Feeding schedule

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terriy

terriy

Member Since 2011
I need help with a feeding schedule for my sugar kitty. Every twelve hours (at 3:30am & 3:30pm) I test her first then feed her 3oz of fancy feast and when she is finished eating I give her the injection. Well here is the problem - 12 hours between feedings is to long for her to wait and eat - she has started throwing up stomach acid. She has acid reflux! The only thing I can do to stop that is a snack between meals. It would be no problem if she were not diabetic! Is there any "good" snack? Any advise will be appreciated! dancing_cat
 
Multiple small meals daily is best for diabetics :smile: It helps prevent the blood gluocse levels from swinging all over the place, IMO. You can free feed the Fancy Feast or any other low carb canned food. Many people here use a programmable timed feeder for this purpose. You fill the feeder sections with food and set the times when you want your cat to have access to the food. Canned food is ok if left out all day. If you are concerned, you can freeze canned food into chunks first and put the frozen chunks into the feeder. The frozen food will slowly defrost. IMO, use food straight from the can for the first meal or two and frozen food for the later meals. That way the frozen food has time to defrost and be eatable.

The PetSafe 5 compartment feeder is a popular one. https://www.petsafe.net/products/feeders-and-waterers/feeding-systems/5-meal-timed-pet-feeder There are other brands, such as Catmate.
 
I have the PetSafe feeder mentioned. I feed Hobbs when I get up ~ 5AM and when I get home ~ 5PM. In between he gets fed around 11AM and 11PM by the feeder. I put frozen wet food in his feeder before I leave for work and then regular refrigerated food in it before I go to bed (it's not in there more than a couple of hours). Each feeding is 1/2 a regular 2x day feeding (So 1.5 oz in your case). It's really helped him not be so damn hungry in between.

As for snacks, or treats, I give Pure Bites which are freeze dried chicken and turkey (I think they may have other flavors too). You can get them at pet stores (I think both Petsmart and Petco have them) in cat size bites/bags or dog sized bites/bags. The only ingredient is the meat so it's no different than giving them a piece of meat you cooked yourself.
 
I'm glad that I asked the experts because for some reason I thought that she was not to have any food in between meals! Im not sure how one of the auto feeders will work for me because I have another cat who is not diabetic and also a dog. They all live indoors together. Thanks for all the help I really appreciate it! :YMHUG:
 
I had the same problem with my cat. I feed her wet food only in the morning (6am) then 1/4 cup of dry food around 11am, a little over a 1/2 cup of dry food at 6pm and 1/4 cup of dry food at 11pm. My vet said that this was okay, but ofcourse it varies from cat to cat how much to feed them according to their weight, but this schedule works out best for her because she is always hungry in between meals! Hope this helps.
 
Kdd921 said:
I had the same problem with my cat. I feed her wet food only in the morning (6am) then 1/4 cup of dry food around 11am, a little over a 1/2 cup of dry food at 6pm and 1/4 cup of dry food at 11pm. My vet said that this was okay, but ofcourse it varies from cat to cat how much to feed them according to their weight, but this schedule works out best for her because she is always hungry in between meals! Hope this helps.
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We do NOT recommend dry food as it is generally very high in carbohydrates, PLUS, per Dr Pierson of Cat Info, it is a water-depleted diet and the cat does NOT drink enough to compensate. This puts a strain on the kidneys, which may damage them over time.
 
I'm dealing with a diabetic kitten that requires twice as much food as an adult cat, so if I fed him only twice a day, his food spikes would be off the charts! From a few things I've read about feline diabetes and learned observationally from my kitten, it's best to feed them as they need it.

Some things to be aware of:
  • An unregulated cat is basically starving since its body can't process glucose properly. Once they're regulated, this should help diminish their appetite a bit.
  • Cats don't really have a "thirst" mechanism and, as we all know, diabetic cats are prone to excess water intake. So a lot of the time, they're not really hungry; just thirsty. One way to help maintain a good daily caloric balance if you stretch out their meals across the day (as suggested above), is to ADD MORE WATER to their food. (As also previously mentioned, you should be feeding low carb, wet food, only.) This will help satiate thirst, thereby reducing "hunger" cravings and it'll also help reduce the impact of food spikes on BG levels.
But, remember, every cat is different so YMMV. :mrgreen:
 
I have only fed Fancy Feast Classic chicken or turkey for the past year. I ALWAYS add a few spoonfuls of water when I break it up. Its more like soup. I never feed any dry food anymore. One question - how long after she eats can I get a true reading and not one that is higher because of food?
 
terriy said:
I have only fed Fancy Feast Classic chicken or turkey for the past year. I ALWAYS add a few spoonfuls of water when I break it up. Its more like soup. I never feed any dry food anymore. One question - how long after she eats can I get a true reading and not one that is higher because of food?
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Great that you've ditched the dry food! :thumbup Any dry food (even the lower carb) can present trouble with regulation. Adding water to the food is a great way to keep your cat hydrated, since many cats will not drink from their water dish until they are dehydrated already.

Food usually will show up in readings 1-2 hours after eating, and how long it influences BG depends on the cat's metabolism. A healthy cat will metabolize food within 2 hours (meaning you'll see blood glucose (BG) lower again 3-4 hours after eating). A cat with a lower metabolism for whatever reason (obesity, older age, illness, etc.) may take longer to metabolize the food.

Remember, though, that a diabetic cat's pancreas is either not producing enough or any insulin to lower BG, which is why it needs insulin to lower BG for it. How long it takes for your cat's BG to return to baseline depends on the type insulin that you're using (different insulins have different duration of action in cats), and the cat's metabolism.
 
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