Newbie diagnosis - how long can i go in between shots?

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Aw poor Petie!! Bet you can hear him coming :lol:

Dr. Pierson from whom we get a lot of information from on catinfo.org, has a kitty that won't eat the chicken raw so she semi-bakes it at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes so that it is somewhat raw. She then runs it under cold water to stop the cooking process. The more you cook it the more unsure of the nutrient value. I guess though that if your kitty won't eat just cooked a little past raw then you could throw it back in the oven for more.

I have ordered the Wild Callings food to try so that my kitties have more variety. Canned food replaces dry food in my house - they have learned to leave it for grazing throughout the day. I also use Tiki Cat Succulent Chicken because it is just basic cooked chicken, low carb, high protein. I had a take it or leave it approach with my cats - here is what I am serving, you pass it up then you are going to be hungry until the next meal - then I made sure they ate something at the next meal. I put up with a lot of bad behavior but all that is over now that they have givin in. Even parmesan cheese did not entice them - but it does now. I noticed Fortiflora behind the counter at my Costco. I have never seen it in a store but it may be possible to purchase it.

The routine is to test (which you are not doing yet, right?), shoot, then feed. There will be a rise in bg with food so we like to test before that. Also, you mention eggs. Raw egg yolks are a part of the raw recipe but the egg whites should be cooked. They are a good source of protein. Cooking the yolks will diminish the nutrient value but if you can get your cat to eat the whole egg cooked, that's fine.

I am so happy that you are motivated to serve a proper diet. I read a great book by Michelle Bernard called "Raising Cats Naturally". That is where Dr. Pierson got her widely used raw recipe.

Hang in there. We are here to share all that we have learned doing exactly what you are doing here - asking, reading, planning, loving your kitty to want to do the very best for them.
 
I know! I sure can tell when he is comign!!

Ok, I just went out and got a whole fresh chicken thigh. I held it out to him and he sniffed it - kind of like he was going to go for it, but then he didn't. So I boiled it for 10 mins (the woman at the vet clinic said try that) and then I pulled off some pieces and he just ran away. I wonder if baking would be better? Maybe needs to be dryer for him? I don't know :(

So far, out of all the people grade foods, he has only eaten ham - which isn't even good for him! He didn't like fresh ground hamburger or cooked hamburger. He didn't like roast beef - freshly sliced. Now, he didn't like the chicken but he did SNIFF the raw chicken almost like he was going to eat it, so that is encouraging. I am not sure where to go from here. He also sniffed the turkey baby food, but no eating. He ran away from the chicken baby food. Maybe when I get the fortiflora I can sprinkle that on the chicken? I don't know. Maybe cook some eggs like you just suggested? What about turkey? Maybe I will only present him with one new thing a day, but Petie is just so darned smart and he LOVES variety or everything the same. It's so weird, I can't figure it out.

I am experimenting with all kinds of canned foods - abady beef (he liked that in the beginning, now he doesn't like it), he likes the wellness core beef venison lamb, he liked nature's varity venison so i also bought some beef and lamb of that, i got a case of the purina d/m which eh. He thought Merrick's BG beef was ok. Of course, when i say "likes it" i mean he doesn't run away from it. He is licking very small amounts of it. I put his dry food on top and crumble either dehydrated beef or chicken on top too and he is keeping his face in the food a little bit longer today so I hope it's working. Especially when I don't feed him the same flavor too many times in a row.

Oh the Tiki sounds great!! I will try that next, but I am getting the feeling he's not a chicken cat - but maybe because he's just not used to it.

Yes Lisa Pierson's site is very inspiring! I do hope I can get to the point where Petie is eating all good food. Hers was the first site I went on when Petie was diagnosed last Thursday and she inspired me to not give up on transitioning him to the wet food and ultimately the home made food.

Yeah - we haven't learned how to take his blood yet. My fiance says I need to take a bit of a break as I have been driving him crazy with all of this. The cat glucose meter is in the mail, so we will learn with that and some treats this weekend.
 
It took me six months of trial and error before I found a food that not only could Michelangelo eat (he's allergic to red meats) but also one he liked. The Tiki Cat Chicken and Egg is also a favorite in our house. They're not fans of it by itself, so I usually have to mix it in with their Friskies Special Diet Pate. When I don't include it, they look at their plain, boring food, look at me like I'm purposefully trying to starve them, and then walk away in disgust with how mean I am to them.

You can also try adding some warm water to the wet food to see if that will stimulate his interest. I make mine fairly mushy with about a half can of water to a full 5.5oz can of food. Some people can get a full 1:1 ratio of food and water, but my cats won't eat it when it gets too soupy (that's when the parmesan comes in handy for me).

The fortiflora is basically what they cover dry food in to make it taste so good for cats, so this will probably be your best bet all around.

JackieVendetti said:
Yeah - we haven't learned how to take his blood yet. My fiance says I need to take a bit of a break as I have been driving him crazy with all of this. The cat glucose meter is in the mail, so we will learn with that and some treats this weekend.
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This will make you feel so much better! Once you can see what his numbers are, you won't be worrying so much about whether he's too high or too low. I'm not going to lie: the first couple of weeks of testing is stressful! I even threw my lancing device (and the meter and the test strips and his BG booklet and my pen and anything else that was in my hands) across the room a couple of times in frustration. But once you get it down, it turns into such a stress-reliever! Now, whenever I'm worried, I simply test him. :-D

Whereabouts are you located (general area)? We might have someone nearby that can assist you with testing if you would like.
 
Oh my goodness if there was someone close by to help me learn how to test Petie - that would be wonderful!! It would really, really put my mind at ease. That is too funny you threw everything. I have cried in Petie's un-eaten food many times now :(

I am in Brooklyn, NY 11201. If you know of anyone, I would be over the moon happy! Please let me know.

Ok, I just bought him Evo Chicken and Turkey and he ate it like he's been eating wet food this whole time. Almost an entire half can and he wolfed it down.That was so much fun to watch! Him eating and eating wet food :)

Now, of course, I am reading that maybe carageenan isn't very good for him and that is in the Evo cat food? And there are sooo many other things in it but I got it because it was 9% protein and no carbs. Oh boy, I don't know. I think I will try and cook some of the "From Scratch" for his feeding around his shot time. That's homemade food.

I have another question - the vet said Petie doesn't need to be seen for 3 weeks. Our next appt is on Sept 3rd. Is that safe? Esp. if he starts eating more wet food? I put in a call to the vet to see what they say and maybe I will call the other vet too and see what they say. But does anyone have any thoughts?
 
Deb & Wink - I looked at that body chart and Petie is between stout and moderate but prior to his leg being injured, he was between stout and obese. And that was just a month ago. What a difference a pound and a half makes in a cat!
 
That weight loss probably helped a lot with his diabetes.

Hope the ongoing saga of the wet food adventures have a good outcome. I got Wink to switch from dry to wet in 3 weeks, which was really fast, but he was so stubborn about eating any wet food. Fancy Feast Turkey and Giblets classic pate was the flavor that did the trick. He ate that for 2 months straight before he was willing to try other flavors.
 
Yeah - I think you are right! Oh - I am glad to know I am not the only one who has a dry food addicted kitty. I feel like such a bad mom for only feeding that to him for all these years.
 
Hi,

I see there are 57 posts, but I am afraid I can't see them all. I think I will start a new thread :(

Thanks everyone!!! You have helped me TREMENDOUSLY,

Jackie
 
You can try baked or boiled on the chicken. I'd buy boneless and skinless if you're not a big fan of touching or messing with getting it off the bones. That way all you have to do is cut it into bite-sized bits. NO seasonings when you cook it.

And for all of you who are vegetarians, first off, bless you for being willing to deal with meat for the sake of your kitties. I figure that's not too easy. I also hope you never get to the point where you need to resort to the "liver shake" some people have had to use for a very sick cat that won't eat ;-)

And without a doubt, dark meat chicken is far tastier than white meat chicken. :lol: More juicy too. You can eat overcooked dark meat, but breasts cooked too long might as well be "jerky". ;-)
 
JackieVendetti said:
Hi,

I see there are 57 posts, but I am afraid I can't see them all. I think I will start a new thread :(

Thanks everyone!!! You have helped me TREMENDOUSLY,

Jackie
Click to expand...

After 50, it goes to a 2nd page. You can switch pages by hitting "1" or "2", at the top and bottom of the thread.
 
Thanks,Carl!! Yes - I tried to give him chicken thigh. It was a no go!! Thanks for the tip on reading more!!

I figure I will gradually add it to his canned food and then switch him to all home made - or at least partially canned and partially home made.
 
Food changes, especially quick ones, may trigger GI upsets such as diarrhea, vomiting or food refusal.
Taking it slower may help.
Probiotics may help, too, such as FortiFlora (check our shopping partner Amazon. link at top of page).
 
Thank you so much, BJM. Yeah - I guess I was pushing it too fast. I will put more of his dry food down and a little less of the wet. I guess I didn't realize he was going to gobble so much EVO turkey and chicken at once, but now I know.

I just got the forti-flora this morning from Amazon! Ok, will put that on his next dish.

All of this must be horribly confusing for poor Petie.
 
Well, if he's gobbling up his wet food, try smearing it across a large plate to slow him down. At least you know, it will be easy to switch him entirely to the wet food. That should make a huge difference in his overall health, to only be eating the LC (low-carb) wet food.
 
Thanks, Deb - that's a good idea! Will do that next. With his last meal, I just put less of the wet stuff on. However, the only one he's truly gobbled so far was the EVO Turkey & Chicken.

I just got the forti-flora and put it on Nature's Variety Chicken and I crumbled some salmon treats and he liked that. But still not as much as the EVO turkey and chicken which if he could have he would have eaten the plate, too!!!
 
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