MORNING TESTING HELL & QUANTITY OF FOOD

[cindymcd]

Hi everyone!

For the last two mornings Hitchcock has had numbers at 139 and 147. Because of this I did not give him his Lantus 1 unit. I have been giving him his evening shots because the numbers have been higher.

Here is my new challenge. Because some of you told me to start checking him BEFORE he eats (instead of after as my vet told me), it has become really horrible. He is so hungry that he will not stay still for me to get his blood sample. I tried giving him some new healthy treats before the test, but he hates the two brands that I purchased. This morning it was so bad I had to let him eat something first and then within 5 minutes I was able to get the test done.

So here are my questions:

1) Is it OK to let him eat and then wait 5 minutes to get the test? Could the food hit his blood stream that quickly?
2) How much do you all feed your cats now? I've switched him to all canned food. He and his brother, Fellini, are about the same weight - 12 pounds. I'm reading so many different discrepancies on how much a cat of that size should eat in one day. My friend's vet told her one 5.5 oz can per day (and her cat weights 17 pounds!). That seems very low to me. Other places I read 9 - 11 ozs per day.
3) How many times a day to you feed them?
4) Now that I don't leave dry food out all night, how do you avoid them not being so crazy for food by the AM?
3) How do I find a treat that he will like? I've already spent a lot of money buying some organic ones and they both refuse to eat them.

Thanks so much. I appreciate your help!

Cindy

 

[Ry & Scooter]

1. I don't know how long it takes but I still wouldn't feed before testing, personally.

2. Cats need 20-30 calories per ideal pound of weight per day. So a 12 pound cat would need 240-360 cals per day, depending on how active the cat is. Calories in food varies, but for example Fancy Feast has 90ish calories per can, so that would be 2.5-3.5 cans per day, roughly. Janet and Binky's list and some of the other food charts have the kcal/can listed.

3. My Scooter is a scarf and barfer meaning he eats so fast he pukes, so I have to feed him many many small meals per day, usually about 8 times per day with the majority of the food in the first half (6 hrs) of the cycle. Some find 4 meals spread out is just right. No food in the 2 hrs before each shot though.

4. For feeding when you're out of the house or in bed, you can add a bit of water to the canned food and freeze it in ice cube trays. Drop a few cubes into the bowl when you go to bed and they will thaw in a few hours, giving him something to snack on at night. You could also buy a programmable automatic feeder - many here recommend the Petsafe 5 and yes they work for canned food too! Hopefully this well stop him from being so ravenous in the morning.

5. It's just a trial and error thing - my Scooter doesn't really like the freeze dried treats that other cats seem to love. Fortunately he's also not a carb-spike kind of cat so I give him 2-3 kibbles from a sample of dry food I got as a treat.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

1) Is it OK to let him eat and then wait 5 minutes to get the test? Could the food hit his blood stream that quickly?
Testing five minutes after you start to feed him is fine.
2) How much do you all feed your cats now? I've switched him to all canned food. He and his brother, Fellini, are about the same weight - 12 pounds. I'm reading so many different discrepancies on how much a cat of that size should eat in one day. My friend's vet told her one 5.5 oz can per day (and her cat weights 17 pounds!). That seems very low to me. Other places I read 9 - 11 ozs per day.
It varies by cat. It rough estimate is one 5.6/6 oz can a day. However, you cat is 17 lbs which is above normal. I would feed about 1 1/2 5.5/6oz cans a day and then weight the cat weekly and then change according to weight. If he is not regulated, I would feed more.
3) How many times a day to you feed them?
I feed mine twice daily.
4) Now that I don't leave dry food out all night, how do you avoid them not being so crazy for food by the AM?
I have no problem
3) How do I find a treat that he will like? I've already spent a lot of money buying some organic ones and they both refuse to eat them.
Just find one they like. Just fo not give them too much

 

[Julia & Bandit (GA)]

Food will not hit the bloodstream in 5 minutes, so it's ok if feeding first is the only way to do it.

The reason we suggest the test/feed/shoot order is that sometimes you may get a low preshot number, and what many of us do in that situation is wait and test again to see if the cat's number is rising, and we base our decision whether or not to shoot a full dose on those numbers. Since you'll have a number that's already inflated by food in that situation, you will just need to be careful that you don't shoot a full dose if you get a low preshot number--you'll want to either skip or shoot a reduced dose. Not a huge deal, but just something to be aware of.

I feed Bandit 4 times a day--about every 6 hours. That is the minimum amount I can feed him without having him beg for food between meals. I would suggest starting out with at least 3 meals per day, and just increase the number of meals until your cats aren't bugging you for food constantly. How frequently you need to feed will depend on how food aggressive the cats are (I can tell you Bandit is very food aggressive, so it's unlikely you'll need more than 4 meals a day). Bugging you within an hr of meal time is normal--that's when cats are in their "hunting/play" (aka mischief) mode. I try to play with Bandit at this time as much as possible when I'm home to feed him myself. If you play with them pretty vigorously right before bed and then feed them, it will tucker most cats out so that they sleep through the night (and not bug you for food til you get up). :smile:

I work long, crazy hours, so I freeze his food portions and have an auto feeder that I use to release his food at feeding time when I'm not there or sleeping. He is 12 lbs and gets either 1 5.5 oz can of Merricks per day or 2 3 oz cans of cat food (either Fancy Feast or Sheba Pate) , plus 1/2 container of a Fancy Feast Appetizer and various freeze dried treats.