Change in drinking and desired food

[Roops]

We have noticed our boy Roops is not drinking as he used to.
In fact, I never see him drinking from the water bowl.
This is a drastic change from the way he used to be.
Since a kitten he always drank. And drank a lot.
Just before he diagnosed he began going to the tub.
Staying in there. Sometimes sleeping.
We allowed him to drink from the dripping faucet.
That gradually decreased once
he began receiving insulin.

Thankfully he is still using the litter box.
He now voids about 3 times throughout the day.
And does his business at least once per day.
He is not constipated. It is normal.

We had been feeding him IAMS Grain Free Perfect Portion
Chicken pate. He seemed to enjoy it. Never refusing it.
But not so much anymore.
He is turning his nose up to it now. Just not interested.
Leaves it in the bowl.
We also fed him on occasion
IAMS Grain Free Perfect Portion Cuts N Gravy. Both
items are low in carbs. The pate being the lowest.

I might add that we did find one packet of the pate that was bad
several weeks ago, and this may have turned him off. This morning I opened
another pate that I believe also is going bad. I will be writing
to the company again. they have provided their contact information.

It's hard sometimes knowing what a cat wants/likes.
We rarely feed him Friskies pate or Fancy Feast.
He has a sensitivity to fish. Loves salmon and tuna
but it has disastrous results with him.
Turning his nose up to Chef's dinner now too.
I toss a lot in the bin.

We also give him freeze dried chicken. Pure Bites.
Some days he is receptive, other days not so much.
What he really enjoys are Caledon Farms Pure Poultry.
These have 2 ingredients. Freeze dried chicken
and vitamin E. At the moment these are unavailable
and will not be until sometime late September.
I bought the local shop out of all they had.

What he really seems to enjoy now are Hartz Delectable
Chicken Stews for seniors. But I try to limit
what he receives as the company said this is a treat,
and does not replace a complete and balanced diet.

On occasion he does get a few contraband like Temptations or
Purina OW Management kibble but rarely. Only when
he finds them on the floor (left by the other cat) or
on the nightstand. He hoovers them up right away.

We have begun to notice Roops is very keen
on what we are eating now. Often wanting to share.
He was never like this as a kitten or as an adult.
We now feed him bits of chicken, beef and sometimes
cheese. I have discovered that green eyes
watching you are equally as bad as brown ones.

I was wondering if anyone noticed changes in their
cat's appetite, and desires once they were on insulin for a while.
Roops is back up to 19 pounds, and still has neuropathy.
I see no remarkable change
even with Zobaline but we continue to hope and believe -
maybe someday. In the meantime we just love him as he is.
He makes our days brighter.

 

[FurBabiesMama]

How are his glucose levels? I see he is on a very high dose of ProZinc. Is 19 lbs his normal, healthy weight or is he overweight?

Cats have a low thirst drive, and if they are getting enough water in their food, they do not have to drink much or even at all. If a cat drinks a lot, that is normally a sign of a health issue or at least that they are being fed dry food. So, if Rupie is getting a lot of water in his food, I would not be too concerned about him not drinking. Mia stopped drinking completely once we switched to wet food (to which I also add water) and started her insulin. Willow only drinks occasionally, and that is because she is at the very beginning of reduced kidney function (17 yrs old).

I feed my girls the same food all the time. I add chicken broth and water, mix it very well and microwave it a few seconds. (And, they get only cooked chicken thigh meat and PureBites freeze dried chicken for treats.) While a lot of people switch up the flavors of food they give their cats, I do not and have found that they like routine. Changing up the flavors/foods offered can sometimes make cats more finicky/picky. (Every cat is different, of course.) I do notice that my girls are more hungry some times than at other times. I guess the same could be said of people! I do not get concerned if there is a meal here and there that they do not eat much of, because over all, they consistently eat nearly all of their food. Now, if they started consistently leaving a lot of their food at several meals, I would be concerned.

Is Rupie giving any sign that he has nausea? Does he go to his food bowl like he wants it then just walk away from it after smelling it, maybe licking his lips? You mentioned some of the food looking bad. Could there be a quality issue with that food and even some that does not look bad to you smells/tastes bad to him?

 

[Roops]

How are his glucose levels? I see he is on a very high dose of ProZinc. Is 19 lbs his normal, healthy weight or is he overweight?


"We haven't tested his blood sugar levels for a while. He is currently on 3 to 3 and a half units of Prozinc. We find he is much more alert/active. Roops has always been overweight. He lost about 5-6 before he was diagnosed. He has gained since February about 2 pounds. But since he mostly lays and does not run/walk, I am not surprised. We lift him onto the couch, or on chairs."

Cats have a low thirst drive, and if they are getting enough water in their food, they do not have to drink much or even at all. If a cat drinks a lot, that is normally a sign of a health issue or at least that they are being fed dry food. So, if Rupie is getting a lot of water in his food, I would not be too concerned about him not drinking. Mia stopped drinking completely once we switched to wet food (to which I also add water) and started her insulin. Willow only drinks occasionally, and that is because she is at the very beginning of reduced kidney function (17 yrs old).

"I was adding some water to his pate in the early morning to give him the Zobaline pill."

I feed my girls the same food all the time. I add chicken broth and water, mix it very well and microwave it a few seconds. (And, they get only cooked chicken thigh meat and PureBites freeze dried chicken for treats.) While a lot of people switch up the flavors of food they give their cats, I do not and have found that they like routine. Changing up the flavors/foods offered can sometimes make cats more finicky/picky. (Every cat is different, of course.) I do notice that my girls are more hungry some times than at other times. I guess the same could be said of people! I do not get concerned if there is a meal here and there that they do not eat much of, because over all, they consistently eat nearly all of their food. Now, if they started consistently leaving a lot of their food at several meals, I would be concerned.

"Rupie is he same. Some days hungrier than others. I have never tried adding chicken broth to his pate. Is that home made or store bought. One thing I should mention...Rupie is a grazer. He is not fed three times a day. I always have pate out for him. Same with his older ginger housemate. Of course I always try to ensure he at least eats half before his shot is given"


Is Rupie giving any sign that he has nausea? Does he go to his food bowl like he wants it then just walk away from it after smelling it, maybe licking his lips? You mentioned some of the food looking bad. Could there be a quality issue with that food and even some that does not look bad to you smells/tastes bad to him?

"No nausea that I have seen. May smell his pate and just not want it. Not interested. But will eat something else that is offered. Opened another Perfect Portion this morning. Looked 'bad' or funny to me in the one corner. Kinda on the gray side. Put it in a plastic bag in fridge. Best before date 2021. Will be contacting them. Thinking I may have to check out Friskie chicken pate, or Fancy feast chicken pate. Something that doens't have a foil lid to close it "