Feeding schedule question

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JenniferH

JenniferH

Member Since 2018
Skittles was just diagnosed with diabetes and I want to try to get his numbers down with diet before going to insulin shots. The vet recommended feeding him half a can of m/d and a fourth of cup of dry Dr. Elseys food every 12 hours. I can't get him to eat the half can in the one sitting and I worry about trying to add the fourth if cup when it gets here at the end of the week. The vet said to take it away after 15 to 20 minutes and he will learn to eat it all in 2 feedings a day. Should I be feeding him more often or stick to this schedule even if he doesn't eat it all. I worry about him losing weight too rapidly as he lost over a pound in the last week after having extensive mouth surgery. Does starving him to two meals mess with his blood sugar levels? When he goes back in for a recheck should he eat before the blood draw? Please help. Thanks!
 
The AAHA diabetes guidelines (link in my signature) mention feeding multiple meals each day, and that is what most of us do. As long as you are feeding the appropriate amount/calories of high-protein, low-carb wet food in the course of a day, it is fine to break it into more meals. I feed my girls 4 times per day. Leftovers are left out for grazing. The only time food must be withheld is two hours before the pre-insulin-shot glucose test so the test results will not be impacted by food. You are not giving insulin shots right now, but you could go ahead and adopt this practice. Just figure out when you want to give the shots, if you have to start, and work around that. Have you started home testing yet? You can save the stress and cost of going to the vet to have his glucose checked. (The AAHA guidelines also mention that home monitoring is best. For one thing, the results are not impacted by stress from going to the vet.)

The m/d is 13% carbs which is not ideal, but I saw your other thread about the surgery and making sure he will eat. So, if he will eat that.. great. Maybe later you can transition him to something with less carbs if you are finding that his glucose is still staying too high. I know this has been talked about on your other threads, but it is worth mentioning again that if you can transition him to all wet food, it will be best, for a lot of reasons, including his bladder issues. If you have not made it to catinfo.org yet, please check it out. Also, here is a thread by the same doctor: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...r-more-than-just-carbohydrate-content.175004/ While you are using dry food to transition him over to wet and/or for treats, Dr. E's is a great choice.
 
I have not started home testing yet. Skittles is very scared of me right now with having 3 vet visits in the last 11 days. He is still on antibiotics and anti inflammatory meds so I'm sure numbers will still be high. Plus I am afraid to test him because I don't want to hurt him, do it incorrectly, or make him more scared of me at the moment.
 
FurBabiesMama said:
The AAHA diabetes guidelines (link in my signature) mention feeding multiple meals each day, and that is what most of us do. As long as you are feeding the appropriate amount/calories of high-protein, low-carb wet food in the course of a day, it is fine to break it into more meals. I feed my girls 4 times per day. Leftovers are left out for grazing. The only time food must be withheld is two hours before the pre-insulin-shot glucose test so the test results will not be impacted by food. You are not giving insulin shots right now, but you could go ahead and adopt this practice. Just figure out when you want to give the shots, if you have to start, and work around that. Have you started home testing yet? You can save the stress and cost of going to the vet to have his glucose checked. (The AAHA guidelines also mention that home monitoring is best. For one thing, the results are not impacted by stress from going to the vet.)
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I agree with this 100%! Feeding multiple meals helps to keep the blood sugar levels more stable and avoids the spikes and lows that come with following a 12 hour feeding schedule only. My cats free feed (advice I got here) and then I take it up two hours before testing. When I followed the 12 hour feeding schedule recommended by my vet (before finding this board) my kitty became very thin, very hungry and very very unhappy. And it did not help to control her BG levels.

Home testing is best. You have to know what the glucose levels are. My kitty is far more stressed by going to the vet or the animal hospital than by me doing the testing. Home testing can be very stressful at first but it gets easier and better. Have some low carb treats available to feed after the test and soon your kitty will come to associate these treats with the testing and that will help to make things a bit easier.
 
JenniferH said:
Plus I am afraid to test him because I don't want to hurt him, do it incorrectly, or make him more scared of me at the moment.
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Don't be afraid to home test. I know it is scary at first but it really is essential to this whole process. It can literally save your kitty's life and is super important. It just takes time and practice for you and kitty to get comfortable doing it.
 
This is not a typical cat house. They all free feed which began the day Nigel was going straight downhill. Our vet said the "rules" weren't working, we free fed and suddenly everything was as it should be. There were nine cats in the house so things were different then. This is not a typical protocol but no two cats and no two homes are the same. Obviously we follow the 2 hour rule. It takes courage for a vet to say "This isn't working, change the rules".
 
I give Orijen freeze dried dog treats (beef or regional red). Orijen says no carbs. They're the same as the cat treats, but bigger pieces and cheaper per ounce. When we transitioned to wet food, my cat lost weight on just wet cat food (9 Lives chicken, turkey, and bacon/liver pates) and wandered the house crying because he was hungry. By adding 4-5 of these right before each meal (3 per day), he eats more of the canned food, doesn't cry from hunger, and maintains his weight.
 
FurBabiesMama said:
You can cook chicken and offer some of the meat as a treat, or there are PureBites freeze dried treats.. some people even use lunch meat as long as it does not include seasonings, sugar or anything that would be bad for a cat.
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I will get some of the PureBites. Skittles is a huge treat cat so I know it is killing him not to have them anymore. Thanks!
 
AshleyDiamond said:
Don't be afraid to home test. I know it is scary at first but it really is essential to this whole process. It can literally save your kitty's life and is super important. It just takes time and practice for you and kitty to get comfortable doing it.
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Should I have the vet teach me how to do this? When I asked her about home testing yesterday she said it wasn't necessary yet.
 
HereKittyKittyKitty said:
I give Orijen freeze dried dog treats (beef or regional red). Orijen says no carbs. They're the same as the cat treats, but bigger pieces and cheaper per ounce. When we transitioned to wet food, my cat lost weight on just wet cat food (9 Lives chicken, turkey, and bacon/liver pates) and wandered the house crying because he was hungry. By adding 4-5 of these right before each meal (3 per day), he eats more of the canned food, doesn't cry from hunger, and maintains his weight.
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I am worried about him losing more weight. Eating wet food is not his favorite and I wasn't able to get him to eat a full can today. The vet said she would like to see him get to 12 to 13 pounds but not lose the weight as rapidly as he currently is. I like having a fat kitty, but I know that is bad for his diabetes. My other cat Ariel was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism last week so she is hungry all the time and tries to steal his food especially when he doesn't eat it all at once or as fast as Ariel. She is now on two pills a day and gets her levels rechecked in a couple of weeks.
 
HereKittyKittyKitty said:
I give Orijen freeze dried dog treats (beef or regional red). Orijen says no carbs. They're the same as the cat treats, but bigger pieces and cheaper per ounce. When we transitioned to wet food, my cat lost weight on just wet cat food (9 Lives chicken, turkey, and bacon/liver pates) and wandered the house crying because he was hungry. By adding 4-5 of these right before each meal (3 per day), he eats more of the canned food, doesn't cry from hunger, and maintains his weight.
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I will try the treats before each meal. Thanks.
 
JenniferH said:
Should I have the vet teach me how to do this? When I asked her about home testing yesterday she said it wasn't necessary yet.
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I would not rely on what the vet said about it not being necessary. It is the ONLY way to know what's going on with your cat's BG levels when you're not at the vet.
 
Home testing is Very necessary, and very few of us were adept in the beginning. It takes patience and practice. There are videos, links and tips here on the board. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

Regarding the M/D food, Idjit didn't like it very much and would eat very little. Maybe Skittles just doesn't like it?

One thing I have been doing with Idjit lately, because he didn't seem to get full or stay full on the canned food always, was to offer baked chicken breast pieces with his food, or as snacks. He likes to gnaw on the larger chunks, and I hope it helps clean his teeth a bit also. I bake or pressure cook a couple of breasts, cut them up and freeze them on a flat cake/pie pan, then store in the freezer in a ziplock bag. He will also eat the chicken if I happen to give him a flavor of canned food he doesn't like at the moment, and turns up his royal nose. It's not a complete diet food, and I'm not recommending feeding only chicken, but it might get his interest.
 
JenniferH said:
I will get some of the PureBites. Skittles is a huge treat cat so I know it is killing him not to have them anymore. Thanks!
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I always gave Mango Temptations:nailbiting:, and still due. I know they aren't the best but I do only a few a day to get tests. Yes, I still test 2x a week for my piece of mind.
 
Lesliejm said:
I always gave Mango Temptations:nailbiting:, and still due. I know they aren't the best but I do only a few a day to get tests. Yes, I still test 2x a week for my piece of mind.
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I also give Temptations and agree they're not the best. But I give literally 2 pieces and it is enough to help me get the tests done.
 
JeanW said:
I would not rely on what the vet said about it not being necessary. It is the ONLY way to know what's going on with your cat's BG levels when you're not at the vet.
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I asked the vet again about home testing and she said I could buy a meter of my choosing and she will show me how to do it at his next visit.
 
Idjit's mom said:
Home testing is Very necessary, and very few of us were adept in the beginning. It takes patience and practice. There are videos, links and tips here on the board. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

Regarding the M/D food, Idjit didn't like it very much and would eat very little. Maybe Skittles just doesn't like it?

One thing I have been doing with Idjit lately, because he didn't seem to get full or stay full on the canned food always, was to offer baked chicken breast pieces with his food, or as snacks. He likes to gnaw on the larger chunks, and I hope it helps clean his teeth a bit also. I bake or pressure cook a couple of breasts, cut them up and freeze them on a flat cake/pie pan, then store in the freezer in a ziplock bag. He will also eat the chicken if I happen to give him a flavor of canned food he doesn't like at the moment, and turns up his royal nose. It's not a complete diet food, and I'm not recommending feeding only chicken, but it might get his interest.
Click to expand...
How do you know what level to put the pen on when you use it to poke to drawn blood?
 
HereKittyKittyKitty said:
I give Orijen freeze dried dog treats (beef or regional red). Orijen says no carbs. They're the same as the cat treats, but bigger pieces and cheaper per ounce. When we transitioned to wet food, my cat lost weight on just wet cat food (9 Lives chicken, turkey, and bacon/liver pates) and wandered the house crying because he was hungry. By adding 4-5 of these right before each meal (3 per day), he eats more of the canned food, doesn't cry from hunger, and maintains his weight.
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I
JenniferH said:
How do you know what level to put the pen on when you use it to poke to drawn blood?
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I usually try it on four and then if that doesn't work I go to five
 
FurBabiesMama said:
I do not use the device. I hold the lancet in my hand and poke with it. Less bulky and no clicks or anything to scare the cat.
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This is what I do also and find it much easier and better in every way. It gives me more control over the lancet.
 
I don't feed the Orijen cat food (I feed 9 Lives pates), but I would suspect if the dog food and cat food has BPA, arsenic, mercury, etc., there is probably reason to believe the treats are also contaminated :mad:

The dog and cat foods are actually not recalled (at this time). There's a class action suit (Minnesota and two other states) against the USA-made dog food (Dogstar Kitchens facility in Kentucky) and another class action suit (Illinois) against the USA-made (also Dogstar facility) cat food.

This is worrisome to me, as well... besides feeding the Orijen freeze-dried dog treats to my cat, I've been feeding Orijen Puppy Large to my German Shepherd. I was not happy with the (negative) quality/ingredient changes when they opened up the Dogstar facility, but AFIK, after checking various dog food review sites and various product ingredients, it was still better than other stuff on the market.

So after we move and get settled, I'm going to see about the Canadian version, and if that is also a problem (or may be), find something else :mad: :banghead: And get my dog and cat tested for heavy metals :mad: :mad: :mad: Maybe there's dog and cat version(s) of cleanses that purport to remove heavy metals from people :eek:

I don't know if there's another freeze-dried meat treat out there that has no carbs that I could substitute for my cat... and no idea whether or not they're contaminated with anything :mad: It seems like an absolute crap-shoot whether or not pet food is safe anymore, no matter where it's made/where the ingredients come from :mad: :banghead: (rant over)

I hope the success I've had with the Orijen treats (along with the 9 Lives pates) provides an idea (add some kind of freeze-dried meat with no carbs) to others that have hungry, crying kitties (maybe even losing weight) on canned food.
 
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