More food questions: too much change at once?

[RuBee]

Lots of people have been asking about food lately, but I didn't want to hijack anyone's thread, so I thought I'd start my own, most likely so you can repeat yourselves. But, hey, peace of mind, right?

Rufus, since he's new to the board, is 13 years old and weighs 15.4 lbs. right now. When he was diagnosed with Diabetes he weighed 22 lbs. (he's a mixed large breed cat, though, so that was too big - but not gargantuan). After we first got him regulated on Idexx PZI he dropped to 19 lbs., which was a great size for him, but he's been gradually shrinking as time progresses.

He's always hungry, but he was a piggy even when he was a baby, so I've come to associate that with his personality - not so sure of that anymore. My question about changing his meal times up a bit is this - I want to practice tight(er) regulation, but I'm concerned that if I change too much at once he'll become dramatically unstable.

Right now he eats two 3.2 oz. cans of Merrick at morning and evening intervals (and whatever else he's lucky enough to get his paws on). Should I alter his meals to include afternoon and late night 'snack times' and lower insulin dosages as needed? I have a feeling that's the right answer, but confirmation would feel great.

 

[Laurie and Mr Tinkles]

Is 19 lbs Rufus' ideal weight? If so, and he has lost weight, you need to feed him more. I would feed him more often, and more total food. It's fine to free feed, or give more than 4 meals. You don't want to restrict the food unless your cat is overweight. If he is underweight, feed him as much as he wants. You can adjust the insulin dose if needed.

Is he on lantus now? Many people using lantus (including me) feed many meals a day or free feed. It actually helps keep their BG more stable to do it that way.

 

[RuBee]

Thank you for replying so quickly! Peoples' opinions on ideal weight for a male Norwegian Forest Cat are varied considerably, but you'll find most in the same range as a Maine Coon - 18 lbs. - 22 lbs.. Rufus, however, is only half NFC, so I'd be happy to see him in the 17 lbs. - 19 lbs. range. I have no idea what his vet would think of that, though! He certainly doesn't look like a small cat now, but he's a lot smaller than I remember him being - and not looking nearly as gorgeous, either.

I think most of this weight loss can be attributed to the Lantus/food issue, now that you mention that. (I know I keep saying this, but...) he was very easily regulated with the PZI - Lantus is a whole different beast, and the vet who switched him didn't say much other than that the goal was Diabetic remission, so learning my way around it is "interesting" to say the least.

I'm going to start feeding him a little more at a time and see what kind of answers his numbers give up. In the meantime... I wonder if he'd like a nernie.

 

[Lisa and Witn (GA)]

Here is a good site to determine if your cat is at an ideal weight. http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+2230&aid=660

Of course since most NFC's also have a lot of fur, it may make it a little more difficult to visually determine if he is at an ideal weight. :mrgreen:

 

[RuBee]

Thanks for the resource! Rufus used to be grossly overweight - probably between the 7 and 9, but he was bigger when he received a lion cut one summer, and he looked very proportionate and healthy. I'm going to guess if we shaved him again he'd be showing a bit of bone, especially in the shoulders. There's a little fat there, but they're pretty sharp little suckers. Well, he'll have to put in a lot of hard work if he wants to fluff up a little (*cough*sarcasm*cough*), but it'll be worth it.

 

[Gia and Quirk]

All of your questions are answered authoratatively at http://www.catinfo.org