Do regulated cats eat less?

Status
Not open for further replies.
BrodyCat

BrodyCat

Member
Brody has been on insulin for almost a month now and on canned low carb food for about 3 weeks. I've noticed that he is not eating as much. He used to always be starving. He is eating, just not as ravenous or as much. He still gets excited for meal time and wakes me up for breakfast or dances around the chair and races to the kitchen at dinner time. His water intake is way down and his litterbox use in manageable once again. Should I be worried that he is eating less or is that normal? Thanks for any replies.
 
A decrease in food intake isn't necessarily a point of concern - and it may even be a very good sign if you are sure he's getting enough calories to maintain a decent weight. I've read several opinions which say 20-30 calories per pound of ideal weight is a good measure - that would be ~4-6 ozs (or 2-3 cans) of most of the Fancy Feasts Classics flavors for an average sized cat. A more logical way to look at the eating situation might be that cats eat more when they are in a constant high glucose state because their little bodies are not able to process nutrients from food. Unregulated diabetics lose weight because of that - even though a kitty will eat a ton and their tummies are full of food, the body can't do anything with the food that is eaten. So eating "less" now may mean kitty is back to normal vs. eating "more" when in an ongoing state of high glucose.
 
Eating less but still has a good appetite.
Drinking less.
Peeing more "normal" amounts and not flooding the litterbox.

All 3 are good signs!
If he ate mostly dry food pre-diabetes, and is eating only canned food now, he wouldn't be drinking nearly as much water. My Bob rarely if ever touches his water bowl.
As long as he seems to be maintaining his weight, the decrease in food intake indicates he's getting better. Looks like the new diet and the insulin are doing the trick.

Carl
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top