Snacking, Grazing, Scheduled Feedings—Oh MY!

[Catbug91]

Hi all! My 5 year old, Dilly Bar, was recently diagnosed. I've figured out the glucose testing at home, and have switched him to Fancy Feast Pate (which he adores!). He weighs 8.3, which is too skinny for his frame. His numbers are currently bad. 400's. Vet just put him up to 2 units of Lantus twice a day. So while we are trying to regulate his insulin and glucose levels, it feels like food is my next mountain to conquer on this learning journey.

But I'm seeing really mixed ideologies about feeding!

My vet, one one hand, said to do feedings twice a day, right before insulin shots. We've been doing this for weeks, and it doesn't seem to be improving his numbers. He currently gets 1.5 cans of 3 oz Fancy Feast Pate each meal. We dropped it down to just 1 can for the last couple meals because he isn't eating as fast and ravenously as he once was.

On here, I've read people free feed—but what food? Many posts hail wet food as the only safe option, but I have two cats so if I leave wet food out all day, the non diabetic cat will definitely scarf it down. The non-diabetic wouldn't do that with dry food, so I could leave healthy dry food out for him to free feed after his initial can of wet? But I've heard mixed reviews from people on here on any type of dry food. . . .

I've also read on here that some people do 3-5 small meals a day. I could not do that consistently with my work schedule and my social life. . . .

I'm afraid of going against my vet's orders and putting Dilly in worse shape than he already is. But he also doesn't seem to be improving anyway. So I'm confused all around! Just want to do what's best for him and for us as a whole.

Thank you for any suggestions you can provide!

 

[squeem3]

On here, I've read people free feed—but what food?

The same food the diabetic cat normally eats Or mix it up with any other brand of low carb canned food.

Many posts hail wet food as the only safe option, but I have two cats so if I leave wet food out all day, the non diabetic cat will definitely scarf it down. The non-diabetic wouldn't do that with dry food, so I could leave healthy dry food out for him to free feed after his initial can of wet? But I've heard mixed reviews from people on here on any type of dry food. . . .

I've also read on here that some people do 3-5 small meals a day. I could not do that consistently with my work schedule and my social life. . . .

Buy a programmable timed feeder so your diabetic cat has access to small meals throughout the day. Canned food is a cooked product so it's fine to leave out all day. It might get dry but most cats are ok with that. You can freeze portion sizes and pop the frozen chunk into the feeder to slowly defrost. Some feeders have ice packs.

You may need to get two feeders so the cats have their own set of meals. There isn't a microchip programmable timed feeder available but there are ways to keep the non-diabetic from eating all the food. See this thread: https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/microchip-timed-feeder.286576/

I'm afraid of going against my vet's orders and putting Dilly in worse shape than he already is. But he also doesn't seem to be improving anyway. So I'm confused all around! Just want to do what's best for him and for us as a whole.

It's fine to disagree with the vet on some things, such as food. Don't feel you have to to everything the vet says. Feel free to discuss your concerns with the vet. A good vet will explain things clearly and support whatever decision you make.

There's a Lantus board here that you should check out, especially the info stickies: https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/lantus-levemir-biosimilars.9/