? 7/9/21 Chicamonkey AMPS 76

Suzi and Chicamonkey

Suzi and Chicamonkey

Member Since 2020
Good morning!!
Good morning!!
Monkey continues to do really well!!
I’ve been reading a lot about raw species appropriate diets for cats…..
I decided to try Darwin’s …. They had a $14 trial of a months worth of food ( chicken and Turkey) and it came yesterday!
I gave her a teaspoon of it along with her regular fancy feast, pumpkin purée and miralax. SHE ATE IT!!!
She likes it!
She has had 6 days of 2 units lev … bg’s 70-120.
Higher numbers are food spikes of 30-40 points.
Her PMPS last night was 77 ( I decreased her lev to 1.75), her +2 was 99 her +3 was 79!

I’m too chicken to make a raw recipe of my own - is anyone making their own??

Do you have any tips/ tricks?

I swear ( maybe I’m crazy ) but her coat seems really soft and super glossy this morning?!?!
Changes wouldn’t be that immediate would they?

Happy Friday!!
Much love, Monkeybutt and Suzi
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Yes @PerfumedCatMom makes her own raw food. There are others, but Katherine is the person coming to mind dight now. There are quite a few people who do. Some also lightly cook their food. I think that may be @Marina & Chico. Many people use the EZ complete in with the meat to make it nutritionally complete.
 
Hi Suzi, great to see Monkey doing so well!!! I wrote a whole thing on raw feeding in the Think Tank forum: https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/raw-feeding-senior-kitties.248460/

It’s easy to do and my cats love it. It also helps that it’s super low/zero carb. Since you live in Florida you can get ground boneless meats from Raw Feeding Miami and it will be cheaper than Darwin for you to do it yourself. Let me know if you have questions.
 
Hi Suzi. Monkey is so beautiful! Gotta love those torties. I have a dilute Calico named Sadie, and she is my Principessa!

So I feed my cats a raw diet; have done for nearly ten years. I first started with raw when trying to save my previous cat from IBD...which turned out to be lymphoma. But that's when I did all the research on raw diets, and really became convinced it was the way to go. Previous to Fred and Sadie, my last two cats were fed raw as well. I guess I've been doing it since....like 2004? Back in the days when feeding a raw diet made you a nutter. ;-)

Anyway, I've always used a premix called Feline Instincts. I buy the basic premix and the chicken liver powder. I then buy chicken or pork from the supermarket, mix it all in, and we are good to go! Honestly...the cats love it. When Sadie was on chemo for nasal lymphoma and couldn't have raw, she was constantly begging for it. And they have eaten that chicken meal in and meal out for all of this time. It's only recently that I introduced the pork, as I had to change out their dry food due to Fred's diabetes, and so they lost the protein variety. (and they love the pork...they're porkaholics, now) It does also have the advantage of being super low carb, which in Fred's case was great, but it also meant I knew his diabetes was not due to a high carb diet.

Here's the link: https://felineinstincts.com/

Glad to see Monkey doing so well. Maybe we'll get there someday!
 
Purrberry said:
Hi Suzi. Monkey is so beautiful! Gotta love those torties. I have a dilute Calico named Sadie, and she is my Principessa!

So I feed my cats a raw diet; have done for nearly ten years. I first started with raw when trying to save my previous cat from IBD...which turned out to be lymphoma. But that's when I did all the research on raw diets, and really became convinced it was the way to go. Previous to Fred and Sadie, my last two cats were fed raw as well. I guess I've been doing it since....like 2004? Back in the days when feeding a raw diet made you a nutter. ;-)

Anyway, I've always used a premix called Feline Instincts. I buy the basic premix and the chicken liver powder. I then buy chicken or pork from the supermarket, mix it all in, and we are good to go! Honestly...the cats love it. When Sadie was on chemo for nasal lymphoma and couldn't have raw, she was constantly begging for it. And they have eaten that chicken meal in and meal out for all of this time. It's only recently that I introduced the pork, as I had to change out their dry food due to Fred's diabetes, and so they lost the protein variety. (and they love the pork...they're porkaholics, now) It does also have the advantage of being super low carb, which in Fred's case was great, but it also meant I knew his diabetes was not due to a high carb diet.

Here's the link: https://felineinstincts.com/

Glad to see Monkey doing so well. Maybe we'll get there someday!
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Do you use a grinder, Kathleen? I really don't want to have to buy one but would like to try one of these Feline Instinct products. The EZ Complete was too expensive so I would try something small. Which one should I try first? My Natural Cat Plus Chicken Liver? I assume you just mix it in with small chicken pieces?
 
Back in the day, I started using a grinder. Then I got lazy and the cats remained happy, so I just buy freshly ground from the supermarket. My local Fresh Market, fortunately, grinds chicken; not all do. For the pork, I just buy thin-sliced loin and pop it in the blender on grind. It's a bit more work, but they love it! And yes, I just mix it all in a big bowl, and then portion it out using these: https://www.amazon.com/Anchor-Hocki...stic/dp/B00FJT3PYU/?tag=felinediabetesfdmb-20

I then freeze them and take them out as needed. They way I feed my two, 2lbs of meat/mix lasts about 10 days.

I should note that many are fearful of raw meat and salmonella, etc., but knock on wood, I have never once had a problem.

I use the plain My Natural Cat and buy the powdered chicken liver separately. (same site) They seem to like it better that way. The loooooove the powdered liver! I've used it as a topper occasionally when someone is being picky.
 
Purrberry said:
Back in the day, I started using a grinder. Then I got lazy and the cats remained happy, so I just buy freshly ground from the supermarket. My local Fresh Market, fortunately, grinds chicken; not all do. For the pork, I just buy thin-sliced loin and pop it in the blender on grind. It's a bit more work, but they love it! And yes, I just mix it all in a big bowl, and then portion it out using these: https://www.amazon.com/Anchor-Hocking-Storage-Containers-Plastic/dp/B00FJT3PYU/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2MJDDI8UVKOIV&dchild=1&keywords=anchor hocking glass storage containers with lids 1 cup&qid=1625848603&sprefix=anchor hocking glass storage containers with lids 1,aps,175&sr=8-3

I then freeze them and take them out as needed. They way I feed my two, 2lbs of meat/mix lasts about 10 days.

I should note that many are fearful of raw meat and salmonella, etc., but knock on wood, I have never once had a problem.

I use the plain My Natural Cat and buy the powdered chicken liver separately. (same site) They seem to like it better that way. The loooooove the powdered liver! I've used it as a topper occasionally when someone is being picky.
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Thanks for all the information. I just might try this. One last questions. How much do you feed? About the same as I would with commercial food - like 6 ounces a day?

Sorry to hijack your thread, Suzi, but hopefully this is good info for you as well.
 
Monkey is looking amazing - great job you!

Neko was put on raw shortly after she got diabetes. It was a very easy transition - not only because of her acro appetite. The civvie took to it too and I did it on recommendation of his vet, cause I needed something that both a diabetic and idiopathic cystitis kitty could eat. I started with pre-manufactured food. There is one made locally that is sourced with really good ingredients - I knew a couple people who worked there including one who did the sourcing. When Neko got CKD, I had to switch out some of the proteins with ground bones which was too high phosphorus, and started making food with TC Feline, their Special version. TC Feline is made on an island not far from me, but ships across Canada. There companies in the US that also sell it, website here. Another option is a premix made called Alnutrin, developed by a former FDMB member. Later I also made some food with EZComplete. I have an exotic meats butcher 5 minutes away from me, so easy to source kangaroo, bison, etc. One of the local raw pet food stores also sells bulk plain meats, where I could get elk, llama, goat, etc. I found making raw food actually cheaper than canned cat food - especially since I was looking for low phosphorus ones.

Fur changes do take a while longer to see. They usually shed their old coat for new, and you can also see discharge from eyes as they cleanse. It's normal.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Monkey is looking amazing - great job you!

Neko was put on raw shortly after she got diabetes. It was a very easy transition - not only because of her acro appetite. The civvie took to it too and I did it on recommendation of his vet, cause I needed something that both a diabetic and idiopathic cystitis kitty could eat. I started with pre-manufactured food. There is one made locally that is sourced with really good ingredients - I knew a couple people who worked there including one who did the sourcing. When Neko got CKD, I had to switch out some of the proteins with ground bones which was too high phosphorus, and started making food with TC Feline, their Special version. TC Feline is made on an island not far from me, but ships across Canada. There companies in the US that also sell it, website here. Another option is a premix made called Alnutrin, developed by a former FDMB member. Later I also made some food with EZComplete. I have an exotic meats butcher 5 minutes away from me, so easy to source kangaroo, bison, etc. One of the local raw pet food stores also sells bulk plain meats, where I could get elk, llama, goat, etc. I found making raw food actually cheaper than canned cat food - especially since I was looking for low phosphorus ones.

Fur changes do take a while longer to see. They usually shed their old coat for new, and you can also see discharge from eyes as they cleanse. It's normal.
Click to expand...
I’m thinking of retesting her IAA/ acro status in august. Is this a fluke Wendy , has her tumor just stopped demanding more insulin?
Someone on our feline diabetes fb page suggested trying no insulin. I’m too scared to pull out the rug.
My plan is to work her down to one unit by next weekend and then try….. what are your thoughts @Wendy&Neko
 
Don't bother retesting the IAA, save your money. Sandy did do a retest on Black Kitty and came back with the same number. Not until 5 years after OTJ when she did a test on a whim did it change to negative. As for the pituitary tumour, it can wax and wane. I've seen a acro kitty or two go off of insuiln. And a couple that were on insulin, did not get tested, went OTJ, fell out of remission and get tested as positive the second time. Just enjoy what you are seeing! I've also seen the story of someone with two brother cats, one diabetic, one not. The diabetic one was tested for acro and positive, so the caregiver tested the brother cause he had some other signs. Also positive for acro, but not diabetic. There have also been cases in the literature of non diabetic acros.

If you are going to remove insulin, I'd do it more gradually like you are suggesting, but maybe after 1 unit, try 0.5 units, then off. For any lurkers, this is strictly for Suzi and Chicamonkey. She is in a very unique position and this is by nature an experiment.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Don't bother retesting the IAA, save your money. Sandy did do a retest on Black Kitty and came back with the same number. Not until 5 years after OTJ when she did a test on a whim did it change to negative. As for the pituitary tumour, it can wax and wane. I've seen a acro kitty or two go off of insuiln. And a couple that were on insulin, did not get tested, went OTJ, fell out of remission and get tested as positive the second time. Just enjoy what you are seeing! I've also seen the story of someone with two brother cats, one diabetic, one not. The diabetic one was tested for acro and positive, so the caregiver tested the brother cause he had some other signs. Also positive for acro, but not diabetic. There have also been cases in the literature of non diabetic acros.

If you are going to remove insulin, I'd do it more gradually like you are suggesting, but maybe after 1 unit, try 0.5 units, then off. For any lurkers, this is strictly for Suzi and Chicamonkey. She is in a very unique position and this is by nature an experiment.
Click to expand...
Thank you for confirming what I thought about dropping dose!!! @Wendy&Neko
 
@Summer and Susie I would feed equivalent to your regular amount, yes. Just be aware it may be more protein-dense than what you are feeding her now, and, like humans, may keep her satisfied for longer. Also, her poos would likely change! On a raw diet, cats defecate less, as there's less in the way of "fillers". It's definitely been my experience, but ECID!

Wendy&Neko said:
I found making raw food actually cheaper than canned cat food
Click to expand...
And this...I think so as well! And no more messy, smelly cans...less waste on the environment, etc. But the bottom line is that my cats love it! :-)
 
Purrberry said:
@Summer and Susie I would feed equivalent to your regular amount, yes. Just be aware it may be more protein-dense than what you are feeding her now, and, like humans, may keep her satisfied for longer. Also, her poos would likely change! On a raw diet, cats defecate less, as there's less in the way of "fillers". It's definitely been my experience, but ECID!


And this...I think so as well! And no more messy, smelly cans...less waste on the environment, etc. But the bottom line is that my cats love it! :)
Click to expand...
I have noticed that she eats less … walks away seemingly more satisfied. She didn’t poop Saturday but she did last night. No smell!
I ordered the premix nutritional supplement from feline instincts and salmon oil. Our Publix supermarket has antibiotic free ground meats (lamb, chicken, pork, Turkey) so I may try them. Next Friday johns boss invited us to the Seed to table in Naples… I may ask the butcher for something for Chicamonkey there!!!
This was an easy transition….. she loves it!!!
 
She looks great. I feed one of mine Small Batch and the other Primal venison due to food allergies to many proteins. If I find a good source of protein and a supplement without chicken liver I would switch in a heartbeat and make my own. They both poop every other day. She dint transition to raw easily. Mine were about 9 months and they are foodies. I’m glad Monkey likes it.
 
tiffmaxee said:
She looks great. I feed one of mine Small Batch and the other Primal venison due to food allergies to many proteins. If I find a good source of protein and a supplement without chicken liver I would switch in a heartbeat and make my own. They both poop every other day. She dint transition to raw easily. Mine were about 9 months and they are foodies. I’m glad Monkey likes it.
Click to expand...
Feline instincts makes a supplement without chicken liver
 
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