Feeding question

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Yvonne & Andy &BJ (GA)

Yvonne & Andy &BJ (GA)

Member Since 2015
Andy was put on Purina DM, 1/2 5.50z can + small scoop dry, twice a day. I want to switch him over to wet, starting with Fancy Feast classic 3.3oz cans. He is 6.75 lbs and not yet regulated. Yesterday I gave him a can at each meal plus 1/4 can for bedtime snack. Does this seem like enough food? Is there an area on the message board for this?
Thx.
 
The general rule of thumb for calories is 13.5 times the cat's weight, plus 70. 6.75 x 13.5 = 91.125, +70 = 161.125, so Andy should be eating roughly 162 calories a day. This is assuming he is an adult cat and does not need to gain weight, but just maintain his current weight. You may need to adjust the total calories up or down a little, depending on your kitty; ECID (Every Cat Is Different - you'll hear that a lot around here, lol). The Fancy Feast Classics mostly run around 92-94 calories per can so if Andy is eating 2 1/2 cans per day he's consuming about 230 calories. FWIW, I find that my Squallie needs a little more than the formula says, to maintain his weight.
 
A vet gives you advice on food, how much and what kinds on this website: www.catinfo.org

However, you want to be careful changing the diet as the insulin needs can change. Our Oliver went down 100 points overnight when we switched from dry to wet. So we would encourage you to test at home while making the switch, so you know if the dose you gave the night before might be too much, because of the lower carb food.
 
S
Squalliesmom said:
The general rule of thumb for calories is 13.5 times the cat's weight, plus 70. 6.75 x 13.5 = 91.125, +70 = 161.125, so Andy should be eating roughly 162 calories a day. This is assuming he is an adult cat and does not need to gain weight, but just maintain his current weight. You may need to adjust the total calories up or down a little, depending on your kitty; ECID (Every Cat Is Different - you'll hear that a lot around here, lol). The Fancy Feast Classics mostly run around 92-94 calories per can so if Andy is eating 2 1/2 cans per day he's consuming about 230 calories. FWIW, I find that my Squallie needs a little more than the formula says, to maintain his weight.
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so if I want my cat to weigh like 13lbs I times that times 13.5 and then total I add plus 70?i came up with 1825 is that 182.5?
 
Cat girl said:
S

so if I want my cat to weigh like 13lbs I times that times 13.5 and then total I add plus 70?i came up with 1825 is that 182.5?
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One vet handed me a tiny scooper which is like 1/4 cup and told me to feed my cats 1/4 cup each once a day!that was before miss kitty's diabetes showed up.i dropped it to a 1/4 2 times a day each at the time.they would have lost weight to rapidly with just that I thought.im feeding wet now and slowly trying to decrease the dry they get and increasing the wet.miss kitty is not happy at all lol.she woke me up at 3:30am this morning wanting food and refused to let me go back to sleep so I'm up.they aren't due to be fed til 7:30-8am.ugh lol
 
I'm interested in hearing everyone's replies. I was feeding my cat 2 cans a day (she's a little under 7lb right now but needs to gain some weight back), but she was still acting like she was starving so I upped her to 3 cans per day (1 1/2 twice a day) hoping it would calm her down a little and help her gain some weight. However, she's still acting the same and hasn't gained anything. I asked my vet at her last appointment a couple weeks ago if we should be feeding her more and she was adamant that we were definitely feeding enough and just to hang in there until we get her regulated and then it would get better.
 
Cat girl said:
Now I'm confused.lol
I put 13.5
x 13
-------
1755
+ 70
--------
1825
What am I doing wrong? I'm autistic so things have to explained to me sometimes.how did you come up with that total?i want to figure out how to do that lol
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You are right but forgot the deciminal point - 175.5 + 70 = 245.5
 
Cat girl said:
Now I'm confused.lol
I put 13.5
x 13
-------
1755
+ 70
--------
1825
What am I doing wrong? I'm autistic so things have to explained to me sometimes.how did you come up with that total?i want to figure out how to do that lol
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Ok finally figured out what I was doing wrong.i was adding the 70 to the total as a whole.forgot to put the decimal.duh ....... Lol
 
jsanderson0508 said:
I'm interested in hearing everyone's replies. I was feeding my cat 2 cans a day (she's a little under 7lb right now but needs to gain some weight back), but she was still acting like she was starving so I upped her to 3 cans per day (1 1/2 twice a day) hoping it would calm her down a little and help her gain some weight. However, she's still acting the same and hasn't gained anything. I asked my vet at her last appointment a couple weeks ago if we should be feeding her more and she was adamant that we were definitely feeding enough and just to hang in there until we get her regulated and then it would get better.
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I worry that Andy seems so hungry but he is still not regulated - 2 1/4 of 3oz cans (230 cal) - he is small but no meat on his bones!
 
Cat girl said:
Ok finally figured out what I was doing wrong.i was adding the 70 to the total as a whole.forgot to put the decimal.duh ....... Lol
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I forgot all my schooling.decimals and percentages I have forgotten especially percentages
 
Cat girl said:
I forgot all my schooling.decimals and percentages I have forgotten especially percentages
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Yvonne and Andy said:
I worry that Andy seems so hungry but he is still not regulated - 2 1/4 of 3oz cans (230 cal) - he is small but no meat on his bones!
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Diabetes makes them so hungry and they lose weight so fast.miss kitty lost 4lbs in 2 months or less.now she is regulating a little she is eating and drinking less.thank goodness
 
Cat girl said:
Diabetes makes them so hungry and they lose weight so fast.miss kitty lost 4lbs in 2 months or less.now she is regulating a little she is eating and drinking less.thank goodness
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6 pounds is so little.did he lose that weight from diabetes or has he always been a tiny cat?
 
Cat girl said:
6 pounds is so little.did he lose that weight from diabetes or has he always been a tiny cat?
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It is so hard not to feed your cat with them crying and looking at you with those eyes.i was woken up this morning at 3:30am by miss kitty wanting more food.she refused to let me go back to sleep so I got up and tested her bg which was pretty high so she didn't get any food til breakfast time 7:30-8am.she drove me crazy all morning though til breakfast :banghead:
 
Cat girl said:
It is so hard not to feed your cat with them crying and looking at you with those eyes.i was woken up this morning at 3:30am by miss kitty wanting more food.she refused to let me go back to sleep so I got up and tested her bg which was pretty high so she didn't get any food til breakfast time 7:30-8am.she drove me crazy all morning though til breakfast :banghead:
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Cat girl said:
6 pounds is so little.did he lose that weight from diabetes or has he always been a tiny cat?
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I really don't know. I am fostering him for a shelter and only picked him up last Monday. I am waiting for the adoption agreement because he won our hearts!
 
Cat girl said:
Now I'm confused.lol
I put 13.5
x 13
-------
1755
+ 70
--------
1825
What am I doing wrong? I'm autistic so things have to explained to me sometimes.how did you come up with that total?i want to figure out how to do that lol
Click to expand...
No problem! :) You're just forgetting to put the decimal place in, when you multiply. If you take 175.5 and add 70, you'll get 245.5.
 
jsanderson0508 said:
I'm interested in hearing everyone's replies. I was feeding my cat 2 cans a day (she's a little under 7lb right now but needs to gain some weight back), but she was still acting like she was starving so I upped her to 3 cans per day (1 1/2 twice a day) hoping it would calm her down a little and help her gain some weight. However, she's still acting the same and hasn't gained anything. I asked my vet at her last appointment a couple weeks ago if we should be feeding her more and she was adamant that we were definitely feeding enough and just to hang in there until we get her regulated and then it would get better.
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Until your kitty's blood glucose is lowered and regulated fairly well, she will be hungry. Diabetes keeps their little bodies from absorbing nutrients, so they are basically starving; this is why they lose weight. It's heartbreaking to hear them clamoring for food, I know, but your vet is right, it will get better! :)
 
If your cat is under weight, feed him more. Do the calculation for what he should weigh not for what he does weigh.
For a while I was feeding Deandra almost 400 calories a day, twice what she should have been getting at a healthy weight, because she was horribly underweight and starving. And that was actually the start to controlling what she got and everyone at the shelter thought I was mean for limiting her food.
I've often found that dieting my diabetics doesn't work well. As soon as a stop cutting calories BGs start responding better.
 
Being unregulated is only going to make it harder for the kitty to gain the appropriate amount of weight. Getting the BG under control is important, along with making sure the kitty's getting enough food. Many unregulated diabetics lose weight, which is not a problem you want to have starting at such a low baseline weight. Our vet was all for feeding what it took to keep our kitty from being ravenous and adjusting the insulin to the larger amount of food.
 
Squalliesmom said:
I can see why you want to adopt him, he looks like an absolute sweetie pie! So cute! :)
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SpecklesandMe said:
Being unregulated is only going to make it harder for the kitty to gain the appropriate amount of weight. Getting the BG under control is important, along with making sure the kitty's getting enough food. Many unregulated diabetics lose weight, which is not a problem you want to have starting at such a low baseline weight. Our vet was all for feeding what it took to keep our kitty from being ravenous and adjusting the insulin to the larger amount of food.
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I guess my problem really is what he should weigh. We were so concerned about his overdosing we did not even discuss how much his weight should be. He is quite small and does not appear "bony" or undernourished so my vet probably did not think his weight was a problem. I think he looks good. He is still bouncing around a lot so that may be why he gets so hungry.
 
How old is he? How much is the most he's ever weighed? Do you know how tall he is?
My boy was in the 95th percentile for height and I always enjoyed knowing that because it's sort of funny, but it does also help you figure out a good ideal weight. (You could also call your vet and see what they think his ideal weight should be since he was seen recently.)
 
SpecklesandMe said:
How old is he? How much is the most he's ever weighed? Do you know how tall he is?
My boy was in the 95th percentile for height and I always enjoyed knowing that because it's sort of funny, but it does also help you figure out a good ideal weight. (You could also call your vet and see what they think his ideal weight should be since he was seen recently.)
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He is a foster cat right now since last Monday. He was returned to the shelter after being adopted as a kitten. He is about 6 yrs. That is all I know about him.
He spent almost a month at a vet clinic, started on Lantus, could not get regulated. I asked them to try PZI but they must have started at way too high dose - I suspect with Lantus also. Anyway, he was on 6u PZI - I took him to my vet and we lowered the dose to 2u. I have since lowered to between 1 and 1 1/2u and still bouncing. And the other piece of the puzzle is I want him on wet diet so have already done that 4 days ago which is also affecting his #'s.
 
And here's a little real-life before & after: What my cat used to look like (@ 18 lbs. - yikes! - thanks to a diet of mostly free-fed dry kibble & just a wee bit of too-high-carb canned) ... and how she looks now at 11 lbs (thanks to low-carb canned food & daily portion control):
2012 Bat 18 lbs!.JPG 2015 Bat 11 lbs.jpg
 
Robin&BB said:
And here's a little real-life before & after: What my cat used to look like (@ 18 lbs. - yikes! - thanks to a diet of mostly free-fed dry kibble & just a wee bit of too-high-carb canned) ... and how she looks now at 11 lbs (thanks to low-carb canned food & daily portion control):
View attachment 17063 View attachment 17064
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I am going to try to take his picture (yeah right) and post so you can get a better idea. :)
 
He is absolutely adorable! I love his dainty little feet, lol!

From that angle it is hard to tell, but it looks to me like maybe a pound or two more wouldn't hurt him. But some cats are just naturally slim. My little Bengal girl is long and lanky, looks to me like she's starving to death. I've been working hard since we got her, 4 months ago, to put more weight on her but she still looks skinny even though she's gained a bit.
 
Yvonne and Andy said:
He is quite small and does not appear "bony" or undernourished so my vet probably did not think his weight was a problem. I think he looks good. He is still bouncing around a lot so that may be why he gets so hungry.
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Looking at Andy's photo (he's adorable, btw!) - and particularly because you'd mentioned that he's a smallish cat & does not appear bony or undernourished - I'd say he looks pretty darned good! If you're still feeding 2 cans + 1/4 can snack FF/daily (that's 6.75 oz.) and he's maintaining his current weight, I'd venture a guess that you should stay the course on the food for now. But do weigh him at least once a week to make sure he's not losing any weight; again, slender (vs. emaciated) is a good thing for a diabetic kitty. Since you said that Andy's always on the move, if you do happen to find that he's dropping any weight, increase his daily rations by, say, another 1/4 can of FF/day. You'll find out by weighing him regularly, over time, what is the right amount of FF for Andy to maintain his optimum weight.

It's always helped me to look at it in this way: An extra 1 to 2 lbs. on a 10 lb. cat, for example, is similar to another 10 to 20 lbs. on a 100-lb. human.
So both weight control and portion control are two important factors in getting a kitty well-regulated while on insulin. I am glad you're monitoring his cycles closely, given the switch you've made to all canned, low-carb.

Looking at Andy's SS, you're doing a terrific job, both on the monitoring & in adjusting Andy's dose. Slow & steady wins the race, Yvonne - you're doing great; keep up the good work!:)
 
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