Advice on Food and Feeding

[AmyB]

So I have two cats, the older one who just was diagnosed (on ProZinc) and they're both overweight by a few pounds. They've been on mostly dry food their whole lives (I gave some wet occasionally as a treat) and now I'm trying to get them switched over to wet food. My problem is I have no idea how often I should be feeding them and how much (vet gave advice of 275-300 calories to start and slowly lower). I'm trying to balance being worried about the older cat eating enough for the insulin and the younger cat eating enough, while still not giving them too much so that they can start losing weight. I also have the problem of they don't consistently like types of wet food, as I've been mostly feeding Fancy Feast, both Classic and Grilled different flavors, and they'll eat it one day and turn their nose up the next.

Does anyone have any advice about feeding schedules and what other kinds of wet food I could try? Or just general advice about weight loss for cats with diabetes? I've been so overwhelmed with all of this and I just want to get on some kind of routine.

 

[Idjit's mom]

Hi Amy, our kitties can be so finicky, can't they? Take a deep breath and know that you are going to be able to figure this out.
Usually, unregulated kitties do better with more frequent small meals because their bodies are not utilizing the food properly.
Idjit is in remission, but still gets 3-4 small meals a day, plus some cooked chicken breast treats now and then or raw chicken wings or gizzard. Fancy Feast classics are good, Friskies pates, some of the Weruva and Tiki Cat varieties in the US. Please edit your signature to reflect this information:
kitty's name/age/date of diabetes diagnosis/insulin you're using and dosage amount /glucose meter you're using/what (s)he eats/any other meds or health issues (s)he has. You can add your name, and a geographic location (sometimes the country/time zone matters) Be sure to SAVE when you are finished.

***You should be testing your diabetic cat's blood sugar consistently before completely changing from dry to wet low carb food, as this change can significantly lower the blood sugar and the insulin dose may need to be adjusted. A diet change needs to be done gradually, to keep kitty safe from a hypo event, and to help prevent gastro upsets.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/transitioning-your-cat-from-dry-to-wet-food.956/

If you are at work all day, you can look into automatic feeders that you set the time to open, like the Cat Mate or Pet Safe feeders. Most have an ice pack that you put under the food receptacles that keeps portions cool. Or you can freeze wet food in ice cube trays and leave them out to thaw and be eaten.

An excellent website dealing with feline nutrition is www.catinfo.org. and I have read that a good rule of thumb is 20 calories per pound of ideal weight. But that's not taking into consideration your sugar cat's increased appetite and need for additional food. I would suggest that you get more familiar with treating the diabetes and then worry about kitties losing weight when things are more stable. I think the advice your vet gave you sounds reasonable enough, it's a starting point.
You can check out the Food Chart that has calories and carb content broken down for you, you should choose food under 10% carbs. I used to mark the calories in each can on the label with a sharpie, so I knew very closely how many calories Idjit was getting every day. FOOD CHART

Since you are home testing kitties blood sugar, please set up the spreadsheet we use here to record the insulin and testing data.
SPREADSHEET INSTRUCTIONS
UNDERSTANDING THE SPREADSHEET

Check out the Prozinc forum to learn more about this insulin HERE read the yellow tagged stickies at the top of the page.

I know it's all strange and bewildering at the moment. It's a steep learning curve at first, you are dealing with diet changes, giving insulin shots, learning to test to be sure it's safe to inject that insulin and track the effects of the insulin, and worrying if you are doing everything correctly. We all started at the same point and we will help you every step of the way.

 

[AmyB]

Signature is now updated, thanks.

Thanks for all of this info, I feel like I have twice as much homework now and my actual hw is getting neglected for all of this! So I had mostly had them on wet food before I started the insulin (both of them suddenly refused to eat their dry food for who knows what reason), with partial wet, partial dry. Took about a week or so and they refused to eat the dry food (they've always loved wet food more). Is there a rule for how long it takes the low-carb food to start affecting them? I'm trying to get used to home testing to monitor that but I just got it today and I don't want to rush him with it, although he's been a good sport about me struggling to prick his ears. I think for now I'll try and pay attention to how many calories they're getting/what type of food but not worry too much about keeping them at a certain level, since I'm more concerned with both getting them used a schedule and making sure Salem has enough to eat.

 

[Idjit's mom]

Sorry if it was too much info Amy. Just wanted to provide links and info I thought would help. I don't think there is any set time for food effects to be evident, every cat is different. For Idjit it was very quick. He was only on insulin for a very short time. Testing is going to let you know what's happening.
I hear you about testing , it took us awhile to get good enough. Be patient, it happens.Just keep plugging and let us know how we can help.

 

[AmyB]

No it’s definitely good information for me to get started! I’m hoping Salem will be fairly easy to regulate and the vet seems hopeful that if we can get him regulated and his weight under control he might be able to go into remission since he’s so young. I haven’t had a chance to do an actual curve yet but from the numbers I’m getting so far I’m hoping he won’t have to go much above 2 units. His BG was in the 500s when he first got bloodwork done and now it’s down to the 300s pre-shot. He also seems to have more energy overall and is playing more than he was.

 

[Idjit's mom]

I'm so glad Salem is feeling better, it's nice when they return to former levels of health and activity. I hate it when Idjit is not feeling well. Salem's BG at diagnosis was high, but that might also have been some vet stress. Idjit hates a car ride, being at the vet, well the whole thing! Doing your curves at home are going to be a better reflection of his blood sugar than being at the vet, plus will save you $$.

Absolutely the ultimate goal is remission, Zeph is young and I sure hope he can get there. You are doing well, and we all wish both of you the best. We all want to celebrate at Zephyr's OTJ party.