BJ gave you some good information yesterday about why diabetics are hungry. The shorter version is that until a diabetic (human or feline) is regulated, glucose, which is what all food breaks down to when we eat and digest a meal, is floating around in the blood. (Hence the term, "blood glucose.") Unfortunately, that's not where the glucose is supposed to be. In order to benefit from what's being eaten, the glucose needs to get into the cells. That's what insulin does -- it functions to get glucose from the blood stream into our cells so we are nourished and have energy. It also explains why so many cats get skinny prior to our finding out that our kitties have diabetes - food isn't going where it's supposed to go. Once we get them on insulin and you see numbers coming down, it's telling you that less insulin is floating around in the blood. Once a cat is in better numbers, the cat is able to regain the lost weight because the glucose (food) is getting where it's supposed to go.
This also helps to explain why low carb foods are better than higher carb foods. The higher the carbs, the more sugar the food contains. So, if you are feeding low carb food, you will, hopefully, be able to give less insulin. In addition, if your cat's pancreas is healing, it puts less of a burden on a healing pancreas to produce its own insulin to overcome the amount of carbs that need to be metabolized.
One way to balance out the hungry cat with high numbers and carbs is to figure out the amount of food you give during the AM and PM cycles. So, if you are giving Mom-mom one, 5 oz can of food (I'm making this up) during each the AM and PM cycle, divide that up into portions. You can then spread out those portions over the cycle. You may want to see if you can stop feeding after +6. After nadir, there's less Lantus available to offset the effect of food. If Mom-mom is making noises like she's starving, you could give her some freeze dried chicken or even a small amount of cooked (or even raw) chicken. Pure protein as a small snack will have a minimal effect on her numbers.
You might want to point out to you husband that cats, even Italian cats, don't do well on pasta. They do even less well if given tomato sauce. (Onions can cause hemolytic anemia in cats.) As much as they may want cheese, most cats are lactose intolerant. He's welcome to feed the kitties meatballs provided they are made without onions or garlic. Some cats are also allergic to beef and fish. Bottom line, cats are obligate carnivores -- all they need is protein and the various vitamins and minerals that are necessary for a nutritionally complete diet. If you are keeping an eye on Mom-mom's weight, then you have data. He may not want to be confused by the facts, but if that's the case, he's letting his stubbornness override his intelligence. (You are welcome to point out that there are a number of us here who have been around this block a few times. If he wants articles for reference, we're happy to inundate him in information. Alternatively, if he's so sure of what he's saying, we'd be happy to read the research he can provide. I've often found asking someone to back up their point of view with research ends the discussion.)
