Feeding Schedule

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JennyBankers

Member Since 2014
I just ordered the PetSafe Automatic 5 meal feeder after reading several posts on here recommending it. I am going to try introducing this next weekend, but I want to figure out how often to feed her and at what intervals. I am hoping the new feeding schedule will help level out her BG readings and make sure her pre-shot BG levels are not being artificially influenced by food.

Here's what I am thinking:
AMPS +0 (1oz), +4 (1oz), +8 (1oz), +10 (empty dish)
PMPS +0 (1oz), +4 (1oz), +8 (1oz), +10 (empty dish)

Is it normal to feed the same amount of food at each feeding or should I do a bigger feeding at pre-shot time and lower feedings throughout the cycle? She typically won't eat much more than 1-1.5oz at pre-shot anyway - her SS has her food intake in the remarks section for the past week or so if anyone would like to review it.

Does 6oz of food sound like enough for a 9.1lb cat to maintain her weight? She seems satisfied by it but she always cleans her bowl before her next feeding time (she is a grazer) and typically eats at least some of the food as soon as her next meal is placed on the ground.

One more question, how long does it take for frozen cat food to de-thaw? Should I refrigerate her +4 and freeze her +8 or just freeze/refrigerate both? I've also read to add water to them so they don't dry out.

Thanks!

PS - I've finally convinced my vet that using a human glucometer won't kill my cat and is just as reliable as the AlphaTrak when knowing the appropriate ranges! Small victory! :-)
 
Your schedule sounds fine. Is she overweight/underweight or just right? You could adjust the food based on that, little more, little less. Our 9 pound Civie Niko gets 6 ounces - 3 ounces at each meal - and he maintains his normal weight just fine.

I think it thaws in about 3 hours. You can buy a ice pack that fits perfectly in the PetSafe5. I can't remember where I got mine, but it was not hard to find. If she doesn't mind the thawed food, then you could make it easy on yourself and freeze rather than the ice pack.

Congrats on convincing the vet. You paid it forward for the next diabetic he sees! :-D
 
Sue and Oliver (GA) said:
Is she overweight/underweight or just right?
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I think she is just right or maybe a little overweight. The vet didn't say anything about her weight - I will ask specifically next time we are in the office.

Thanks for the info! I think she will do fine with the thawed food, so I might try that before I get an ice pack. She's not a fan of cold food.
 
Hi Jenny,

Kudo's on convincing the Vet.

I have 2 kitties.

1 needs to lose and 1 needs to gain.

Both have been on 1/2 of a 5.5 Oz. can of Purina DM. Since 8/9/14.

The Vet said that Jack should have (because he lost weight) 1/2 can plus 1/2 shot glass of DM chows. After coming here, no more chows and I never added to his diet. I was concentrating on the Diabetes.

I bought a baby scale, and Samantha has gone from 14.9 to 14.3 in that time. She needed to lose 1 lb. so this is good.

Jack when DX was 8.8 went to 9.24 and then to 9.4 but in the month since the 9.4 he is down to 8.6. Time for him to add a little weight.

I started the other day, giving him 5/8 of a can twice a day. Vet said a gain of .25 lb. over 2 weeks would be good. His ideal weight should be just shy of 10 lbs.

We shall see.
 
Depending on how glucose-sensitive your cat is, you may want to feed slightly more at +4 when the insulin is heading into its peak effect and not much at +8 when the insulin is starting to wear off.
 
BJM said:
Depending on how glucose-sensitive your cat is, you may want to feed slightly more at +4 when the insulin is heading into its peak effect and not much at +8 when the insulin is starting to wear off.
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I will definitely take that into consideration. I am doing a BG curve this weekend, so I hope to gain some more insight to when she is hitting nadir.

phlika29 said:
Is this the feeder you mentioned in your first post? I am wanting to buy one but unsure what to go for
http://www.amazon.co.uk/PetSafe-5-Meal- ... matic+five
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Yes, this is the feeder that I purchased. A lot of people on the forum seem to use it and like it.
 
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