Feeding Schedule Recommendations please

tabbylvr

tabbylvr

Member Since 2019
Hi,
I'm struggling getting Jeckle's numbers under control. He was on w/d and is now getting DM canned and w/d kibble. The kibble will be switched to DM this week and then gradually eliminated. I figured the w/d is causing the high BGs and was hoping to see some lower numbers (he's usually 500+ am and pm and upper 300s to upper 400s during the day). Yesterday PMPS was 389 and I was ecstatic. This morning, however, AMPS was 515. I just don't get it! Except...I free feed kibble mainly because Jeckle is so skinny I want him to have food available at all times. So there's a pretty good possibility he had a nice mouthful of kibble before I took his blood. He's definitely a grazer.
I'm gone most of the day but was thinking to get those Petmate timed feeders. That would allow me to have them get 4 meals a day. Does that sound like a good plan? Would that be better than free feeding anything? Plus the wet food would stay fresh until the feeders open. What do you guys do overnight? Should I set up a snack? They get their dinner about 6:45 pm.
 
Ditching the kibble and the w/d is definitely the way to go - both are high in carbs, far too high for a diabetic kitty. Diabetic cats are skinny and eat all the time because the diabetes prevents the nutrients in the food from being available for them to utilize. They're hungry all the time even though the eat more and more and lose weight. But the more you feed kibble and other high carb foods, the worse the diabetes gets, so it's a vicious circle. Once you get him on all low-carb wet food, you should see much better results, and a well-fed and satisfied kitty.

The timed feeders are great; you can get them with compartments for up to 5 meals. Several small meals, spaced out throughout the day (and even night), is usually best for diabetic cats, as it helps keep their blood sugar from spiking due to food. The feeders come with ice packs, so the wet food will stay fresh even in warmer weather. I also sometimes freeze wet food in ice cube trays, and leave one or two frozen cubes out overnight.

Good luck! It will be good to see how his numbers improved once he's off the w/d and the kibble.
 
You will want to get some guidance on dosing and weaning off the high carb dry, eliminating the dry can drop numbers considerably. Good to do it somewhat gradually or consider a reduction in dose along with it. Hoping someone with more specific knowledge of this will advise on best way to do that. Just be aware you may see a good drop in BG after dry is totally eliminated.
 
You may want to read this thread by a member who is also going to transition from dry to an all wet low carb diet:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/transition-to-wet-food.212681/
Heather uses a different insulin than you do, and I can't advise you on dosage, but Kris & Teasel offered some very good advice on weaning off the dry food. Also, the D/M wet food from the vet isn't low carb, it's actually about 13%, so it's over the recommended no more than 10%, less % is better. Check out the Food Chart HERE to see the breakdown of the canned foods.
Many members feed Fancy Feast & Friskies pates, plus Weruva and Tiki Kat brands.
The timed feeder might be just what would work for you and Jeckle, either while you are away from home or at night. He could still "graze" after a fashion, and then you would know he was getting more of the right kind of food and probably see those BG numbers going down.
You can set the feeder to open to an empty slot 2 hours before that AMPS test, then test, feed, shoot. If you have more than one cat, and are going to use more than one feeder, then set them all to that empty slot, so Jeckle doesn't get a sneaky bite before the morning test.
I think it's the Petsafe 5 auto timed feeder. Check vendors and prices so you get the best deal.
 
@Idjit's mom

I have a question on this just so I can understand this, maybe my calculations are off?

Thanks

If this is the DM by Purina, how do we know the canned is 13% carbs? I did not see it on our food list, so I got the guaranteed analysis for original canned on Purina DM page (link below) and best I can figure (unless I am doing it wrong) the canned is 3.3% carb on converted to dry matter basis. I used the formula from site below to convert it. Do we have the data for DM wet somewhere else? Just curious and would like to know if my calculations are off for future reference. The DM dry is definitely high at 18%, which is also listed on their site, link below. They say “low carb” but we know it just means lower than most, but not necessarily low carb as we define it for diabetic needs.

http://www.diabeticcatinternational.com/knowledge/calculating-carbs/


https://www.proplanveterinarydiets.com/products/dm-dietetic-management-cat/
 
Purine Pro Plan Veterinary Diet DM is actually listed on Dr. Pierson’s spreadsheet, with 6% calories from carbs. The Savory Selects version is 10% carbs.
 
Erin & Scott said:
Purine Pro Plan Veterinary Diet DM is actually listed on Dr. Pierson’s spreadsheet, with 6% calories from carbs. The Savory Selects version is 10% carbs.
Click to expand...
I would go with those numbers if on Dr Lisa’s list, I don’t trust my math. I could not find on list though? I looked under Purina and DM.

I checked list again and could not find in pdf version, then saw there is a search and put in Purina and found it that way, does not seem to be anywhere on the pdf list though, just other Proplan varieties.

Anyway... sounds like the regular DM wet is 6%.
 
Last edited:
Idjit's mom said:
I was thinking the "DM" was the Hills m/d because she had been using the w/d. Hills m/d is 13%. If my assumption is in error, I apologize. You are right about the Purina DM wet, it is 6% on the Food Chart. I use this link http://catinfo.org/chart/index.php
Click to expand...
I was thinking Hills at first also, so many abbreviations. No problem, just glad to know, there are so many things to remember, my brain hurts.:eek: I am just trying to learn as much as I can so if it comes up again I’ll know.
 
Julie and Honey said:
I was thinking Hills at first also, so many abbreviations. No problem, just glad to know, there are so many things to remember, my brain hurts.:eek: I am just trying to learn as much as I can so if it comes up again I’ll know.
Click to expand...
I know, it's bewildering sometimes. That's why this board is so great, peer reviewed, so questions get answered and issues clarified.
 
Julie and Honey said:
I would go with those numbers if on Dr Lisa’s list, I don’t trust my math. I could not find on list though? I looked under Purina and DM.

I checked list again and could not find in pdf version, then saw there is a search and put in Purina and found it that way, does not seem to be anywhere on the pdf list though, just other Proplan varieties.

Anyway... sounds like the regular DM wet is 6%.
Click to expand...
It's on page 61 Veterinarian - Purina ProPlan DM !
 
Julie and Honey said:
@Idjit's mom

I have a question on this just so I can understand this, maybe my calculations are off?

Thanks

If this is the DM by Purina, how do we know the canned is 13% carbs? I did not see it on our food list, so I got the guaranteed analysis for original canned on Purina DM page (link below) and best I can figure (unless I am doing it wrong) the canned is 3.3% carb on converted to dry matter basis. I used the formula from site below to convert it. Do we have the data for DM wet somewhere else? Just curious and would like to know if my calculations are off for future reference. The DM dry is definitely high at 18%, which is also listed on their site, link below. They say “low carb” but we know it just means lower than most, but not necessarily low carb as we define it for diabetic needs.

http://www.diabeticcatinternational.com/knowledge/calculating-carbs/


https://www.proplanveterinarydiets.com/products/dm-dietetic-management-cat/
Click to expand...
Just for future reference, here’s my post on Calculating % Carbs.

tabbylvr said:
Hi,
I'm struggling getting Jeckle's numbers under control. He was on w/d and is now getting DM canned and w/d kibble. The kibble will be switched to DM this week and then gradually eliminated. I figured the w/d is causing the high BGs and was hoping to see some lower numbers (he's usually 500+ am and pm and upper 300s to upper 400s during the day). Yesterday PMPS was 389 and I was ecstatic. This morning, however, AMPS was 515. I just don't get it! Except...I free feed kibble mainly because Jeckle is so skinny I want him to have food available at all times. So there's a pretty good possibility he had a nice mouthful of kibble before I took his blood. He's definitely a grazer.
I'm gone most of the day but was thinking to get those Petmate timed feeders. That would allow me to have them get 4 meals a day. Does that sound like a good plan? Would that be better than free feeding anything? Plus the wet food would stay fresh until the feeders open. What do you guys do overnight? Should I set up a snack? They get their dinner about 6:45 pm.
Click to expand...
I’d also like to add that feeding after midcycle can slow down the action of the insulin and cause the duration to decrease, especially if you are feeding something other than super LC food.

You might want to set the timed feeder to feed all of his food in 2-3 timed portions with the last around +5 since you are gone during the day. If he needs more food later, then a LC snack like freeze dried chicken, will have little effect on his BG.

One other comment, once you started giving insulin, his body is more able to use nutrients but he still will be unhungry until he’s better regulated. Once the insulin is bringing his BGs down, he should start gaining weight although he might need a few more calories. You might find this post on Feeding Kitty As Much As He Wants helpful.
 
Thanks Marje, too bad your carb calc info won’t stay at the top of board with other yellow stickies, it is very good info. How do they get them to stay up there? Lock it?
 
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