Food questions

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Jakesmama

Member Since 2014
Ive downloaded the recommended food charts for future shopping trips. I understand the high protein/ low carb ratio, but unsure about the fat part. If the chart has fat numbers that are equal to, or greater than the protein numbers, is this ok or is it bad?
I will be switching Jake to a canned food only diet very soon.

Thanks! flip_cat
 
One thing to keep in mind is that the Merricks values are no longer valid...they changed their food last year and quite a few (including cowboy cookout) are no longer good foods for diabetic cats.
 
Well, I tried a canned food only diet, but Jake gets hungry during the day. He's an 18 lb cat. Here's the question:
With all of these new "grain, soy & gluten free" dry foods, which contain fruits & veggies, pea starch, & sweet potato, ( Blue Buffalo, Wellness) I'd like to know if it's ok to give Jake a little to munch on in between breakfast and dinner. Once I start working again I won't be able to feed him more than twice a day. I know cats don't need anything but meat, but I can't locate a meat only dry food.

Opinions?
 
It would be healthier for him if you let him graze on wet low carb rather than dry between meals. Some people here freeze the wet food and leave it out for the cat to eat as it thaws. You can also get an automatic feeder that will dispense the wet food several times a day.

New diabetics are often literally starving when they are unregulated so he may need more food than usual. His body isn't utilizing the food efficiently while his levels are high.
 
He isn't a new diabetic, but his glucose levels haven't really dropped. I'll look into the auto feeder. Thx!
 
I have to give Tink 4 meals a day (all canned, and he was a MAJOR dry food junkie before his diagnosis). I do this with the help of a timed feeder. He eats in the morning when I get up, I put a meal in the timed feeder to open in 5 hours, I feed when I get home in the late afternoon, and again before I go to bed.

I had to get the PetSafe5 because the cheaper, two-compartment one was definitely NOT well-designed. It only took a week or so before he learned to pry it open.

Feeding 4 meals keeps him more satisfied and also REALLY helped get his numbers in check. He actually went OTJ in just a couple weeks and stayed that way for 6mo. We're back on insulin currently, trying to figure things out.
 
I wound up buying mine through Petco - using the online price (which was on sale for I THINK $55). I had bought the little two-compartment one there... so returned it and paid the difference - which made it feel like less of a hit on the pocketbook. :)

Even at full price though - it's SO worth it. You can put up to 4 meals in it (plus the current meal, which is available right now) and set it (digitally) to open whenever you want. Of course if feeding canned food, I'd suggest freezing the "for later" portions. It doesn't get super hot here, so I dont worry about his 11am feeding staying cold, though I might throw an ice cube or two in there at the peak of summer. It's easy to operate with one hand, yet impossible for kitty to figure out as it opens from a spot down by the floor, not up by the dish. It's also quite heavy, so they can't push it around. You wouldn't believe how far my smaller one would travel in a day! :lol:
 
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