To Feed or Not to Feed?

Hello,

Since my last post, Tigg's vet has advised increasing his dose to 3.0 units, and his numbers seem like they are starting to go down now. I'd like some advice with when and how much to feed him though.

I transitioned Tigg to only wet food shortly after he was diagnosed, and now feed him either Fancy Feast or Friskies classic pates (0-5% carbs). His treats are freeze dried pork liver and freeze dried chicken breast.

Tigg was underweight at diagnosis, weighing 9.9lbs and is now a healthy weight at 12.1lbs. Now that he is a healthy weight, I don't want to be over feeding him. He was eating 4- 5.5oz cans a day to gain weight; he would get a can before each dose, one as soon as I got home from work, and one when I went to bed. I want to feed him when he asks for food, but he would happily eat 5 or 6 cans if I let him. Once he got used to the routine, he wouldn't complain about his bowl being empty until about 15 minutes from meal time.

When Tigg is home by himself, he hardly eats a thing. He used to meet me at the door when I got home from work, then race over to his bowl to scarf down almost half a can leftover from his AMPS meal and cry about his empty bowl until I gave him another can. My spouse had been away at school for a few months, and just recently got home. When my spouse is at home, Tigg finishes his can before noon and begs for food.

My spouse doesn't work regular hours and doesn't know when or how long he will be gone so a midday meal wouldn't be at the same time. How can I keep Tigg to a routine when my spouse doesn't have one? Also, does 22oz of wet food seem like way too much? He's a pretty large cat and I know a lot of the food is moisture, but I feel like almost 1-1/4lbs of food is a lot.
 
Hi! I see Tigg is on Lantus; you might try reposting your question there. It might get more views. Put the Date and Tigg's name at the start of your title and mark your title with the little blue question mark like you did on your other post.

Congratulations to you and Tigg for the healthy weight!

My husband got a baby scale on Amazon so that we can weigh our boys without a vet bill. We put some low carbs treats on it so they are distracted long enough to get a reading. This could help you determine if he's getting enough food, but doesn't really answer your question. Do try posting on the Lantus Forum. :)
 
Buy a programmable timed feeder so your cat has meals at scheduled times throughout the day. You just have to remember to fill the compartments in the morning. Canned food is fine to leave out in a feeder all day. Some feeeders have an ice pack feature to keep food cool. People like to add water to the canned food portions to they don't dry out too fast. You can freeze canned food into portion sizes and pop the frozen chunk into the feeder to slowly defrost. Catmate is one brand. I have the Petsafe 5 compartment one.

With Lantus, you don't want to feed anything 2 hours before the insulin injection because food will cause a blood glucose spike.

A general suggestion is to feed roughly 20 to 25 calories per pound of ideal body weight. A 12 lb cat may need anywhere from 240 to 300 calories daily. If a cat is still hungry, feed a little more without causing weight gain. Leaving too much uneaten? Feed a little less. However, unregulated diabetic cats are always hungry so you basically just feed them as much as they will eat. 22 oz of food is a lot but it may be what your cat needs right now until the diabetes is better regulated.
 
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