Newly diagnosed DM not eating well, help!!

Status
Not open for further replies.
Annemarie/Tigger(GA)

Annemarie/Tigger(GA)

Member
Hi everyone, Tigger was diagnosed with DM 2 1/2 weeks ago. He is currently on Humulin 2.5 units BID. I just did a curve and he is within the normal range, which is good. My problem is he isn't eating much at all. He's 15 years old and was always fed dry with canned on the side. So trying to transitions him to mainly canned has been difficult.

What he seems to like is anything that's not pate, which really stinks cause mostly everything on the "food list" that's chunks or has gravy is super high in carbs. He likes fancy feast but just can't seem to finish a whole can in one sitting. I don't know if he still needs more time to get the hang of set feeding times?? Anyone find any chunky or sliced food with not a lot of carbs?
Any suggestions anyonee might have?

Thanks everyone!!
 
A cat has to eat enough. I would feed the canned food he will eat even if it is high in carbs. You can transition to alllow carb later.
 
You could give him longer to eat, if it's a time problem. Some people feed twice daily. Others leave the food out for their cats to graze, picking it up around 2 hours before testing.

If it's the gravy he likes, you can chop up the pates and add some warm water to make a gravy. Some kitties like a soupy mixture.
 
He gets about an hour with the food. He's locked up in a bedroom alone so no other cats bother him. I have tried to make a soupy mixture with warm water and he won't even attempt to eat that! I'm just worried he will drop more weight, he is already so skinny. He really wants dry...does anyone feed low carb dry with any success??
 
Another idea is FortiFlora. It is a probiotic but has the animal digest that makes dry food so irresistible. For some cats, it makes wet delicious! You can usually get it from your vet or on line. You sprinkle it on the food.

Have you tried hiding some of the dry in the wet? And sprinkling crumbled up dry on top?
 
I am familiar with fortiflora, so that's ok to give a diabetic? I did try putting some dry on top of the canned and he didn't even try that! He's difficult and he's making me crazy!!! :-) but I love him!
 
Yes, Dr. Lisa recommends it - just sprinkled on the top. Not too much - makes some kitties "loose" if too generous.

He does have to eat so if he really won't eat wet, you may have to feed him some dry. But I would keep trying. Have you checked out Dr. lisa's website for transistioning tips? Www.catinfo.org

Evo makes the lowest dry food, but I would try every other trick before I gave up!
 
Can you break his feedings down to more times a day? I only have one cat that can down a whole can of FF in one sitting, the rest all eat 1/3-1/2 a can and they eat 3-4 times a day.

My younger cats eat dry Innova Cat and Kitten in addition to their wet. My diabetic and other older cat aren't interested in eating it though and stick to the wet food.

Can you try mixing some of the higher carbed foods he likes with the lower carb pattes? That could bring down the overall carb count in what he is eating and you can slowly reduce the amount of higher carb food to ween him off of it.
 
Well I'm not home during the day, I work 8-5 so I wouldn't be able to feed multiple times daily. I am going to try the fortiflora and see if that persuades him a little. :smile:
 
Hi Annemarie,

I had the exact same issues as you. Apollo my 14 year old seemed to hate any pate style foods. We have tried no less then 25 different low carb varieties with limited success. The only food that I found that he will somewhat eat is the Fancy Feast Flaked Chicken and Tuna. It has slightly higher carbs (8%), but might be worth a try with Tigger. I usually warm it in the microwave for a few seconds to warm it before serving it. He still doesn't eat as much as I would like, but he is maintaining his weight for now.

John
 
Do Lou hated canned took him 4 ever to switch I sprinkled his dry on top for a long long time in small amounts to encourage him to eat and he is a big cat but he will not eat a entire 3 oz can at one sitting I feed him 1/2 a 3 oz can about 4-5 times a day since you work you could look into getting a timed feeder many on the board who work or just want to use them while away or at night use these I have 2 myself. Just be patient it takes time to switch some cats over you can also try the dry tuna flakes sprinkled on top as well as freeze dried treats like chicken or salmon.
 
We used timed feeders in the past because some days we wouldn't be home from work for 10-12 hours at a time. Now I just fill all of the bowls before I leave the house. Some of the members will freeze some wet food in chunks so that when they put it out before they leave, it will thaw out during the day and provide moist wet food throughout. My cats don't seem to have a problem with eating it being left out so I don't mess with freezing it myself.

Warming and/or adding water helps entice my little one that doesn't eat much soft to eat more of it too.
 
when binks went through a bad phase of not eating, one of the experienced members told me about
grinding dry kibble in a coffee grinder and sprinkling the dust over his food.
Not ideal as it raises the carb % a little bit...but it worked like magic for him.

celi & binks
 
My diabetic boy was very stubborn about eating wet at first. I find that by adding a bit of warm water and mashing it up into a paste, he ate it happily. He still makes me mash it up, but water is an option now.


Highly recommend this if no one has mentioned it yet.
 
have you tried tuna juice and canned tuna? this is currently working quite well on my civvie who refuses to switch while i wait for the fortiflora. I know tuna isn't amazing for them, but its so strong smelling, I'm mixxing tuna with the wet and she is eating it much better (dry food addict)
 
Sorry you're having a difficult time getting your kitty to eat.

May I ask what his numbers were? You said you did a curve and the numbers were good but maybe they are a little high? Or maybe they were truly a curve and the numbers are dipping a little low and then heading back up. Sometimes a curve can be too steep.

With Humulin the numbers often start high and drop quicker in the first couple of hours, then raise back up kind of fast. When my little man was on Humulin he often wore his crankypants.
 
My little girl wasn't eating either. Anything dry or wet. I switched to the two feedings a day one in the morning one at night and it worked like a charm. She went straight over to the wet food, although i do sprinkle a teaspoon of her dry kibble over the top.
If i just put down the wet she'll eat half of the serving but if i sprinkle the kibble on top she eats the full serving of wet. Every time for her it works like a charm.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top