5 1/2 wth a diabetic cat

[Carola]

Hi my name is Carol, I have a diabetic cat for the last 5 1/2 years. There has been many ups and downs with my pet including seizures and illnesses. For the most part he has been an unbelievable pet.
He is 12 years old and has had diabetes for five years.
Fortunately my husband and I have shared the responsibilities for the care of our pets.
The hardest part is that we have three other cats which makes controlling his food very challenging . Besides which my husband, who is a senior citizen loves to give the cats too many treats despite my many pleads not to.

 

[Merlin]

Hi Carol - Welcome to FDMB. So great that you both are taking care of your kitty. What is your kitty's name? We have a lot of members here with many different levels of experience.

You may have already read this but it is a great 18 page document from a vet. It gives us good information of food and also has a food list to choose from. Here is the link: www.catinfo.org

If your hubby likes to give treats, then your kitty would love to get a low carb treat such as Pure Bites. You can find Pure Bites at Petsmart or Petco or online. There are other low carb treats too but I don't have the names of them. Pure Bites has only one ingredient i.e. chicken or duck, etc. It is freeze dried and is great for diabetic cats. I buy the big bag in the dog section because it is cheaper than the kitty bag. You just have to break up the pieces.

This is a great place to be so just holler anytime if you have a question and also if you would like to help anyone.

 

[Elizabeth and Bertie]

Hello Carol,
Welcome to FDMB!

Well done for looking after your diabetic cat for 5 1/2 years.

The hardest part is that we have three other cats which makes controlling his food very challenging .

Quite a few of us here have multi-cat households. And many of us here feed our non-diabetic cats the same food as we feed our diabetic cats. (Most of us feed ordinary low carb wet food). If all cats eat the same food that can make life a lot simpler.
Are you feeding your diabetic a special diet, Carol?

Would you like to tell us your cat's name?

Eliz

Edited to add: Ooops! Cross-posted with 'Merlin'....

 

[Critter Mom]

Hi Carol!

Welcome to you and your seasoned sugar kitty! It's great that both you and your hubby 'share the care'.


Mogs
.

 

[Olive & Paula]

Welcome Carol.

It can be challenging in multi cat household. I have my sugar kitty whom I've inherited in 2014 and totally unregulated and unhealthy. My 2 civvies were free fed. One of them has to have grain free and prefers dry most of the time. She will eat only one brand and one flavor wet food. The other will only eat a different flavor for each meal. Now no more free feeding. When the 2 want dry I stand guard so sugar kitty can't get it. Hubby doesn't so there are times he gets a kibble or 2. Sugar kitty must eat every 3-3.5 hours or he vomits. Auto feeder helps with that. Wish I had gotten one sooner.

It's doable. You will find a routine that's works for all of you.

 

[Jeanne & Dottie]

Welcome, Carol

Multiple kitty households can be a real challenge. I have one cat I'm trying to currently wean off his beloved dry kibble (although he does eat about half his calories from wet Friskies pates, and a diabetic cat who is eating approved foods from a list that is available on this message board, that also includes the Friskies pates.

Having Senior Treat Feeders can be a challenge too. The key is giving your Senior treats he thinks are attractive and tasty looking, so that he'll want to feed them to your cat. (Hope he doesn't decide to try them. My hubby Zeb actually tried tasting cat treats....gack. Go figure...

I've resorted to putting dry kibble in a small container, and slipping a few pieces here and there to Gizmo, while keeping them from Dottie. This is easy since he follows me to the kitchen, while she does not. I'm gradually cutting down on his kibble 'treats', and immediately offering a tiny bit of wet food when he begs for more of the treats. The key is to have the wet foods available, because cats are grazers preferring to eat in tiny bites rather than scarfing down a dog-sized meal. Just think of all the tiny critters an outdoor cat would catch and eat: Crickets, mice, shrews, etc. Gizmo is giving me dirty looks when I don't hand him more than one or two pieces of kibble..but so far he's catching on, and will immediately eat the offered tidbit of wet canned food as an alternative. Soon I can dispense with the dry kibble entirely. So it can be done, just not always by going 'cold turkey' on him.

Glad to have you here. Kudos for you for keeping your baby going for 5 1/2 years!