Dry food question.

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HiFiPassion

Member Since 2015
After my cat was diagnosed with diabetes I changed his diet from dry food to wet food (Fancy Feast Classic). The diet change went well with one exception. My cat was used to having his bowl of dry food to snack on through the night while I'm sleeping. He started waking me several times a night because he wanted food. This was driving me crazy so I started putting a bowl of dry food out for him before I go to sleep and then I remove the dry food in the morning. I'm looking for recommendations for healthy low carb dry food options for his night time snacking.

Thanks,

Dana & Felix
 
Hi Dana,

You also have the option to leave out some of Felix's regular food using a timed feeder (Petsafe 5 feeders are excellent). Alternatively you might try freezing small portions of the Fancy Feast Classic food. Most cats will wait till the food is thawed before eating it, so it can help to pace when the food is eaten.


Mogs
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I do the freezing thing. I mix up Fancy Feast Classics with a bit of pumpkin, put 1/4 can in each of the 2x2 squares in silicone ice cube trays, fill the empty space around the food with water, then freeze.
I have two cats, so I put down two popsicles right before going to bed. I don't know when they actually eat them, but they're gone in the morning and the kitties don't bother me in the night.

I also give a small thawed meal at the same time as I put down the popsicles. Otherwise they'll sit there licking the ice and causing clinks against the bowls - which keeps me awake.
 
There really is no "healthy" dry food recommendation, because even the lower carb dry foods aren't really good for diabetics. That's because even though they may be lower carb, they are still high glycemic, unlike low carb canned foods, and this can present problems with regulation in some cats. Bandit can't even eat a few pieces of the lower carb dry foods without his blood sugar shooting up 100 points or more. Also, dry foods are dehydrating, and it's important diabetics are properly hydrated because diabetes can be hard on their kidneys. Therefore, I don't recommend people feed the low carb dry foods unless their cats absolutely refuse to eat wet and would starve themselves otherwise.

I second Shenandoah's suggestion, and try the frozen canned food option. I've found that my cats need to eat about every 6 hours (4x a day), or they start acting up. My cats are both food crazy and will sit and gnaw at frozen portions, so I put the frozen portions in an autofeeder, and set it to go off at their 1am feeding if it's a weeknight and I'm working the next day. I do the same thing if no one is home at lunch to feed them for their 1pm feeding. Diabetic cats do best with smaller, more frequent feedings. It helps level out their blood sugar.
 
I have tried all the ones I recomended. My cats were not fond of either Young Again or the Wysong Epigen-90. I only use the Evao now.
 
I use the Herring. Although it is higher in carbs than the Turkey and Chicken two of my dry-food cats will not eat the Turkey and Chicken
 
Judy and Hershey said:
Hi Larry, can you tell me if you have purchased the Wysong Epigen 90? Curious on carb content and flavor?
Click to expand...

Hello , I tried all three brands for my cats .
Young Again 55/20 less than 5% carbs & Young Again Zero Carb ( cats were not crazy about either ) .
Wysong Epigen 90 less than 5% carbs & Wysong Epigen Fish less than 5% carbs ( cats just picked at ) I tried both Evo Turkey & Chicken appx 9% carbs Evo Fish appx 12% carbs . Both cats ate for awhile but tired of it . I finally got both on all wet diet of
Friskies Classic Pate which they love . They eat it twice a day every day ..
 
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