? 8/9 Uncle AMPS 156, +2 170 *food question*

[Barbara & Uncle (GA)]

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...0-2-190-back-from-vet-long-post-alert.181949/

One thing I forgot to mention yesterday is that Uncle lost 1.5 lb in the last 5 months.
It must have been very gradual because I didn't notice and he does't look too skinny right now, however he should not lose anymore!
His appetite had been basically the same for most of that time which was a good appetite (it's a little off only in the last week since giving him antibiotics).
So the only external thing I can attribute it to is that I completely changed foods. I went from feeding him Darwin's raw to a mix of Tiki Cat Puka Puka (0% carb) & Weruva Pumpkin Lickin' Chicken (13%).
I changed his diet to get it lower in Phosphorus while keeping it low carb.
Maybe those foods are lower in calories which is why he dropped weight since I made the food change.
Any opinions and suggestions for a higher calorie low P, low carb is very welcome and needed!

 

[Mandy & Rex (GA)]

I don't have any suggestions, but I would like to hear what others suggest. My civvie lost over a pound since his weigh-in last summer and during that time we switched to all wet food on a timed schedule compared to free-fed dry food. We are also checking into health issues as other cats maintained or gained weight during the same period. Good luck!

 

[Gussie's mom (GA)]

No suggestions here either, just a "hello" to let you know I was lurking! Could his weight loss be due to getting his blood sugar more under control? I fed raw mostly so hopefully others can give advice to boost the cal count for Uncle.

 

[Barbara & Uncle (GA)]

I don't have any suggestions, but I would like to hear what others suggest. My civvie lost over a pound since his weigh-in last summer and during that time we switched to all wet food on a timed schedule compared to free-fed dry food. We are also checking into health issues as other cats maintained or gained weight during the same period. Good luck!

Thanks, I'm sure we'll get some great ideas. I really spent A LOT of time researching foods that were low carb, low P when I switched. Now I feel I may be back to the drawing board
Thank goodness for everyone on the board

 

[Barbara & Uncle (GA)]

No suggestions here either, just a "hello" to let you know I was lurking! Could his weight loss be due to getting his blood sugar more under control? I fed raw mostly so hopefully others can give advice to boost the cal count for Uncle.

HaHa. Hey Les! Good to "see" you and that sweet Gussie.. I think about you guys often.
I remember you were another raw food person. Man I have gone around and around with the food thing since DB.
Not sure about weight loss and diabetic control. I do wonder about kidney issues maybe making a difference. Hmmm.
Glad you're not being a stranger to the board. It's really nice to hear from you

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

See if you can figure out the number of calories from the raw vs canned. You may just need to give Uncle more food if the canned is lower in calories. The last time Uncle was in for his vet check-up, did the vet test for hyperthyroid? It tends to occur more in older kitties and is one reason a cat may lose weight. FD can cause weight loss but if Uncle is relatively well controlled, it's less of an issue. I know when Gabby started to have kidney issues, her appetite was off and she was losing weight.

 

[tiffmaxee]

Weruva is low in calories so that might be part of the weight loss. If at his ideal weight just weigh weekly and if you see a loss consider feeding more. If you don't have a digital baby scale it's worth getting one. They are often as low as $39 on Amazon.

 

[Barbara & Uncle (GA)]

See if you can figure out the number of calories from the raw vs canned. You may just need to give Uncle more food if the canned is lower in calories. The last time Uncle was in for his vet check-up, did the vet test for hyperthyroid? It tends to occur more in older kitties and is one reason a cat may lose weight. FD can cause weight loss but if Uncle is relatively well controlled, it's less of an issue. I know when Gabby started to have kidney issues, her appetite was off and she was losing weight.

Thank you Sienne. Uncle has undergone Radioiodine I-131 therapy about 4 years ago. His thyroid numbers have been in normal ranges since then.
His appetite has been off a bit but just very recently. Seems to be more enthusiastic when I add a little of my other cats raw food to his!

 

[Barbara & Uncle (GA)]

Weruva is low in calories so that might be part of the weight loss.

Aha. That could be it entirely. I am feeding him a 6 oz can every 24 hours plus some of the Weruva in each meal to bump up the carbs from zero to about 3 or 4%.
I will try to feed him more until I can find something higher calorie that fits the bill for him.

 

[LizzieInTexas]

You can look at my (Gizmo's) spreadsheet under the "food" tab for suggestions. I mix Weruva Fowl Ball with other food to get carbs and calories. Gizmo is on a low carb/low phos diet also.

 

[Barbara & Uncle (GA)]

You can look at my (Gizmo's) spreadsheet under the "food" tab for suggestions. I mix Weruva Fowl Ball with other food to get carbs and calories. Gizmo is on a low carb/low phos diet also.

Thanks Lizzie, will do. I was going to PM you, so this is great!

 

[LizzieInTexas]

Thanks Lizzie, will do. I was going to PM you, so this is great!

It is actually perfect timing! I just updated it this morning with the most recent data!

 

[Chris/China (GA)/Garfield]

Have you ever considered RadCat, Barbara?

It's low phosphorus (0.8g/100g) and most cats that like raw love it

 

[Wendy&Neko]

If you want to stick with raw, try making your own with EZComplete. It uses eggshell calcium so is low in phosphorus and carbs. Or Darwins has an Intelligent Design Kidey Support raw that is low in carbs and phosphorus. Good luck on the food hunt. There are a very few Weruva that are slightly higher calorie - I remember well doing that hunt.

 

[Barbara & Uncle (GA)]

If you want to stick with raw, try making your own with EZComplete. It uses eggshell calcium so is low in phosphorus and carbs. Or Darwins has an Intelligent Design Kidey Support raw that is low in carbs and phosphorus. Good luck on the food hunt. There are a very few Weruva that are slightly higher calorie - I remember well doing that hunt.

Hi Wendy, I did try EZ complete. And I introduced it VERY SLOWLY. Even with that, Uncle never could tolerate it. He had a lot of bloating and painful gas. My other cat on the other hand took to it right away and does great on it. Go figure
I remember looking into Darwin's Intelligent Design Kidney support after his labs came back in March. can't rember why I didn't chose it. It's probably in one of my condos. I should track it down and see if it still seems relevant...

 

[Bobbie And Bubba]

Yeah, it could be that the canned you are feeding is a bit lower than the raw. You'd need to figure out calories per oz and the amount you give daily.

Wonder what is in the EZ complete that bloated him. My boys didn't seem to have any issues with it but then ECID. We are using the one with calcium in it since my raw is ground with out bones. Which one were you using?

 

[rhiannon and shadow (GA)]

Darwin used to be still too high in phosphorus.... maybe they've corrected that now.

 

[Barbara & Uncle (GA)]

Yeah, it could be that the canned you are feeding is a bit lower than the raw. You'd need to figure out calories per oz and the amount you give daily.

Wonder what is in the EZ complete that bloated him. My boys didn't seem to have any issues with it but then ECID. We are using the one with calcium in it since my raw is ground with out bones. Which one were you using?

Hi Bobbie, I hope you and Bubba are doing great.
Hmm, I thought there was only one called EZ Complete Fur Cats. I was adding it to boneless chicken.

 

[Barbara & Uncle (GA)]

Darwin used to be still too high in phosphorus.

That may have been why...

 

[LizzieInTexas]

I believe that Radcat uses egg shells vs. bone so has low(er) phosphorus.

http://www.radfood.com/

I would probably try it if I had easier access to it.

 

[Bobbie And Bubba]

Hi Bobbie, I hope you and Bubba are doing great.
Hmm, I thought there was only one called EZ Complete Fur Cats. I was adding it to boneless chicken.

There are two kinds, one without the calcium added if you are using ground meats with bone. And one with calcium added for ground meats without bones which is what I give Bubba.

 

[Amy&TrixieCat]

I was going to say what Elise said: Weruva is super low calories, actually to the point where my vet doesn't consider it "complete". Trix loved Paw Licken' but I had to stop feeding it because of the low calorie thing.

 

[Marje and Gracie]

Hi Bobbie, I hope you and Bubba are doing great.
Hmm, I thought there was only one called EZ Complete Fur Cats. I was adding it to boneless chicken.

You are correct...there is only one EZC formula and it has eggshell calcium.

 

[Marje and Gracie]

There are two kinds, one without the calcium added if you are using ground meats with bone. And one with calcium added for ground meats without bones which is what I give Bubba.

I think you mean alnutrin? EZC has only one formula with eggshell calcium.

 

[Bobbie And Bubba]

I think you mean alnutrin? EZC has only one formula with eggshell calcium.

Thanks Marje! I was confusing EZ complete with YA. They have two formulas, one with calcium and one without.

 

[Marje and Gracie]

Thanks Marje! I was confusing EZ complete with YA. They have two formulas, one with calcium and one without.

Thanks for letting me know, Bobbie! When we were talking about raw supplements, I thought you meant Alnutrin because they also have one with and one without in case you are making raw with bones.

 

[Bobbie And Bubba]

Thanks for letting me know, Bobbie! When we were talking about raw supplements, I thought you meant Alnutrin because they also have one with and one without in case you are making raw with bones.

That's good to know. I'll check them out for price comparison .

 

[Marje and Gracie]

That's good to know. I'll check them out for price comparison .

One of the drawbacks to Alnutrin is you have to add raw liver. I did that until EZC came out (already has liver in it). I, being lazy , found it a pain to deal with the raw liver and get it ground up so it would be totally mixed in with the raw meat and supplement.

 

[Bobbie And Bubba]

One of the drawbacks to Alnutrin is you have to add raw liver. I did that until EZC came out (already has liver in it). I, being lazy , found it a pain to deal with the raw liver and get it ground up so it would be totally mixed in with the raw meat and supplement.

Oh, ground liver , I'm out! LOL

 

[Marje and Gracie]

Oh, ground liver , I'm out! LOL

Me, too! I did it for several months waiting for EZC and it was a PITA!!!!! And even though I switched to EZC long before I got Livia, Alnutrin is not balanced for kittens and EZC is.

Sorry to hijack Uncle’s condo, Barbara.