Eating times

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susang

Member Since 2015
The cats have always eaten at sun up and sun down. Now with the diagnosis of diabetes and our late morning and late night insulin shots the vets expect that they will only be fed just previous to the shots. What experiences have some of you had with this? The one with diabetes and the one without diabetes at least want a little snack at the old feeding times. They have both always been grazers (canned food only or lightly cooked chicken breast/thighs.

And what about treats? Any out there without sugar that you use? I long for my loving relationship with him back, instead of just the needles and fluids and treatments. Thanks in advance!
 
Hello susang, I've read other people on here say they let their cats have little snacks throughout the day in between their main meals when they have their shots.

As for treats, if you are in the US I'm sure folks will be along soon to help you out, I have read about treats you can get over there that are safe for diabetic cats, but as I'm in the UK , I can't really help you .

Don't worry, you will get your loving relationship back with him xx
 
Feeding times can be what work for you. The key is to make sure they eat food around the time they eat to make sure they dont drop too low (because of no food & insulin) What you can do is mini meals. Make sure to give food around shot time, but also give another meal or two throughout the day. I got a timed feeder because Hidey has to eat every few hours to keep his numbers good. I feed them at 7 am, 7 pm, and 1 am (all canned) at 7 am they also get 1 TBS each of young again zero carb. When Hidey was on insulin (he's diet controlled now) I had to feed him 5 times a day and slowly cut it back.

As to treats, most here feed freeze driend chicken or boiled chicken. I get mine off amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Halo--Littles...unce/dp/B00027CL5S/?tag=felinediabetesfdmb-20

even better if you have prime. Once I started giving chicken at test time, Hidey started LOVING test time.
 
Hi

Many people still allow their cats to graze on low carb wet food through the day. What insulin are you on? And what are you feeding the kitties? Does it suit you to give the insulin at this times?

I worked it do I would give the insulin at 6 am and 6 pm as these were his normal feeding times anyway so it all tied in but then I would also feed him at +2, + 4 and + 6. Small and often is meant to be easier on the pancreas.
 
dirtybirdsoaps said:
Feeding times can be what work for you. The key is to make sure they eat food around the time they eat to make sure they dont drop too low (because of no food & insulin) What you can do is mini meals. Make sure to give food around shot time, but also give another meal or two throughout the day. I got a timed feeder because Hidey has to eat every few hours to keep his numbers good. I feed them at 7 am, 7 pm, and 1 am (all canned) at 7 am they also get 1 TBS each of young again zero carb. When Hidey was on insulin (he's diet controlled now) I had to feed him 5 times a day and slowly cut it back.

As to treats, most here feed freeze driend chicken or boiled chicken. I get mine off amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Halo--Littles-Natural-Freeze-Dried-2-2-Ounce/dp/B00027CL5S/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421797698&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=halo freeze dried chincken

even better if you have prime. Once I started giving chicken at test time, Hidey started LOVING test time.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks so much Dirtybirdsoaps! I'm curious about your soaps too! So feeding small amounts during the day is okay...my vet says no but I'm a believer in nutrition and I can't just starve him + I want him to know he can ask for food, that I'm not going to deny him nutrition. My other cat loves the freeze dried chicken treats but the newly diabetic one looks at them like I'm trying to feed him cardboard!
 
phlika29 said:
Hi

Many people still allow their cats to graze on low carb wet food through the day. What insulin are you on? And what are you feeding the kitties? Does it suit you to give the insulin at this times?

I worked it do I would give the insulin at 6 am and 6 pm as these were his normal feeding times anyway so it all tied in but then I would also feed him at +2, + 4 and + 6. Small and often is meant to be easier on the pancreas.
Click to expand...
 
Your comment "small and often is meant to be easier on the pancreas" is VERY interesting, especially since this whole thing started with the pancreatitis. I'd like to run that by the vet who wants me to only feed him 2x per day!

The late morning and late night is the best time for his shots, as I'm afraid of giving the shots and the person who does it works a later day shift so we have to stick to that. Thanks so much for letting me know how you've worked it in the past! :)
 
My vet also advised us to only feed Dweezil twice a day, 12 hours apart, but I just don't think that's right!!!

I was scared of giving the shots too at first. I avoided it a bit. *sheepish face* Then I went away for 10 days for Christmas, and when I came back, I knew I had to do it. And I am ok with it now. My partner gives the morning one at 6am as she's always up then for work and the cats have been having their breakfast then for years. I give the evening shot at 6pm with their dinner, as I always have given them their dinner. So it works for us. I don't LIKE giving the shot, but it's not a big deal anymore. The more you do it, the more confident you become.

I know what you mean about longing for your more simple, fun and relaxed loving close relationship with your furbaby again. I miss those simpler times too, when I didn't look at Dweezil and examine him for weight loss and feel teary that I may lose him years early. But even with the shots and tests and more regimented routines, that should not detract or take over from your normal pre-existing loving bond with your cat. If anything, it can bring you even closer. You are taking care of him even better now.
 
I feed my 3 cats 4 meals a day. They get two breakfasts and two suppers, a few hours apart. I'm meal feeding because my 2 civies Monet and Dancer are real "hoovers, dysons, eurekas, kirbys, bissells......" and make the food disappear in 2 minutes flat.
 
By feeding mini-meals or allowing the cat to graze, the glucose and insulin come in and work together.
Meal feeding spikes the glucose and long-acting insulins have a slow, gentle effect, so there is a mismatch between the peaks of each doing it that way.

Clarification:
When you feed a big meal, the glucose rises within about 2 hours or so, stays up, and then may gradually go down if there is any insulin action.
When you give a gentle, long-acting insulin, it gradually takes effect, hits its peak somewhere in the +5 to +7 hours after the shot, then gradually wears off.
Therefore, feeding a big meal with a long acting insulin may result in higher numbers for more of the time, in the period after the meal, because the insulin doesn't come in as fast as the glucose from the big meal.
 
Last edited:
BJM said:
By feeding mini-meals or allowing the cat to graze, the glucose and insulin come in and work together.
Meal feeding spikes the glucose and long-acting insulins have a slow, gentle effect, so there is a mismatch between the peaks of each doing it that way.
Click to expand...
 
I'm afraid by your two sentences I can't tell if you are saying grazing is ok ("the insulin come in and work together") or you don't think it's good to allow grazing because of spikes?
 
Hi Susan,

I've been following your posts and I am happy to see you posting here. All of my cats, including the 3 diabetics, graze throughout the day. It's easier on their bodies for not to go through daily feast/famine periods especially since the insulin will be kicking in on a schedule opposite of when your vet wants you to feed.

---Jenna
 
That was driving me crazy...if the insulin is kicking in between shots then why are the vets suggesting the feast/famine approach? Makes no sense? Perhaps they just want to be sure there is a lot of food on board at shot time?
 
I don't understand it either susang , I suspect a lot of vets don't know as much about the management of diabetes as most of the people on here !
 
I think it is a safety measure that they recommend just to ensure their getting food in their system with the insulin to avoid hypo.
 
Hi Susan, I saw your post on the Lantus/Lev support group and thought i'd track you down. What insulin are you using? That can make a difference in when the diabetic cat should be eating. With some of the quicker acting insulins it's important for food to be "on board" when the shot is given. They work quickly so you want the timing to be fairly close together. With Lantus and Lev, you do want the cat to eat some within the 2 hours after the shot. Most people test, feed and shoot at the same time, but as long as the cat is eating reliably, it's ok for the diabetic cat on Lantus/Lev to graze. You probably want to pick up the food a couple of hours prior to the next shot (at +10 in the cycle) so that the preshot test doesn't show a food-influenced number (ie, the preshot test isn't higher because the cat just ate, which is going to wear off soon) just for safety.

Does that make sense? So in other words, if your cat is a grazer and will just nibble and walk away, then come back to it, it's ok with Lantus/Lev to leave the food down until +10. Then pick it up and let him wait the last 2 hours before his next shot without eating. Put the food down with the next shot and repeat.

For some cats, they'll eat every bit of the food the moment you put it down - mine was one of those - and if a cat on Lantus/Lev eats a large quantity in the later part of the cycle (say after +6-7 or so until the next shot) that can act like a brake on the action of the insulin. Depends on how much food it is. It's waning in the second half of each 12 hour cycle. For those cats it can be better for them to have most of their food in the first few hours after each shot. I fed punkin 3oz with his shot and 1.5oz at +3 for both cycles. Other than that, I simmered chicken breasts, diced them small and froze most, kept a couple of tablespoons in the fridge and gave him those for pokey treats. When he was really hungry in the second half of the cycle, i gave him a few pieces of chicken.

Do you need a hand getting a spreadsheet going for your little guy?
 
susang said:
I'm afraid by your two sentences I can't tell if you are saying grazing is ok ("the insulin come in and work together") or you don't think it's good to allow grazing because of spikes?
Click to expand...
Grazing and mini-meals are good with long-acting insulins.
 
julie & punkin (ga) said:
Hi Susan, I saw your post on the Lantus/Lev support group and thought i'd track you down. What insulin are you using? That can make a difference in when the diabetic cat should be eating. With some of the quicker acting insulins it's important for food to be "on board" when the shot is given. They work quickly so you want the timing to be fairly close together. With Lantus and Lev, you do want the cat to eat some within the 2 hours after the shot. Most people test, feed and shoot at the same time, but as long as the cat is eating reliably, it's ok for the diabetic cat on Lantus/Lev to graze. You probably want to pick up the food a couple of hours prior to the next shot (at +10 in the cycle) so that the preshot test doesn't show a food-influenced number (ie, the preshot test isn't higher because the cat just ate, which is going to wear off soon) just for safety.

Does that make sense? So in other words, if your cat is a grazer and will just nibble and walk away, then come back to it, it's ok with Lantus/Lev to leave the food down until +10. Then pick it up and let him wait the last 2 hours before his next shot without eating. Put the food down with the next shot and repeat.

For some cats, they'll eat every bit of the food the moment you put it down - mine was one of those - and if a cat on Lantus/Lev eats a large quantity in the later part of the cycle (say after +6-7 or so until the next shot) that can act like a brake on the action of the insulin. Depends on how much food it is. It's waning in the second half of each 12 hour cycle. For those cats it can be better for them to have most of their food in the first few hours after each shot. I fed punkin 3oz with his shot and 1.5oz at +3 for both cycles. Other than that, I simmered chicken breasts, diced them small and froze most, kept a couple of tablespoons in the fridge and gave him those for pokey treats. When he was really hungry in the second half of the cycle, i gave him a few pieces of chicken.

Do you need a hand getting a spreadsheet going for your little guy?
Click to expand...
 
I'm not testing yet and scared to death of needles. I have a meter coming but don't think I'll be able to do it and follow all this. I've read tons but I'm pretty frozen when it comes to all this. Someone else is doing the shots for me right now. So, he was on Lantus for over a month but they couldn't get him regulated. Went back to the emergency vet 2 days ago (Blue Pearl) and they switched it to PZI now...so now I don't understand how this new one works (is it even long acting? like the Lantus/Lev, brings tears to my eyes constantly because I wanted him to be able to go into remission at some point and they can't even regulate him and changed the insulin.
 
I sure wish I knew this when he was on the Lantus...maybe it would have made the difference to why he couldn't be regulated? I just didn't get a good education about the eating part and it may have thrown off the regulation and or the docs?
 
I wish there was someone in my area that I could meet and seek some help from. So as a grazer what about the PZI since not on the Lantus anymore. Thanks Julie!
 
Generally, yes.
Cats can and do have idiosyncratic reactions to insulins, so you just test and see how yours does.
 
Yes, grazing on the PZI would be fine.

susang said:
I wish there was someone in my area that I could meet and seek some help from. So as a grazer what about the PZI since not on the Lantus anymore. Thanks Julie!
Click to expand...
We don't know where you live Susan. Perhaps if you update your user profile with the country, state, closest city where you live, there may be someone near you.
 
Grazing on PZI is fine, until and unless your glucose tests show it isn't working.
 
I'm a believer of feeding every 4-5 hours sometimes 6 . My boys get a 1/3 of a can of FF at mealtime. If they still act hungry I'll give a little more. Feeding small meals keeps the BG more level.
 
Deb & Wink said:
Yes, grazing on the PZI would be fine.


We don't know where you live Susan. Perhaps if you update your user profile with the country, state, closest city where you live, there may be someone near you.
Click to expand...
Thanks, I'll do that. Didn't even know there was a profile that could be updated.
 
My cats get fed at 4 am and 4pm each day, 15-20 oz of wet food (between 4 cats). I also put a small scoop of Wysong Epigen out for nibbles between feedings. That scoop lasts a few days, so I know they don't eat much. Sugar Cat gets his shot while he eats.
 
susang said:
Thanks, I'll do that. Didn't even know there was a profile that could be updated.
Click to expand...
Deb & Wink said:
Yes, grazing on the PZI would be fine.


We don't know where you live Susan. Perhaps if you update your user profile with the country, state, closest city where you live, there may be someone near you.
Click to expand...
Was just on my profile page but see nowhere on there to update with country, state, city. If someone can let me know how to edit or add things to the profile page I'd really appreciate it! In the mean time -- I'm in NYC...Brooklyn NY, more specifically Ditmas Park close to Park Slope.
 
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Thanks BJ! Now that I'm updated is there anyone else here in Brooklyn that is a member and a neighbor?? I'm in Ditmas Park near Park Slope, would love to be in contact with you!!
 
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