Question about eating/feeding

[macal]

Hi,

Molly's appetite's been going down a little since we started the insulin. Is this typical?
She used to bully the other cats away from their dinners and now she only takes a few bites of her own and
walks away, comes back for more later.....it just seems so odd! Even mackerel is just sort of "Meh!" to her.....she'll take it or leave it.

I did find her chowing down on my dog's dinner again last night (I ran downstairs just for a second because the washer was off balance....come back up and
she's on her hind legs paws in his bowl....raised feeder...big dog....and he's standing behind her watching her eat!) She didn't get much I'm sure, but it lets me know that she's really craving carb food and not the food I'm giving her.....

I feel so bad....this is a cat that used to get into our bags of bagels, bread cakes etc and we had to be sure not to leave anything out in the open or we'd find
she'd been up on the counter dining on it. She really loves carbs for some reason.

I'm worried that soon she won't eat proper meals so it'll be hard to give her insulin. How much food do they need to have on board for insulin not to be dangerous?

Thanks.

 

[Hillary & Maui (GA)]

When Maui was first diagnosed, she could eat 2 - 3 cans of Fancy Feast at one time. As the insulin started working and her glucose was getting regulated, her insatiable hunger dropped significantly.

The biggest thing I noticed about Maui's change was her lack of drinking water. She used to sit at the water bowl for hours drinking like crazy, she was so thirsty she would drink out of my water glass and lick the condensation from the glass. She also would have her face in my ice cream bowl.

I realize now that these were all signs of a diabetic cat.

Today, she is in remission and I have only seen her drink once or twice and she has no interest in ice cream or anything sweet/dairy.

If your cat's appetite has dropped, it means that either the insulin is working or she is sneaking food elsewhere. Are you home testing? So that you know what is happening with the glucose levels?

And you may need to put the dog in a separate room with his food in order to keep her away from it. Dry food is not good for cats and I'm sure dog food isn't good for them either.

 

[hmjohnston]

It is okay- really!

A diabetic cat is literally a starving cat that eats everything they can- and still loose weight. The problem is they cannot get the nutrients because they have no insulin in the system to pull it out. Once you get the insulin they start getting the nutrients they need and they stop eating like a horse.

My Sneakers was eating 15-20 oz/day when she was unregulated. It took 9 months but she is down to 6-8 oz/day right now- goes up to 10 oz when the dark passenger is awake and active, but compared to what she WAS eating it is a WHOLE lot less.

What are Molly's numbers like? This is a big clue on the route she is taking. When Sneakers got into the neighborhood dry food she went from 300 pinks to blacks and beyond.

I would worry about the dog food- if it is dry kibble that will effect her numbers. She might just be sniffing the flori flori in it (used to entice animals to eat the dry food- wonder what it smells like without it?) and remember she used to eat that.

heather

 

[macal]

Molly's range right now is cycling around the 200s with highs close to 300 and lows in the 100s area. I'm not home often to catch the nadir but have had a few tests below 100. Currently at 0.5 U and am thinking of bumping it up slightly to a "fat" 0.5 U after 7 days at 0.5 U to get lower #s but want to see how she responds with current dose first. We haven't been doing this long. Her spreadsheets should be attached in the signature section.

Yes I supervise the feeding area vigilantly because of Molly's habits, but it never occurred to me that she'd get into the dog food WHILE the dog was eating his dinner! Amazing. She didn't get much and they do eat in separate rooms which makes it that much more unlikely but holy smokes! This kitty's determined.
There aren't any other carb sources around as far as I know.

Glad to know that you've noticed decreases in appetite. How much food do you think they need with their insulin dose? (Lantus user here)

Thanks

 

[macal]

For example this morning....she ate about a tablespoon of Fancy Feast then walked away....so I gave her a tablespoon of tuna on top of the FF, she ate that but still left the FF. Gave her some turkey and some mackerel to try to get enough food in her that I could give her a shot.