Hungry kitty!!

[Bhhhh]

My cat Chicken who was previously in remission is back to being insulin dependent as of 10/1. He normally is a 16 pound boy (he is a big cat!), and he has dwindled down to 14 in the past 4 months. The vet said he can only have two meals with his 1 unit of lantus twice a day. She said he can only have a total of 3 3oz cans of fancy feast. He has been waking up the house begging for food at 3-5am the past few nights and has had some yowling during those early morning hours. Just wanted to see if others have experienced this. He also has thrown up stomach bile a couple of mornings prior to his morning meal which to me is strange that he has an empty tummy less than 12 hours after eating. His numbers before his insulin have been 250-350. It’s still early but I’m assuming after I do his curve he will need a higher dose. I emailed the vet but they are very busy and not good at communicating..they are charging me $175 for a “consult” for me to do his glucose curve myself as well not very happy with this vet but we have gone there his whole life.

 

[Connie & Parker & Moonie]

I'm sorry to hear that - I hope this is a quick detour for Chicken before he goes back into remission.

Most diabetic kitties do better on multiple small meals a day, like diabetic humans. Especially if he's lost weight recently, it may not make sense to withhold food from him when he's hungry. Sometimes when Moonie is extra ravenous, it also means her blood glucose is dropping rapidly and seeking to eat is her way of regulating.

 

[Bhhhh]

I'm sorry to hear that - I hope this is a quick detour for Chicken before he goes back into remission.

Most diabetic kitties do better on multiple small meals a day, like diabetic humans. Especially if he's lost weight recently, it may not make sense to withhold food from him when he's hungry. Sometimes when Moonie is extra ravenous, it also means her blood glucose is dropping rapidly and seeking to eat is her way of regulating.

Thank you! I really hope I can get him back in remission. I made the mistake of giving him dry food for snacks and I think that put us back here. I learned my lesson for sure. I’m going to try to give him more snacks of wet food and especially at night so hopefully he can graze overnight when he gets hungry.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Your vet is wrong about only feeding twice a day. That's what people used to do with the older insulins that hit hard and fast. Lantus is much more gentle. Even humans on Lantus eat multiple small meals. A lot of us here by automated feeders that provide meals in the wee hours when we are asleep or if away for work.

As far as amounts of food, do you have a way of weighing him at home? Cats in high numbers aren't able to process all their food properly and will lose weight. You need to feed him the amount of food appropriate for his weight, or what you want his weight to be. I used to weigh Neko once a week and adjust food until I got the desired outcome.

I am going to move your post over the Feline Health forum where we ask new people to post first.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

If you want help with dosing, we may be able to help with the right information. You will notice that a lot of us have our cats blood sugar numbers in spreadsheets, which is how we share this data and help others with dosing. Thereby saving you money. Details on how to set up the spreadsheet in this link: New? How You Can Help Us Help You!

 

[Connie & Parker & Moonie]

Thank you! I really hope I can get him back in remission. I made the mistake of giving him dry food for snacks and I think that put us back here. I learned my lesson for sure. I’m going to try to give him more snacks of wet food and especially at night so hopefully he can graze overnight when he gets hungry.

I hope so too! Our kitties absolutely love freeze dried chicken, chicken heart, etc as treats and they’re just pure protein if you wanted to try them out. There are other freeze dried proteins out there too.

 

[Bhhhh]

Your vet is wrong about only feeding twice a day. That's what people used to do with the older insulins that hit hard and fast. Lantus is much more gentle. Even humans on Lantus eat multiple small meals. A lot of us here by automated feeders that provide meals in the wee hours when we are asleep or if away for work.

As far as amounts of food, do you have a way of weighing him at home? Cats in high numbers aren't able to process all their food properly and will lose weight. You need to feed him the amount of food appropriate for his weight, or what you want his weight to be. I used to weigh Neko once a week and adjust food until I got the desired outcome.

I am going to move your post over the Feline Health forum where we ask new people to post first.

This is so good to know!!!! I need to look into an automated feeder for wet food. I have a smart scale I can use to weigh him. The vet says 16 pounds is too heavy but the vet he saw prior said it was fine and he is just a larger cat. A week ago he was 14 pounds. Thank you!