New Member - Mau - Picky Eater Advice?

JennyandMau

JennyandMau

Member Since 2026
Mau is almost 11 and was diagnosed a month ago. She was producing ketones by day 3 of trying Senvelgo so we are on insulin. She has not stabilized and initial dose was not the right fit. She is wearing a 14 day Libre right now and it has felt like a wild ride. The most challenging thing is Mau is a very picky eater. There are only a handful of wet cat foods she will eat and she will mostly only suck the gravy off and leave the rest. She was on a diabetic dry prescription kibble but she got very itchy so we went back to her old food sensitivity prescription kibble which now she refuses to eat at all. She will reliably eat a pile of Greenie's dental treats as if they are a meal, not nothing else reliably despite trying appetite stimulants from the vet. I would like to build out the hypo tool kit and have various foods on hand, but she will not even try 90% of foods presented to her. Any advice from fellow picky eater owners is much welcome. I have been feeling very overwhelmed in part because Mau was my mom's cat until 5.5 years ago when my mom died of cancer. Trying to manage Mau's diabetes feel reminiscent of when I was my mom's caretaker with visits from a hospice nurse and it has been emotionally challenging.
 
Hi Jenny! Welcome to the forum.

Picky eating for a diabetic cat can be a real problem. Has Mau always been a picky eater? I ask this because sometimes cats can have underlying illnesses that cause inappetence or nausea, and once you get to the bottom of those issues, you can find a way to treat the inappetence. Sometimes inappetence is a result of nausea, so you have to manage that before they will eat. Does she have any symptoms of nausea? Smelling the food but turning away? Lip smacking?

How are her teeth? Sometimes when they have dental issues, they don't want to eat.

Have you tried Fancy Feast pates?? It's a food many of us use here. It's LC, and a lot of kitties like the variety. The Classic Pate flavors are the LC options. AND you can get the Gravy Lovers (the beef has the highest carb value) for your hypo kit.

If she has food allergies, you might consider trying novel proteins (rabbit, duck, venison, etc.).

It's good that she's not on the kibble, as typically they can be too high in carbs for a diabetic kitty. You really want Mau on a low carb, wet food.

We use Fortiflora as a topper on our food. It's a probiotic, but we use it primarily because it tastes really good and functions very well for us to entice eating. There are other LC toppers as well. Another one that mine like is Stella and Chewy's Magical Dinner Dust.
 
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Hello and welcome. Can you tell us what insulin she's on now? We've had a few people who have successfully transitioned from Senvelgo to insulin.

If she was itchy from a particular food, maybe she has food allergies? And reluctant to eat anything with the same protein in it. Which so called prescription dry food did you try? DM (dietetic management, not diabetes) contains poultry, as does the Hills one. Poultry, fish and beef are common allergens. I've got a kitty with allergies, you learn to read the labels. A lot of the Fancy Feast now have fish in them so not always the best with kitty issues.

There are quite a few meat alternatives. Lamb, bison, kangaroo, pork in addition to the list above. If she really needs the crunch, there are freeze dried raw and air dried options that are lower carb and novel protein. And you can usually get single protein treats in many meat options. Check the dog aisle too, larger bags for better price. A couple posts of ideas that might help:
Fortiflora isn't a great probiotic, it's a single strain or bacteria only. Some people do use it as an appetite stimulant.
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
There are also some freeze dried or air dried raw foods that may be appealing to your cat. Likewise, some of us do feed our cats a raw food diet.
Click to expand...
Hi thank you she has refused all air dried raw foods. I’ve tried three different ones. She has no interest in canned chicken or canned tuna. It’s been very challenging. She’s always been a picky eater, but it’s been worse since her diabetes diagnosis.
 
Mary & Jude said:
Hi Jenny! Welcome to the forum.

Picky eating for a diabetic cat can be a real problem. Has Mau always been a picky eater? I ask this because sometimes cats can have underlying illnesses that cause inappetence or nausea, and once you get to the bottom of those issues, you can find a way to treat the inappetence. Sometimes inappetence is a result of nausea, so you have to manage that before they will eat. Does she have any symptoms of nausea? Smelling the food but turning away? Lip smacking?

How are her teeth? Sometimes when they have dental issues, they don't want to eat.

Have you tried Fancy Feast pates?? It's a food many of us use here. It's LC, and a lot of kitties like the variety. The Classic Pate flavors are the LC options. AND you can get the Gravy Lovers (the beef has the highest carb value) for your hypo kit.

If she has food allergies, you might consider trying novel proteins (rabbit, duck, venison, etc.).

It's good that she's not on the kibble, as typically they can be too high in carbs for a diabetic kitty. You really want Mau on a low carb, wet food.

We use Fortiflora as a topper on our food. It's a probiotic, but we use it primarily because it tastes really good and functions very well for us to entice eating. There are other LC toppers as well. Another one that mine like is Stella and Chewy's Magical Dinner Dust.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the warm welcome! Mau has always been a picky eater. It’s gotten worse since her diabetes diagnosis though. She gets very itchy and went through extensive allergy testing in the past eventually being prescribed a diet of Hill’s Food Sensitivities Z/D. Then after diabetes diagnosis Purina DM which didn’t last long because she got itchy again. The only wet food she will eat is Weruva cats in the kitchen love me tender chicken and duck in gravy recipe. She will eat it approx. 50% of the time. We have tried a half dozen others and she won’t touch them. I tried a fancy feast pate again yesterday and she wouldn’t touch it. She has had deep cleanings in the past for gingivitis, but no other tooth issues. She will reliably eat Greenie’s dental treats. A pile of them as if they are a meal. I don’t feel good about it but her vet said right now eating anything is better than eating nothing. Mirataz didn’t do anything other than make her out of it and encyte has helped a little but not enough for a full meal. It doesn’t appear nausea is a factor. I wish I knew what it is that she has so little interest in 90% of foods.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Hello and welcome. Can you tell us what insulin she's on now? We've had a few people who have successfully transitioned from Senvelgo to insulin.

If she was itchy from a particular food, maybe she has food allergies? And reluctant to eat anything with the same protein in it. Which so called prescription dry food did you try? DM (dietetic management, not diabetes) contains poultry, as does the Hills one. Poultry, fish and beef are common allergens. I've got a kitty with allergies, you learn to read the labels. A lot of the Fancy Feast now have fish in them so not always the best with kitty issues.

There are quite a few meat alternatives. Lamb, bison, kangaroo, pork in addition to the list above. If she really needs the crunch, there are freeze dried raw and air dried options that are lower carb and novel protein. And you can usually get single protein treats in many meat options. Check the dog aisle too, larger bags for better price. A couple posts of ideas that might help:
Fortiflora isn't a great probiotic, it's a single strain or bacteria only. Some people do use it as an appetite stimulant.
Click to expand...
Hi thank you she is on Lantus glargine insulin. She was on 2 units 2x a day for 2.5 weeks but then dipped too low so they took her off for a few days and restarted at 1 unit 2x a day but she’s still regularly up in the 300-400’s with brief dips into the 100-200s. She has a 14 day liver on that’s good for 8 more days.

Yes she has food allergies although has never had an issue with chicken. She was on z\d and got itchy again on purina DM prescribed so we have been trying to find any wet food or freeze dried protein she will reliably eat. Have tried a wide variety including fancy feast. There’s a single flavor of Weruva she wil eat approx half the time given but there most reliable I’ve found. Greenies chicken flavored dental treats are the only thing she will reliably eat so I’ve had to use them to be able to give her insulin. I’m well aware this is not a good longterm option, but the vet said eating anything is better than nothing. I don’t know what else to try. Raw food, tuna juice, canned chicken, she has no interest in any of it. Have been wasting a lot of food over here trying.
 
Which flavour of Weruva will she eat? Maybe we can suggest something similar.

Have you tried freeze dried chicken treats? Some people find that crumbling them on food helps.

As far as insulin dose goes, it could be she need a dose between 1 and 2 units. Are you injecting with the pen or syringes?
 
Have you tried the Weruva BFF gravy? it's in the packets. some of them are higher carb, so make sure you buy the ones that are low carb.

the other thing is just plain boiled chicken- mine will eat that despite only liking gravy wet foods.

this variety pack is all low carb-

Screenshot_11-1-2026_185155_www.chewy.com.jpeg
 
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