Is Hank Eating Too Much?

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Kimmied

Kimmied

Member Since 2014
I'm getting my exercise running up and down the stairs with kitty dishes!

"Time to feed the kitty...AGAIN"!

I don't know if Hank is hungry cause numbers are lower?

Or is he training me? :lol:

Here's what I'm doing:

Ok, so I feed at shot, then 2-3 hrs later I'm giving Hank a little snack of wet food, than 2hrs later...another and than 2 hrs. later, another! Whew!

He's wearing me out! This just started since Thanksgiving. He's eating it all too.

This morning I had to give Hank his AM shot 1 hr early since I had to be at work early. The first AMPS number I got was 207. Wow! I was shocked cause I did give "kitty candy and FF gravy food before I called it a night at 10:30pm last night.

The last time I checked Hank's BG (last night) was at +4 and it was 77 and still had a couple of hrs till nadir.

So back to this morning, I waited 10 min, checked again and he was at 217. I reduced his dose by half less than last night (shot .5) since I wouldn't be home to monitor. I had DH put down a bowl of Wysong dry (1/8 c.) for his snack till I could get home.

I get home and there's still about 6 pieces or so in bowl.

Hank has gone to sleep soon after testing (which was 117 at +5) as if he has ate a ton, which he hasn't!

So, what do you think?

Has he got me wrapped? :lol:

Should I give him dry for snacks during the day and night?

Just when I think I've figured this out, things go...different! Argh!!

Kimmie
 
Does he seem starving? It is true that low numbers make them want to eat but his don't seem in that category. Are you worried about his weight?

Can you give wet low carb for snacks instead? Did you get a feeder? Could you fill it with some wet with water added? I am thinking maybe since he is still cautious with the wet, he might eat a little less of it.
 
We feed ours about 1 1/2 ounces every four hours. We're going to try and start stretching it out to every five hours.
We're trying to learn the whole feeding thing to as ours need to lose some weight but I want to be sure their getting enough.
Good luck.
 
You may find that 0.25 (Deb&Wink )to 0.5 (my 14 cats) ounces of wet food per pound, fed am and pm, is close to what you need to be feeding.
Tweak up or down as needed to optimise weight.
 
Ok, so Hank seems not to be acting as starving as the last couple of days.

No, I'm not worried about his weight. He's starting to fill out but not too much. I haven't had him weighed since mid-September. The last time he got weighed at the vet he was 12.6 lbs.

I can and will give low carb wet food for his snacks. I always put warm water it. He likes it that way. Just wasn't sure so many snacks were necessary.

Soooooooo BJM, how much should Hank be eating if he weighs 12.6lbs?

Right now he gets 1/2 can of Friskies twice a day plus a teaspoon of wet 2-4 times more.

Thanks for the input. :-D

Kimmie
 
No, canned wet food. I'm feeding mainly 9 lives (5oz cans) wet food for the lower than low carbs. :smile:

Kimmie
 
I'm going to guess that somewhere from 0.25 to 0.5 ounces per pound of weight morning and evening; spread out over the 10 hours post shot.
 
Making me do the math are you? :smile:

3-6 ounces a day for Hank.

Doesn't seem like much, does it?

Kimmie
 
The rule of thumb is on 5.5/6 ounce can of food a day. However,each cat is different.
My Patches eats less but my MurrrFee eats twice that
 
Just divide the weight by 2 to get 0.5 ounces per pound. Divide that result by 2 to get 0.25.

I'm feeding 14 cats and riding herd on amount fed isn't going to happen for the troups. They always want what someone else has and start squabbling when hungry.

Gracie is separated from the others and I may need to bring her weight down a smidge, carefully.
 
So what do I do? Feed Hank 1 1/2 - 2 cans a day as he wants that?

Isn't that bad for Hank to eat that much because of his diabetes?

Right now Hank is wanting another snack. I fed him 1/2 can for dinner at 6pm. Then I fed him a teaspoon for a snack at 8:30pm. He had 1/2 can for breakfast and about 1/8c. of dry for morning snack.

What to do, what to do?

Yeah, I don't want him to get fat but he'd be ok to gain a little weight too.

Oh, and the calories that he should be getting a day, 233.

How or where do I find the calories in a can of 9 Lives wet food ?

Sorry, I'm trying to figure this diabetes out but I don't want Hank to be hungry.
 
You can add 1-2 tablespoons of water to a meal to help him feel more full.

Spreading food into mini-meals also helps keep him from getting too hungry at one time

Until he is regulated, he may need a tad more food.

Food isn't the enemy; lack of insulin is the enemy. He needs to eat, you want him to gain a little, so you feed a bit more than if you wanted him to maintain. You would feed him a bit less if he needed to lose weight.

For some smaller cats, 1/8 of a cup is a full meal. The dry stuff is calorie concentrated, much like raisins vs grapes.

Sometimes, you can pry calorie information out of the manufacturer. Or check out the food list at Cat Info to see if it might be on that list.

Being a little hungry before a meal is normal; you want 2 hours without food before the pre-shot test so you can see how he is doing when much of the insulin has worn off.
 
I already do put about 2 Tbl. of warm water in the bowl with the wet food. Hank likes it that way too.

Mini meals spread out? Mmmmm...thought about it but am in and out during the day. This is where that feeder I've heard about would come in handy, huh?

I guess that's what I needed to hear, that "foods not the enemy" with the diabetes. No, he's not regulated yet so if it's ok to give more food, than I will.

So the dry food has more calories than wet? Huh...

Ok, so I won't worry than that Hank wants and eats more food than my civie, Oscar. :smile:

Maybe I'll check into that feeder, Petsafe 5.

Kimmie
 
The same volume of dry has more calories vs the same volume of wet.
To get correct amounts for feeding, you need to know how many calories are in a given volume.
 
Happy that little Hank is doing so well.As far as feeding goes,I give my Whitey about 8 oz.a day,spread out in four feedings.Being you work,the best you can probably do is three times a day,unless you get the auto- feeder.?My cat is the same weight as yours,but also could stand to gain a couple pounds back.Some days he is just hungrier than other days.You know your kitty best. I do find that he will think he is hungry out of habit,following me into the kitchen anytime I go in there.I think this is sometimes boredom too.When he acts like that,I sometimes distract him with a toy on a string and make him run in a different direction.Seems to work and he forgets about eating.I even have gotten to where I try to do all my kitchen chores right when I know they are full.It sometimes drives me nutty that I can't go in the kitchen without a couple cats showing up and staring at me.!!!
 
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