In need of advice about feeding wet food only

[LucyCat]

I recently switched from a free-feed dry food diet with two servings of wet food before insulin shots to exclusively wet food.

I need help with the following things: (*Please keep in mind Lucy went into DKA 2 months ago and was hospitalized for one week...she has tested negative for Ketones yesterday and I am continuing to monitor that closely)

1. How much wet food should a 10 lb kitty get each day?

2. How much food at each "meal" should I serve and how often should I serve? For example, will one can in the AM and one can in the PM be okay? Is that too much? Is that not enough?

3. What are the best treats for diabetic kitties? Are the Temptations kind OK? Is a tablespoon of Tuna OK?

Thanks!

 

[Hillary & Maui (GA)]

There is a formula to how much food per weight of cat to use. I think it may also be on Dr. Lisa's site - www.catinfo.org.

But I don't go by that. When Maui was first diagnosed and switched to canned food, she could eat 2-3 cans of Fancy Feast at one time, three times a day.

Now, I serve 2 cans of Fancy Feast in the AM and PM (for two cats). I also add one full can of water to one can of food. I suggest taking your cue from the cat, if she eats one can and seems fine, then that is enough food, if she still is hungry, then you may want to give her more food. Especially if the diabetes is not regulated yet.

Many people divide the food into several smaller meals throughout the day, as that is better for the system to two large meals only.

As for treats - temptations and similar are NOT diabetic friendly treats. For a list of low carb healthy treats, click this link: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=9172

Tuna, tuna water is ok as a treat.

 

[Julia & Bandit (GA)]

Hello!

How much food you should feed depends on the calorie content of the food. What food are you feeding? You'll want to feed a little less with a higher calorie food (many premium foods are high calorie) than a low-medium calorie food.

I can tell you that a healthy 10lb cat should have approximately between 4-6 oz of food a day (about 1 5.5 oz can or 2 3 oz cans). But if your cat's diabetes is unregulated, it's best to feed a little bit more than usual until her blood sugar is under control, and then worry about finding that perfect amount of food for her.

Cats have metabolisms that are twice as fast as people or dog's metabolisms, so they do best with smaller, more frequent meals. I would recommend feeding at least 4 times a day. This will also help her diabetes, because frequent meals also helps level out blood glucose levels, just like with human diabetics.

Temptation treats are too high in carbs for diabetics. I would recommend any treat that is 100% freeze dried meat--I get these treats at Petsmart. You can also find freeze-dried chicken in the Dog treat section in bigger bags, if you want to buy in bulk. Tuna is ok for an occasional treat, but I would pick up the freeze-dried to use daily.