Very Finnicky Eater: Carby Kitty

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calicocutie

calicocutie

Member Since 2017
Hey everyone,

I have been trying to manage feline diabetes since mid December of last year. I have not yet considered home testing but it is on the list.

I have a brilliant and very difficult, spoiled to all get out prickly and lovely calico girl. She makes shot time a process. Nothing like I see the youtube vids of a nice cat getting his shot and a treat. I mean I have to really devote time to her comfort because I don't want it to become a thing to Miss Thing!

She was showing no diabetic signs when I caught it. I took her in for blood work to have her teeth cleaned and she showed up with a plus 400 bs. She was first put on 1 unit/2 then I took her back for day long testing and we are at 2 units twice daily.

It is extremely difficult for me to give her her shots on time. I am recently divorced, living alone and I am self employed with a varied schedule that includes travel, so making sure I am home every 12 is not easy for me.

However, that is not my main kvetch here, she no longer will eat the approved fancy feast meals. She will nibble at them and refuse them. I have to sweeten the pot with real tuna, or sticking treats (not diabetic approved), or sprinkling with nutritional yeast to even get her to eat it.

She begs me and hounds me for my yogurt and milk and cheese that I eat. Admittedly, in the past I would treat her from my plate (maybe that is how we got here awwww guillltttt) and her acting this way is my fault for having indulged this queen so much in the past.

My worry is that I don't know what to dose her. I fear giving her her 2 units and her only taking a bite of her food or refusing it altogether and I cannot give her a shot then. My guess here is that she will refuse most canned foods, wanting her dry and carb things back. I am a vegetarian, I cannot make myself cook or prepare raw diet for me.

I am so worried. I don't know what to do. I worry about her eating. I worry about giving her too much insulin if she doesn't eat. I worry about her not getting the insulin she needs.

Any advice?

very worried cat mom
 
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Please let us know what insulin you're using so we can be more specific in our advice.

calicocutie said:
I have not yet considered home testing but it is on the list.
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I understand your trepidation, especially with a "difficult" kitty. You can try desensitizing her over time to come to a special testing spot and accept you handling her ears. Freeze dried meat treats work well as a reward and are very low carb. Have you ever tried them? There are people with hard to manage, even semi feral kitties who have conquered this Mount Everest. We can advise along the way. Testing is the essential tool in seeing what the insulin is doing and keeping Miss Thing safe.

calicocutie said:
It is extremely difficult for me to give her her shots on time.
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Some insulins are more flexible (+ or - an hour) with dose timing than others. The depot insulins like Lantus and Levemir do best with a high level of consistency.

calicocutie said:
she no longer will eat the approved fancy feast meals.
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There are other low carb wet foods - including the budget friendly Friskies pates - that are fine. Here's the link to the newest version of Dr. Lisa Pierson's food list:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/dr-pierson-new-food-chart.174147/#post-1919949
Some owners of die hard kibble addicts feed a low carb dry food called Young Again Mature Zero along with wet food. The company has a website and will send a sample if you ask. Good customer service/info as well apparently.

calicocutie said:
My worry is that I don't know what to dose her.
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We can help you figure that out. Here's what we need to know:
  1. what insulin she's on and what dose
  2. how you arrived at that dose
  3. whether you're willing to undertake home testing now
  4. what glucose meter you'll use (human meters are fine - Walmart's ReliOn brand has several models that are popular here - ask for input)
  5. whether you'll set up a spreadsheet like the one we use here. It's the first thing we look at before offering advice.
calicocutie said:
I am a vegetarian, I cannot make myself cook or prepare raw diet for me.
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No need. There are many canned options that fit the bill.



If you're willing to tackle some training and monitoring issues I guarantee you'll get a much better handle on all of this. Yes, you have more obstacles than the owner of an "easy" cat but that doesn't mean it's impossible. There WILL be rough patches but things will definitely improve over time. Any time you run into a problem you can always post for help. Chances are there's at least one other person (probably many) who's been in the same boat.

I hope this helps! :)[/QUOTE]
 
You could try the Pure Bites freeze dried treats sprinkled on top of wet food. They have no carbs at all. When I was transitioning my cat to wet food these came in handy as they are something they can chew even though they aren't really crunchy. My cat went crazy over the duck and it got him to keep on eating the wet food. Forti Flora works sometimes too. Sprinkle over the food.
 
There is a whole new food chart from Dr Lisa with many varieties of foods.
I grind my freeze dried treats -chicken, turkey etc..... I use Momentum and pure bites and wild side salmon 1 ingredient.
If you grind them up a bit you will avoid the pukis:smuggrin:
 
Hey guys, just an update. My calico is still being difficult. She likes to nibble at her food and I fear that she may not be eating enough in the first sitting to warrent a shot. She will eat a couple of bites then walk off. I have resorted to feeding her on my bed because it seems with me right there in her safe space she eats more... sometimes.

I went through the list of foods, the newly updated one and picked a variety of different kinds to see what she likes. So far, the only ones she seems to really be enthusiastic about it the weruva? (?) fowl play and chicken catchetori or some such? That and she likes the young again dry which i got samples of, but even then she is picky and wont eat much and I am terrified of giving her insulin and her not having eaten enough.

So that is issue number one, issue number two I will put in a separate post. But I am getting so stressed out over her care. I love her so much that I am just in a constant worried state about her.
 
@calicocutie
I always have food on my bed as well.... I have found keeping a variety of foods is the only way I really see my boys eat well. I try to always have something different each day.
You may want to try Dr Elsey as they have new wet and dry food--
My cats did not like YA and the one that did puked all over --- they all do well on the chicken from Dr Elsey-I think they will send a sample and is LC-
I know wet is preferred but eating is a must.
I also leave freeze dried (I put pure bites chicken and wild side salmon in a blender) out in a bowl so they always have something to nibble.
:bighug:
 
calicocutie said:
Tonight I gave her a huge chunk of my expensive salmon, guess who didn't eat it. Guess who took it back and put it on her plate, and ate it. lol
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LOL--mine won't eat any meats I get either-
the newest hit is the meow mix toppers-
pretty sure not the best nutrition but is LC and they eat it!
I was eating cereal 1 day and my dad was visiting-so Dre jumps on the table and had a few licks of milk.... purrrfectly normal to me:cat: dad was grossed out:rolleyes:
 
I just saw your original post.... any luck with testing yet??
you will feel so much better if you know her bg before or even if you should shoot-
I promise it gets easier:smuggrin:
Maybe a little of that cheese treat after a poke will entice her to cooperate?
I don't mean to harp on it but testing is so very crucial for safety and peace of mind....:bighug:
 
All meow mix toppers are LC? I just want her to eat, she is making me crazy.

My tarci is a strange cat, she always wants the nori (seaweed) sheets to eat and I'll giver her some sometimes, I thought it was because it must remind her of fish but she doesn't actually want fish. I am convinced she was a vegan in a prior life.
 
No I am not testing. I feel like we are just getting to a place where she is accepting shots and this new lifestyle is hard on me with my new lifestyle. I honestly cannot imagine doing this to her on my own and it being anywhere near anything but torture for the both of us
 
Hi, first of all wellcome!!

I know you are scared of the testing, and I really understand ( I´ve been scared of needles all my life ), but with a finicky eater and insulin you may really need to get to doing it, because if she needs the insulin ( not getting it will get her worse an seriously ill ) you need to make sure she's safe before shooting, also if she doesn't need it you will not know so take a big breath and consider it.

You could start training her first getting her used to you handling her ears ( I think the handling bothers them more than the pricking itself) and after she accepts that you move to the next step that would be the pricking

Think of it as something as necessary as the meds themselves and try not to think you are harming her is for her own good
 
calicocutie said:
No I am not testing. I feel like we are just getting to a place where she is accepting shots and this new lifestyle is hard on me with my new lifestyle. I honestly cannot imagine doing this to her on my own and it being anywhere near anything but torture for the both of us
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Once you get her relaxed about having her ears touched, home testing is not too difficult and will really put your mind at ease.

 
MEOW MIX Pate Toppers


Chicken w/Shreds of Chicken
9 carb

Whitefish w/Flakes of Salmon
8 carb

Salmon w/Flakes of Tuna

8 carb

Whitefish w/Flakes of Tuna

8 carb
 
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