Ive been fostering a 1 year old male who is diabetic for 2.5 months. he is on lantus 1U 2x daily. I feed him whatever the shelter gives me, usually hills dry and dm wet. i feed him 1/4 cup of dry in the am. half a can midday and 2nd half in pm. he always seems to be hungry, he was about 7.30lbs when i got him, now hes about 9.20lbs. i read this is normal for diabetic cats. im wondering if its the diabetes or the insulin that causes hunger. whats all your cats feeding schedule like?
Cat always hungry
- Thread starter Rosalie
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Bron and Sheba (GA)
Member Since 2015
Hi Rosalie and welcome to the forum. Thank you foe fostering a diabetic kitty.
He is very young to be a diabetic but it does happen.
Lantus is a good insulin.
Until a diabetic kitty is regulated he will be hungry.
Was he underweight when he came to you? And is his present weight a good weight or is he stil underweight, or overweight?
Thee are a few things I can suggest but I don’t know how tied you are to doing what the shelter tells you to do.
FOOD
There are better options than the Hills dry you are feeding. Is it the MD or glucosupport dry? Almost all dry food is high carb so it would be better if you could move to a low carb canned food, especially seeing he is so young and he has many years ahead of him.
I can give you a list of canned foods that are suitable for diabetic cats that are not expensive and can be bought at the supermarket.
However it would not be wise to just swap over to a low carb diet unless you were home testing. That is because the lower carb food will lower the blood glucose (BG) and you would have to adjust the dose to stop him dropping too low.
I think you would be better giving him the same meal at the am and the pm shot time, amd then giving him 2 snacks in the am cycle and 2 snacks in the pm cycle around 3 and 5 hours after the insulin doses.
HOMETESTING
IT sounds scary but it is not, and the cat will not hate you. We can teach you if you like. Just let me know. You can buy a ReliOn glucose meter from Walmart very cheaply and the test strips are cheap as well. This would be by far the best option for your kitty as we could help you get the best dose for him, and get him regulated and not as hungry all the time.
FOOD CHART. Look for carbohydrates 10% or less. Many feed fancy feast pâtés.
HOW YOU CAN HELP US HELP YOU. there are several links within this link including a hypo kit link. Please make sure you have one of those.
Please ask us lots of questions.
Bron
He is very young to be a diabetic but it does happen.
Lantus is a good insulin.
Until a diabetic kitty is regulated he will be hungry.
Was he underweight when he came to you? And is his present weight a good weight or is he stil underweight, or overweight?
Thee are a few things I can suggest but I don’t know how tied you are to doing what the shelter tells you to do.
FOOD
There are better options than the Hills dry you are feeding. Is it the MD or glucosupport dry? Almost all dry food is high carb so it would be better if you could move to a low carb canned food, especially seeing he is so young and he has many years ahead of him.
I can give you a list of canned foods that are suitable for diabetic cats that are not expensive and can be bought at the supermarket.
However it would not be wise to just swap over to a low carb diet unless you were home testing. That is because the lower carb food will lower the blood glucose (BG) and you would have to adjust the dose to stop him dropping too low.
I think you would be better giving him the same meal at the am and the pm shot time, amd then giving him 2 snacks in the am cycle and 2 snacks in the pm cycle around 3 and 5 hours after the insulin doses.
HOMETESTING
IT sounds scary but it is not, and the cat will not hate you. We can teach you if you like. Just let me know. You can buy a ReliOn glucose meter from Walmart very cheaply and the test strips are cheap as well. This would be by far the best option for your kitty as we could help you get the best dose for him, and get him regulated and not as hungry all the time.
FOOD CHART. Look for carbohydrates 10% or less. Many feed fancy feast pâtés.
HOW YOU CAN HELP US HELP YOU. there are several links within this link including a hypo kit link. Please make sure you have one of those.
Please ask us lots of questions.
Bron
i feed https://www.chewy.com/hills-prescription-diet-md/dp/54756
i read about the fancy feast as well. i asked the shelters clinic if i can feed ff classic pate, they said no. i wont have him much longer since next month i have a surgery so hes going back to the shelter before then. hopefully he gets adopted since hes very friendly and social. and then maybe the adopters vet can make adjustments such as recommending fancy feast. i feel the shelters clinic doesnt know what they're doing. they also told me to feed him half a can daily. he was starving! so i started feeding him more until i figured out how many calories he should actually have. half a can is only 82 calories. i now feed him 280 calories. they must be crazy!
he was a tad underweight imo. but now i feel hes a good weight at around 9.20lbs. which is why i dont feed him more.
i read about the fancy feast as well. i asked the shelters clinic if i can feed ff classic pate, they said no. i wont have him much longer since next month i have a surgery so hes going back to the shelter before then. hopefully he gets adopted since hes very friendly and social. and then maybe the adopters vet can make adjustments such as recommending fancy feast. i feel the shelters clinic doesnt know what they're doing. they also told me to feed him half a can daily. he was starving! so i started feeding him more until i figured out how many calories he should actually have. half a can is only 82 calories. i now feed him 280 calories. they must be crazy!
he was a tad underweight imo. but now i feel hes a good weight at around 9.20lbs. which is why i dont feed him more.
Bron and Sheba (GA)
Member Since 2015
Hi Rosalie
That Hills glucosupport dry food is around 17% carbs so is high food but there are worse dry foods. If he is going back to the shelter and not being tested he probably would be better staying on that until someone adopts him.
You might like to tell the shelter he needs to have. Proper meal before EVERY DOSE OF INSULIN not just the morning dose. Otherwise he could drop too low and have a hypo. 1/2 can is just a snack, not a meal. No wonder he’s always hungry and lost weight.
He needs to have 1/4 cup dry for both the am and the pm meals before the insulin and then at least 1 but better 2 snacks of 1/2 can each time during ALL cycles. If the don’t have time to leave snacks at night, they need to leave dry food out for him overnight.
Do you think they would join here? Or are they too busy? Maybe you can tell them what is a much safer feeding schedule for him?
That Hills glucosupport dry food is around 17% carbs so is high food but there are worse dry foods. If he is going back to the shelter and not being tested he probably would be better staying on that until someone adopts him.
You might like to tell the shelter he needs to have. Proper meal before EVERY DOSE OF INSULIN not just the morning dose. Otherwise he could drop too low and have a hypo. 1/2 can is just a snack, not a meal. No wonder he’s always hungry and lost weight.
He needs to have 1/4 cup dry for both the am and the pm meals before the insulin and then at least 1 but better 2 snacks of 1/2 can each time during ALL cycles. If the don’t have time to leave snacks at night, they need to leave dry food out for him overnight.
Do you think they would join here? Or are they too busy? Maybe you can tell them what is a much safer feeding schedule for him?
1/4 cup 2x and 1 can is 395 calories. thats not too much? hes not being tested, always seems to be alert. i know the shelter will not join. he goes back on september 9th. praying someone adopts him!
do you have a kitty name sheba? i had a cat named sheba. she was my everything, she passed in feburary
do you have a kitty name sheba? i had a cat named sheba. she was my everything, she passed in feburary
Ann & Sister
Member Since 2021
Could you work really hard, ask around, even people you think might not be interested, to make sure this cat gets another foster mom when you have to take him back for your surgery?1/4 cup 2x and 1 can is 395 calories. thats not too much? hes not being tested, always seems to be alert. i know the shelter will not join. he goes back on september 9th. praying someone adopts him!
do you have a kitty name sheba? i had a cat named sheba. she was my everything, she passed in feburary
Cats with diabetes are not the first to be adopted at any shelter. It takes a special heart to provide a home for a special needs kitty.
I would hate to see this cat back in a metal cage, getting the bare minimum food, while his health declines.
Also, while you are fostering, I do not see why you cannot add low carb Fancy Feast pate to his diet. Just don't tell the shelter.
Hugs,
Bron and Sheba (GA)
Member Since 2015
Hi Rosalie
The cans you are using sound like quite large cans if they are 164 calories per can. Most of the fancy feast cans (3 Oz) are around 70 to 100 calories per can.
So I would think giving the main meal (the dry food) and 1/4 can of the DM wet during each cycle should be OK. That would be about 40 calories during the cycle and you could divide that into 2 small snacks each cycle….does that make sense?
Unregulated diabetic cats will be more hungry than normal because the nutrients are not being absorbed properly so they do need more food, otherwise they will be constantly hungry and lose weight.
If the shelter is not prepared to do this, they need to be leaving dry food out for him. Otherwise they risk him losing weight and his BGs dropping if he is not getting enough food.
Yes I did I have a kitty named Sheba, that is her in the photo. I lost her three years ago to cancer. She was a beautiful kitty
The cans you are using sound like quite large cans if they are 164 calories per can. Most of the fancy feast cans (3 Oz) are around 70 to 100 calories per can.
So I would think giving the main meal (the dry food) and 1/4 can of the DM wet during each cycle should be OK. That would be about 40 calories during the cycle and you could divide that into 2 small snacks each cycle….does that make sense?
Unregulated diabetic cats will be more hungry than normal because the nutrients are not being absorbed properly so they do need more food, otherwise they will be constantly hungry and lose weight.
If the shelter is not prepared to do this, they need to be leaving dry food out for him. Otherwise they risk him losing weight and his BGs dropping if he is not getting enough food.
Yes I did I have a kitty named Sheba, that is her in the photo. I lost her three years ago to cancer. She was a beautiful kitty
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Bron and Sheba (GA)
Member Since 2015
The problem with doing this Ann, is that when the kitty has to go back to the shelter, he will go back to the old regime of feeding. Rosalie would be better trying to sort something out with the food they are willing to use and asking them to follow what she has been doing. Otherwise the loser is going to be the kitty.
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