Feeding schedule help please

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Bucasmom

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Hello all :)

I've read a few topics already posted but they didn't quite answer my question..... I just want to know if I'm doing the right thing where food is concerned...


Buca gets 100g wet food (FF or Whiskas pate) in the morning about 15 mins before his shot. Then he gets his 1u lantus. Usually, I'll leave whatever is left over from that feeding so that he can eat what he wants of it during the daytime. Sometimes when I am home from work at lunch there is still a little in his bowl. I will give him another 100g when I get home from work at 4:30. Usually by 7pm (evening shot) there is still some left in his bowl so I add more water to it, mix it around, and he gets interested in it again. Then I give him his pm shot.

If he whines for more food before bed (10 or 11 pm) I will give him maybe about 25-35g (1/4 of a tray of whiskas, or about half of a small can of FF), to last him the night.

Just wondering if allowing him to free feed, although it is in small amounts, would affect his numbers too much. This is all wet food and is very low carb and grain free. Is it ok to leave it out all day like that? It doesn't seem to be giving him diarrhea or anything.
 
1) Yes, its OK to leave the food out; some folks will use a refrigerated container to help it stay fresh, or freeze part of it to thaw slowly, which helps it stay fresh over the cycle. I wouldn't leave it out more than 24 hours before pitching, though some of mine prefer the 12 hour dried, pilaf-like crumbles better than fresh (yeah - kibble addicts, but I'm not giving in!)

2) we suggest picking it up 2 hours before the next shot, so you get a better idea of the glucose control without any food spike

3) Putting down fresh food in the second half of the cycle is likely to raise the glucose more than putting down most of the food in the first half of the cycle. If the cat is a scarfer, freezing some to thaw and be eaten slowly or using a timed feeder may smooth out the glucose curve. There are some folks who rely on a scheduled feeding pattern to control the glucose in cats that scarf 'n' barf, or who have large food spikes if allowed to have a big meal all at once. You might feed 1/3 @ pre-shot, +3 and +6, Or @ pre-shot and +4 or feed 1/3 fresh and 2/3 frozen to thaw for nibbling - whatever your data show works best for your cat, which testing will show you.

4) if you think he's not getting enough food, check Cat Info for information on calorie requirements. I'm feeding 11 civvies right now, and for the 3 in crates (1 for socialization work, 1 front declawed being picked on, and 1 prima donna marking her turf), its working out to about 1 oz per pound, divided into 2 feedings which are grazed throughout the day. Thus, the 10-11 pound male is getting about 5.5 oz per meal of a mix of 1 can Wellness Core, 1 can Purina Special Diet, and 1-2 cans of Fancy Feast mixed togther. The 7 pounder gets 4 oz per meal, but often seems to have a bit left when I do fresh plates. The chubby 8 pounder nearly cleans the plate of her 4 oz each meal, but rally doesn't need more food - she's bored. The other cats in the household are free to eat at will, too. For a total of 11 cats, 2 batches of this mix seems to work out with little left over. I'll note that if the fat and thus calorie content drops, I need to put out a bit more or I get squabbling right before dinner.
 
BJM said:
1) Yes, its OK to leave the food out; some folks will use a refrigerated container to help it stay fresh, or freeze part of it to thaw slowly, which helps it stay fresh over the cycle. I wouldn't leave it out more than 24 hours before pitching, though some of mine prefer the 12 hour dried, pilaf-like crumbles better than fresh (yeah - kibble addicts, but I'm not giving in!)

2) we suggest picking it up 2 hours before the next shot, so you get a better idea of the glucose control without any food spike

3) Putting down fresh food in the second half of the cycle is likely to raise the glucose more than putting down most of the food in the first half of the cycle. If the cat is a scarfer, freezing some to thaw and be eaten slowly or using a timed feeder may smooth out the glucose curve. There are some folks who rely on a scheduled feeding pattern to control the glucose in cats that scarf 'n' barf, or who have large food spikes if allowed to have a big meal all at once. You might feed 1/3 @ pre-shot, +3 and +6, Or @ pre-shot and +4 or feed 1/3 fresh and 2/3 frozen to thaw for nibbling - whatever your data show works best for your cat, which testing will show you.

4) if you think he's not getting enough food, check Cat Info for information on calorie requirements. I'm feeding 11 civvies right now, and for the 3 in crates (1 for socialization work, 1 front declawed being picked on, and 1 prima donna marking her turf), its working out to about 1 oz per pound, divided into 2 feedings which are grazed throughout the day. Thus, the 10-11 pound male is getting about 5.5 oz per meal of a mix of 1 can Wellness Core, 1 can Purina Special Diet, and 1-2 cans of Fancy Feast mixed togther. The 7 pounder gets 4 oz per meal, but often seems to have a bit left when I do fresh plates. The chubby 8 pounder nearly cleans the plate of her 4 oz each meal, but rally doesn't need more food - she's bored. The other cats in the household are free to eat at will, too. For a total of 11 cats, 2 batches of this mix seems to work out with little left over. I'll note that if the fat and thus calorie content drops, I need to put out a bit more or I get squabbling right before dinner.
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Thanks for the info! :-D That's a lot of kitties haha. So just so that I get this straight.... it's ok to feed a small amount pre shot? I think I misunderstand your point #2- pick up 2 hours before shot- with point #3 saying to feed pre shot...
 
Test, feed, shoot is the order you should go in. If you can rely on your cat to eat consistently you can shoot while the cat is eating.

HOWEVER, as you know, food makes the blood glucose rise, even low carb. So when you take a preshot blood glucose test, you DON'T want those numbers to be artificially inflated by food. That could make you misjudge whether it was safe to give insulin and accidentally shoot your cat at a low number (falsely inflated by recent food consumption) and make him hypo.

So you should withhold all food for at least 2 hours before every preshot test, so you get a clean reading with no food influence. It basically just means no food between +10 and preshot test time. Then you give the preshot meal after that test.

I personally prefer to keep most of the food within the first 6-8 hrs of a cycle. Just a preference :)
 
Oh ok I see what you meant... that's a good idea... I hadn't been taking the food away for pm although he usually has it eaten but sometimes he does leave some and go back to it. I'll start making sure to pick it up so that it doesn't interfere with numbers. :) Thanks!
 
The order is always test - feed - shoot:
You want to be sure there is food on board when you give insulin, otherwise you could wind up with a hypo.
Food and insulin work together to provide useable energy for the cat.

-If your cat is a diver (glucose drops low and fast),
. 1) feed and wait 15 minutes to shoot, to give the food some time to get digested and into the bloodstream.
OR
. 2) use a slightly higher carb level (ex 8% instead of 4%)

- if your cat is NOT a diver, shoot right after eating.
 
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