Diabetic thin cat

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Mister

Member Since 2013
Hello!

I've joined this forum for support for one of my six cats.

He recently went into diabetic keatoacidosis and lost a lot of weight. He is stable and happy now. On one unit of insulin twice a day. Eats raw twice a day and has kibble left out for when he's hungry in between.

How can I get him to gain some weight? He really is skinny right now. You can see his vertebra when he's standing...

Nice to meet everyone!

Thanks for the support c:
 
Hi - my cat has also been recently diagnosed as diabetic.
She was overweight, but had gotten thin due to the diabetes. I sure understand being so concerned about getting the weight back on.

I've learnt that when the diabetes starts to get under control, the kitty will start to gain weight. Slowly, using glucose curves at the vet, her insulin level was increased. She started at 1 unit and is now at 4 units twice a day now.

I started to notice a difference after 1 week. It was definitely an improvement. After 3 weeks and an increase in her insulin to 2 units, her weight loss stopped.

Next, she started developing muscle mass. In 4 weeks, she had gained weight and became stronger. It's been about 2.5 months and she's back to feeling solid. She's calmer and more interested and playful again, eating less than she did at the start.

Basically, I fed her the high protein, low carb (<7%) diet as much as she wanted and kept it fresh. I bought Friskies Special Diet Turkey and Chicken which she devoured. Suddenly, she wanted something else, so she's on Fancy Feast - I just posted the list of foods and added an attachment under help with diet thread. She's been eating Fancy Feast Classic Chicken Feast, Fancy Feast Chunky Chicken Feast and Fancy Feast Chunky Turkey Feast. After about a month, EVO hard food was added. She doesn't eat now since it was recalled. When it becomes available, I'll use it again.

Hope this helps.

Initially, I tried the more expensive brands, but she seemed to prefer the lower fat of the Fancy Feast and Friskies. EVO has a high fat content, but that was acceptable to her. I just bought multiple cases of food because she would eat like crazy and I didn't want to run out.

Her glucose is still too high. However, because she's gained weight and is stronger, the vet will do a teeth cleaning and likely some extractions. The infection in her mouth may be contributing to the requirement for more insulin. So, even without her glucose completely normal, she has gained all her weight back and developed her muscle. Happy kitty.
 

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A slightly higher fat content may help put on some weight.

The raw you are feeding - does it contain added vitamins and minerals? I'm asking because just raw meat isn't nutritionally complete, which would make it difficult to gain.
 
I don't add anything to the raw except taurine. I'm a newbie at raw and from what I understand simulating an entire animal doesn't require the addition of vitamins. I add taurine because I worry that there may not be enough in the raw and since you can't really OD a cat on taurine I feel better safe than sorry...
 
noki said:
Hi - my cat has also been recently diagnosed as diabetic.
She was overweight, but had gotten thin due to the diabetes. I sure understand being so concerned about getting the weight back on.

I've learnt that when the diabetes starts to get under control, the kitty will start to gain weight. Slowly, using glucose curves at the vet, her insulin level was increased. She started at 1 unit and is now at 4 units twice a day now.

I started to notice a difference after 1 week. It was definitely an improvement. After 3 weeks and an increase in her insulin to 2 units, her weight loss stopped.

Next, she started developing muscle mass. In 4 weeks, she had gained weight and became stronger. It's been about 2.5 months and she's back to feeling solid. She's calmer and more interested and playful again, eating less than she did at the start.

Basically, I fed her the high protein, low carb (<7%) diet as much as she wanted and kept it fresh. I bought Friskies Special Diet Turkey and Chicken which she devoured. Suddenly, she wanted something else, so she's on Fancy Feast - I just posted the list of foods and added an attachment under help with diet thread. She's been eating Fancy Feast Classic Chicken Feast, Fancy Feast Chunky Chicken Feast and Fancy Feast Chunky Turkey Feast. After about a month, EVO hard food was added. She doesn't eat now since it was recalled. When it becomes available, I'll use it again.

Hope this helps.

Initially, I tried the more expensive brands, but she seemed to prefer the lower fat of the Fancy Feast and Friskies. EVO has a high fat content, but that was acceptable to her. I just bought multiple cases of food because she would eat like crazy and I didn't want to run out.

Her glucose is still too high. However, because she's gained weight and is stronger, the vet will do a teeth cleaning and likely some extractions. The infection in her mouth may be contributing to the requirement for more insulin. So, even without her glucose completely normal, she has gained all her weight back and developed her muscle. Happy kitty.
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Thank you. This makes sense and helps a lot! C:
 
Mister said:
I don't add anything to the raw except taurine. I'm a newbie at raw and from what I understand simulating an entire animal doesn't require the addition of vitamins. I add taurine because I worry that there may not be enough in the raw and since you can't really OD a cat on taurine I feel better safe than sorry...
Click to expand...

Uh .. that may not be entirely correct - please go over to veterinarian written web site Cat Info - Making Cat Food ASAP and start reading. Nutrient deficiences may make your cat ill, compounding any other conditions she has.
 
A proper raw diet includes meat chunks for strengthening teeth, bone, skin, liver and heart or vitamins if not included. The slurry that catinfo.org recommends is necessary to a raw diet and your cat's health. I feed mine Dr. Pierson's raw recipe and supplement it with in between snacks of no grain, no soy, low carb canned food (Merrick Before Grain and Wellness No Grain). He nibbles on the canned food during the day. Get ready for many people here - especially me to tell you to get rid of the dry food. Kibble is bad, bad, bad, bad, bad... and I truly believe that it is the cause of many feline health issues.

I had a severly malnourished diabetic foster come to me two months ago and now he has put on many pounds and is no longer displaying his backbone and he is standing up straight with stronger back legs.

Please read Dr. Lisa Pierson's information on catinfo.org. It is the best thing that you will ever do for your cat.
 
Welcome Mister :-D

Besides diet, another big component with a kitty on insulin is home testing. Was just wondering if you do that?

Home testing not only keeps kitty safe, but saves you LOTS of $$$ as you don't have to have your vet do curves or testing.

There is a ton of very good information on FD here in the sticky's on each board.
 
Hi and welcome to the FDMB! The best place you never expected to be, open 24/7 for your feline diabetes questions. We serve up answers on the day to day management of your feline diabetic cat on a as needed basis. Be sure to read through other posts, as we may have mentioned something you have not asked about yet.

Do you grind the bones up in the raw food also? That will help with some of the needed vitamins and minerals.

Would you please provide us with a little bit of basic information?
1. What insulin are you using? You already told us 1U BID
2. What is your name and your cat's name? How old is your cat?
3. Where do you live? US, Canada, International? For country specific advice.
4. Are there any other complicating medical conditions for your cat?
5. What was the diagnosis date of the diabetes?
6. Any past steroid use in your cat?
7. You already said your cat had DKA. Are you testing daily for ketones in your cat?
8. Which kibble are you feeding? There may be some lower carb selections we can recommend.
 
I forgot about the Royal Canin Recovery canned food.

Before switching to over-the-counter food, I did go thru 16 cans of Royal Canin Recovery canned from the vet. It's expensive, but was an important stopgap. She loved it and it provided steady food as the new diet and new foods were introduced. There was always food available that she would eat.

I personally don't feed a raw diet. I've always fed my kitties the better canned food - merrick, natural instinct, and natural balance, but this kitty only infrequently takes a little bit of those foods now - even the ones that are <7% carb.

While there are many on this forum who follow all of Dr. Pierson's (?) recommendations, including no kibble at all, I felt it was important for my kitty and lifestyle. The EVO kibble provided a dense food so she would not have to eat soft food left out all night. I fed her a small amount of EVO turkey and chicken kibble at bedtime, and she was more relaxed in the morning.

Good luck.
 
Deb & Wink said:
Hi and welcome to the FDMB! The best place you never expected to be, open 24/7 for your feline diabetes questions. We serve up answers on the day to day management of your feline diabetic cat on a as needed basis. Be sure to read through other posts, as we may have mentioned something you have not asked about yet.

Do you grind the bones up in the raw food also? That will help with some of the needed vitamins and minerals.
Yes he gets chopped chicken necks.

Would you please provide us with a little bit of basic information?
1. What insulin are you using? You already told us 1U BID

Protamine Zinc
2. What is your name and your cat's name? How old is your cat?

Amina; Mister; don't know age. He is a rescue.
3. Where do you live? US, Canada, International? For country specific advice.

US; CA
4. Are there any other complicating medical conditions for your cat?

Not that the vet suggested.
5. What was the diagnosis date of the diabetes?

Diagnosed about 3 weeks ago.
6. Any past steroid use in your cat?

No.
7. You already said your cat had DKA. Are you testing daily for ketones in your cat?

We were until they cleared from his system.
8. Which kibble are you feeding? There may be some lower carb selections we can recommend.


Blue Buffalo
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We are looking to purchase a testing kit. We are in the process of moving and should be settled in in about 2 weeks. I've six cats and the moving process is always stressful on them especially on Mister right now. He is acting like his normal self but still; I worry.
 
Yes, moving is stressful in general. I put my poor Poe through 3 moves in four years :sad:

He handled it like a champ, but that was also before the FD diagnosis.

I wish you the best of luck in your move...especially with the furbabies.
 
It can be very disruptive to cats when moving. Vets often recommend some of the following ideas.

It can help to corral them into 1 room while packing and schlepping stuff out of the house, so they don't get out, nor packed into a box or dresser.

It may help to set up 1 room for them at the new place with familiar blankets, toys, food, cat trees (mostly to extend the space vertically) and some generous spritzes of Feliway until they are more calm. As they relax and explore, you gradually let them out from this "base of operations" to explore more territory.

Good luck with your move!!! It can be stressful on the humans as well - take of you, too.
 
Some lower carb dry alternatives for you:

It's not just the quality of the dry food, but the carb content which will make a difference. There are a couple of dry foods that are lower carb than the Blue Buffalo you are feeding or other grain free foods that may appear to be low carb but are not. Hills m/d (15%) . These might help a great deal with the BG control for a diabetic cat.

1. Natura/Innova Evo Cat & Kitten 8% carb but it has been hit by another recall.
2. Young Again Zero Carb, mail order only, expensive, some cats refuse to eat the different sized chunks, a couple of cats have achieved remission on this dry food. Manufacturer claims 0% carb but carb calculators indicate 5%
3. Nature's Variety Raw Instinct chicken 7%
4. Wellness Core Grain-Free Original Formula (tan gold bag)11%
5. Stella and Chewy’s ? % this is actually a freeze dried food but can be given as a meal. Better rehydrated.

Most dry foods are coated with animal digest and that is what cats love the taste of. There is a product called Fortiflora that you can buy to sprinkle on the canned food. Similar to the animal digest coating of the dry foods and cats love the taste.

The Blue Buffalo dry foods simply replace one carb with another. Although they do not have grains in the Wilderness series, they have added potatos, peas and lots of other fruits and vegetables to substitute for the grains. Still too high carb for a diabetic cat. Please take a look at some of the other lower carb options above.

The water content in the wet food is very important for diabetic cats. When their BG (blood glucose) levels are over renal threshold, 230-280, excess glucose is excreted in the urine. This sugar rich environment makes diabetic cats more prone to UTI's and kidney infection. It's another reason we recommend wet food as much as possible in a diabetic cats diet.
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Hello and welcome to the board,

Good luck with the move, looking forward to getting you started in home testing as that is key to regulating and possible remission for mister.

Also I agree he isn't getting a balanced diet with the raw so you might want to tweak that with the suggestions provided.

While you aren't testing , here are some other methods to help keep an eye on what's going on, not as good as blood testing but an ok interim solution.. https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1r6ktdF7AMJCYHgPkVQWFUFy5Ag6OnbmfNfQqL3zX_88
 
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