3/03 I want to change Sam's diet

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NadjaAndSam

NadjaAndSam

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This morning I gave Sam's shot 30 min late, it wasn't intentional though. He tested 500 and I gave him 0.75u, this will be his second day in a row with this dose.
Today I purchased chicken thighs and gently baked them, both of my cats seemed to like it. I'm thinking about starting to make their cat food since I've been expending a lot of money on their food and it's getting hard on my bank account but will it be bad for Sam to have his diet changed? How long should I be mixing the new food with the old to transition?

thanks :-D
 
When you start adding the supplements to the homemade & sure they will eat the homemade with supplements.
Dr. Lisa suggest starting slow. Doing what you are doing. Introduce the homemade with canned, then adding some of the supplements.
ECID on how long the transition takes.

I am sure you have already read this, but just in case...this is the site Dr. Lisa talks about the transition.
www.catinfo.org.
 
Thank you for the information. I was just confused if what Dr. Lisa wrote the transition was for non-diabetic cats or if this could also be for them.
When I met with my vet he said I would have to make a decision about his diet before starting giving him insulin. so I also got a bit confused by it but I got it now :D

thanks!
 
NadjaAndSam said:
This morning I gave Sam's shot 30 min late, it wasn't intentional though. He tested 500 and I gave him 0.75u, this will be his second day in a row with this dose.
Today I purchased chicken thighs and gently baked them, both of my cats seemed to like it. I'm thinking about starting to make their cat food since I've been expending a lot of money on their food and it's getting hard on my bank account but will it be bad for Sam to have his diet changed? How long should I be mixing the new food with the old to transition?

thanks :-D
Click to expand...


You can't feed Sam just plain chicken and/or ham. I don't think that chicken thighs and ham will have all the nutrients needed for Sam but if you were to switch to a raw food diet, you would be OK.
But I think the raw diet would be more expensive. Ask some others who are feeding raw how much their costs are for the raw mixtures.

Why not look through Binky's list for some foods canned and low carb, wet that may be more inexpensive than the food you are feeding now. Would fancy Feast or Friskies be cheaper for you?
Binky’s Food Lists
Feeding Your Cat: Know The Basics of Feline Nutrition

The chicken is a great treat or snack or supplement to a cat's diet, but the ham may be salty? I am not sure though.
 
I just bought the thighs to see if they would even be interested in raw food, but I wasn't planning on feeding them just raw chicken without the supplements :D

My cats used to eat Fancy feast and Friskies but they didn't like the low carb types. For a period of 1 month Sam wasn't eating anything even Fancy feast but once he started on insulin I started him on Nature's variety and he started eating but I think I have to try fancy feast again now that he is eating.
For some reason it didn't click that he wasn't eating because he was sick not because he was being picky (which he is actually). My other cat eats wellness which is cheaper than N.V. but Sam doesn't like it.
For some reason I thought it was going to be cheaper making their food than buying canned ones.

I have to try fancy feast and friskies again!!
 
NadjaAndSam said:
I just bought the thighs to see if they would even be interested in raw food, but I wasn't planning on feeding them just raw chicken without the supplements :D

My cats used to eat Fancy feast and Friskies but they didn't like the low carb types. For a period of 1 month Sam wasn't eating anything even Fancy feast but once he started on insulin I started him on Nature's variety and he started eating but I think I have to try fancy feast again now that he is eating.
For some reason it didn't click that he wasn't eating because he was sick not because he was being picky (which he is actually). My other cat eats wellness which is cheaper than N.V. but Sam doesn't like it.
For some reason I thought it was going to be cheaper making their food than buying canned ones.

I have to try fancy feast and friskies again!!
Click to expand...

just to be sure, you should look into the raw diet, cost of a grinder and making your own, or just buying the premade stuff maybe. I did try a couple sample patties of raw, but only one cat would even try it.

you may find that it's cheaper for you than to feed the Wellness and NV foods, and it would for sure be healthier for your cats.
 
thank you I will look into it. I'm thinking about using a food processor for the meat and use bone meal for starters before I invest on a grinder since one of my cats think he is a diva and changes his mind quite often :D

I also wonder about quality, this is one of the reasons I also didn't push too ahrd ton fancy feast and friskies, but I have to do a better research on costs.

thanks!
 
Here's my theory on food, for what it's worth. Cats in the wild eat birds and mice. Lots of byproducts and protein. They survive without the carrots and blueberries and other stuff found in premium foods. Very few cats would choose to eat blueberries. :-D

I feed the food I can afford that my cat will eat. That's Fancy Feast. But if Fancy Feast was too expensive, I would feed Friskies and Sophisticat. (there's a Walmart brand too but I don't know the name of it). Raw is great, if you have the time and money to make it and if your cat will eat it.

Nadja, can you get some numbers tomorrow? Your blue last night might not have been as low as he went and could have caused the high number this am. Until you know what is happening mid cycle, reacting to a preshot only could mean he is bouncing from lows to highs. Any numbers will help.
 
I calculated it out once for Sneakers- it came up to about .45 cents with all the ingredients- I just needed to add the cost of the eggs and my time. And i got the recipe down to a one page, do in this order, kind of sheet if you would like to see it.
 
Thank you everyone I need to do a further research on making their food. I got a summarized recipe from catinfo.org thanks to Heather, I haven't read feline nutrition thoroughly yet, but I will check the other links you provided Gayle!
I Just don't want to start investing on the grinder just yet. I might try using bone meal and use a food processor for the meat before I buy a grinder. I just need to find the darn time lol

But I'm with you Sue, actually my cats are eating better than I am lol I think I should take care of myself first otherwise I won't be able to take care of their furry faces :mrgreen:
If making their food will be less expensive than buying it canned I will do it otherwise they have to downgrade to more affordable brands next time they ran out of the premium foods (in 1 week).

And yes, I will be able to get some numbers tomorrow. I just wish I could get some numbers at night too but it ain't happening, I need to sleep.. :mrgreen:
 
I started my cat on 1/2 raw(felines pride Chichen) and 1/2 FF about a month ago. At mixed it very slowly into the FF. I was doing it about 4-5/times a day, but his BG went up. SO i'm down to just 2/day and that seems to balance it all out. He loves the raw and his muscle structure is slowly coming back. I'm sure the raw is helping. I would like to go more on the raw, but it is expensive and need to watch the budget.

Dr. Lisa has a great receipe on her website on making raw. She even has a utube link. Good luck!
 
We are using the Pierson recipie to great results so far, we switched cold turkey last friday pm from dry and no digestive issues, she absolutely loves the food! Generally you can find chicken thighs on sale for $0.69/lb and the upfront cost of buying the supplements is a bit....but you're getting enough for 50+ batches. My vet was fine with the diet, said make sure the fish oil is highly purified (99.9%), add the psyllium for some fiber, and you must have the bone in some form. Also mentioned the need to calculate calories per ounce, I did a rough breakdown the first day to figure out if she was getting enough and it was pretty close at 2/3c per day. I happened to already have a meat grinder, but it can not handle the bone so we are using the powder at the moment but will be purchasing another grinder soon. It is important to have a good scale so you can measure everything. Not saying my cat is any example of what typically happens, but look at her ss and see how quickly that diet changed everything.

As a side note....much less solid waste on this diet and much less "oh gooooooooood! what the hell is that smell?" out of my husband.

Cathy
 
Thank you Owlgal and Cathy!
I need to watch that video from Dr. Pierson. I've read that page just didn't watch the video yet!
Cathy the ss looks good!
Sam was already eating wet food only before he started on insulin but now I'm hopeful that with the raw food his numbers will start to be normal again :D
true, I think the main cost is upfront with supplements and grinder but then it turns out not to be expensive. That's awesome your vet was fine with it!
I'm more hopeful now. thank you!
 
I think it will be a little bit cheaper, I know it's about the lowest carb diet you could get...the majority being in the chicken liver. Hope Sam likes it (my other cat won't touch it) and maybe is sensitive enough that even a slightly lower carb diet might change things for him. The thing I like about it is you absolutely KNOW what is in the food. I find that 350 for 15-20 minutes works well for the thighs or leg quarters, you want to cook them just til the outside "seals" because of the bacteria. I actually never watched the video myself, the recipe is all over the page but relatively simple once you start. But yeah, vet says that it is a perfectly fine diet for someone who will be able to commit to making the food and making it consistently, just that cans are easier!

As for the meat grinder: watch Craigslist for one to come up...you might be surprised.
 
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