Sudden raw rejection

[Meowmeow and Quinton]

Hi everyone,

My Meowmeow has had diabetes for around 3 months now and he's on Lantus.
Approximately 5 days ago I switched him over to raw food(and dropped his dosage to 1 unit) and he's been gobbling that up until yesterday. He used to eat with such gusto at every meal, especially before raw on his Purina DM/savory selects and Royal Canin diabetic dry. I didn't need a transition period for his raw food because I was trying to feed it to my newer kitty and Meowmeow always gets a taste. He loved it from the moment he caught a whiff of it, so I didn't think transition was necessary. Yesterday he decided he didn't like his raw commercial ground chicken it after eating 50% of his breakfast. So for dinner I changed to salmon+chicken combo and he loved that one. This morning AGAIN he decides he' having none of that, so I added a quarter of a can of Tiki Cat diluted with water. When I came back I saw he had eaten about 75% of his food.

I'm a bit worried at his sudden finickiness. He's NEVER been a picky cat and has always eaten everything we gave him. His brand of food has always had variety, so I think his body was able to handle the change. He also seems to call for food less. His points have dropped by 2-4mmol/L since I started the raw diet. Do you think it's because it's raw food that he doesn't need as much anymore? He's also stopped calling for food at meal time.

The positive change i've noticed is just very small, dry stools.

Any advice is much appreciated!

 

[BJM]

Small, dry stools may = constipation. Please go to and read over Feline Constipation to learn more about the cat's GI tract, how it works, and how to intervene when it doesn't.

Also, any kind of GI upset may cause inappetance and a common one in diabetes is pancreatitis. Look for signs of discomfort - "meat loafing" where the cat hunches into a tight Sphinx like position, with eyes half closed, for example, or pulling away from you if you touch the abdomen.

If 2 days pass with no food eaten, you'll need to take him to the vet due to the risk of hepatic lipidosis, a potentially fatal condition where the fat broken down for calories overwhelms the liver and disrupts digestion.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

I think the small dry stools could be from the raw...it does some amazing things to poo! It gets very dry, isn't as dark, and really has no smell

Was looking at your spreadsheet and was wondering if you had not put in some of your Pre-shot numbers or did you not test before shooting on those days?

It's always very important to get a Pre-shot...ESPECIALLY since you're switching from a higher carb food to a much lower one. Changing the carb levels can drastically reduce the amount of insulin needed!

Would love to have you come over to the Lantus/Levemir Insulin Support group! We post pretty much daily, and people that are using Lantus can really help you on getting Meowmeow into the best numbers possible...maybe even remission! There are also several "Stickies" at the top of the group that can help explain the protocols we use

I LOVE that name by the way! Very cute!!

 

[Meowmeow and Quinton]

@BJM Prior to starting raw food, I went to catsit for a lady who fed her who kitties raw for 2 years now. When cleaning their litter box their stools were small and dry and had no odour. I thought it's a good thing because it means his body is using up all the nutrition from the food? I just took a look at him for "meat loafing".. but actually he came over to me to look for some food. He looks pretty normal and didn't flinch when I took his PMPS. I think he's doing alright, but it's always good to know about more things that can go wrong in his little body :T.

@Chris & China Yay I'm so happy someone can confirm my findings about my cat's poo. Yes unfortunately I don't have a lot of time in the morning to be able to test pre-shot numbers consistently, especially if he decides to be difficult. I will try my best though! For the past times that I was able to get a pre-shot, his numbers were much lower than they have ever been when he was on his canned and dry food. Which I'm very happy about. Yes I will definitely go over to that thread as soon as I see my new holistic vet this Friday. I'd like an available professional involved while I adjust Meowmeow's insulin dosing. Thanks for the link I will post there shortly

 

[BJM]

Raw does reduce the volume of feces, however, if there is no fur, nor feathers consumed which provide some bulk, there can be an issue with constipation.
The inappetance is concerning, though.
See my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tool for tips on urine ketone testing. Ketones form when fat is broken down for calories. Too many ketones may indicate diabetic ketoacidosis, a potentially fatal, expensive to treat complication of diabetes (which he may not have).

 

[Critter Mom]

Have a look at Dr Lisa Pierson's site, catinfo.org. I think somewhere on the site she has an article on poop with pictures (IIRC).

As BJ says, although the poops may be healthier on the raw species-appropriate diet, some cats may develop constipation. As best I can remember, Dr Pierson discusses this in the aforementioned article.