Eating inquiry

[Tiffany Rekasi]

Hello,
I am inquiring as to what everyone’s feeding schedule is with their diabetic cats.

My husband and both work full time and our schedules vary. Currently we are feeding her 7a (wet), 1230 (dry with feeder), 7p (wet), 1A (dry - feeder) we have not yet established this exact schedule due to just receiving the feeder. My cat has been an open feeder type until after her diagnosis.

My cat also has lost weight since recovering from pancreatitis which i think prompted all this. I am unsure if I am feeding her enough. I feed her 1/2-3/4 can of FF classic AM, PM and then 1/4 c blue buffalo wilderness high protein dry kibble via the feeder.

Her numbers are not yet at goal - but we are slowly working towards that. The scheduled feedings are difficult for her to adjust to as she seems like she is more hungry. (Carb withdraw versus not being fed enough?)

Any advice on the feeding schedule/total daily cans/cups.

 

[Sylvie]

what is your cat's ideal weight? how much to feed her depends on that weight and in your case plus extra calories to help her put weight back on.

a can of ff classic pate is 90 calories on average so 1/2 a can twice a day is 90 cals, 1/4 cup of the dry is 110, so that is 190 calories a day, assuming you are not giving her another 1/4cp at 1am. if you are than she is more than likely getting enough calories if she is of average size..

unregulated diabetic cats are pretty much always acting like they are hungry, even when they are allowed to graze all day so it is kinda normal to notice she is acting that way now that she is on a feeding schedule (that looks fine to me, 4 meals a day is good imo and better than less). Your kitty is not having carb withdraws one bit, the dry you are feeding her may be high protein but, it's not all meat related proteins and it is far from being low carb, the wilderness dry foods are all over 25% carb i do believe, way too high, you need under 10% carb if you want any hope in regulating your kitty and having a chance of her going into remission.. Dr. elsey clean protein chicken dry food is an excellent choice for a dry food if you need to feed one to a diabetic cat, it is 5% carb and very filling. pricey but, each cup is 544 cals if i recall right so you feed a lot less and a bag lasts quite awhile. (until recently, i fed my tux 1-2tbsp/10-20grams at AM & at PM which was on average 45 cals per tbsp/10grams., his 6.6lb dry food bag lasted me almost 3 mths on average).

anyhows, to figure out how much to feed your cat per day, you take your cat's ideal weight and times it by 20-25 (since your cat needs to gain weight 20-25 calories per lb is best), the total will be how many calories your cat at least needs to put some weight back on.. my tux only gets 15 calories per lb and he still maintains his current 16lbs weight and is healthy (other than having diabetes that is), so once your cat gains her weight back on, you will need to redo her calories needed. your cats activity level plays a part too, if your cat is very active, she might need a little more calories per day. i would recomend a kitchen scale to help you get weight her dry food, the measuring cups & spoons aren't always accurate.

welcome to the forums btw. i have issues with going on and on sometimes so please excuse the long post reply.. oh and before i forget again, if you switch her dry food to the low carb dry food, be sure to lower her insulin dose for awhile to be safe.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Hi Tiffany
Glad you made it over to the main forum.
Roxy will do better if you get rid of the dry food and swap to low carb wet. Or chose one of the low carb dry goods if you feel you want to continue with the dry.
***But you will need to be testing frequently when you swap over to the lower carb because the BSLs could drop significantly.
Diabetic cats in the beginning are frequently very hungry because their bodies cannot absorb all the nutrients in the food. Once they are better regulated this should improve.
If your kitty needs to gain weight I would let her eat more. But try and stick to the same amount each day to counteract the insulin.
A lot of us feed several smaller meals during the day and night. Having the autofeeder will make it much easier for you.
For example you could feed at Preshot, +3 and +6 for both cycles during the day. Or choose times that you think are better for Roxy but stick to the first half of the cycle mainly unless she has a late nadir.
Some people freefeed but you need a cat that won’t gobble all the food at once!! That’s why autofeedets are so good.
Keep asking lots of questions.
Bron