? Do you free Fed or not

[sherrib]

Who has set times to feed your diabetic baby? Why do you do it and how do you do ?

 

[JeanW]

Yes, I free feed. I give Pretty Girl "main meals" at 6 am 6 pm and leave food out for her to graze on all day and night. I pick up the food 2 hours before AM shot and 2 hours before PM shot in order to get a more "true" number when checking her BG before feeding and giving insulin.

I do it because it is so much better for Pretty Girl - it's helped to make her MUCH happier and she's gained some much needed weight. For us the "feed 2x a day 12 hours apart" resulted in a very very unhappy and very very thin kitty. And it didn't help her BG levels at all. It was really disturbing watching her search for food in between the meals.

Also I do it because it helps her avoid some of the largest BG spikes and enables her to eat if she needs/wants to which keeps her safer.

 

[FurBabiesMama]

My girls get four wet-food meals - 6am/pm and 12am/pm. Leftovers are left out for them to graze on. So, they have food available pretty much all the time.

 

[Coco’s Momma]

Coco had been raised as a dry-food grazer. During the initial diagnosis, Mr. Vet recommended feeding twice a day and pulling the bowl between feedings. Lord knows I tried, but Coco got so hungry she turned into a dumpster diver. When I realized she was searching for anything to eat in the kitchen trashcan, I was devastated! Needless to say there was a conversation with Mr. Vet. Free feeding resumed and I started the transition to wet food.

Coco does just fine with two main meals at 7 AM and 7 PM and a small snack at lunch and bedtime. She still grazes - just a few nibbles at a time throughout the day.

 

[JeanW]

When I realized she was searching for anything to eat in the kitchen trashcan, I was devastated!

This is how I felt also - even though it didn't involve the trashcan - I realized I'd been starving her and like you I was devastated!

 

[sherrib]

I also free Fed, but I also threw out a lot of wasted food. My situation is changing, once I move I can’t leave food out all day anymore because #1. Have no where high to put it out of the reach of my dog in the new place ( moving in w mom & she also has a dog ) and #2. I need to switch to more expensive food and don’t want to have to throw out food anymore
I’m trying to see how everyone else handles this situation. I would feel better leaving out food , just don’t know how. And now my mom can’t leave her dogs food out all day because Skittles WILL eat it. With my dog he is on a food schedule and if I even try to feed him out of the normal schedule he will not eat. He looks at me like “ Mommmm, it’s not time” ! LOL! Trying to get my mom on board w feeding her dog like I do mine has been a huge issue and the one of main reasons why I haven’t moved. I’m not willling to put Skittles life on the line over dog food.

 

[LexaJoy]

I have a dog in the house, and she is very, very fond of the kitty food (wet and dry, she doesn't discriminate). We've elected to do a series of small, scheduled feedings and during those times, the dog has to go up until my boys are finished eating. So the boys eat around 3am (I know, I know, my schedule is weird), 6:30-7 am, 3 pm, 6:30 pm, and around 10pm. The meals are small and go quick, so the dog is usually locked up in a bedroom no more than fifteen minutes at a time. She used to fuss about it, but now she heads right to the bedroom when we start prompting so she's gotten used to the schedule.

For her meal time, we put her food down around the same time we eat. It stops her from begging us, and the boys have usually just eaten, so they aren't interested in seeing what she's having.

I know it sounds like a wild juggling act, but you kind of get into the swing of it after a while. We've been at it since the food switch to wet from dry in mid-July, and now it's just habit.

 

[JoyBee&Ravan]

I've seen some cats go into remission when all dry food was stopped.There a great article in the yellow sticky notes by Dr Pierson about dry food.

 

[sherrib]

I've seen some cats go into remission when all dry food was stopped.There a great article in the yellow sticky notes by Dr Pierson about dry food.

I have actually gotten 2 of cats in remission via Dr Pierson notes and the many questions I ask everyone here. Skittles went into remission less the 2 months after his DX thanks to everyone here
He fell out shorty after I moved & he got a bad tooth infection, before that he was good for well over a year. I’m hoping to get him back into again

 

[sherrib]

I have a dog in the house, and she is very, very fond of the kitty food (wet and dry, she doesn't discriminate). We've elected to do a series of small, scheduled feedings and during those times, the dog has to go up until my boys are finished eating. So the boys eat around 3am (I know, I know, my schedule is weird), 6:30-7 am, 3 pm, 6:30 pm, and around 10pm. The meals are small and go quick, so the dog is usually locked up in a bedroom no more than fifteen minutes at a time. She used to fuss about it, but now she heads right to the bedroom when we start prompting so she's gotten used to the schedule.

For her meal time, we put her food down around the same time we eat. It stops her from begging us, and the boys have usually just eaten, so they aren't interested in seeing what she's having.

I know it sounds like a wild juggling act, but you kind of get into the swing of it after a while. We've been at it since the food switch to wet from dry in mid-July, and now it's just habit.

I understand your “ weird “ times. I have them to since I’m a pure night owl LOL!
Thank you for giving me some ways to think about. My dog gets fed at the same time every night, in my room w the door shut. He knows the time and will be in there waiting and looking at the shelf I keep his food on. Now if I try and fed him early, he will not eat. He gets fed once a day but gets treats every time he goes outside. When I’m feeding my cats on the floor , he goes into his kennel. Now all I have to do is point at his kennel & he knows what I want. But I do free Fed. The food is on top of my freezer , cats jump on the kennel and then on the freezer. My dog can jump up there to but as smart as he is, he hasn’t figured that out though LOL. Oh,chest freezer not the stand up ones.

 

[Coco’s Momma]

This is how I felt also - even though it didn't involve the trashcan - I realized I'd been starving her and like you I was devastated!

Oh I sat in the floor and cried buckets! I had the best of intentions, but Coco was starving. It taught me to pay close attention to what's happening with her.