Weight GAIN plan?

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Tara & Buster

Tara & Buster

Member Since 2012
Seeing a few posts regarding weight loss, made me think maybe I could reach out for thoughts on just the opposite issue. Unlike most diabetic kitties, my guy was at a good weight and then lost about 4 or 5lbs by the time I got him diagnosed. He has put a couple of pounds back on since we've been managing the FD, but we seem to be sort of stuck at about 9.5 lbs. I would like to see him gain a couple more pounds as I can feel his little ribs and his profile from the top view is not optimal. He's currently dining on the Wellness chicken & turkey flavors - om nom nom... I feed him about 7oz. over the course of a day.

Will he simply gain more weight as he gets better numbers?
Should I be feeding him significantly more in volume?
Should I be feeding him a different food all together?

I have been patiently waiting for him to plump up as we go along, but then I got to thinking maybe I need to be more aggressive with it? I would appreciate thoughts.
 
Hi Tara. I know this is over simplified, but if you increase the food or caloric intake, keep activity the same, kitty has to gain weight. (a regulated kitty of course)
Switching Tucker from "Science diet senior dry" to canned low carb, he gained 2 pounds in about 1 1/2 months.
I think a lot had to do with free feeding him a variety of canned, keeping his appetite peaked.
I also used Fortiflora on days he didn't really want to eat.
My opinion of course....... :-D
 
thanks, Chris. It does seem that simple but I don't really know how much is too much. I'll bump him up a little more. I also have a thought that I'm not feeding him enough when he's at lower numbers. Seems like that would be a good time to fill him up so he can use the food, eh? Right now I'm feeding a larger amount at dosing times and then a small snack at mid-cycles. I should prolly tweak that to some degree. Even it out, maybe?
 
Tara. I like to "free feed" Tucker. You think that might be a good thing to try? Tucker is OTJ, but I know a lot of kitties on here free feed too. It might be interesting to see how Buster reacts to it. See what the "powers to be" think of it.
I pretty much put food out anytime I see the plate licked clean.
 
Some folks feed at intervals, either manually or with a timed feeder, to keep the glucose more level while working with the insulin. Spreading the food out also helps get more calories in without the cat being stuffed at any one meal. This also is helpful for cats who scarf and barf because they ate too fast.

You want to put more food towards the first half of the cycle when the insulin is kicking in and less towards the 2nd half, when the insulin is wearing off, so that you don't get higher glucose levels in the 2nd half. If your cat is prone to food spikes, keeping the initial meal a tad smaller may reduce it. Doing this helps a glucose curve resemble a smile (smooth drop down; smooth rise up), rather than a small peak at +2 hours due to a food spike.

So, as an example (you'll need to find what works for your cat), if you divided the food into 4ths, you might feed 1/4 post shot, 1/4 two hours later, when the insulin starts kicking in, 1/4 four hours post shot and the final 1/4 at 6 hours post shot.

Alos, kitten foods tend to have more calories for growth; maybe see if a low carb kitten food mixed in helps with the weight gain. Keep in mind, that if you change the calories (usually from fat), you may need to adjust the insulin dose too; cats can break down protein and fat to create carbohydrates and thus increase glucose levels. Maybe change 1 thing at a time, so you know what the change did to the glucose control.
 
Thanks to you both! Good information. I'll have to see what adjustments I can make. The last time I tried a timed feeder, Buster was able to break into it. :-|
 
Several folks have found the PetMate 5 compartment works well for them.

And another option is to freeze part of it (maybe 2/3), so it slowly thaws and can't be eaten quickly.

It really must come down to what works best for you.
 
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