How long leave food out?

[Misterbeesmom]

We're not new to diabetes but we are new to scheduled meals. Mr b was always a grazer but new vet says dont do that.

He never eats up all at once what i put out, though its a small portion. How soon do i have to pull that food in order to help control BG? This insulin nadir supposed to be around +6. Pull food at +3?

Thansk

 

[Kris & Teasel]

Unfortunately, I can't help, Jen. Mine are all trained to eat in different rooms at scheduled times - AM/lunch/PM and for Teasel, bedtime. They eat different food. They each finish a meal in 15-20 minutes max.

 

[Sharon14]

Not sure either, but you want to make sure he gets enough calories/day.

 

[Noah & me (GA)]

Lucky for you there aren't nine cats in the house. With our first diabetic Nigel feeding time looked like an orphanage from a bad horror movie and poor Nigel was going straight downhill. That's when our vet said break all the rules, free feed all nine and feed Nigel whatever he wants whenever he wanted. We made that work by putting out wet food only pre-shot, if you can call that "making it work". He went straight back to a normal weight with textbook curves. Then again Nigel loved the car, dogs, and pranced around the vet's office "Look at me everyone!". We should all be so lucky. What's the number one motivator to get you out of a hospital? Bad food on a strict schedule!

 

[Donna and Flame]

I free feed, always have. Both of my cats were grazers not gobblers. Flame nibbles throughout the day. When I leave him in the AM and go to work, I want to make sure he has access to food if he needs it. His numbers are high right now, but eventually, when they start to come down I need to know that if he starts to drop, he'll have access to food whenever he needs it. He gets 2 meals a day - one in the AM at shot time and one in the PM at shot time and he nibbles.
The best thing to do is to give small meals throughout the day, but unfortunately, I'm not home to do that so I leave food out for him.

 

[Noah & me (GA)]

I free feed, always have.

Did you take any heat for that? We could either watch Nigel wither away or break all the rules and now the same thing is happening with Noah. I don't mean for "Newbies" to be an insult but this is not something to be taken lightly so if anyone else wants to break the rules talk to your vet first and really think hard about it. I'm not a vet or an expert, we just got lucky.

 

[Lisa and Smoky]

Did you try an automatic pet feeder?
I bought one for Smoky and it has been a lifesaver for me. A little bit of irony, my roommates two civvies are afraid of the feeder and won't go near it. I don't know how that wld work for you though with more than one cat.
Wow! He was OTJ for 6 years and now back on the juice again.

 

[Donna and Flame]

Did you take any heat for that?

No, and I can't imagine why I would. I've been away from the board for 8 years while Flame was at the Falls (OTJ) and only back since Dec. so sometimes I feel like a newbie all over again!!