new kitty and need help

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Peanut_Butter_mom

Peanut_Butter_mom

Member Since 2012
Hi, we just adopted a new kitty yesterday. he is 8 years old and his owners dumped him rather than deal with the diabetes. I am a type 1 diabetic and one of our dogs is diabetic, so we are not new to the disease, just have never dealt with it in a cat. We are trying to get Peanut Butter to eat. I am sure he is stressed, but i would feel better if he ate :).

he is turning his nose up at the canned food the vet recommened (Hill's Science Diet) and at Authority. he ate the turkey salmon treats I gave him, but when I buried one in some of the food, he dug it out, ate the treat, and left the food (that should teach me to try and trick a cat lol).

Is it ok to give him just plain boiled chicken? I'm not sure I would want to do that long term, but maybe just until he settles in a bit more?

Thanks!

Angela, aka Peanut Butter's Mom
 
Welcome :smile:

Instead of that Hills prescription junk, you can feed your diabetic cat a commerical canned food. Much better quality and yummier (and easier on the wallet) than any prescription food, IMO. Here's the quick list of low carb gluten free Fancy Feast: http://www.felinediabetes.com/glutenfree.htm

And another quick food shopping list: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=12846

Additional food charts/lists you can use are:
Hobo's Guide to Nutritional Values: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmkyagqUb3nudG9sRVhTVnFEWlhaU19ZUXkxTnlhYXc#gid=0
Binkys canned food charts: http://binkyspage.tripod.com/canfood.html (info several years out of date)
New food list from Catinfo.org (Sept. 2012): http://www.catinfo.org/docs/Food Chart Public 9-22-12.pdf
Pet Food Nutritional Values list: https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B8...MzhkYTkxOGM4NThk&sort=name&layout=list&num=50

Food that has under 10% carbs are best for diabetic cats. Think "kitty Atkins" diet :smile: Since you are a diabetic yourself, I'm sure that you know that diet is a very important part of managing the diabetes.

Save the plain boiled chicken for treats. Meat on it's own is not a complete nutritious diet.

Is your cat on insulin yet? Lantus, Levemir, and Prozinc are the preferred insulins to use.
 
this is the kitty from DCIN? i saw him and fell in love with the name :-)

chicken is fine if he'll eat it but yeah, not long term as the only thing as it isn't nutritiously complete. but if it's something like he hasn't eaten today and he'll eat some chicken tonight, yeah, i'd say go for it.

do you know what he was eating previously? might have to give him the old stuff, even if it's not ideal, for a little bit while transitioning him over to something healthier because too long without any or enough food and you end up with a whole other ball of wax to deal with
 
This has to be the same Peanut Butter. He's adorable!

Welcome Angela and Peanut Butter.

The boiled chicken will work temporarily. You can also try Fancy Feast classics available everywhere. Needs to say "classics" to be low carb.
 
yes, he was DCIN's Peanut Butter. couldn't ask for a sweeter kitty. but have to be careful, his purr motor will put you right to sleep lol. got him to eat the chicken with no trouble at all so maybe he is just a picky eater. will pick up a wider variety of food tomorrow to see if any float his boat.
 
Might try Wellness Chicken or Turkey & Giblets, if he likes poultry products.
 
Hi and welcome, Peanut Butter's mom! So glad he found a home :-D

I also wanted to share with you in case you missed it another catinfo.org link on how to transition a finicky cat to healthy, low carb, wet food, in case that is part of the problem.
 
thanks, read that one. tried parmesan cheese tonight. he licked it off. tried shredded chicken, he picked it out. got him to eat a little bit of the canned food by smearing some on little pieces of chicken. He acts like a dog with peanut butter (no pun intended lol) when he gets canned food in his mouth, so guessing just not used to the texture. will keep trying smearing the food on chicken.
 
Another trick that worked with Michelangelo was mixing in some freeze dried white fish. It's got a strong, stinky-fishy smell to it that Mikey goes crazy for when I open the bag. @-)

If it's the texture, you can try adding a bit more water to it and making it more into a paste to see if that's more appealing to him. Otherwise, have patience. He'll eventually come around. :smile:
 
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