Food/Treat questions

[Jswick8991]

Hey all,
Just wanted to see who had some good treat recommendations for miss holley? She's not picky at all. I did get a few ideas but wanted to see what else everyone feeds. Also, what are your thoughts on potentially starting to feed a 0 carb food and see if i can almost eliminate the insulin or get to a drop dose maybe?
And thoughts on an auto wet food feeder since i work a lot. I do have a camera in my room so i can get eyes on her at all times.

 

[squeem3]

Freeze dried treats are good Here's a somewhat old list to start with: List of Low carb healthy treats Air dried raw and freeze dried raw (the nugget shaped ones, not the patties) are also good.

Any brand that is just 100% meat or fish is good. Tip: look in the dog treat section for treats. The dog treat bag is bigger and you just break up the treats into cat sized pieces. You get like 4 times the amount of treats for not much more than what a tiny cat sized bag costs. Avoid the treats that are jerky-like. Those are too difficult for a cat to eat.

Popular brands: Northwest Naturals, Pure Bites, Stella and Chewy's, Vital Essentials, Halo.

Plain cooked chicken and other meats are also good. Some cats will eat raw meat and organs.

There's a review of the Pet Libro feeder here: https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/thr...libro-polar-wet-food-feeder-read-this.302714/

I use the Petsafe 5 compartment feeder. It's pretty basic. It doesn't have any cooling feature but I don't need it. My cat literally sits in front of the feeder all day and eats as soon as the tray rotates so nothing ever goes bad You can freeze canned food into serving sized pieces first and then put the frozen piece into the feeder to slowly defrost. I suggest having the first available meal straight from the can so your cat isn't frustrated with a still frozen block of food and decides it makes a nice hockey puck toy to push around the house.

 

[CORKY]

Welcome to FDMB
Since a diabetic cats need to have a diet of wet can or raw food between 0-10% carb s, most members feed Fancy Feast Pates or Friskies most feed up to 5%,
but any brand as long as is 0-10% carbs are good, one of the reason most members in US feed FF is because is se it is regulated and no waste goes into the food ; below is a Drs approved food list, the third column contains the % of carbs for each food, there are many brands to choose from

https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

 

[Jswick8991]

Welcome to FDMB
Since a diabetic cats need to have a diet of wet can or raw food between 0-10% carb s, most members feed Fancy Feast Pates or Friskies most feed up to 5%,
but any brand as long as is 0-10% carbs are good, one of the reason most members in US feed FF is because is se it is regulated and no waste goes into the food ; below is a Drs approved food list, the third column contains the % of carbs for each food, there are many brands to choose from

https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

I feed 3 % FF pate. Just wasnt sure if doing a 0% might be better to keep her down since all she does is bounce high.

 

[Jswick8991]

Freeze dried treats are good Here's a somewhat old list to start with: List of Low carb healthy treats Air dried raw and freeze dried raw (the nugget shaped ones, not the patties) are also good.

Any brand that is just 100% meat or fish is good. Tip: look in the dog treat section for treats. The dog treat bag is bigger and you just break up the treats into cat sized pieces. You get like 4 times the amount of treats for not much more than what a tiny cat sized bag costs. Avoid the treats that are jerky-like. Those are too difficult for a cat to eat.

Popular brands: Northwest Naturals, Pure Bites, Stella and Chewy's, Vital Essentials, Halo.

Plain cooked chicken and other meats are also good. Some cats will eat raw meat and organs.

There's a review of the Pet Libro feeder here: https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/thr...libro-polar-wet-food-feeder-read-this.302714/

I use the Petsafe 5 compartment feeder. It's pretty basic. It doesn't have any cooling feature but I don't need it. My cat literally sits in front of the feeder all day and eats as soon as the tray rotates so nothing ever goes bad You can freeze canned food into serving sized pieces first and then put the frozen piece into the feeder to slowly defrost. I suggest having the first available meal straight from the can so your cat isn't frustrated with a still frozen block of food and decides it makes a nice hockey puck toy to push around the house.

Thank you!!

 

[Christie & Maverick]

I already gave you some of my suggestions on treats over on LLB subforum, so I won’t repeat. As for your question regarding carbs, some cats actually do better when fed a bit higher LC, just depends on the cat. Might be worth experimenting to see what works best for Holley.

Feeding Lowest/Zero Carb vs Lower Carb Foods

 

[Jswick8991]

I already gave you some of my suggestions on treats over on LLB subforum, so I won’t repeat. As for your question regarding carbs, some cats actually do better when fed a bit higher LC, just depends on the cat. Might be worth experimenting to see what works best for Holley.

Feeding Lowest/Zero Carb vs Lower Carb Foods

Yes you did! just looking to see what else there is. I did order some stella & chewys already thank youuuu
I do know i had given her one flavor that was 2% and that was the night she dropped quick into the 60s on 0.5. Ive since lowered her to 0.25.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Feeding a zero carb food in all likelihood will not eliminate bounces. The bouncing is a normal response to lower numbers and will diminish as Holley's system gets more accustomed to being in lower/normal numbers.

Also, I'd encourage you to review the TR dosing information. You don't reduce the dose unless numbers fall below 50. You've taken some reductions that aren't indicated. I know it's hard to get used to dealing with lower numbers.

If it's not too much trouble, rather than have how long Holley's been diagnosed, could you put the date of diagnosis in your signature? Otherwise, you're going to have to keep editing the diagnosis information.

 

[Christie & Maverick]

Yes you did! just looking to see what else there is. I did order some stella & chewys already thank youuuu
I do know i had given her one flavor that was 2% and that was the night she dropped quick into the 60s on 0.5. Ive since lowered her to 0.25.

You’re welcome! Depending on how much you give of the Stella & Chewy, you may find Holley will prefer a bit of added water to the pieces. I forgot also Nutri-bites, which are freeze dried; good for both dogs and cats, I bought them mostly for my pup. I get those at Costco, but they are made in Canada so not sure if available in the US.

 

[Jswick8991]

Feeding a zero carb food in all likelihood will not eliminate bounces. The bouncing is a normal response to lower numbers and will diminish as Holley's system gets more accustomed to being in lower/normal numbers.

Also, I'd encourage you to review the TR dosing information. You don't reduce the dose unless numbers fall below 50. You've taken some reductions that aren't indicated. I know it's hard to get used to dealing with lower numbers.

If it's not too much trouble, rather than have how long Holley's been diagnosed, could you put the date of diagnosis in your signature? Otherwise, you're going to have to keep editing the diagnosis information.

She was 10 weeks old when diagnosed. I dont have a date. Only reason i ended up decreasing her dose is because she would have ended up way lower than 50 if she wasnt steered back up with HC food. Im not home often and cannot risk her going hypo and me not being there to assist in steering her drop. Ive been lucky and have been able to pay people to go take readings on her the past 2 weeks. But long term i cannot afford to keep paying people to check her multiple times a day.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

I misread what you meant by "10 weeks". That's incredibly young for a diabetes diagnosis.

You know your cat and your schedule. Have you considered a timed feeder since you're not at home to check on Holley?

 

[Jswick8991]

I misread what you meant by "10 weeks". That's incredibly young for a diabetes diagnosis.

You know your cat and your schedule. Have you considered a timed feeder since you're not at home to check on Holley?

Yeah, that was one of my questions in this post. I’m looking into getting one now.

 

[CORKY]

Here’s a couple of examples of feeders

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

There are feeders that have space for an ice pack. That would allow you to leave low carb, canned food out and not worry about it spoiling.