Batman and Others Not Eating

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TJ Penn

TJ Penn

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Is there information I can access on feeding like what to do when your diabetic is refusing the LC wet food? I’m new so every food I try is an experiment and it’s getting very expensive and rejected food is piling up. Where can I go for a “crash course”?

I’m working on Batman spreadsheet but slow going trying to read tiny chart and estimate the readings.
 
TJ Penn said:
Is there information I can access on feeding like what to do when your diabetic is refusing the LC wet food? I’m new so every food I try is an experiment and it’s getting very expensive and rejected food is piling up. Where can I go for a “crash course”?

I’m working on Batman spreadsheet but slow going trying to read tiny chart and estimate the readings.
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A little more info — Batman would only eat about a tablespoon of food last night and again this morning.
 
I'm not much help as my cats are also picky eaters and I've wasted thousands trying to find a food that all 4 will eat. None of my cats eat the pate very well, so I have narrowed their food choice down to two that are morsels. They get the save 2 flavors every day, one in the morning and one in the evening. I will say they "mostly" finish their food now.
Good luck, I hope you are able to find a food that is appealing to Batman. In the meantime, my boy goes crazy for Churu treats and he will eat those so maybe that might be something you could give Batman before his shot.
 
Hi! Here’s a sticky about stimulating appetite. Not completely what you’re looking for, but still has a few tricks you could try to convince them of the food swap. I’m pretty sure there’s also info on tips for swapping to wet, but couldn’t find it on a quick search of the stickies, etc. Maybe someone else will have it for you. :)

When my cats are being picky, I crumble up freeze dried chicken treats on top of their food. I’ve also heard (and it’s mentioned on that sticky) that forti flora sprinkled on top works well for cats switching from a dry diet because it’s similar to the coating on dry food.

Have you tried different textures of wet food?
 
Rosie Lass said:
I'm not much help as my cats are also picky eaters and I've wasted thousands trying to find a food that all 4 will eat. None of my cats eat the pate very well, so I have narrowed their food choice down to two that are morsels. They get the save 2 flavors every day, one in the morning and one in the evening. I will say they "mostly" finish their food now.
Good luck, I hope you are able to find a food that is appealing to Batman. In the meantime, my boy goes crazy for Churu treats and he will eat those so maybe that might be something you could give Batman before his shot.
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hank you, I will try the Churu. May I ask what morselsyou are feeding - might as well try it!
 
JL & Cooper said:
Hi! Here’s a sticky about stimulating appetite. Not completely what you’re looking for, but still has a few tricks you could try to convince them of the food swap.

When my cats are being picky, I crumble up freeze dried chicken treats on top of their food. I’ve also heard (and it’s mentioned on that sticky) that forti flora sprinkled on top works well for cats switching from a dry diet because it’s similar to the coating on dry food.

Have you tried different textures of wet food?
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They were eating all the different textures of Friskies but I know it’s hard on the kidney, trying to be proactive due to a recent lose due to kidney failure.

thank you for the sticky, will read it now.
 
TJ Penn said:
hank you, I will try the Churu. May I ask what morselsyou are feeding - might as well try it!
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Blue Buffalo Wilderness Wild Delights. It comes in a Chicken & Turkey and a Chicken & Trout. They call it minced but it is tiny little chunks. I know they probably shouldn't have fish every day but this is all they will eat. It's not cheap, but it's better than putting the other stuff down the garbage disposal every day, right? They are a 10% carb food so right at the top of low carb.
 
I echo the fortiflora recommendation from personal experience. It’s sometimes hard to sprinkle just a little from the packet so I use an 1/16 (pinch) teaspoon measure that would otherwise languish in my drawer and don’t even use an entire measure per meal. As the link above provided by @JL & Cooper mentioned, I use it like salt when getting a cat over anorexia. I’ve also used crumbled freeze dried chicken or salmon but of everything, the fortiflora has worked the best for me.

I’m just going to emphasize the part of the linked tips that stressed not transitioning a sick cat under most circumstances, and making sure a cat is eating enough calories (even if not the desired food) to prevent liver damage (or in the case of our diabetic kitties DKA) during any transition.

good luck!
 
Here is your previous post for continuity https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/about-batman.293927/#post-3206045
I am concerning your kitty is not getting any insulin and is not eating much. This is a recipe for ketones to form. If he won’t eat the low carb, let him eat whatever he will eat. If he won’t eat anything I would take him to the vet to see what is wrong. Diabetic cats must eat otherwise you are going to run into a lot of problems. im going to tag @Suzanne & Darcy to help with the dosing.

Please test his urine for ketones You will need a bottle of Ketostix which you can buy at Walmart or a pharmacy.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Here is your previous post for continuity https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/about-batman.293927/#post-3206045
I am concerning your kitty is not getting any insulin and is not eating much. This is a recipe for ketones to form. If he won’t eat the low carb, let him eat whatever he will eat. If he won’t eat anything I would take him to the vet to see what is wrong. Diabetic cats must eat otherwise you are going to run into a lot of problems. im going to tag @Suzanne & Darcy to help with the dosing.

Please test his urine for ketones You will need a bottle of Ketostix which you can buy at Walmart or a pharmacy.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for concern. Batman is eating well now, we offered him options until he finally approved a dish, lol! Has been eating great since then. The parm cheese or a small amount of Squeeze Up seem to work well to tempt him. My most finicky boy isn’t diabetic so I give him some dry food in private to supplement the small portions of LC wet food he is eating. He is also responding well to the parm. These guys are brothers and we lost one to kidney failure July 1 so I’m nervous and cautious with the remaining two brothers.

I also did a mid-stream ketones test and was thankful he was completely negative.
 
TJ Penn said:
Thank you so much for concern. Batman is eating well now, we offered him options until he finally approved a dish, lol! Has been eating great since then. The parm cheese or a small amount of Squeeze Up seem to work well to tempt him. My most finicky boy isn’t diabetic so I give him some dry food in private to supplement the small portions of LC wet food he is eating. He is also responding well to the parm. These guys are brothers and we lost one to kidney failure July 1 so I’m nervous and cautious with the remaining two brothers.

I also did a mid-stream ketones test and was thankful he was completely negative.
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I was also able to read many, many pages and articles yesterday and have a question on the 5 Steps to stabilized.

if he is under 200 don’t shoot, but still fed, right? And then what, test until he is above 200 and then shoot? That is what we did today but only gave 1/2 unit PZ because he was only 280 and that did drop him 100 points in 1 hr.
 
TJ Penn said:
I was also able to read many, many pages and articles yesterday and have a question on the 5 Steps to stabilized.

if he is under 200 don’t shoot, but still fed, right? And then what, test until he is above 200 and then shoot? That is what we did today but only gave 1/2 unit PZ because he was only 280 and that did drop him 100 points in 1 hr.
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Sorry, confused about what I read where.
I read
Test and if below 200 don’t shot
If above 200 feed, wait 15-30 minutes, then shoot
 
TJ Penn said:
Sorry, confused about what I read where.
I read
Test and if below 200 don’t shot
If above 200 feed, wait 15-30 minutes, then shoot
Click to expand...
He had a very nice cycle today. I do not see a 100 point drop in one hour. It took him a few hours to go from 180 to 130. Thank you for setting up your spreadsheet. You did the right thing this morning by not skipping the dose. I would like you to hold the .5 dose for now. Hold for 7 days unless he drops below 90 at this time (as you are new we will follow SLGS protocol and can switch to MPM if needed.). Is he eating a full low carb wet food diet now?
 
TJ Penn said:
Sorry, confused about what I read where.
I read
Test and if below 200 don’t shot
If above 200 feed, wait 15-30 minutes, then shoot
Click to expand...
So specifically for new people, we usually advise not to shoot if below 200 without advice. However, the goal is to be able to gradually shoot lower and lower numbers. Today, for example, you shot .5 units with an AMPS of 180 and you did a fantastic job of gathering data to show how that dose worked.

Since many cats tend to drop a bit lower at night, try to get a test in tonight. The typical onset time for ProZinc is +2 and you will see the BG begin to drop around this time.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
What does this mean? Aren’t the numbers you put in for today from you scanning the Libre? Can’t you directly scan the Libre and get a numerical value?
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Yes, the numbers for today were put in throughout the day. I was trying to put in historical data from the curves stored in the Libre3.

I’m uncertain of when to take the PS reading. Do I record the number before I fed him or right before the shot? We have been feeding and then waiting 15-30 minutes before the shot.
 
With ProZinc you don’t need to wait. When it is time for his shot you just test him then feed him then shoot insulin all in succession. The whole process shouldn’t take very long. Some people (myself included) give the insulin shot while the cat eats or just test and give the treat for the test and shoot quickly and put their dish in front of them. But you don’t have to wait until they finish eating to shoot and you definitely don’t have to wait 15 minutes after they finish eating. The ProZinc won’t generally start lowering numbers for two hours.
 
So hopefully that answered your question, but I went back and re-read it. You want to do the test before the cat has had any food. This is so the number won’t be inflated by the influence of the food. This is the same reason there is a “no food for two hours prior to the AMPS and PMPS tests.”
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
So hopefully that answered your question, but I went back and re-read it. You want to do the test before the cat has had any food. This is so the number won’t be inflated by the influence of the food. This is the same reason there is a “no food for two hours prior to the AMPS and PMPS tests.”
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Got it and now posting on the PZ board.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
He had a very nice cycle today. I do not see a 100 point drop in one hour. It took him a few hours to go from 180 to 130. Thank you for setting up your spreadsheet. You did the right thing this morning by not skipping the dose. I would like you to hold the .5 dose for now. Hold for 7 days unless he drops below 90 at this time (as you are new we will follow SLGS protocol and can switch to MPM if needed.). Is he eating a full low carb wet food diet now?
Click to expand...
My mistake, meter scanning is on my husband's phone and I misunderstood him. What is in the spreadsheet is the correct readings.
 
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