Violet and Chaos
Very Active Member
Hi, Everybody.
First, I'd like to express my gratitude for this site. If I'd had internet access when Chaos was first dx'd last February, I would have done things differently from the start. Now that I have more info, I am ready to make a few changes. I've already got my newbie kit on the way (ty Lori and Tom!) and will begin to test his BG as soon as it arrives. Lucky me- he's a white kitty so it's really easy to see where to poke on his little pink ears :mrgreen: I've started playing with his ears as much as possible so he will be used to it when the meter arrives. Surprisingly, I never had any trouble with the shots- Chaos jumps up on the table purring and waits patiently for mama bean to do her thing! BG testing shouldn't be a big deal once we get used to it. I was very relieved when I read on this site that stress can raise his BG. His glucose curve numbers at the vet always seemed high to me when compared to his behavior at home; I suspected that was the cause. He doesn't travel well and gets so stressed out he poops in his carrier every time we go to the vet- poor little guy!
His vet said I could feed him one or both kinds of prescription food- Royal Canin diabetic DX (dry only) and Royal Canin calorie control high protein (wet or dry available). It seems like the prescription food has made him a bit overweight. He's a big, tall kitty who should weigh 11-12 lbs and he's at 13.5 right now. The vet wants Chaos to lose a couple pounds, but I can't get the extra weight off him after reducing the amount of food little by little. He's playful and happy on the vet's prescribed diet and 2.5 units Lantus BID, but after reading all the info here I think we may do even better with different food, and maybe get that extra 2 lbs off him, too. I used to give just a teaspoon of the wet food as a treat and mostly kibbles, but am now shifting to a slightly more wet/less dry feeding to get him used to a mostly wet diet. After reading the charts and seeing the difference in carbs between the wet and the dry, I will likely need to reduce insulin after testing and shifting him to an almost all-wet diet. I am making the change very slowly to avoid problems. He's never had a hypo and is playful and happy, so I think things are OK. He's got a great appetite, loves to eat, so changing food won't be problematic for him as far as getting him to eat is concerned. My problem is my civvie cat, Lu, who is 15, a little stiff in the joints, and needs to gain some weight. He gets both wet and dry food as well; Authority sensitive solutions kibble and their wet pate formulas. Lu has definitely gotten smaller since I had to start putting his dry food up when he's not eating it so that Chaos won't eat himself sick. Chaos will eat whatever's put down for him or Lu, so it's hard to feed up the civvie kitty while keeping control of the sugar kitty's diet. Lu is a hardcore free-feeder and won't eat his whole portion at once even when he knows I'm going to put it away the minute he stops eating. Is the best strategy in this case is to feed a mostly wet diet to each at mealtimes (can be different food for each cat) and leave out a few kibbles so that Lu has a chance to free-feed and maybe gain some weight? Any suggestions or advice? Is there a good dry kibble to use for this?
First, I'd like to express my gratitude for this site. If I'd had internet access when Chaos was first dx'd last February, I would have done things differently from the start. Now that I have more info, I am ready to make a few changes. I've already got my newbie kit on the way (ty Lori and Tom!) and will begin to test his BG as soon as it arrives. Lucky me- he's a white kitty so it's really easy to see where to poke on his little pink ears :mrgreen: I've started playing with his ears as much as possible so he will be used to it when the meter arrives. Surprisingly, I never had any trouble with the shots- Chaos jumps up on the table purring and waits patiently for mama bean to do her thing! BG testing shouldn't be a big deal once we get used to it. I was very relieved when I read on this site that stress can raise his BG. His glucose curve numbers at the vet always seemed high to me when compared to his behavior at home; I suspected that was the cause. He doesn't travel well and gets so stressed out he poops in his carrier every time we go to the vet- poor little guy!
His vet said I could feed him one or both kinds of prescription food- Royal Canin diabetic DX (dry only) and Royal Canin calorie control high protein (wet or dry available). It seems like the prescription food has made him a bit overweight. He's a big, tall kitty who should weigh 11-12 lbs and he's at 13.5 right now. The vet wants Chaos to lose a couple pounds, but I can't get the extra weight off him after reducing the amount of food little by little. He's playful and happy on the vet's prescribed diet and 2.5 units Lantus BID, but after reading all the info here I think we may do even better with different food, and maybe get that extra 2 lbs off him, too. I used to give just a teaspoon of the wet food as a treat and mostly kibbles, but am now shifting to a slightly more wet/less dry feeding to get him used to a mostly wet diet. After reading the charts and seeing the difference in carbs between the wet and the dry, I will likely need to reduce insulin after testing and shifting him to an almost all-wet diet. I am making the change very slowly to avoid problems. He's never had a hypo and is playful and happy, so I think things are OK. He's got a great appetite, loves to eat, so changing food won't be problematic for him as far as getting him to eat is concerned. My problem is my civvie cat, Lu, who is 15, a little stiff in the joints, and needs to gain some weight. He gets both wet and dry food as well; Authority sensitive solutions kibble and their wet pate formulas. Lu has definitely gotten smaller since I had to start putting his dry food up when he's not eating it so that Chaos won't eat himself sick. Chaos will eat whatever's put down for him or Lu, so it's hard to feed up the civvie kitty while keeping control of the sugar kitty's diet. Lu is a hardcore free-feeder and won't eat his whole portion at once even when he knows I'm going to put it away the minute he stops eating. Is the best strategy in this case is to feed a mostly wet diet to each at mealtimes (can be different food for each cat) and leave out a few kibbles so that Lu has a chance to free-feed and maybe gain some weight? Any suggestions or advice? Is there a good dry kibble to use for this?
