Food

[ErinCarpenter]

I have a newly diagnosed cat, Eddie, and have been doing research like a mad woman. Eddie is currently on Glipizide (which I am discussing with our Dr tomorrow after hearing on this site that this is not a proper treament method) and a low fat/low carb food, W/D. But i have been reading about how bad this food is and that he should not have dry food anymore. This really concerns me. I really don't know how to wean Eddie off of the dry food. He has been a dry food grazer all of his 10 years and he does not really know any other way. What do some of your feeding schedules look like? Times, amounts, brands/types of food?

 

[Hillary & Maui (GA)]

read dr. lisa's site on transitioning from dry to wet: www.catinfo.org

she has several ideas on how to do it.

now some cats will immediately take to eatieng wet food and others like my maui had to be taught.

i literally spoon fed her and yes it was messy for several days until she took the first lick on her own. once she did that there was no looking back.

many here feed several small meals throughout the day. since my cats are accustomed to grazing. i continued that process and feed fresh food twice a day. i add lots of water to the food, to keep it moist longer and ensure they get plenty of water in their system. by lots of water, i use one can of food and one can of water.

when maui started this process, she could eat 2-3 cans of fancy feast at one time. as she was starving, i would feed her as much as she needed. over time she started eating less and today eats a normal amount.

hope this helps.

 

[Barn Cats R Us]

Hi Erin,

What do some of your feeding schedules look like? Times, amounts, brands/types of food?

Clark and Marilyn both eat 3 times per day; approximately 8 hours between each meal. However, they are no longer on insulin (knock wood) which makes a difference in Marilyn's case, but not Clark's.

Examples:
Clark: 1/2 can (of a 5.5 oz can) of Friskie's Pate TID (= three times per day)
Marilyn: 5/16 can (of a 5.5 oz can) of Friskie's Pate TID

When Marilyn was on insulin, she ate approximately 1/4 can of Friskies Pate 4 to 6 times per day...depending on the daily circumstances. They are both off of insulin (OTJ) now, and strictly diet controlled, which was accomplished by insulin therapy, and feeding low carb wet/pate food. As you can see, how much to feed depends on the cat, since every cat is different (ECID). What brand to feed depends on your budget, and the cat, as long as it is low carb. For instance, Fancy Feast Classic Pate (3 oz), is more expensive to feed than Friskies Pate (5.5 oz)...but FF is a higher quality food...which my cats don't like. How often to feed, also depends on the cat, and possibly what insulin you choose to use ("shed" or no "shed").

I hope that wasn't too confusing. I think I confused myself a little. This is why you'll see the term "ECID" a million times around this neck of the woods!

By the way, both Marilyn and Clark ate dry food only, before their FD diagnosis. After finding this site, soaking up tons of info, and asking a million questions (answered by the fine folks here) every cat in the house is now eating LC canned food...diabetic, or not.

Good luck to you guys!

Deb

 

[squeem3]

Use these charts/lists to find suitable low carb canned foods:

Binky's canned food charts
Pet Food Nutritional Values list
Hobo's Guide To Nutritional Values
Dr. Lynne's Wet Food list
List of low carb gluten free Fancy Feast

On Binky's charts, stick with foods that have a number 10 or less in the carbs colum. On the Pet Food Nutritional Values Chart and Hobo's Guide, look at the %kcal from carbs column and choose foods that have a number 10 or less.

Popular brands includ Fancy Feast, Friskies, Wellness, Nature's Variety Instinct, Merrick, and Special Kitty. There is no one brand that is "better" than another. Feed your cat whatever brand he likes to eat, you can afford, and can find in the local stores.

Some people feed raw food instead of or in addition to canned food. Homemade raw pet food is popular as are commerical brands of raw pet food.

For your dry food addict, you could start the diet transition by using Stella and Chewy's freeze dried raw food. It's 100% complete and is in crunchy kibble-like pieces. The company highly recommends that it the food be rehydrated in water before serving but you could temporarily feed it as is to your dry food addict while you try to get your cat used to eating rehydrated food on the side and/or canned food. Freeze dried raw is a lot healthier for your cat than any regular dry food, IMO.

Every cat is different so the food amounts one member feeds may not work for your cat. Most diabetics do best with small frequent meals daily. I used to feed my diabetic about 1/4 of a 5 oz can 5 times a day, using a programmable timed feeder during the day while I was at work. I fed mostly Nature's Variety Instinct and Innova EVO with a couple other brands rotated in.