Multiple cat household food question

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AliciaG

AliciaG

Member Since 2015
Hello, i have 4 cats in the house and my oldest who is 9 was just recently diagnosed diabetic. Today was the first day of a new feeding routine and it was awful. I switched Juliet who is diabetic to canned food but the others are on dry food. I'm using fancy feast as it fits our budget. Should i just switch then all over so I'm not worrying about Juliet getting into the dry food? I like the idea of everyone getting their own container and not needing seperated because they are all getting the same thing then.
 
Welcome to the FDMB!

I also had 4 kitties when Alex was diagnosed with diabetes. Switching all of them to a low carb canned diet was one of the best things I could have done. It made life so much easier!

Ask any questions you may have. Hope to see you posting often! :D
 
Good job on switching the diabetic kitty to Fancy Feast!! I don't have experience with multiple cats, but have seen others comment that it's MUCH easier on cats and humans if they all eat the same thing. Hope that's helpful and good luck. :)
 
AliciaG said:
I like the idea of everyone getting their own container and not needing seperated because they are all getting the same thing then.
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Lots of us here feed Fancy Feast (the Classic pate formulas, for example are very low-carb, among some others) & certainly if they're all eating the same low-carb food, will be both easier on you and healthy for all of your cats!

So is your newly-diagnosed Juliet on insulin now, or is the vet having you try low-carb diet control first?

As you said you'd rather not have to separate your 4 kitties at mealtimes, a word of caution: A diabetic cat also needs portion control - even on a low-carb diet - so that Juliet is eating the proper amount of food every day for her ideal body weight. (Is she underweight? Overweight? You didn't say.) Unless you can make certain that Juliet will not be getting into the others' meals in addition to her own, you may want to separate her from the others and make certain your others have finished eating before allowing her to rejoin her buddies. Because when a diabetic kitty eats more than she should (some are pretty sneaky about that, too), it will make it that much harder for you to get her blood glucose regulated and back within normal limits.

Wishing you the best of luck with Juliet! :)
 
No worries, someone really nice informed me of how to work my home page, (red faced) I have honestly been a fretting nervous wreck and am more upset about her inability to move well then the diabetes. Hopefully we will get everything worked out soon. Juliet is currently just over 13lbs.
 
AliciaG said:
No worries, someone really nice informed me of how to work my home page, (red faced) I have honestly been a fretting nervous wreck and am more upset about her inability to move well then the diabetes. Hopefully we will get everything worked out soon. Juliet is currently just over 13lbs.
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Gee, I'm so sorry you're having a rough day!:bighug::bighug::bighug:
What's this about Juliet's inability to move? Is it diabetic neuropathy or something else, like arthritis?
 
Robin&BB said:
Gee, I'm so sorry you're having a rough day!:bighug::bighug::bighug:
What's this about Juliet's inability to move? Is it diabetic neuropathy or something else, like arthritis?
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The Dr believes it to be an arthritic complication or blood clot. She is currently being given some massive painkillers to ferret it out. Her grumpy attitude is back so thats helpful. I asked the dr if it may be feline neuropathy but he seemed pretty sure of the clot and arthritis instead. Id like to start giving her something for the neuropathy, the methylcobalamin. Can i just get that at a vitamin store?
 
Hi Alicia and @Robin&BB,

Alicia, I'm sorry to hear Juliet suffers from mobility problems and that she has such discomfort. ((((Juliet))))

Re supplements, there are two B12 methylcobalamin oral supplements I've seen recommended here - Zobaline (site has a dosage guide) and Vitacost. I've read that both are diabetic-friendly (you need to watch supplements to see if they contain carbs from now on, Alicia).

As Robin says above, switching all cats in the household over to to low carb wet food is better for their health (with the caveat that some cats may have specific dietary requirements that an ordinary commercial food suitable for diabetics may not suit; an obvious case being a cat with advanced CKD where protein content of the diet may need to be lower than the amount typically recommended for diabetic felines.)

There is great information and education about feline nutrition at Dr Lisa Pierson's site, catinfo.org. Multiple 'Recommends'. :)


Mogs
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Thank you so much. I am sad that I have to order it and wait a bit. I was hoping to start a little sooner but the info is all appreciated. Thanks!
 
Make the food switch gradually, to reduce the chances of food refusal, vomiting, and diarrhea which may happen with sudden food changes.
 
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