Feedback on Diet of Newly Diagnosed Cat

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Caitlin & Charleston

Caitlin & Charleston

Member Since 2020
I am looking for guidance/feedback on my newly diagnosed cat's current feeding regimen. A little background information - In the 2 weeks since his diagnosis I successfully got him switched over from dry food (Royal Canin Weight Care) to wet food (FF Classic Chicken Pate). He's a big boy at 19lbs, but his ideal weight is 18 lbs. He got up to 24 lbs at his highest before his diagnosis :(. His weight is currently stable, but I'll keep monitoring it.

Here is his current feeding regimen:
  • 2 cans of FF chicken pate after amps, typically eats 1/2 before shot and then grazes on the rest for a couple hours
  • 1 can of FF chicken pate mid-day around +6
  • 2 cans of FF chicken pate after pmps, again he typically eats 1/2 before shot and then grazes on the rest for a couple hours. He also gets 1.0 mL of Nordic Naturals Omega 3 fish oil with dinner.
  • No food allowed within 2 hours before amps/pmps
So he is getting 5 cans or 15 oz each day. Each can is 99 calories, so this is 495 calories/day. My vet suggested that the general rule is about 1 oz of wet food per pound of optimal body weight, which would be more like 6 cans. But, using Dr. Lisa's formula (Required calories per day = [13.6 X optimal lean body weight in pounds] + 70), he should be eating more like 315 calories a day. Should I change how much food I give him? Any other thoughts or feedback on his current regimen? Things I should change or could improve?

Also, at the suggestion of my vet, he's been getting a Vetriscience senior multivitamin and Vetriscience daily probiotic each day. I use them as "treats" when I check his BG because he loves them. But, based on the ingredients these seem to be high in carbs. Does anyone have experience with either one or suggestions for more diabetic friendly supplements? For treats, I'm going to try out the list of suggested treats I found on this forum.

Thank you!
 
I'm going to wait and see what more experienced members have to say on the food and treat end, but 1 oz of food per pound sounds crazy high, plus depending on the food the calorie amount is different. 500 calories a day is a lot ... what's the reason that his ideal weight is 18 lbs? That's a big chunker haha!

The rule I always heard was 20 calories per lb of body weight, which is basically the same as Dr. Pierson's formula.
 
We use the same ...(cat ideal weight x 13.5) +70 = calories. Bee is almost 11 pd x 13.5 + 70 = 218.5 ...currently giving 268 cal /day on vet advice. This is probably not exact but Pie did slowly loose weight. It might not be ideal for a cat with diabetes tho.

For treats i use Purebites (dehydrated meat)

Edit: instead of +70 , you could do a +90 to get him used to less calories.
 
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Same here based on Minnie’s nutritionist’s recommendation. 300 calories a day is what she put her on to gain weight. And gain she did. She went from 12 to 16 pounds. 500 seems a little crazy to me too. So you should be looking at 1&1/2 can am and pm and maybe one more 1/2 can in between at the most. There may be some other pate flavors with less calories if he’d eat something other than chicken.
 
Thanks everybody! Sounds like reducing his food is appropriate. Even he has seemed surprised by how much food he gets, when I give him more he looks at me like "Really!? More food!?" Are there any precautions I need to take when reducing his food from an insulin or BG perspective? We did a curve yesterday and now today his numbers are all over the place.

Panic said:
500 calories a day is a lot ... what's the reason that his ideal weight is 18 lbs? That's a big chunker haha!
Click to expand...

He is the biggest framed cat I have ever seen! At 19 pounds, I can still run my hands along his sides and easily feel his ribs. Sometimes I forget how big he is (e.g. height, head size, paws, etc.) until I get to see one of my friend's or family member's average size cats. When I adopted him at 5 years old, they told me they thought he must be part Maine Coon, but he doesn't look it to me. His name at the shelter was Goliath LOL. Who knows, but he's just a giant kitty. Attaching a picture :)

IMG-1011.JPG
 

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Caitlin & Charleston said:
Thanks everybody! Sounds like reducing his food is appropriate. Even he has seemed surprised by how much food he gets, when I give him more he looks at me like "Really!? More food!?" Are there any precautions I need to take when reducing his food from an insulin or BG perspective? We did a curve yesterday and now today his numbers are all over the place.



He is the biggest framed cat I have ever seen! At 19 pounds, I can still run my hands along his sides and easily feel his ribs. Sometimes I forget how big he is (e.g. height, head size, paws, etc.) until I get to see one of my friend's or family member's average size cats. When I adopted him at 5 years old, they told me they thought he must be part Maine Coon, but he doesn't look it to me. His name at the shelter was Goliath LOL. Who knows, but he's just a giant kitty. Attaching a picture :)

View attachment 53532
Click to expand...
What a big bundle of cuteness!!! Of course that means bigger ear and bigger surface area for testing ha! :bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Thanks everyone! He's really very smooshable and just wants all the belly rubs. Will wait to see if anyone else weighs in on procedure for reducing diet.

Aleluia Grugru & Minnie said:
What a big bundle of cuteness!!! Of course that means bigger ear and bigger surface area for testing ha! :bighug::bighug::bighug:
Click to expand...

The bigger ears definitely help! And thanks for your tips yesterday on testing, they really helped us a lot. I also realized after reviewing more that my vet had told me to poke the actual vein and that the sweet spot is the area along the edge next to the vein. Now that I stopped poking my poor kitty right in the ear vein and started poking the sweet spot, he has been much more amenable to home testing. :cat:
 
Caitlin & Charleston said:
Thanks everyone! He's really very smooshable and just wants all the belly rubs. Will wait to see if anyone else weighs in on procedure for reducing diet.



The bigger ears definitely help! And thanks for your tips yesterday on testing, they really helped us a lot. I also realized after reviewing more that my vet had told me to poke the actual vein and that the sweet spot is the area along the edge next to the vein. Now that I stopped poking my poor kitty right in the ear vein and started poking the sweet spot, he has been much more amenable to home testing. :cat:
Click to expand...
I’m so glad to hear that yay!!!
 
Caitlin & Charleston said:
Thanks everyone! He's really very smooshable and just wants all the belly rubs. Will wait to see if anyone else weighs in on procedure for reducing diet.



The bigger ears definitely help! And thanks for your tips yesterday on testing, they really helped us a lot. I also realized after reviewing more that my vet had told me to poke the actual vein and that the sweet spot is the area along the edge next to the vein. Now that I stopped poking my poor kitty right in the ear vein and started poking the sweet spot, he has been much more amenable to home testing. :cat:
Click to expand...


Have you seen this link? The ear diagram is also great!

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/testing-and-shooting-tips.85113/50F210DA-E439-44D4-AEC6-D4E8D606ECE0.jpeg
 

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