advice about starting to give him SOME with his wet food every meal time, for some more calorie dense food. I gave him a single tablespoon of Young Again Zero Mature today with dinner.

Please go on the Lantus Forum & ask for Advice. They will help you to Help your Tiger.

Best of Luck to you & Tiger

Genuinely, thank you for the luck. We are still pretty new to this, especially considering all of the experience here and are doing the best we can SO much better than when he was initially diagnosed, but we still have a long way to go.

 

[ZulusMom (GA)]

We give Zulu mostly wet food since it keeps him hydrated, but we (meaning mostly my husband) will give him some Young Again Mature Zero every now and then because he really seems to enjoy it. We've been doing this since before he went into remission and have continued with no noticeable impact on his BGs. Zulu's a bit of chunky though, and the YA Zero is high in calories so we have to be careful about how much we give him. If you're just giving it to supplement his wet food and get some weight on him, it might help. Keep in mind, I know some cats get pretty bad diarrhea on the YA Zero - wasn't an issue for Zulu but definitely was for his civvie brother when he got into it.