Am I feeding enough?

[Juliet & Diggy]

I adopted Diggy 2 years ago, and his old owner said he had always just grazed on Purina One dry food, so that's what I kept doing. Obviously now I have switched to wet food, but I think 7 years of a bad habit is hard to break. Diggy always seems starving, and whenever I walk into the kitchen he does this meow that I can only describe as him yelling at me.

The vet recently prescribed Hills M/D food. I got cans, but also some dry to help transition him to having a wet only diet. She said to give him 1/4 cup of dry and half a can per day. The vet tech said it seemed like not enough, but she wrote it down for me and sent me on my way. I've read cans that say to give one whole can per 8 lbs of cat, and Diggy is 15 lbs, so that would be two cans a day. I know that since there is the dry mixed in he doesn't need as much of the wet for now, but it still doesn't seem like enough. He's also a large breed, possibly Norwegian forest cat or Maine coon, so 15 lbs isn't really overweight, so it's not like he's on a weight loss plan or anything.

And Diggy is known for being a little glutton, and will get into the fridge and the turkey and even the dog food, so I feel like if he's hungry then he'll be doing it even more often, which results in him vomiting or having diarrhea and nobody wants that. I'm just worried. I can't tell if he's just not used to having food available all the time, or if he's actually hungry.

 

[Sharon14]

Hi Juliet, it's hard to know how much to feed! One thing that helps is to weigh Diggy weekly to see if he's gaining or losing weight. There's also a formula to help figure the calories he needs. @Bobbie And Bubba may know it. Also until Diggys diabetes gets under control he'll be hungrier than usual and will need a little extra food because his body is not utilizing it properly.

 

[Bobbie And Bubba]

Hi Juliet ~ and Welcome to the FDMB Sharon is right about until the diabetes gets controlled they do seem hungry all the time because the food is not getting into the cells yet. The insulin acts as the key to open up the cells. There is a formula for determining how much food to give as the cat food companies encourage too much food. Is the 15 lbs a good weight for Diggy. If so then the formula is the ideal weight X 13.5 + 70. So it would be 15 X 13.5 = 202.5 + 70 = 272.50. Take the 272.5 calories and divide it into several meals a day. Diabetic cats do better when they are fed frequent smaller meals. For instance, I feed Bubba his larger amounts at AMPS and PMPS with his insulin, then he gets 2 small snacks in the AM cycle and two small snacks in the PM cycle.

If you work full time, this is where a food safe comes in handy. Many of us use the PetSafe 5 which allows you 5 compartments to fill and time when you want them to open.

If you feel like Diggy needs to gain some weight decide what you think he should weigh and use that number in the formula.

Are you home testing to know if it is safe to shoot insulin? I couldn't tell by you SS. If you are not I would highly recommend it and if you need to learn how please post and we will link some videos for you to learn.

 

[Juliet & Diggy]

Thanks, I'll start weighing him. He's been 15 lbs since being diagnosed, but was 20 lbs back in January. They told me 15 seemed pretty ideal, maybe a little much, but nothing to worry about.

And I'm going to Walmart to pick up a Relion today, so although I haven't been home testing so far, I do plan to start tonight. I got the spreadsheet all ready for when I do start. Another question about the spreadsheet and testing: how often should I test between meals? I know to do it before the insulin, but it looks like Bubba gets checked almost every other hour, if not every hour. I guess once you're a pro it's probably not that big a deal, but to me that just seems intimidating.

And I'll look into getting some sort of food safe. That seems like a great idea!

 

[Sharon14]

Great that you're going to get a meter and start testing! It's good to get at least one mid cycle test each day. Since you're just starting, a few more would be great so we can see how soon the insulin starts(onset) how low it takes him(nadir) and how long it lasts(duration). So if you can try to get a+2(2 hours after shot) and every other hour after that for a few days. If you need to start slow, the PS (preshot)test and one around mid cycle is good, but do try to get as many tests as possible. If you have any problems testing, let us know. We have lots of tips!

 

[Bobbie And Bubba]

I do test a lot because I am following TR with Lantus insulin and I am running him low. Sharon's suggestions were good ones for starters for you and to help keep Diggy safe as Novolin can have some fast drops.