? PLEASE HELP - IS a Mid cycle snack for hungry cat ok or not?

[Suzy65]

Please help! Alfie has recently been diagnosed and is still in stabilisation. His insulin has been increased from just 0.25u 0.75u
The vet is not going to change her standard response of feeding 12 hourly to maintain the most stable carbohydrate levels BUT he's hungry enough to be considered suffering and has gone from being a large ( but not fat) 5kg tom to a bony skeleton of 3.5kg in the last year ( has hyperthyroidism also which is now stable).

I believe that fd cat owners will have a more 'research based' answer to my query than the vet who is quoting what she's learned about one of many hundreds of diseases....

My question is, would it be okay for Alfie to have a small protein snack midcycle? Eg. White fish or chicken breast. This has no carbohydrate according to my package labels so surely couldn't affect his blood glucose? I would put it in an automatic feeder when out of the house and so he could have it in the night, so the time would be consistent.

I know with some cats there's the possibility they won't eat at shot time if fed in between but with our boy that's NEVER going to happen!

I've got an Alpha trak so when I've managed to get my head around that I could monitor first without the snack and then again with to compare. But it's a lot to take in and to begin with I just want to make him more comfortable and would appreciate any shared experiences on this.... Thanks in advance!

 

[Beck and Philly]

Absolutely. Seems like most vets stick by the 2x a day food rule, but these same vets insist home testing isn't necessary. Neither of those make sense to me.

I split Grandpa's food into two meals and two snacks with the meals at the shot times and the snacks in between. Some folks here advise giving the snacks in the earlier part of the cycle before the cat reaches nadir (lowest glucose reading in the 12 hour period).

Please remove the 911 tag. It should only be used in an emergency if you need life saving or an immediate response to a critical need. You can use the question mark for things like this and then remove the question mark when you feel you've received an adequate response.

Good luck. Good for you for home testing and looking for the best routine for your kitty. You're in the right place.

 

[Suzy65]

Absolutely. Seems like most vets stick by the 2x a day food rule, but these same vets insist home testing isn't necessary. Neither of those make sense to me.

I split Grandpa's food into two meals and two snacks with the meals at the shot times and the snacks in between. Some folks here advise giving the snacks in the earlier part of the cycle before the cat reaches nadir (lowest glucose reading in the 12 hour period).

Please remove the 911 tag. It should only be used in an emergency if you need life saving or an immediate response to a critical need. You can use the question mark for things like this and then remove the question mark when you feel you've received an adequate response.

Good luck. Good for you for home testing and looking for the best routine for your kitty. You're in the right place.

Thanks so much for your reply - I'm new to this forum so don't understand it all yet- my message appeared to be the only one without replies which is why I'd originally changed the tag, thinking I'd initially got the wrong one but have removed it now. I'm so sad to hear you lost Grandpa. My biggest fear right now is that Alfie will die feeling unloved and starved - he's been used to grazing throughout the day and can't understand why we've suddenly stopped feeding him. He's frantic for food and ignoring him is stressing me out....I'll try a small amount of white fish between cycles to appease him a bit.

 

[Harley Baby & Michele]

I free feed day and night. I have 4 cats and NONE of them will eat a full portion if I only fed them 2x/day. You do need to pick up the food 2 hours before shot time so you know how high or low the glucose is without influence of food.

 

[Kris & Teasel]

Yes to snacks or several small meals a day. Lots of help and support here if you would like to tell us more about your kitty, what insulin he's on, etc.

 

[Suzy65]

Thanks for your reply -Alf is on 0.75 u prozinc, just raised from 0.25 after a day of blood glucose tests at the vets. He began to get very uncooperative so they didn't get the last 2 bloods for the curve... The vet tells me 0.25 had his glucose nice and stable while hospitalised initially but we saw no evidence of anything 'settled' in terms of symptoms and hunger so he went back after a week. Raised to 0.75 last night following the day at the vets but he's still ravenous and crying for food all day, even after feeding. I'm giving him quite a bit more food than is recommended for his current weight because he's SO THIN. I HAD been giving him a gourmet gold tin to hide his thyroid medicine in but have switched this to Asda Tiger pate, as the spreadsheet from this forum shows it to be lower carbs. He also has 2x Whisksas 7+ pouches. This is repeated with the evening meal so in total he has 2x small trays and 4 pouches daily.
The Whisksas has only 2.9% carbs according to the spreadsheet and the pate is also low.

 

[Beck and Philly]

Thanks so much for your reply - I'm new to this forum so don't understand it all yet- my message appeared to be the only one without replies which is why I'd originally changed the tag, thinking I'd initially got the wrong one but have removed it now. I'm so sad to hear you lost Grandpa. My biggest fear right now is that Alfie will die feeling unloved and starved - he's been used to grazing throughout the day and can't understand why we've suddenly stopped feeding him. He's frantic for food and ignoring him is stressing me out....I'll try a small amount of white fish between cycles to appease him a bit.

Thanks for your kind words. Grandpa was quite a character.

This is a guideline. I was told to use the cat's desired weight rather than current weight for calculating calories. But everyone here told me that cats who are not yet regulated need more food in the beginning. I used this guide as a minimum, but gave Grandpa extra when he seemed very hungry.

When I tried to follow the twice a day feeding, Grandpa started vomiting. When I added snacks, the vomiting stopped. That was enough to convince me to feed him more often.

When you get a chance, set up a signature with your kitty's name, age, date diagnosed, type of insulin, dose, what and when you feed, etc. That will give everyone the basics every time you post something and let folks help you more.

Also, if you set up a spreadsheet, you will collect invaluable information and trends. Take a look at the spreadsheets linked to each of our signatures. Over time, this info will help you adjust dose amounts and see what's working and what may need to be tweaked.

Glad you found this place.

 

[Beck and Philly]

Completely unrelated, but I see you bought an AlphaTrak2. You can use Freestyle InsulinX strips in your meter for significantly less than the AlphaTrak2 strips. Online they can be found for $30 per 100 strips.

 

[Suzy65]

Thankyou - I live in England and couldn't get any search results for these but have seen Freestyle lite strips as mentioned on this forum for use in Alpha trak- are these the same?

 

[Beck and Philly]

Thankyou - I live in England and couldn't get any search results for these but have seen Freestyle lite strips as mentioned on this forum for use in Alpha trak- are these the same?

I don't believe they are the same. I think some use the Freestyle Lite, but I don't know the results or success.

I found mine on Amazon. There are a few sellers. I'm not sure about international shipping.