Prescription food to Wellness brand

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Shelly203

Member Since 2014
Hello,

Fenway has been on Purina DM (wet and dry) for 3 years and I recently switched him to canned Wellness food. He looks very bony and I'd like to get his weight up a bit before settling on a specific amount to feed. How long should I let him gorge himself on the wet food? He currently weighs 9.5lbs. He was 14lbs when diagnosed.

Thanks!
 
Most male cats weigh around 12 pounds, female cats around 10-11. ECID though.

This Body Condition Score chart may help you to determine how your cat is doing. Where would you say your cat falls on that chart?

He does sound a bit under weight to me right now.

You probably don't want him to regain all that weight he had before he was diagnosed as diabetic since being overweight is one of the big contributing factors to insulin resistance and diabetes.

You might want to read this post on DISCUSSION: "FEED KITTY AS MUCH AS THEY WANT?"
 
This sounds terrible but I would say according to that chart, Fenway looks emaciated. He's very bony to the touch and you can see his hip bones prominently when he lays down.

Absolutely I don't want him to be 14lbs. again but just healthy and not bony. He has been eating straight Wellness canned food for about 3 full days. He's going through two 3-oz. cans per meal (morning and evening) and is always ready for the next meal. I know I might be rushing it a bit but I don't want him to balloon up either. In the past, he has eaten everything I give him for a few days and eventually slows down to a normal size meal. I'll keep monitoring his body condition and find a scale somewhere in the house to see if he might just be slowly gaining the weight back.

Thanks!
 
Once diabetic kitties get better regulated, that is their BG (blood glucose) levels get under control, they usually aren't as ravenous. Until that time, you may need to feed up to 50% more food. That's because they can't properly process the food they do eat because the insulin isn't working well enough yet.

How well regulated is your kitty Fenway?
 
It's hard for me to say if he is regulated at all. He got so stressed out at the vet's office that his readings were always high. As I mentioned before, I do not home test (yet, I'm considering it) and I do not want to give insulin if he doesn't need it. Since his food has just been changed, I wanted to give that some time to take effect before starting with injections again. I was hoping to see faster results in his weight with this food but perhaps I am being impatient.

From everything I have read, it is a huge no-no to continue giving insulin when changing to a high-protein/low-carb diet as the insulin needs change drastically.
 
When you are home testing, a food change may be made much more safely.

See my signature link for some Secondary Monitoring Tools to help assess the glucose control - water drunk, urinary ketones and glucose, weight, amount of wet litter. There is an older protocol using those to help adjust insulin.
 
Thanks for the tip! Water intake is normal, litterbox output is normal and appears to be hydrated. Could it be that there isn't enough fat in this food for him to gain quickly? Are there any snacks or food that I could add if he doesn't show improvement by the end of the weekend?
 
What I have seen a vet do at the shelter with emaciated animals is frequent smaller meals, but not too rich so the stomach can handle it. They'll even use the high fiber foods to provide a more satiating volume to a starved animal because they get so hyped up about eating.
 
I would feed as much as he wants and weigh him every couple of weeks.

I would start home testing to see where he is and if the food change is working. Even a few days of a food change can make a difference. And if it's not you will want to start insulin soon.

Also I hope you are testing his urine for ketones.. Diabetic ketoacidosis is a serious complication of diabetes..especially when blood sugar is high. You can get test strips in most pharmacies.

Wendy
 
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