? Bubba Update - Giving dry food

[Debbie Do]

My stinkin' Bubba is such a hard headed cat. We've been 5 months on his new "lifestyle" and he's just doesn't want to adjust. He laps at his canned food, eats about 2 ounces, then wanders off to the corner to wash his face, wanders into the living room to lay down, and inches his way toward the dining room where the rest of his clan is eating kibble. He senses when Mom is distracted, and next thing I know, he's got his face in a kibble bowl.

Each mealtime is spent with me sitting, watching Bubba eat and shooing away the other babes who do want his canned food, then sitting watching the kibble eaters and shooing Bubba away until they've had time to finish.

Over the past two months, I've been gradually introducing EVO to the rest of the household (not Hubby, of course), and once they've completely moved over, I'm letting Bubba have at it. He will still start his meal with canned, but I'm throwing in the towel over the kibble.

Here's why...

Bubba has a sister, Patty, who we thought was having some kind of serious health issue. She had lost so much weight that her sides were sunken in and she looked pitiful. She was always in line for a vet trip, but Lucky got an infected claw puncture, then Meep got one, then the Yorkie got sick, then Lucky got his ear torn open (Lucky is a little snot). Well, Patty is our home-office cat (shy little thing that everyone else bullied so she now has her own apartment), so when I started bringing home EVO dry, hubby switched her over straight-away. Five months later after free-feeding on EVO, she's filled out and is quite healthy looking. I wonder now if she wasn't having sugar problems, too.

Bubba is still pretty bony feeling, and his sugar is still fairly high (he bounces like a rubber ball). I just started him on 3 units of Prozinc, and I think I'll leave him there for a while until the food issue gets worked out. Bubba's a fairly big cat and weighed close to 15 pounds before he got sick. He lost a lot of weight, and has only gained back to about 12 1/2. According to all the can labels, he's not eating enough for his size. So, I'm going to let him start finishing up on kibble. Not free-feeding like Patty, but having access to kibble after his token canned-food-lapping.

All that being said - I just wondered who else has stayed with dry, have the results been good as far as weight and BS, and is there anything noteworthy that I should watch for as he starts eating more dry?

Thanks!

 

[JeffJ]

I'm glad to hear you didn't introduce the EVO to Hubby as well...so funny

When Leo became diabetic, we had 3 inside cats including Leo. We converted them all to canned. I haven't read your historical threads..but generally wet foot is better than most dry kibble types. So that's how we solved it, with no dry food being served in the house. I think they all crave those high carbs in the kibble. I probably shouldn't say this, but I think dry Friskies actually smells pretty good...but I never actually ate a piece of it. So I can understand why cats may crave it.

We are feeding the outside part-stray (Little Dude) some wet food and dry food. He is just recently adopted by us, and he is really thin, but makes up for it in cuteness.

Leo is currently getting ramped on ProZinc as well. He is on 9 units, twice a day (18 total). And his nadir is still above 300. So challenging. And he's about 1 pound overweight at 16 pounds.

jj

 

[Sharon14]

Hi Debbie, I have the same problem as you, but solved it differently. There are 12 cats in my house, some are kibble addicts, all were formally free fed. It took a lot of trial and error, but here's what I do now, first I feed the cats that will/want to eat wet food in the kitchen. While they are eating, I go to a bedroom where the dry is kept and put that out, the kibble addicts are usually already in there waiting for me, close the door then back to the kitchen to make sure Colin eats his food only. I do this 4 times a day, sometimes more. At first they didn't get it, but now everyone goes where they want to eat, and no more fighting or yowling all night.

 

[Sharon14]

Jeff, bless you for taking in Little Dude! Have you thought any more about the Acro and IAA tests for Leo? Colin tested positive for Acro, and with a change of insulin he's doing well. Also, if you set that spreadsheet up, maybe we'll see something that can help you help Leo.

 

[Debbie Do]

Hi, @JeffJ. Yah, I know wet is better, but it's not in my budget for my household. I live in the country and have collected a lot of cats. We've fixed and rehomed dozens, but still have 13 house cats and one outside cat who adopted us a few months ago. I wish Smokey could move inside, but he's too feral. But I digress... They do get some canned - those who will eat it, anyway, but most of the diet is dry.

@Sharon14, we have cats separated in every room. My son moved two years ago and brought us his cat Lucy, because he couldn't take her to his new place. She refuses - refuses! - to make friends with the general household, so she lives in our bedroom. Dear daughter doesn't want cats in her room. Have to respect that. The rest of the house is open. I've wondered about feeding more often than every 12 hours. The group gets really testy around 8-10 hours, and the boys start picking on each other. I also wondered about whether Bubba's BS wouldn't swing to much if he didn't have to go so long without food. Sometimes he's like a roller coaster, and every day is a surprise.

I tried offering Bubba canned first, and kibble afterward today, and it worked out nicely. Bubba ate his fill of wet, then I offered EVO kibble and he topped up. No issues with him sneaking in with the others to eat the blended food. Same this evening, and he ate a lot of wet, then some dry. He definitely ate more, and I'm happy!