Switching for canned food. Any tips?

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Priscilla

Member Since 2012
My 14 year old cat always eat free dry food her entire life. Now I decided to change to canned food but its so dificult and frustrating :(
I tried many flavors, put some smoked turkey breast, little butter, cheese and she still didn't eat.
She only eat when I'm with her, with a spoon or when I put in her paws and she had to lick :)
I'm commited to change the diet because she is diabetic. First day she eat canned food, her glucose drops 400 to 60! And I decrease insulin 4UI to1 UI.
It's also dificult give food only 2 times a day. I think she is starving ;)
Any tips?
Has anyone experienced this?

Regards
Priscillla and Zeze from Brazil.
 
Some people have luck with a probiotic called FortiFlora. You can buy it online. It has the animal digest in it that makes dry food so irrestible. You sprinkle it on top. You can also sprinkle on a favorite treat (my guys love Bonito flakes and PureBites freeze dried meats)

Another thing you might try is to add a little warm water and mix it up. Sometimes it's the chunky texture of the food that confuses them and adding a gravy like texture helps.

Others will be along with what worked for them. Good for you working on this even though it's hard! It sounds like it makes a huge difference in your kitty's glucose levels.
 
Oh be careful with real milk , it has sugar.
lactose.


they make cat milk that is lactase, it is low fat and no sugar. You may have more of a hunt to find it in Brazil but specialty type pet stores should have it.
If not, you can order it online.

Old habits do die hard. There have been a few others with the same problem and they spoon fed for a week or two and then suddenly their cats were
willing to eat canned.
I hope yours will do the same.
It's for the good , without giving up that dry food, your chances of regulating are low.

Has you cat ever been interested in anything you are cooking.
Mine will ask for eggs which are pure protein. And if I have crab legs, she's right there demanding her share.
 
Priscilla said:
I'm commited to change the diet because she is diabetic. First day she eat canned food, her glucose drops 400 to 60! And I decrease insulin 4UI to1 UI.
Click to expand...

Are you testing the blood glucose levels at home?

A diet change can impact blood glucose levels alot. It's good that you decreased the dose from 4 units to 1 unit. Had you not, your cat would certainly had hypoglycemia.


It's also dificult give food only 2 times a day. I think she is starving ;)
Any tips?
Click to expand...

Free feed your cat. 2 meals a day isn't enough for a diabetic cat because the body can't use the food nutrients the right way. Multiple small meals spread throughout the day is best. It will also help stabalize blood glucose levels and prevent them from crashing too low from lack of food.

People here use a programmable timed feeder to give their cats meals. Here's a popular one: PetSafe 5 compartment feeder

Here are tips to do a diet change: http://catinfo.org/docs/Tips for Transitioning PDF 1-14-11.pdf With some cats, you need to have a lot of patience. It may take weeks or months for a cat to eat some canned food.
 
You could also try sprinkling some Parmesan cheese on the canned food. I swear my Pumbaa would eat anything I gave him if I sprinkled Parmesan on it! *LOL*
 
Hi,
Yes I'm testing BG at home.
Free feed with canned food? It's not bad? Here is very hot, 30ºC, the food does not damage?


squeem3 said:
Priscilla said:
I'm commited to change the diet because she is diabetic. First day she eat canned food, her glucose drops 400 to 60! And I decrease insulin 4UI to1 UI.
Click to expand...

Are you testing the blood glucose levels at home?

A diet change can impact blood glucose levels alot. It's good that you decreased the dose from 4 units to 1 unit. Had you not, your cat would certainly had hypoglycemia.


It's also dificult give food only 2 times a day. I think she is starving ;)
Any tips?
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Free feed your cat. 2 meals a day isn't enough for a diabetic cat because the body can't use the food nutrients the right way. Multiple small meals spread throughout the day is best. It will also help stabalize blood glucose levels and prevent them from crashing too low from lack of food.

People here use a programmable timed feeder to give their cats meals. Here's a popular one: PetSafe 5 compartment feeder
 
Hello Priscilla,
Your numbers are scaring me.

I just got up to do a test on mine and I needed to wake up so I came online.

Your dosage looks to be reactive to the number you got last.
I'm afraid you could hypo again if your cat's bg keeps dropping.
I am really hoping that won't happen.

see the topic back on the main fdmb forum. How to handle low test readings. the link is
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=61799


and don't go to fast with the insulin
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=61800

I hope you have karo syrup or honey nearby.


Which insulin are you using?
IF your numbers go lower tonite again, you need to start a new topic with the 911 icon. That will get you the most immediate attention.
And watch your cat for any signs. Give her food with lower numbers and if she refuses food and she's shaking or showing other signs, give her the syrup.


I"m watching with you right now if you are awake and monitoring. You could be good since you're practically past the mid point of the cycle.


I am very glad you are monitoring.
Since you have made the big change to canned food , she is very likely reacting to both the insulin and the lack of carbs.
So while you are making this transition, do not increase dosages.
You will more likely be decreasing.
Going off the horrible dry food can drop your bg 100 right away and maybe we are seeing that reaction.

Keep spoon feeding her the canned food and if she keeps going down, you will want to lower another .5

It's important to know that going to the high protein low carb diet wih the proper canned foods will make her hungrier at first because
she's been used to all those carbs.
Let her eat many times a day, smaller meals are better for her because they keep her blood sugar levels the same thruout the day.
 
Priscilla said:
Hi,
Yes I'm testing BG at home.
Free feed with canned food? It's not bad? Here is very hot, 30ºC, the food does not damage?
Click to expand...

You can free feed canned food. What people here do is freeze the food into chunks (like in an ice crub tray) and put the frozen chunks into the feeder. The chunks will slowly defrost. Some brands of feeders have ice packs to keep the food cool.

You are using Lantus, right? Please add the name of the insulin to the title of your spreadsheet so it is easy for members to know what you are using.

You're getting some nice green numbers. The diet does seem to be helping. For 7-17-12, do you mean you gave 10 pieces of dry food at +10 (10 hours after the insulin shot)? If so, then that is why the PMPS shot up to over 300. Plus with Lantus you do not want to feed food 2 hours before the AMPS or PMPS. Food will raise blood glucose levels. YOu want a "fasting bood glucose leve" for the AMPS and PMPS.

I don't think you should jump around from dose to dose. I'mm get some more experienced Lantus users to suggest what dose you should give.
 
Welcome, Priscilla.

There are a couple of basics that will help you with Lantus. Lantus does best with consistency. You need to shoot as close to every 12 hours as possible and you need to be consistent with dose. By being consistent with dose I mean that you should be giving the same amount at both shot times. Lantus forms an insulin depot and every time you change the dose, the depot needs time to stabilize.

You should also be getting at least one test per cycle (there are 2 shot cycles per day) in addition to your pre-shot test. Lantus dose is based on the nadir -- the lowest point in the cycle. Dosing is not based on your pre-shot test numbers.

At this point, I would think about reducing your dose to 1.0u or 1.5u. I'd stick with that dose for 3 days unless Zeze's numbers drop below 50. A drop below 50 indicates you need to reduce the dose by 0.25u.

There is a great deal of information in the starred sticky notes at the top of the Lantus board.
  • Tight Regulation Protocol: This sticky contains the dosing protocol that we use here. There are also links to the more formal versions -- the Tilly Protocol developed by the counterpart of this group in Germany and the Queensland/Rand protocol developed by Jacqui Rand, DVM and published in one of the top vet journals.
  • New to the Group: Everything you wanted to know about this forum and more. Info on our slang, FAQs, links to sites on feline nutrition and to food charts containing carb counts, how to do a curve and the components to look for, important aspects of diabetes such as ketones, DKA, and neuropathy, and most important, info on hypoglycemia.
  • Handling Lantus: how to get the maximum use from your insulin and what to not do with it!
  • Lantus depot/shed: This is an important concept for understanding how Lantus works.
  • Lantus & Levemir: Shooting & Handling Low Numbers: What data you need in order to be able to work toward remission or tight regulation as well as information if you have a low pre-shot number or a drop into low numbers during the cycle.
 
Hi everybody

Sorry my delay on answer.

I'm learning more about Lantus and I'm thinking we are doing better now.
I have maple syrup and keep my eye on her numbers all day long.

Change dry food is so frustrating but we are improving.

Next week I will start homemad food with chicken breast, chicken heart and liver. I also will add some carrots and some kale, just 6% on DM.
I will cook also. I will bake on the oven because I'm a little concerned on give raw food.
Beside, I will give some suplements like vit E, Taurina, MethylB12, Calcium carbonate, Fish oil, Psyllium and others.
Until she is only in a low carb diet I think the numbers will not be consistent.

I'm still give food with a spoon, she doesn't eat too much by herself.

One thing she really like is coconut oil! Do you think is ok I give on her food?

Thanks so much for your help!
I wish I could write better on english, there is so much I want to tell :)

Priscilla
 
Dr. Lisa Pierson gives excellent advise on making your own cat food.
She stresses the importance of getting a grinder so you can include bone and explains why it's so important. Also all the supplements.
http://www.catinfo.org/?link=makingcatfood




I did a quick google search on coconut oil and cats and didn't find any big flags that said anything negative ...yet.
Seems a lot of people thinks it's beneficial.
But I would always use moderation. More usually isn't better.
And this could just be a new fad like soy.
Everyone starting using that (soy) more and it's now showing to be more harmful.
Who needs more estrogen? nailbite_smile

Soy is bad for cats so don't go there.


There are things you can add to make food more attractive.
Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top or mixed in.
A product called Bonita flakes. ( it's little flakes of fish that cats really like and it's all protein)
And http://www.healthypets.com/fortiflora30.html


Go read www.catinfo.org
about transitioning your cat''s foods. It has lots of suggestions and instructions.

Good luck getting your kitty to eat.
I can't get mine to eat raw. I plan on cooking it a little too since she prefers it.
I haven't tried all the add ons I mentioned yet because mine is doing well with her new canned foods. ( she already ate canned )


Do you have the 2 binky lists so you can try the lower carbs canned foods?
http://binkyspage.tripod.com/CanFoodNew.html
http://binkyspage.tripod.com/CanFoodOld.html



Keep asking questions.
 
Priscilla said:
I wish I could write better on english, there is so much I want to tell :)

Priscilla
Click to expand...

Priscilla: You write very well and it is easy to understand what you are writing. If you are finding it hard to express yourself fully in English though, you could try one of the translating sites available on line -- like Google Translate. http://translate.google.com/

This allows you to write everything you want to say in your language (Spanish?), and it will translate your words into English -- shown in the box on the right. Then you just copy the English version and paste it into your post on this board.

Let me say again, that your English is just fine as it is; but since you said you have "so much you want to tell" and it is difficult to do so in English, maybe one of these translation sites will make it easier. There are many other translating sites available online (other than the link above): just do a web search - "translate Spanish to English" and you will find many.

Melanie
 
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