Automatic feeder & general update

[RenaRF]

For those unfamiliar with Clide, a quick recap:

1. Clide is a 15 year old DSH tuxedo guy. I rescued him from a high kill shelter this time last year. He has feline stomatitis and has had all but two teeth removed. We still deal with occasional mouth flare-ups.
2. He was originally "diagnosed" with FD in May of this year. It was not horribly bad - vet recommended switch to veterinary diet. Was feeding Purina DM canned and Royal Canin DS 44 dry.
3. Numbers came down to below 200 (but still above normal).
4. Took him into vet's last week for something unrelated - BG was 325!!
5. Had glucose curve 12/28. Stayed at around 300 all day. Had a fructosamine test as well and the vet characterized him as not regulating himself well (need to have that explained to me).
6. Per vet's recommendation - eliminated dry food entirely. Have switched him to Merrick Cowboy Cookout and a little Fancy Feast Classic Turkey & Giblets as a "snack" (and yes, he's quickly learned the word "snack").
7. LOVES new diet. LOVES IT.
8. Will be re-tested in another week and a few days (1/11/12). Determination will be made then about insulin or not.

Ok. So, someone had recommended to me that Clide get more than two feedings per day given that he wolfs all food (NOT a nibbler). That's been easy to do over the holidays here as I have been home - but tomorrow it's back to work. SO. I bought a battery-operated two meal feeder by PetSafe. My plan is to feed him normally in the morning and then put his "snack" into each side of the feeder (2 snacks total) and set the timer for four hours from breakfast for the first snack and then 6 hours from breakfast for the second snack. Does anyone else do this and if so, how does it work? It will be something I use during work days, so I don't think I have to worry about food going bad or anything like that.

Second observation - prior to the switch to all wet food AND a change to a very low carb wet food, Clide was faucet-obsessed. In the morning, the very first thing I would have to do is turn on the bathroom faucet so he could drink from it (this despite the fact that I have THREE water fountains in the house!). Since switching him to the wet food - and I mean this happened nearly immediately - he hasn't been drinking from the faucet. At all. Can switching to a lower carb diet have an effect that quickly? Should I expect good things when we return to the vet's on 1/11/12??

That's all. He seems great - eating like a horse, playing with his foam balls, etc. Clide's weight has been consistent with little variation - he weighs between 15.9 and 16.2lbs. regularly (he's plump).

Rena

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

Sounds like things are going well. Yes, I feed with an automatic feeder. I freeze the wet food in a silicone cupcake pan (FF fits perfectly), plop it out and put it in the feeder. In 6 hours, it is thawed and ready to go.

Wet food is not dehydrating like dry food so often the cat really slows down the amount of water he drinks.

 

[Melanie and Smokey]

My cats all reduced their drinking significantly when we switched to wet. I rarely saw Smokey at the water dish.

We used feeders the first time through this with Smokey; worked like a charm. We had our 3 older girls who all ate at the same pace so they all nibbled out of the same feeders. Now we have 5 with 3 younger ones, two being piggy boys so we haven't bothered with the feeders and just leave wet food out. We'e never had a problem with food going bad.

 

[doombuggy]

I have the Cat Mate C20, as it has an ice pack for the bottom. I feed the cats (I have 2, one FD in remission and one stray cat that I rescued on 9/1/11) at 6am, then put a cold portion to open between 10 & 11am and a frozen portion (that I put in the freezer the night before) to open between 3 & 4 pm. They get fed again between 7 & 8pm, the last meal of the day. I use the smallest OXO containers available at Bed Bath & Beyond to freeze their "snack" each day. They each have their own feeder, although I am still having some issues with Dallas (the new one) eating Cedric's (the FD) food. He seems to think Cedric is getting better food....As long as they are both getting food, I am happy.

The water thing is probably being cut back because of the amount of water in canned food. My Cedric loves to get in the shower stall once I am done. I let the shower head drip some water and he tries to catch it. He is trained to get on his towel to be dried off - wet feet and the litter box don't mix. I don't know how much water he drinks from his dish, same with Dallas, but they do drink some (and it's filtered; sometimes I think Cedric would prefer tap, but you should see the sediment that is on my dish rack's mat....NO!)

Good luck - the feeder should work out.