Food & Feeding Question...

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Amy & Revson

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Revson & I are new here too. Actually he is still at the vet's with an IV hanging, but looked much better today.

So, my question is this. He used to have access to dry food 24/7. He started getting wet food (in addition to the dry) about 2 weeks ago when he lost significant weight - originally it was thought his (bad!) teeth were the problem.

He is getting both diabetic dry food and wet food while at the vet's. My ex has no interest in feeding only wet when he comes home, but I will be able to transition him to that in a few weeks.

The question I have, is about control. Will we need to limit how much food he (and another cat) have access to? They currently share...

Thanks in advance for all of the help.
Amy
 
Unless the cat is gaining weight and you do not want a weight gain, do not restrict food. It is best, as you plan, to go to all canned.
 
Hi Amy! Welcome!

Dry food is not good for diabetic cats, even the prescription. You will need to limit him from getting any dry food at all. It's much easier just to switch both of the cats to canned food.

You don't need to buy the prescription diabetic food. Most of them actually aren't good for diabetics, and the ingredients are very poor. You can get a much cheaper commercial food that will be better to feed. Many people here feed the low-carb, grain free flavors of fancy feast: http://felinediabetes.com/glutenfree.htm, but there are flavors of Friskies, Special Kitty, Wellness, etc., that are low carb and good for diabetics. Here's a link to the cat food nutrition charts: http://felinediabetes.com/diabetic-cat-diets.htm. You want to pick a food that's under 10% carbs, preferably one that's below 8%.

Once you find an affordable low carb food, you can get rid of the dry for both cats. Most cats naturally lose weight once the dry food is gone--it's like if you switched an obese child's food from all McDonalds to all healthy foods. If you want your cat to lose weight, controlled feedings are better. Cats do very well with multiple small meals throughout the day. However, you want to get Revson's diabetes under control before you worry about weight loss. Let him eat as much as he wants until his blood sugar levels are in a good range, and then you can start adjusting food for weight loss. Chances are he'll have dropped some weight by then anyway.

Apart from diet, the most important thing you can do for your cat is hometest. It is the only way to safely adjust insulin doses, and treatment without daily testing is a guessing game that can be very dangerous for your cat. You mentioned that Revson is hosptialized right now--is this because of Diabetic Ketoacidosis? If so, it's especially important that you're hometesting and aggressive about bringing his blood sugar down quickly. It seems hard at first, but the large majority of cats don't mind it at all after a few weeks. You can get an inexpensive human meter and strips at Walmart or a local drug store.

What kind of insulin is he being given? You want to make sure the vet prescribes a slow acting insulin like Lantus, Levemir, or Prozinc. The first two insulins have an 80+% remission rate for newly diagnosed cats.

This is a wonderful place to learn and get advice when you're starting out. Please post back with any and all questions!
 
Amy
Please let your ex know that dry food and no wet is going to be counterproductive. He may have no interest in dealing with cans when he gets home, but hopefully does have interest in getting kitty better. I think you said he is diabetic? Ask him if he be interested in having a diet consisting of sweet tea, fruit loops and hershey bars?
Carl
 
Thanks for all of your help. I'm grateful my vet sent me here!

John will feel the mousers wet food, but as a supplement. He's grossed out by the whole smelly/jelly thing.
Revson has lost so much weight that any gain will be good for him so I'm not worried about that at the moment.
I've looked over the cat food list and will head to the store tomorrow before he gets home.

What should I have on hand for emergencies?

Yes, he has DKA. I'm not sure what insulin they are using in the IV, but they are going to use Lantus for injections.
I'm familiar with testing in people, so I'm not too scared about poking Revson.
He's always been an easy cat, even at the vet, he purrs like crazy.

I'm going to order the newbie kit someone told me about last night.

Amy
 
Newbie kits. That would be lori. There's a sticky thread on the index page. Also a sticky for " how to treat hypos" that will tell you what to have in case of emergencies.
carl
 
Lantus is a wonderful insulin that works well with cats. Are they also sending you home with Humulin R? That's a short acting insulin that can be used in conjunction with Lantus for DKA kitties.

When you get a chance, check out the Lantus forum: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewforum.php?f=9. The stickies there have a wealth of knowledge about the insulin you're using. Once you're testing and set up a spreadsheet, you can also post there for dosing advice. DKA cats need aggressive adjustments and there are many experienced people that have experience with this that can help you. Especially if you are also sent home with the R.

It's great that you're going to be home testing right away. Frequent testing is really the best way to get your kitty better as quickly as possible, just like people do.

For hypos, see this thread: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=15887

Apart from hypo supplies, you'll want extra test strips, low carb treats (PetSmart has freeze dried chicken and salmon treats in the treat section), and I believe the rest of your testing supplies will be in the newbie kit. Lori should see this thread soon, and she can let you know what type of meter you'll be getting so that you know what strips to get.
 
Amy & Revson said:
What should I have on hand for emergencies?
Click to expand...

Hypo toolbox kit: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2354

Extra test strips (check stock regularly so you don't have expired ones), ketostix or ketodiastix if yoru cat is ketone-prone (check stock regularly as well), oral syringes for giving water/corn syrup/meds/etc (vet can give you a few. 1 ml or 3 ml are ideal).

A pet first aid kit for general health issues and emergencies. You can buy one from the pet store or make your own kit. Here's a list of supplies to have in the kit: http://www.avma.org/firstaid/supplies.asp


Amy & Revson said:
The question I have, is about control. Will we need to limit how much food he (and another cat) have access to? They currently share...
Click to expand...

Your diabetic will always be hungry because of the unregulated blood glucose levels. The excessive hunger will go away once the blood glucose levels are more normal. You can feed him small frequent meals. Most people use a programmable timed feeder to do this. You can try two timed feeders so that both cats will have access to food.
 
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