Tonk update (OTJ) 06/20 AM-premeal 94

[jmalasiuk]

Hi, I hope everyone is doing well.

I'm trying to figure out what is going on with Tonka. His gums have healed up nicely after all his extractions, his weight appears to be stable (I thought he was losing a bit, but he weighed the same at the vet that he had a month ago, so my scale may have just been off a bit); he keeps insisting that he is starving, though, and his blood sugars are still hovering on the higher end of "normal". He likes to live between the mid 70s and the high 90s (on the Bravo meter). I know this is still a healthy level, but I'm worried that he'll start creeping up, especially if I give in and start feeding him a bit more.

How many calories are recommended for weight maintenance on a 12-13 pound cat who is at his ideal weight? He's been doing well on the DM and Fancy Feast Turkey and Giblets combination that he's been eating since last winter, so I don't really want to mess with that, but I need to start introducing something else for food, because Teeger won't eat the DM anymore and he's been losing more weight in spite of his thyroid levels being close to normal now. I can't really feed them separately, and Teeger leaves whatever he doesn't feel like eating for Tonka to gobble up after him.

So the question becomes, is Tonka actually hungry all the time, or is he just a glutton?

 

[Tricia Cinco(GA) & Harvey]

I believe it varies based on age, activity, etc., but the guidelines I've heard are 30 calories per pound of weight if the cat is healthy and active.

Tonka's numbers are still good, but I know you are on high alert to catch any trouble before it builds.

Would it be possible to give Teeger a small amount of his meal separately from Tonka, then leave them together for the second half? You could then give Teeger something with higher calories, a small amount so he'll eat it, and then let him finish off with the FF T&G. Just a thought.

Good luck getting this figured out. I'm sure others will chime in with ideas soon. Caturdays are a little sparse on the Board.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Hi Jordi - good to see a Tonka update. Dr. Lisa has a section on catinfo.org on How Much Should I Feed. There are a couple of methods of determining amounts, but as Tricia says, ECID.

Have you tried boiling a chicken breast, cutting into small cubes, and giving a few of those as small snacks throughout the day? I found with Neko (who is always hungry) that more frequent smaller meals, but the same about of food, and added water, helped to fill her up.

 

[Vyktors Mum]

We are such worry warts - 75 to 100 isn't the higher end of normal being 50-120 -it's pretty much in the middle! Vyktor was lower when he first went OTJ but then crept up a bit, and he's still there three + years later so I don't think you have anything to worry about there it is good to stay on top of it though, I still test Vyktor every week and if I get a higher number - which does happen on occasion- more often.

There's a food list in the FAQ forum which should give you some ideas on what else you can safely add for variety. Glad to hear all is still going well

 

[jmalasiuk]

Thanks for the replies and the encouragement, Tricia, Wendy and Serryn.

I'm sure that I do worry too much, but I'm terrified of him reverting and needing insulin shots again. Last summer he was still so far from being stable, it wasn't so nerve wracking to leave him at the same dose for extended periods because anytime he came even close to a lower level, he'd rebound right back up, but now that he's regulated, I'd be too afraid to leave him for the weeks on end that I can be gone at this time of year, even with our cat sitter (who loves the fuzzbutts, and they love her - she's their second mom ) checking in regularly. I'd have to back his insulin off to keep him higher than ideal, and I'm afraid of undoing any or all the good that getting regulated has done him. It's been so good to have him back to his ridiculous, sporadically energetic self again.

He's not getting 30 calories per pound: probably closer to 20 calories per pound at the diet he's been getting the past several months (not including what he'll scarf from Teeger's plate), but he's also only energetic for short periods of the day. For the most part, he's a pretty lazy cat, so he's not burning off that many calories. I'll take a look through that how-much-to-feed information Wendy - thanks for sending the link.

I'll try watering down his food a bit to see if that fills him up, since his vet is still quite happy with his current weight - it's Teeger's weight that we're worried about. Unfortunately, spreading out their meals through the day doesn't work so well when you have one "grazer" (Teeger) and one "gobbler" (Tonka). Tonks would beat old Teegie to the autofeeder every time it turned, I suspect. He's always the first one into the kitchen when I open up a can of food...

I've started feeding Teeger a slightly higher calorie food (Authority kitten chicken and liver pate) that still looks relatively safe for Tonka, based on the food lists. If I feed that to him before Tonka gets wind of it, Teeger can usually finish his share off before Tonka gets bored with his own food and wanders over to see what his buddy left him, much like you've suggested, Tricia. Tonka's been rather disappointed with the lack of leftovers the last couple days , so hopefully that means that Teeger will start putting a bit of weight back on now. I'm still waiting for word from the makers on what the as-fed carb content of the Authority food is, since it may have changed since the food charts were last updated. If it's close to the same as the DM, I might switch them both to it, and see if that fills my grey glutton up a bit more, too.