How to get my cat to eat. Please advise

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luz

luz

Member Since 2016
My cat Junior decided that he doesnt want to transition to wet food. I am really struggling here. I guess i should start by saying that he was diagnose with diabetes on 11/25/16. I immediately changed his food to wet food low carb and the first few days were nice. Day one he ate 1 FF classic chicken (3 0z) can. I was like ok its his first day so this is ok. Day 2 he ate 2 (3 oz) FF can. day 3 1 and 1/2 can FF. Day 4 no food. Day 5 no food. Then i tried a few other brands. Weruva, Wellness grain free (which by the way i calculated the carb and its 14%) I tried Daves 95& protein. He would not even touch it.
At this point i went back to FF classic chicken and added Parmesan cheese on top and he would lick 3 times and walk away. I have tried Fortiflora and he will eat a bit more but not enough where I am ok with the number of calories he is consuming. The only thing that works a tiny bit is using fortiflora and adding a few wellness core grain free kibbles (6 to be exact) mixed it. The food is also warmed. I notice that if the food has sat out a bit he wont care for it.

So i would have to estimate that he is eating about 2 oz of FF classic and 6 wellness kibble in one day. I am concern about his weight dropping and possible complication from this. I am really at a lost here. Its quite funny that when i put the food out he runs for the bowl and licks it and thats it. I know its a transition and it will take time but what do i do in the time being. I know dry food is the worst thing for them but I orded Young again zero to mix those kibble in with wet food. Maybe 50% each to start beecause I just dont know waht to do. I really just need him to eat. I checked his weight and somehow he hasnt lost weight after stabilizing his glucose level with diet change. (he was 13 pounds for many years Then on 11/25 (diabetes diagnose) he was 11.5 then on 12/1 (consultation with vet about insulin) he was 10.5 at the point i had switched him to wet food and as of today he has been 10.8 pounds. Any help would be greatly appreciated. If you cant think of anything at least let me know how your transition from wet food to dry food was for you. THank you everyone
 
luz said:
So i would have to estimate that he is eating about 2 oz of FF classic and 6 wellness kibble in one day.
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That is not enough food. A rule of thumb is that an "average" (8 lb) cat should eat two, 3 oz FF cans a day. If not eating enough a cat can develop hepatic lipidosis.
http://www.petmd.com/cat/conditions/digestive/
If the BGs were higher then also develop DKA which is very bad.
Will junior eat enough dry?
It sounds like you switched cold turkey or did you slowly substitute canned for day?
http://catinfo.org/docs/TipsForTransitioning1-14-11.pdf
 
Yes I switched him cold turkey. First few days were good and then it went down hill. I think he will eat the dry food so thinking of doing 50:50. Wellness core grain free dry food// FF wet food classic. I thought u was doing something good and he would be hungry and eat but I was wrong. The boy good outcome is his not needed insulin. His bg was 500 and now it's around 107
 
luz said:
Yes I switched him cold turkey. First few days were good and then it went down hill. I think he will eat the dry food so thinking of doing 50:50. Wellness core grain free dry food// FF wet food classic. I thought u was doing something good and he would be hungry and eat but I was wrong. The boy good outcome is his not needed insulin. His bg was 500 and now it's around 107
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I know you're trying to get him regulated on low carb food alone. However, the longer he goes without eating, the greater the risk of other health problems like hepatic lipidosis. The less he eats the worse he probably feels. You might have to mix in some kibble (maybe quite a bit right now), get him eating again and then try phasing out the kibble more slowly. Keep testing his BG as you go along.
 
Hello! My cat was diagnosed end of October 2016, and at first my two cats were eating Fancy Feast and then one day, rather dramatically--they stopped. I had some luck with certain flavors of Wellness, but right now they are doing well on Nature's Variety Instincts--I serve the chicken, duck and beef varieties here.

As an alternative, so they don't get sick of eating one brand, I offer some Wild Calling varieties--they have unique names: Cowabunga, my guys like the Buffalo one. Also, salmon and duck.

Another trick I've come to rely on is sprinkling some sort of treat on top of their wet food--to get them going. Our Civvie cat likes Bonito tuna flakes crumbled on top, and Cliff likes the Whole Life cat treats crumbled on top--almost into a fine powder.

Best of luck!
 
Thank you ladies will try a mix of wet and dry tonight and report tomorrow
 
Another thing to consider -- if he is going up and showing interest, but not eating much, it could be a sign of nausea. The nausea could be caused from the food change or something else.

Hopefully he starts eating well again soon! :bighug:
 
@Pati can't believe it. lol. I wish I could just ask him what he wants. I am at work now but I am going to try mixing wet and dry food and monitoring his bg levels. I've try warming the food and also giving him food room temp and he just doesn't care. I know the quick diet change is a huge part of it.
 
With that amount of weight loss, I bet that there is some amount of ketosis happening that may contribute to poor appetite. Because his calorie intake is so low, blood sugars might be in normal range, but that could be an artificial low. Insulin is used by the body to help use energy and store fat, without enough, a lot of weight loss can happen, and this can lead to liver damage and DKA and can be very very serious.

For right now, I would give 100% dry food whatever he was eating prior to the switch, and restart the insulin if the blood sugars go up. I would also take to the vet if possible and make sure he's ok with no liver damage. Once he gets back to eating normally, -gradually- adjust insulin and food which will prevent the liver and ketone issues, and prevent the nausea from these.

DKA can develop when sugars are in the normal range if there is a calorie deficit.
 
His bg was 134. I feed him 1/2 can of FF and 1/8 cup of dry wellness core. That's 100 calories. Hopefully 2 meals a day. I am thinking 200 calories a day is ok for a cat that is 10.8 pounds. Ideal weight according to vet is 9 pounds. I mixed his food and he ate about half of what I put down. He doesn't eat in one sitting so I will know in a couple of hours if this will work or not. If not it may be 100% dry food for now with insulin.


I also coverers his litter with a trash bag and hopefully he pees so I can che k his ketone. Will human Urine strips be ok? Or do they have to be cat specific?

I appreciate everyone's comments and concerns.
 
I would like to report that junior ate all his food. Plate is empty!!! He kept going back to it every 15-20 mins and finished it completely. I'm so relieved he ate.

He was fed:::~110 calories

1.5 oz FF (45 calories)
1/8 cup wellness core dry Food (65) calories

His urine was negative for glucose n ketone.

I will be doing a bg at noon followed by same meal then bg at +3. I won't be able to get another reading because I'll be headed to work.

I had ordered some young again zero dry food a while ago n it's due to come in on Friday night. Wasn't sure if I should hold off on that food. I don't want to bombard him with many food changes because I finally got him to eat. How should I proceed with quantity of dry vs wet at this point?
 
luz said:
I would like to report that junior ate all his food. Plate is empty!!! He kept going back to it every 15-20 mins and finished it completely. I'm so relieved he ate.

He was fed:::~110 calories

1.5 oz FF (45 calories)
1/8 cup wellness core dry Food (65) calories

His urine was negative for glucose n ketone.

I will be doing a bg at noon followed by same meal then bg at +3. I won't be able to get another reading because I'll be headed to work.

I had ordered some young again zero dry food a while ago n it's due to come in on Friday night. Wasn't sure if I should hold off on that food. I don't want to bombard him with many food changes because I finally got him to eat. How should I proceed with quantity of dry vs wet at this point?
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Good news! For now you need to focus on getting him to eat well consistently. Whatever mix of wet and dry works is what to give him. He needs to get back in the habit of eating because cats can easily lose their appetite/become anorexic if they don't eat properly.
 
I agree with Kris; keep diet nice and consistent for the time being to allow Junior to stabilise his GI system and develop a steady, reliable appetite.

Re the Young Again, I've not used it myself but from what I've read about it here I believe that it is very nutrient-dense and a little goes a long way. I suggest introducing it very, very slowly.

It's great that you're journalling what you feed every day in Junior's spreadsheet. It's extremely valuable to record this info as you go along; you never know when you might need to refer back to it at some time in the future.

I am pleased and relieved for you that Junior is eating better. :)

:bighug:


Mogs
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What is it with cat n food???? I gave junior his dry food mix 50/50 with wet. He ate it all day 1. Day two a different story ate a little. Today ran to follow me to feed him n then walks away when I put down his food. I'm seriously losing patience here.
 
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