New Member - Meal help!

Status
Not open for further replies.
Jeanette Morris

Jeanette Morris

Member Since 2020
Hi everyone,
I'm fairly new to this group. Our cat Simon was diagnosed about two months ago. He started out on 1 unit of Prozinc. We changed his diet to pate and slowly started taking away rhe dry food and treats. We took him in for a curve about three weeks later, and he was increased to two units. He went into hypo one night and we decreased back to 1 unit. It has been about 3 weeks since we went back down to 1 unit, and we are going to do a curve at home due to the fact that he gets so stressed out. We have just started testing more at home, but we need both of us around to do it, which is not always possible, especially during the day.

My question is, the vet said that we only should feed wet cat food twice a day. Simon does not eat a ton at once, so we feed him 4 meals over the day (morning pre shot, lunch, dinner preshot, and before bed). He just seems like he is starving if we only do twice a day. He wakes us up early in the morning begging for food. Just wondering what the best thing to do is. I was under the impression that Prozinc lasted around 12 hours and his levels wouldn't rollercoaster if he ate in the middle. He has also been throwing up overnight. We don't know what time it's been at, but it does look like hairballs. Not sure if we should be concerned about that as well.

Thanks!!
 
Last edited:
Feeding multiple meals a day is much easier on the pancreas, and prevents hypos. The twice a day rule only works in dogs, who do not need their insulin dosage changed much at all. Cats on the other hand have their insulin needs fluctuate - it's rare to see a cat needing the same amount for very long.

Most people don't do curves and instead test at least a couple times every cycle, as daily testing is more accurate than an occasional curve, safer too.

Is he underweight? If so he needs more food. Unregulated diabetics often need 1.5 to 2x the normal amount of food (normal being 20 calories per lb of ideal body weight). I used to give my girl 4 meals every 12 hours.
 
Panic said:
Feeding multiple meals a day is much easier on the pancreas, and prevents hypos. The twice a day rule only works in dogs, who do not need their insulin dosage changed much at all. Cats on the other hand have their insulin needs fluctuate - it's rare to see a cat needing the same amount for very long.

Most people don't do curves and instead test at least a couple times every cycle, as daily testing is more accurate than an occasional curve, safer too.

Is he underweight? If so he needs more food. Unregulated diabetics often need 1.5 to 2x the normal amount of food (normal being 20 calories per lb of ideal body weight). I used to give my girl 4 meals every 12 hours.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the information! He is around 13 lbs. So I guess kind of about average for a house cat? Right now he eats at rhe same time as his brother. They split a can of friskies pate in the morning, then each get a can of fancy feast pate for lunch, then split another can of friskies at dinner, then each a can of fancy feast at night. He likes the friskies better so that's why I give them that at shot time. They rarely ever polish off any of these meals. It seems like he has the hardest time overnight from the last meal around 11pm to when we feed again at 5 am. I have considered getting an automatic feeder for a meal overnight to help. He starts meowing around 3-4am every morning.
 
I've heard males average 10 lbs, but my boy was neutered after he was grown so he's a bigger fella. I think @Critter Mom has a good weight diagram you can reference!

I recommend the Petsafe 5 Meal Feeder, it's a crowd favorite. Definitely offer him some food during the night, just make sure you withhold food those 2 hours before pre-shot time so the BG test is based on a fasting number and not food influenced.
 
Panic said:
I've heard males average 10 lbs, but my boy was neutered after he was grown so he's a bigger fella. I think @Critter Mom has a good weight diagram you can reference!

I recommend the Petsafe 5 Meal Feeder, it's a crowd favorite. Definitely offer him some food during the night, just make sure you withhold food those 2 hours before pre-shot time so the BG test is based on a fasting number and not food influenced.
Click to expand...

I personally thought maybe he was a little bigger, but the vet said he wasn't "overweight". He is a taller cat than my previous ones. I think he needs food overnight though, so I will definitely look into that feeder. Thank you!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top