? Help! New and have a starving cat

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MiloC

MiloC

Member Since 2024
My 8 yo cat Milo was diagnosed about a month ago. He’s currently on 1.5 units of prozinc 2x a day. His AlphaTrak 3 numbers have mostly been mid 300’s to high 400’s, so not good (sorry I haven’t figured out all the abbreviations and spreadsheets—I’m totally overwhelmed) I am currently feeding him 3/4 can of Blue Buffalo flaked chicken 2x a day, followed by his insulin.
He literally spends his day crying and acting like he’s starving. He’s taken to jumping on counters and spends his day looking for food. He’s brazen enough to attempt approach the stove when I’m cooking, even! He’s just so desperate and it breaks my heart—not to mention his constant mewing is making me insane. When he gets fed it’s like he’s never eaten before, he’s so desperate.
What am I doing wrong or missing? I’m going to call the vet tomorrow but thought I’d also ask here. Sorry if this question has been already asked a million times. Like I said, totally overwhelmed.
 
MiloC said:
My 8 yo cat Milo was diagnosed about a month ago. He’s currently on 1.5 units of prozinc 2x a day. His AlphaTrak 3 numbers have mostly been mid 300’s to high 400’s, so not good (sorry I haven’t figured out all the abbreviations and spreadsheets—I’m totally overwhelmed) I am currently feeding him 3/4 can of Blue Buffalo flaked chicken 2x a day, followed by his insulin.
He literally spends his day crying and acting like he’s starving. He’s taken to jumping on counters and spends his day looking for food. He’s brazen enough to attempt approach the stove when I’m cooking, even! He’s just so desperate and it breaks my heart—not to mention his constant mewing is making me insane. When he gets fed it’s like he’s never eaten before, he’s so desperate.
What am I doing wrong or missing? I’m going to call the vet tomorrow but thought I’d also ask here. Sorry if this question has been already asked a million times. Like I said, totally overwhelmed.
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@Suzanne & Darcy
@Wendy&Neko
@Sienne and Gabby (GA)
 
It's not uncommon for unregulated cats to be "starving". I suspect he needs an insulin increase. But it's hard to say for sure without seeing some blood sugar data. Do you need some help getting a spreadsheet set up? We have people here who can help with that.

Is he gaining or losing weight?

Are you just feeding him two meals a day? If so, it might help to spread his feeding out and give him smaller meals more often. Do you notice him being more demanding for food at particular times of the day?
 
he weighs just over 7 pounds and he used to weigh almost 20 pounds. he’s pretty much demanding of food all day, long and pretty much makes it seem like it’s his life’s submission to find something to eat at all times

Date Time Reading
3/9/24 7:00 AM 3/4 can Blue Buffalo & insulin
7:05 AM 389
9:05 AM 425
11:07 AM 388
1:10 PM 311
3:10 PM 333
5:30 PM 352
7:00 PM Fed and insulin
7:30 PM 397
9:20 PM 255
3/10/24 7:30 AM 368
Fed & insulin
9:30 AM 374
12:00 PM 333
2:00 PM 266
4:00 PM 311
6:00 PM 368
7:00 Fed & insulin
8:00 PM 392

And then
3/16/24 1 hour AM 352
2 hours AM 268
1 hour PM 594
2 hours PM 386
3/17/24 1 hour AM 482
2 hours AM 355
375 before feeding
1 hour PM
 
MiloC said:
My 8 yo cat Milo was diagnosed about a month ago. He’s currently on 1.5 units of prozinc 2x a day. His AlphaTrak 3 numbers have mostly been mid 300’s to high 400’s, so not good (sorry I haven’t figured out all the abbreviations and spreadsheets—I’m totally overwhelmed) I am currently feeding him 3/4 can of Blue Buffalo flaked chicken 2x a day, followed by his insulin.
He literally spends his day crying and acting like he’s starving. He’s taken to jumping on counters and spends his day looking for food. He’s brazen enough to attempt approach the stove when I’m cooking, even! He’s just so desperate and it breaks my heart—not to mention his constant mewing is making me insane. When he gets fed it’s like he’s never eaten before, he’s so desperate.
What am I doing wrong or missing? I’m going to call the vet tomorrow but thought I’d also ask here. Sorry if this question has been already asked a million times. Like I said, totally overwhelmed.
Click to expand...

Hi!
I'm not an expert here, but if it helps, my boy used to weigh 16 pounds before being diagnosed, and he also lost a lot of weight; he used to be around 7 pounds.
I also think you should feed him more food as much as he can handle (since there are many kittens that vomit if they eat too much) until he is regulated and also give him small meals throughout the day.
I'm currently feeding my boy every 2-3 hours and I give him bigger meals at insulin time.
I feed him 2 cans of 5.5 oz + boiled chicken as treats:rolleyes:
 
Diabetic cats are literally starving all the time until their blood glucose is better regulated. Glucose is the end product of food being metabolized -- whatever your cat (or we) eat, is converted to glucose. Insulin transports the glucose into the cells for energy. In diabetes, there isn't enough (or any) insulin being produced so the glucose floats around in the blood and doesn't get into the cells. The result is weight loss. The lack of insulin is made up for by giving insulin injections. As you adjust insulin dose and your cat is in better numbers, his appetite will decrease. For now, I would increase the amount of food you're giving your cat.
 
Hey. My cat was also a tank (Maine Coon X) who lost a ton of weight before he was diagnosed. Hang in there. My guy went from an easy 15 lbs, down to 8, and is now up to almost ten and healthy. Suggested above was feeding smaller meals more frequently, which has helped me tremendously. He can’t help that he feels like he’s starving, but I’ve also noticed a decrease in some of the behaviour now that we are consistent with his feeding. He knows begging won’t get him food on demand. And it sounds like your guy needs extra, but I guess my suggestion is just to stick to your guns. Feed him when it’s time to, in whatever amount is appropriate, but when I caved and fed Loki purely because he was acting extra, he acted extra more. Lol. Hope this helps.
 
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