Multi cat feeding

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Vegetable (GA)

Vegetable (GA)

Member Since 2015
I've been struggling to find a happy medium for food in our house. Vegetable refuses to eat unless it's the same food as the rest of the kitties but of course if she eats their food her sugars go up to high.

Is there any suggestions on what kind of dry food I can feed them that vegetable can have a small amount of in addition to her wet food?

I'm trying to feed strictly wet food to vegetable but she seems to be hungry all the time. She wakes me up anywhere between 3 & 5AM so I feed her then I feed her again at 7 when I get up for work & this is when I give her the morning dose of insulin, I feed her again at 2:30 or 3pm when I get home from work then again around 6:30pm & give her the even dose of insulin at 7, then more food again around 10:30 just before I go to bed. If I make sure she has some dry food to nibble on all night she will let me sleep until 7. But so far all the dry foods that I have tried seem to make her sugars go up, some worse then others.

I know the wet food is best for vegetable but at this point I'm becoming desperate.
 
Ideally you want canned/wet food but if you must feed dry food, Young Again Zero Carb is a good choice.
Vegetable's constant hunger could be because her glucose is not well regulated. It seems from her spreadsheet that Caninsulin isn't working out for her. A better choice would be a longer-acting depot insulin such as Lantus or Levemir or even Prozinc.

See food chart in my signature line below. You want to aim for low carbs under 10%.
 
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Evo Cat & Kitten dry (poultry flavor) is roughly 8% calories from carbohydrates and is available at specialty pet supply stores.
Make any food switches gradually, 20-25% per day - to reduce the chances of diarrhea, vomiting, or food refusal.

I wound up feeding all of mine the same; it was much easier. Plus, some overweight ones lost weight without even trying.
 
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Is Vegetable kept separate from the rest of the kitties? If yes, then you could maybe consider a timed feeder to dispense meals while you are sleeping.

Would your other kitties eat low carb wet food? If yes, then even if Vegetable nicked some of their food at least it wouldn't be too carby.

You mention that she's hungry all the time (to be expected given that her numbers are on the high side a lot of the time). Is Vegetable underweight/losing weight? If yes, then you could feed her more to help her maintain weight and muscle mass (and if necessary, adjust the insulin dose).
 
Similar here, Jill. Got my civvie on the same food as Saoirse now. She actually seems happier in herself since the switch (she has anxiety problems - separated from her mama too young).
 
Vegetable has gained a little bit of weight since diagnosed but she could easily use some more she's still skinny, when she was diagnosed she was 5.1 lbs.

The other cats are garbage cans, they will eat pretty much anything. The problem with strictly wet food is when we go away for a day or two we don't have anyone to take care of them & come in to feed them. We always leave out extra food & water as well as leave a tap running for them if we go away for a weekend. Now that vegetable is on insulin she will come with us & she loves it.

I know her numbers are still on the high side, I've been playing with her dose of insulin trying to find the right amount. 1 full unit is to much & makes her go to low & yet the .50 or .75 doesn't seem to be enough at times. My vet won't switch her to something different until she's been on the insulin for 6 months so I've been trying to work with what I have.

I was feeding vegetable delegate from the rest of the cats but she refuses to eat unless she eats in with the rest of them & the same food as the rest, she's being picky like a typical cat.

I feed her the wellness brand wet food from the list I found on here. Of she eats just wet food her sugars are good but she eats all the time & wakes me up several times a night for more.

I'll see if I can find the dry Evo dry food & see how she likes it. The rest of the kitties I'm not concerned about, like I said they are garbage cans & will eat anything.

Thanks for the info.
 
Vegetable said:
Vegetable has gained a little bit of weight since diagnosed but she could easily use some more she's still skinny, when she was diagnosed she was 5.1 lbs.

I know her numbers are still on the high side, I've been playing with her dose of insulin trying to find the right amount. 1 full unit is to much & makes her go to low & yet the .50 or .75 doesn't seem to be enough at times. My vet won't switch her to something different until she's been on the insulin for 6 months so I've been trying to work with what I have.

I feed her the wellness brand wet food from the list I found on here. Of she eats just wet food her sugars are good but she eats all the time & wakes me up several times a night for more.

I'll see if I can find the dry Evo dry food & see how she likes it. The rest of the kitties I'm not concerned about, like I said they are garbage cans & will eat anything.
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What should Vegetable's normal weight be? I am wondering if a higher carb food would be better to help her gain weight but I think that would mean needing a higher amount of insulin.

What's the vet's rationale for waiting 6 months to switch to another insulin? Is it because of your cat's weight loss? Or the vet's lack of familiarity with other insulins?
 
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The trick is to feed an underweight kitty more kilocalories, not more carbs. Energy also comes from protein and fats. Higher carb foods will usually provide less energy from proteins and/or fats to compensate.

To aid weight gain, on can try feeding a more energy-dense food (tricky because there's not too much variation in calorie content of commercial wet, low carb foods) or just increasing the amount of their normal food. True, feeding more food will increase the total number of carbs being consumed each day and therefore an insulin dose increase may be needed to accommodate that.
 
The vet didn't say what her target weight should be & at the time I was to frazzled to ask. The waiting 6 months is because the vet wants to see how she does on the caninsuin & then repeat her blood & urine tests.

I'm thinking I'm going to take her to a new vet next month for a check up & see if they wil give us a prescription for lantus. The hard part is the financial cost. I'm still recovering from the last visit to the vet which cost me $500!
 
A new vet is an excellent idea. So does switching Vegetable to Lantus.

Does Vegetable have any other health issues to explain the weight loss or has she always been a thin cat?
 
I myself am diabetic & im on NPH. Is that something vegetable can take? I tried asking my vet when she was first diagnosed but he said he had never heard of that kind of insulin but then again this was the same person that tried to insist I feed vegetable prescription diet food & I only had to check her blood sugar a few times a week. So now I'm second guessing what he recommended.
 
If you're talking about Novolin/Humulin, they are harsh, fast-acting, short-acting insulins that aren't recommended for cats. CJ was on Novolin and went hypo on it. I didn't learn till later that she wasn't getting a full 12 hours of insulin on it. At most, she was getting 6 hours on it. Lantus seems pricey but on a unit/cost-basis, it isn't and you'll likely get smoother curves. Certainly more so than with the Novolin/Humulin insulins. Another option is ProZinc.

You can check the For Sale section of the forum to see if anyone is selling individual pens or vials of Lantus. Some pharmacies may sell it to you. Others report purchasing single pens from nursing homes and hospitals. The best price for Lantus seems to be from Mark's Pharmacy, which many members here use. It looks like they have the Lantus back in stock: https://rxcanada4less.com/search.php
(type in Lantus in the search box)
 
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Here's a handy body condition chart. You can use it to assess how underweight Vegetable might be. Once she gets to the right overall shape you can note her weight (a reasonably priced digital baby scales is ideal for this, and a great investment). From then on you can track her weight and then feed a little more if her weight drops, or feed a little less if she starts gaining. I got a digital scales for Saoirse after she was diagnosed last year. Wish I'd got one much sooner - they're a great help. :)

I know what it's like to have a cat wake you at crack of sparrow's f*rt demanding vittles. Saoirse was like that last year before she became regulated. Unfortunately there's no such thing as a snooze button on a hungry moggy. :rolleyes:

Re insulin supplies, keep an eye on the FDMB Supply Closet - you might be able to get hold of some Lantus there.
 
Thanks for the links, vegetable was in the burg of the emaciated category when she was diagnosed, that's why we took her in. She had lost enough weight she was soooo skinny. Now she is back to the thin category so all the good food I've been trying to feed her has helped.


If I switch vegetable to lantus how many units should I start her on? My dad is on lantus so I'm going to see if he would be kind enough to share some with me to help keep the costs down.

Oneadg question. Can I bake the good wet food to make onto dry kibbles they can all eat but also feed vegetable the wet food?
 
Glad the links were useful. :)

Re baking wet food into kibbles, I have heard members here talking about that. I'd suggest starting a separate thread on Feline Health asking for tips on making 'home brew' kibbles. ;)

Re the Lantus, if you're going to go that route, I'd recommend posting on the Lantus and Levemir forum for advice on a starting dose. Be sure to tell them in your opening post that Vegetable is underweight at the moment.

Finally, regarding your vet ... I think waiting for six months is, frankly, nuts. Vegetable is still hungry and underweight, Caninsulin doesn't seem to be doing much to help and you've got the data to prove it. I'm glad that you're going to take your girl for a second opinion. It's a smart move, IMHO. :)
 
You can also search on Craigslist for Lantus or Prozinc, as long as it is unopened and hasn't passed the expiration date. Sometimes people just need to get rid of some supplies and the insulin is still usable. Good luck.
 
Yes, you can bake the low carb dry. Use a shallow large pan, spread the food out thinly. Use a temp given for crackers or crisp cookies. Turn over periodically. Be prepared for the entire home to smell of baking cat food (exhaust fans are helpful).
 
It would be better if you could start to transition all of your cats over to a low carb canned food. It will make it easier to manage Vegetable's diabetes. I have 7 cats and they all are fed canned food.
 
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