? Sprocket & I need advice

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Darnell & Sprocket (GA)

Darnell & Sprocket (GA)

Member Since 2015
Hi. I don't know if we are doing something wrong but Sprocket gained about 3-4 pounds back on since the end of March. I looked up the amount of calories he should eat but I am giving giving him the right amount. I found that 300 calories a day for his size. He was 12.5 in March. Now he is 16.5. I am not sure what part of day is good to weigh a cat and I do the old standby of weighing myself then pick him up and subtract.
He was originally about 17.5 lbs before he got diabetes. He is part Maine Coon with big paws. I have been feeding him all canned fancy feast, friskies, or sheba. So I am doing approximate numbers not exact. So please share some advice.
 
The feeding recommendations on the food packaging is almost always too much

The best thing to do is decide how much to feed, weigh the cat weekly and adjust the amounts according to that...if he needs to gain, increase the amount he's fed...if he needs to lose, reduce the food, and if he's at a good weight, continue what you're doing!

As for when to weigh, just do it at about the same time of day each time because weight can be different at different times of the day, but if you're consistent with weighing at about the same time each time, you're going to get a good idea of what's going on

There's no EXACT method to determining how much to feed any particular cat because ECID (every cat is different)
 
Do you know how much Sprocket should weigh? If you read the obesity section on Dr. Lisa's site (here), she gives this formula as a starting point: 13.6 x cat's ideal weight + 70. Then you can adjust for your particular cat's metabolism, energy level, etc. She says she has to get *most* cats down to about 180 calories a day or less before she sees any weight loss. That was true for my cat Henry. By the formula, he'd get about 250 calories a day, but that's just too much for him (he's 12 and fairly lazy). We're finally seeing some weight loss now that he's at the 170-180 calorie range (which would be roughly two 3oz cans of Fancy Feast Classics or one 5.5oz can of Friskies Special Diet Beef & Chicken Classic Pate per day). I am very fortunate that Henry is in remission, so I feed him 5 small meals a day to help his pancreas out a bit; his energy level has improved a lot between that and the weight loss. You just want to make sure you go gradually and don't let Sprocket lose weight too fast.
 
Hi Chris, Rachel, and Rhiannon. Sorry for delay in reply but I don't get a lot of time free. Thanks for your input.
Sprocket has always loved his food. He used to be almost 18 lbs before he got sick. His energy is great, and he's social again. So obviously I will need to feed him less after Chris n Rachel's information. Currently I am feeding at about 6am, 10am, 1pm, 3:30pm, 6pm, 10pm, n 1am with more food at the 6 o'clock hours. The rest are smaller amounts with a total of 5-6 fancy feast cans for 2 cats. Or 2 less FF n a riskiest can. Cordelia, his companion, is tiny and she eats like a bird so it's hard to feed one n not the other.
So if I feed them less, how do I live with the crying, begging, tail thumping, evil stares, and toes walking on me that suddenly feel like they weigh a ton??? Lol.
Does the insulin have calories? He gets a lot of that, 3 units 2x a day.
Yes, Rhiannon, he is playful. He played fetch with his mousey toy a few times a day. And he plays by himself too.
I just got my printer set up so I will be figuring out those spreadsheets soon.
I weighed him this morning and now he is 17 lbs. I knew it's not exact but it's not good.
Thanks,
Darnell
 
Add some water to each feeding and mix well. This increases volume to help him feel more full. Remove a teaspoon or two of this to reduce calorie intake.
Spread food thinly across a plate to slow him down, if he tends to scarf on the feedings at shot time.
You're already feeding mini-meals, which helps him from getting too hungry at 1 time.

You may find with a reduction of intake, the insulin dose may also decrease, so be sure to test around the likely nadir and be prepared to intervene if he's heading too low. (See my signature link Glucometer Notes for reference ranges).
 
Darnell said:
Hi. I don't know if we are doing something wrong but Sprocket gained about 3-4 pounds back on since the end of March. I looked up the amount of calories he should eat but I am giving giving him the right amount. I found that 300 calories a day for his size. He was 12.5 in March. Now he is 16.5. I am not sure what part of day is good to weigh a cat and I do the old standby of weighing myself then pick him up and subtract.
He was originally about 17.5 lbs before he got diabetes. He is part Maine Coon with big paws. I have been feeding him all canned fancy feast, friskies, or sheba. So I am doing approximate numbers not exact. So please share some advice.
Click to expand...

@Darnell Here's a link to a very reputable vet site and how to actually safely help your cat to lose weight. Dr. Becker's advice has been tooted as sound and good advice by other vets as well. :)

Dr. Becker's Advice On Cat Weight Loss & Calculations

Don't forget too that oftentimes, an overweight diabetic cat, might have a ravenous appetite so, they will eat more but, may be losing weight at first because their bodies can't utilize the nutrition or glucose properly by their cells. Yet, they will eat themselves silly in an attempt for their bodies to compensate for what it perceives to be a lacking of nutrients/glucose as the cells are not taking that glucose in and it's spilling into the urine.

As a cat becomes more regulated with the diabetes (unsure as I can't see your cat's numbers since you don't have any posted/a spread sheet set up), the cells start to use the glucose again and weight will be put on again. In some ways, that's a good thing and a sign that your cat is utilizing glucose better but, in other ways, it's not ideal to have an overweight cat who is also diabetic. Double edged sword, isn't it?

The only real way to deal with this is to adjust the amounts of foods your cat is getting currently, to a measured amount set out as a "safe weight loss" level (don't want to risk too few calories due to liver issues). It's like humans too. The more sedentary your cat is, the less likely he/she is to losing weight. Even a few play sessions can help get kitty moving and that burns calories and uses excess glucose as well.

If you're unsure of the calories per can that kitty is eating...try using the customer service number on the cans of foods and giving them a call to see. Most companies post that info online as well.

Hope this helps :)
 
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