Question regarding nutrition -- feline diabetes

[Megan90]

Hello!

My cat Musashi was diagnosed with diabetes today after having some lab work done on Tuesday . We are scheduled to see the vet for a follow-up appointment on Saturday, 10/27. He has eaten dry food his entire life (he's 12), and I just tonight got him switched over to Fancy Feast pate canned food.

I'm wondering how much I should be feeding him (in ounces)? He is 18 lbs, but has lost about 5 pounds over the past year. He hasn't been eating as much as he usually does over the past few days (he sleeps SO much), so I was ecstatic to see him enthusiastically gobble up the wet food!

I also have two other cats that thankfully also ate the wet food - HOORAY!

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

The general rule is 20 calories per pound, but until his blood glucose is under better control, he'll need to eat more. There's about 90 calories per can of FF

Diabetic cats can't utilize the food they eat correctly. Think of insulin like it's a key....and on every cell in the body, there's a lock. Without the correct number of keys, the food he's eating can't get into the cells so the cells are actually starving to death, even when he's eating huge amounts of food.

All food breaks down into glucose which is what cells need to survive....without the keys to open the locks, that glucose just stays in the bloodstream (which is why the blood glucose is so high)

You don't however, want to feed him so much that he gains too much weight, so it's a good idea to get a baby scale like this and weigh him once a week. If he needs to gain, increase the amount...if he needs to lose, reduce the amount

You can also use a regular bathroom scale (but it's not as exact)….just weigh yourself, pick up your cat and do the math!

 

[Megan90]

The general rule is 20 calories per pound, but until his blood glucose is under better control, he'll need to eat more. There's about 90 calories per can of FF

Diabetic cats can't utilize the food they eat correctly. Think of insulin like it's a key....and on every cell in the body, there's a lock. Without the correct number of keys, the food he's eating can't get into the cells so the cells are actually starving to death, even when he's eating huge amounts of food.

All food breaks down into glucose which is what cells need to survive....without the keys to open the locks, that glucose just stays in the bloodstream (which is why the blood glucose is so high)

You don't however, want to feed him so much that he gains too much weight, so it's a good idea to get a baby scale like this and weigh him once a week. If he needs to gain, increase the amount...if he needs to lose, reduce the amount

You can also use a regular bathroom scale (but it's not as exact)….just weigh yourself, pick up your cat and do the math!

Thanks for your reply! The cans I bought are 3oz each -- are those 90 cals?? I'm looking at the cat food chart posted on this forum and it says that FF is roughly 90 per 5.5 oz cans?

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Since FF only comes in 3oz cans, that's the calorie count for the 3 ounces

They're between about 85-95 per 3oz can (depending on flavor)

 

[Gracie85]

Fancy Feast says to give one can per 3 to 3-1/2 pounds of cat, per day. The flavors I just looked up run 92-99 kcals/can. So FF is recommending more like 26-33 kcal per pound the cat weighs. Are they trying to make our cats fat? Are they just trying to sell more food? Their recommendations mean my 12 pound cat needs to eat 4 cans a day, which seems like a lot, not that he's complaining....

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Are they trying to make our cats fat? Are they just trying to sell more food?

Most of the cat food companies "recommended" amounts are crazy high

The general rule (from Dr. Lisa's "Feeding your Cat--Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition" ) has a formula to start with.

It's [13.6 X optimal lean body weight in pounds] + 70....so for a cat that should weigh 12lbs, you'd start at 233 calories per day BUT if the cat gains or loses with that amount, you adjust as needed.

Weighing your cat once a week is one of the best ways to determine if you're feeding the right amount.

 

[Elizabeth and Bertie]

My cat Musashi was diagnosed with diabetes today after having some lab work done on Tuesday . We are scheduled to see the vet for a follow-up appointment on Saturday, 10/27. He has eaten dry food his entire life (he's 12), and I just tonight got him switched over to Fancy Feast pate canned food.

Hello, and welcome.

Finding out our kitty is diabetic can come as quite a shock at first. But diabetes IS treatable, and many diabetic kitties will live as long and as happily as non-diabetics. Also, quite a number of diabetic kitties will go into remission from their diabetes and be able to become diet-controlled, temporarily or permanently.

I see that you have just switched from dry food to low carb wet food. Can I just check, is your cat on insulin yet? ...If your cat is not yet on insulin then this is a great time to switch to low carb wet.
But, if your cat is already on insulin then switching to low carb needs to be done with great care. Reducing the carb content of the diet can reduce the blood glucose, sometimes quite dramatically. Reducing carb content while the cat is on insulin should only be done if you are hometesting (testing your cat's blood glucose at home) and are able to reduce the insulin dose as necessary. Too much insulin causes hypoglycemia.

Eliz

 

[Megan90]

Hello, and welcome.

Finding out our kitty is diabetic can come as quite a shock at first. But diabetes IS treatable, and many diabetic kitties will live as long and as happily as non-diabetics. Also, quite a number of diabetic kitties will go into remission from their diabetes and be able to become diet-controlled, temporarily or permanently.

I see that you have just switched from dry food to low carb wet food. Can I just check, is your cat on insulin yet? ...If your cat is not yet on insulin then this is a great time to switch to low carb wet.
But, if your cat is already on insulin then switching to low carb needs to be done with great care. Reducing the carb content of the diet can reduce the blood glucose, sometimes quite dramatically. Reducing carb content while the cat is on insulin should only be done if you are hometesting (testing your cat's blood glucose at home) and are able to reduce the insulin dose as necessary. Too much insulin causes hypoglycemia.

Eliz

Nope! He hasn't started insulin yet. I made sure to double AND triple check before completely switching him over

I'm wondering what the cheapest route is for buying FF?? Musashi will be consuming roughly 3 cans a day, and I have two other cats who are also on the heavier side that will also need around 2-3 cans per day as well. This is going off of the 20 cals per lb of body weight equation, so maybe I could get away with feeding them less? Otherwise I'll be spending nearly triple what I was paying for their Blue Buffalo dry food, and as a college student who is paying completely out of pocket, I'm not sure I can afford it

 

[Veronica & Babu-chiri]

Maybe you could consider home cooking is much more time consuming but it can be a lot cheaper, Dr. Lisa has a very good recipe in her site https://catinfo.org/making-cat-food/

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

You can also use Friskies pates (about $1.10 per can but those are 12-13oz cans!) or Special Kitty pates from WalMart (about .85 cents for the large can)

Both are below 10% carbs and fine for a sugarcat.

What I did was feed my diabetic FF and my 2 civvies get Friskies...if China does sneak a little of their food, it doesn't matter since they're low carb too and it saves me a little money.

 

[Megan90]

You can also use Friskies pates (about $1.10 per can but those are 12-13oz cans!) or Special Kitty pates from WalMart (about .85 cents for the large can)

Both are below 10% carbs and fine for a sugarcat.

What I did was feed my diabetic FF and my 2 civvies get Friskies...if China does sneak a little of their food, it doesn't matter since they're low carb too and it saves me a little money.

I actually just got back from Target and bought some Friskies -- definitely more affordable for now. I am so thankful that my cats all seem to like any brand/flavor of wet food I put in front of them. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[Elizabeth and Bertie]

I actually just got back from Target and bought some Friskies -- definitely more affordable for now.

If you find that any food is cheaper if you can buy large cans, but are concerned about wasting some, then you could always freeze any excess in portions until you need them. Many cat foods freeze just fine, so it could be worth a try...
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