Eating and Testing Questions

S

sideshowsam

New Member
Hello,
I'm very new here as my cat, Max, was just recently diagnosed with Feline Diabetes about 6 weeks ago. He was drinking a whole lot and urinating way more than normal so we took him to get checked out. The vet said his numbers were in the high 400s and we would need to get him on insulin right away. We would also need to change his diet as for the last 12 years he has just ate a standard indoor cat dry food. She sold us a bag of Purina DM dry food. After some research online, it seemed there were much better wet food options out there that were lower in carbs than even the DM dry food. So, I found the chart on catinfo.org and picked up some canned food that was low in carbs. He rarely ate canned food so it was quite a treat for him at first, at least at mealtime. We would typically fill him bowl up with dry food every couple of days and he would just eat a bite and there whenever he wanted. So having a mealtime twice a day was a real shock to him and he was begging for food and trying to trip us in between mealtimes. He was even following my 2 year old around loudly meowing at her. Lately though he now will not even eat half of his food at mealtime. I have to sit by him for 30 minutes or so, constantly directing him back to his food to eat just enough so that I can give him his shot. Even if he hasn't ate in 12 hours, he just wants to eat a couple bites and walk off. Sorry for the super long explanation, just trying to give some backstory. So here are my questions:

1. How can I get him to eat all of his food at mealtime (or at least half) so I can feel comfortable giving him his shot? I have tried a variety of canned food and also tried mixing dry and canned. He is just so used to crazing anytime he wants.
2. The vet wants me to bring him back every 3 weeks (for the foreseeable future) to test his levels. Is this necessary or is there a better option? I'll do whatever I need to but I want to do what's best too.

Please, ask any questions you need to about him or me or whatever.

Thanks!
 
Hi there! Welcome to FDMB!! Theres a LOT of good information on here! Most of us test our kitties with glucometers at home.
Max is hungry. My mistake switching to wet food is that I was underfeeding him. (Twice a day feeding) Now, I feed Tucker 4 cans of fancy feast a day. 6am post shot 10am 2pm and 6pm post shot.. also, I have the autofeeder set to go off again at 2am.
What type of insulin are you using? @Deb & Wink @Shelley & Jess
 
Last edited:
sideshowsam said:
1. How can I get him to eat all of his food at mealtime (or at least half) so I can feel comfortable giving him his shot? I have tried a variety of canned food and also tried mixing dry and canned. He is just so used to crazing anytime he wants.
Click to expand...
My cats are all grazers. I just put the wet food down and let her eat when she wants too. She usually gets feed for fout times a day. Just no food two hours before the preshot test so your numbers aren't food influenced. If you haven't started home testing yet we can help with that. I have a video in my signature showing how I test my cat CC at home.


sideshowsam said:
2. The vet wants me to bring him back every 3 weeks (for the foreseeable future) to test his levels. Is this necessary or is there a better option? I'll do whatever I need to but I want to do what's best too.
Click to expand...

Once. I started testing at home my cat didnt go to the vet for a year. I just emailed the vet my numbers to keep her in the loop for the first few months.
 
JanetNJ said:
My cats are all grazers. I just put the wet food down and let her eat when she wants too. She usually gets feed for fout times a day. Just no food two hours before the preshot test so your numbers aren't food influenced. If you haven't started home testing yet we can help with that. I have a video in my signature showing how I test my cat CC at home.

Once. I started testing at home my cat didnt go to the vet for a year. I just emailed the vet my numbers to keep her in the loop for the first few months.
Click to expand...

So, when do you do your shots then? My vet was adamant that Max needed to eat at least half of his meal before I could give him his shot or I had to skip it. From what I've been reading, I see this might not be the case and I'm not sold on this vet being that great considering she told me the Purina DM dry food was the best thing for him.

And thank you for the info on testing. I asked my vet about testing at home and she wasn't thrilled with it but said "If I REALLY wanted to, I could try". It sounds like she just wants my money from testing there, maybe.
 
Hi! I am newbie myself, just tought I would help because the moderators must be super busy with all us newbies!

It seems that regular food intake is not be so important with cats. That is what my vet says, and is what I think you'll find here. Grazing the whole day is fine.
It seems to be quite important to get the insuln at regular intervals (12 hours). I'm feeding mine a little bit everytime he complains about it (which is probably about every two hours) until 6>30 PM.
Insulin always at 8.30 Am and 8.30 PM.

My vet also suggested to give 1 unit of prozinc for a month and then return, but I could see kitty was not well and I didn't know if it was because the sugar was too high or too low.... So, I have plunged the courage and started taking his blood glucose home with a meter. It is cheaper in the long run, even though it is a bit overwhelming to start with. I am glad I did, because he wasn't getting enough insulin and now I have ways to monitor which reduces my stress.

There is loads of info here, poke around and loads of these protocl and acronyms would start make sense.
 
sideshowsam said:
So, when do you do your shots then? My vet was adamant that Max needed to eat at least half of his meal before I could give him his shot or I had to skip it. From what I've been reading, I see this might not be the case and I'm not sold on this vet being that great considering she told me the Purina DM dry food was the best thing for him.

And thank you for the info on testing. I asked my vet about testing at home and she wasn't thrilled with it but said "If I REALLY wanted to, I could try". It sounds like she just wants my money from testing there, maybe.
Click to expand...
I test her about 6:15am then feed her, then give her a shot around 6:30-7. Then if I’m not working I test 4-6 hours after the shoot and give some food in the afternoon. I repeat this in the evening and do a before bed test and give another bit of food. As long as her pretest number is high enough and she’s eating something I do the shot.
 
JanetNJ said:
I test her about 6:15am then feed her, then give her a shot around 6:30-7. Then if I’m not working I test 4-6 hours after the shoot and give some food in the afternoon. I repeat this in the evening and do a before bed test and give another bit of food. As long as her pretest number is high enough and she’s eating something I do the shot.
Click to expand...

I know it would be different for each cat but can I ask how high her number needs to be for you to give a shot? Also, do you require her to eat a certain amount before giving the shot or just a few bites?

Thanks for all your help!
 
Hercule's mum said:
It seems that regular food intake is not be so important with cats. That is what my vet says, and is what I think you'll find here. Grazing the whole day is fine.
It seems to be quite important to get the insuln at regular intervals (12 hours). I'm feeding mine a little bit everytime he complains about it (which is probably about every two hours) until 6>30 PM.
Insulin always at 8.30 Am and 8.30 PM.
Click to expand...

So, you give a shot every 12 hours and don't require Hercule to eat a certain amount right before a shot, right? Just want to make I'm hearing you right because that's what I've been researching and it seems my vet may be a bit rigid in what she is requiring and it doesn't really fit my boy.
 
That is correct. I give him a shot independent of food. BUT.... I am monitoring his blood sugar. Perhaps that is what your vet is worried about? Wants to make sure you don't shoot kitty into a hypo? I think it is best to monitor the blood sugar than the food eating because I am guessing it does not always goes hand in hand and it is more important to keep the insulin regular. But again, I am a newbie myself!

The actual number will depend on what monitor you are using. There is quite extensive guidance in here: https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-use-the-fdmb-the-basics.130682/
 
sideshowsam said:
When do you do your shots then if feeding 4 times a day? Also, does your autofeeder have dry food in it then?
Click to expand...
I give shots at 6am and 6pm. It doesn't matter if they eat between shots. I just make sure he hasn't eaten 2 hours before his shots, that way I can test his blood sugar first, then shot, then feed. If blood sugar (glucose) is above 200 I give regular dose. If its below, I give a slight reduction. Theres a guide on that somewhere on this board.. I have it printed out on taped to my cabinet. We have no more dry food in the house. Wet food only.
Petmate c500 Here is the auto feeder.
 
sideshowsam said:
I know it would be different for each cat but can I ask how high her number needs to be for you to give a shot? Also, do you require her to eat a certain amount before giving the shot or just a few bites?

Thanks for all your help!
Click to expand...
I have a lot of data. Been at this for years. If I see a number under 180 I usually wait a half hour and see if it's going up. If it's still under 200 I give a little less of a dose. For new people we usually recommend not to shoot under 200.

For my cat I just make sure she's eating something and seems to be feeling well. If he preshot is on the lower side I might give food that is like 7% carb as opposed to like 4-5%.
 
sideshowsam said:
So, you give a shot every 12 hours and don't require Hercule to eat a certain amount right before a shot, right? Just want to make I'm hearing you right because that's what I've been researching and it seems my vet may be a bit rigid in what she is requiring and it doesn't really fit my boy.
Click to expand...
One thing you could do to really help us help you would be to set up a signature. Click on your name at the top right. Add info such as your pets name, date diagnosed, insulin type, food you're feeding and any other health concerns. Don't forget to hit save. This way we don't have to ask the same questions a lot.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top