Feeding schedule?

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Smrbrz01

Smrbrz01

Member Since 2023
Hello,
Do y’all mind sharing your cats eating schedule and how much they eat in a day.
My newly diagnosed cat just started taking bexacat and I wanna make sure I’m not feeding her too little or too much. ( I know every cat is different) I usually feed my cat 1 fancy feast in the morning (1can divided among 3 cats) or sometimes 2 cans ( divided among 3 cats) since the cans are pretty small. And I’ll give them 1 snack during the day. Any tips are welcome!!
 
Hi, this is a great question but as you know, it's highly subjective. I'm happy to share my schedule, but with the caveats that Snickers is using Lantus, not Bexacat, and she is also sightly overweight, allergic to poultry, and on a diet. In addition, her BG is pretty tightly regulated, so what works for her may not work for you.

That all being said, I am currently feed Snickers roughly 165-ish calories a day. A little less, a little more, depending on her exact food. I switch between Instinct Rabbit, Tiki Cat Salmon, Tiki Seabass, and Tiki Tilapia. She gets one big can of each, which is about 5.5 oz I think. The tilapia and seabass are very low cal, so on those days I usually give her one big can, plus part of another big can. I don't measure the food with a scale or anything, I just eyeball it or use a tablespoon measuring spoon.

In the morning she gets a good size amount of her big can, maybe 3-ish tablespoons. I don't usually measure this. Then at +5 OR +6 I giver her another tablespoon or so for lunch, and then at +9 she gets another tablespoon for a snack. And then at dinner she gets a similar amount to breakfast.

I give her snacks after her nadir because I have found--and this is specifically for Snickers--that she gets incredibly anxious if she has to go more than a few hours without eating, and it will actually raise her BG. If I give her a snack at +6 and +9, she stays calm and her BG is better. Most cats do better without food after their nadir, except for freeze dried treats.

I'm not sure how much this helps, but there's a lot of info on this forum and people to learn from. I'll tag a few for you, who can help you get things set up. I'd add some links but I've got to run. @Sienne and Gabby (GA) and @Diane Tyler's Mom are both great at pointing people in the right direction, if you would like to be more involved with this forum. Good luck with your feeding schedule :)
 
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It truly depends on your cat's weight too. Most ff isn't more than 100 calories. A can split between 3 cats isn't a lot even if you added another can, that's still only 66 calories per cat and that's only if you have a can that is closer to 100 calories than it is 60.

I think someone has given you the link to the food chart. If not, let me know.

I didn't realize how important calories were until my cat became very ill because he wasn't able to consume enough calories. Now, not only for watching his weight, but I track them to make sure he is getting enough.

My last vet wasn't great, but I have an appointment with a new vet and I know they will want him on a diet. It is best to have your cat monitored by a vet though because cats losing weight quickly is also very dangerous.

I feed my cat half of his calories in the morning with 20% of his calories given after his shot. Then, I give him another 15% an hour after his shot and then 15% two hours after his shot. I repeat this process again in the evening. All of his food is 4% carb or lower. While I know your cat isn't receiving insulin, it may be best to spread the meals out. It helps to feed them more smaller meals throughout the day that just twice a day. Not only can it potentially help with maintaining the bg with fewer spikes that are more controlled, it also helps their pancreas.

Edited to add: My cat weighs 22 pounds and eats 400 calories per day. 400 calories are divided up throughout the day the way I show above.

One can of FF that has 98 calories divided by 3 is 32.6 calories.

I worded this kind of confusing and wanted to explain.
 
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A good rule of thumb is 20x ideal weight. Example
If she should be 14 pounds, he needs to get about 280 calories a day.
Most of us feed the bigger meal first thing in the AM after testing the BG then smaller meals like 2 teaspoons @+2 and @+4
I don't know anything about Bexacat
 
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My 17# gets 145g twice daily, my 10# gets 75g twice daily and my other 10# get90g twice daily. My 9# cat in remission gets 56g twice dail and my 10# nin remission gets 62g twice daily. The food is canned Friskies and FF pate. The amount is basted on them maintaining the the right body weight.
 
Basic's Mom said:
It truly depends on your cat's weight too. Most ff isn't more than 100 calories. A can split between 3 cats isn't a lot even if you added another can, that's still only 66 calories per cat and that's only if you have a can that is closer to 100 calories than it is 60.

I think someone has given you the link to the food chart. If not, let me know.

I didn't realize how important calories were until my cat became very ill because he wasn't able to consume enough calories. Now, not only for watching his weight, but I track them to make sure he is getting enough.

My last vet wasn't great, but I have an appointment with a new vet and I know they will want him on a diet. It is best to have your cat monitored by a vet though because cats losing weight quickly is also very dangerous.

I feed my cat half of his calories in the morning with 20% of his calories given after his shot. Then, I give him another 15% an hour after his shot and then 15% two hours after his shot. I repeat this process again in the evening. All of his food is 4% carb or lower. While I know your cat isn't receiving insulin, it may be best to spread the meals out. It helps to feed them more smaller meals throughout the day that just twice a day. Not only can it potentially help with maintaining the bg with fewer spikes that are more controlled, it also helps their pancreas.

Edited to add: My cat weighs 22 pounds and eats 400 calories per day. 400 calories are divided up throughout the day the way I show above.

One can of FF that has 98 calories divided by 3 is 32.6 calories.

I worded this kind of confusing and wanted to explain.
Click to expand...
My diabetic cat is 15lbs and my other two cats are a little less. I’m more lenient with their feeding . Thank you for the info
 
Smrbrz01 said:
Hello,
Do y’all mind sharing your cats eating schedule and how much they eat in a day.
My newly diagnosed cat just started taking bexacat and I wanna make sure I’m not feeding her too little or too much. ( I know every cat is different) I usually feed my cat 1 fancy feast in the morning (1can divided among 3 cats) or sometimes 2 cans ( divided among 3 cats) since the cans are pretty small. And I’ll give them 1 snack during the day. Any tips are welcome!!
Click to expand...
Hi, I've just reread this. Are you saying that you're only giving three cats 1-2 cans of fancy feast split three ways? You don't mean 1-2 cans each? One can of fancy feast divided three ways is like nothing. I don't mean to sound harsh, but that's a dangerously low amount of food if that's all they're getting for the entire day. Please talk to your vet if that's what you're doing, and up their food intake ASAP.
 
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While it will be interesting to see your cat's progress on the bexacat. I am hopeful you are heeding all the warning and precautions you need to take for your cat that our mods have provided you with. One of the key causes of ketones is not enough calories. Another is not enough insulin. Right now, I'm concerned about your cat, if the daily caloric intake for your cats you described above is correct and having the knowledge that no additional insulin is onboard. Have you picked up ketostixs or a ketone glucose meter yet?

When you have a moment, you should really put the pertinent information in your signature so the people your asking to help you will have that information instead of trying to search through all of your post to see what has or hasn't been explained to you.

Let me know if you need help setting it up.

Thanks in advance for your cooperation.
 
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