Joey

[joey]

Can low carb diet be too low?

Joey recovered from diabetes five years ago after 6 months of insulin and switching to low carb wet food. He started at 20 pounds, way overweight, but is now down to 12 pounds. And seems to be getting thinner. The vet tested his blood and he is fine in all respects.

He is now 14 years old and seems fine except for getting so thin.

He gets the lowest carb Fancy Feast with a carb rating of 3 or lower...as much as he wants... all day long. I'm thinking of switching him to higher carb rating food of 10 or more for a while and see if he puts on some weight, BUT I'm afraid he might relapse into diabetic again.

I still test him every other month and his blood sugar is always in the 70''s.

I know this is such a small problem compared to what so many others are going through, but still I worry.

Years ago when I was in trouble I found this board and through the help of others was able to get through the fear, testing and giving shots twice a day until Joey had his breakthrough. I'll be forever grateful.

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

You could increase the carbs. Our top level is 8-10% so you have room. And you could compare calories with carbs and feed a food with low carbs but higher calories.

Does he have any other symptoms? Pain/changing eating habits which might mean bad teeth/change in peeing or pooping? It seems logical that there is something else going on if he is eating what he has always eaten and still losing weight.

 

[LynnLee + Mousie]

when was the last time he was at the vet's for a full checkup, including labwork?

it could be other things such as hyperthyroidism, etc.......if it's been a while, i'd want to get him to the vet for a checkup

fwiw, i wouldn't increase carb count for weight rather i'd increase calorie count. either feed him more of what he's eating now or look at the food charts and pick out something that is still low in carbs but higher in calories

 

[Deb & Wink]

Most cats that are at their ideal weight look thin to their owners. A normal weight for a male cat is 11-12 pounds and a female cat is 10-11 pounds. What does your vet think of your cats weight? About 60% of pets are overweight.

Here is a link to cat body condition scoring: http://www.swaynevets.co.uk/downloads/catBodyConditionScoring.pdf

I had to increase the amount of food I was feeding Wink in order to keep his weight up. Even though he is only about 10 pounds, he needs to eat 7-8 ounces of the Friskies/Fancy Feast to maintain his weight. Trying to feed him 6 ounces was not working.

Increase the food a little by an ounce or two for Joey if your vet agrees that Joey is underweight.

 

[joey]

Thanks to all for the help.

We did take Joey to the vet for a full check up when we felt he was losing too much weight.....about six weeks ago. His report on blood tests showed him in good shape...much better than our own CBC reports.

He asks for and gets Fancy Feast (lowest carb) all day, no restrictions, which amounts to about 9 to 12 ounces a day. His bowels and urine are normal except maybe his bowel movements are damned impressive.

I think we will try the increase the carb count to approximately the 8 level with higher calories.

And if 10 to 12 pounds is normal for a male, he is right there at 12 right now.

Thanks again for all your help. I'll continue to monitor the board and will check back with a report.

Joey was saved from euthanasia in 2001 by a caring volunteer at a local vet. He was brought in by an animal welfare worker in a capture cage because he was reported to be terrifying neighborhood pets. He appeared to be feral with his head caked in blood from banging it against the capture cage. I asked the vet to not put him down and let me work with him for a few days. Bottom line is he must have been abused because he's been with us ever since. He loves people and is friendly and gentle, although not so much with other cats. He stays aboard with us on our boat and is a good sailor when we take trips.

No animal should ever be put-down for lack of caring.

 

[BJM]

... His bowels and urine are normal except maybe his bowel movements are damned impressive. ...

That's a clue. What color are the feces? Voluminous, and/or malodorous, and/or light-colored feces may indicate exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI). There is a blood test for that which should be done when fasting for 8-12 hours. EPI is treated with replacement or supplemental digestive enzymes. Some other malabsorbtive GI tract issue could be ocurring, too.

Some folks find GI issues may improve with products like ForiFlora or other probiotic to boost the natural GI bacteria which aid digestion.