Weight gain while trying to stabilize

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Ben&Squirrel

Ben&Squirrel

Member Since 2022
Hi everyone,

My Benny is 15 and was diagnosed with diabetes about a week ago. I am using PZI once a day, 4 units. I'm home testing and have about three full days of data. He's not controlled yet and I'm working with my vet on this. He used to be a big boy and has really lost weight, which I'm worried about.

My question is...how can I maximize the chances of his weight gain? Is this something that can be helped during this phase? I have started him on high-protein wet foods and am, for the moment, free feeding D/M. I don't consider this to likely be permanent, but for the moment.

I've also got a cat, Squirrel, who has kidney disease, so am working on their feeding at the same time. She could also stand to gain some weight.

Thanks for your thoughts!
 
Welcome if you can fill out your signature that would be helpful it's information about Benny , members will look at that first Tap on the blue link
Here is a link helping us to help you link. If you noticed, our members have some basic information about their cat's in their signature. This helps us to not pester you by asking the same questions (your cat's name, insulin type, date of diagnosis, etc.) repeatedly. We also have a link to our spreadsheet in our signature. We are very numbers driven. The spreadsheet is a record of your cat's progress. By linking it in your signature, we can follow along and provide feedback should you need the help.

Since you have three full days of testing can you set up our spreadsheet we use this to track our cats BG to see how the insulin is working and how low it's dropping
I'll give you the link which also explains how it works
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/

If you need help setting it up just ask and a member here will help you
 
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Welcome
A lot of diabetic kitties lose weight at diagnosis. This is because they are not able to absorb all the nutrients in the food. Once Ben starts to see better blood glucose numbers he will start to regain the weight.
Insulin is given twice a day every 12 hours not once a day
 
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Ben&Squirrel said:
My Benny is 15 and was diagnosed with diabetes about a week ago. I am using PZI once a day, 4 units. I'm home testing and have about three full days of data. He's not controlled yet and I'm working with my vet on this. He used to be a big boy and has really lost weight, which I'm worried about.

My question is...how can I maximize the chances of his weight gain? Is this something that can be helped during this phase? I have started him on high-protein wet foods and am, for the moment, free feeding D/M. I don't consider this to likely be permanent, but for the moment.

I've also got a cat, Squirrel, who has kidney disease, so am working on their feeding at the same time. She could also stand to gain some weight.

Thanks for your thoughts!
Click to expand...



4 units seems like a big dose to start with and you say above you are giving it once a day

Here is a link about Prozinc/PZI
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/prozinc-dosing-methods.225629/

Tagging
@FrostD
Melissa I asked Bhooma to set up her signature and SS already
I know you can't give advice on the dose right now until she gets back to Bhooma with her info so Bhooma can set up the SS .
@FrostD
 
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Hello and welcome to FDMB! :-)

I can help set up your spreadsheet and signature. Will send you a PM with the details I need. Look for it in the Inbox at the top right corner of this page.

Does Ben get Prozinc only once a day? Cats have a much faster metabolism than humans and insulin does not last 24 hours like it does in humans. That is why cats are given insulin twice a day.

The Purina Pro Plan DM canned is low carb but the DM Savory Selects and the dry are NOT. You need not restrict yourself to prescription food. Any low carb canned food (carbohydrates less than 10%) is fine. There's nothing in prescription food that miraculously treats diabetes. Many of them are expensive, too high in carbs (especially the dry ones) and the ingredients tend to be of low quality. Most of us feed our own cats Fancy Feast Classics, Friskies Pates or 9-Lives Ground because they get less than 10% of their calories from carbs. They are also easy to find and affordable.

Also not all canned food is low carb - even the grain-free high protein ones. You want to feed food which has less than 10% carbs (preferably less than 5%). This link will help you identify low carb food options. It's not an exhaustive list, but has a lot of the brands/variants.

https://catinfo.org/chart/index.php.
 
Ben&Squcom You might be el said:
I've also got a cat, Squirrel, who has kidney disease, so am working on their feeding at the same time. She could also stand to gain some weight.
Click to expand...
TikiCat makes a pate line of foods. As does Weruva.
With weruva foods
You want the metabolizable energy profile percentage of carbs to be less than 10%, and the phosphorus which Weruva lists in Minerals to be less than 250 mg per 100 cals. So you have to look at two different places in the Weruva charts.
https://weruva.com
You might be able to feed them both the same food
When you go to the weruva site and click on one of the pic of the food , click on Detailed Nutrition information


Also here is our food chart
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/dr-pierson-new-food-chart.174147/
 
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Diane Tyler's Mom said:
What is am ? What D/M are you feeding?
Click to expand...
"am" is "I am."

Insulin twice a day seems normal. But the vet does not want that. Maybe they will once I show them the numbers.

When yo say that the metabolizable energy profile of carbs to be less than 10%, do you mean that for kidney disease, diabetes, or both?
 
I was given advice on this forum when my Howie was losing weight that cats need 20 calories per pound of body weight. So once you settle on a good food, pay attention to how many calories your kittie needs for the weight you want him to be at. Some foods are more calorie dense so you don’t need as much. Other foods will require more quantity. I “overfed” Howie with more calories to get weight put on. I also use Weruva food and love it. They provide all the nutritional info you need. And definitely pay attention to the phosphorous charts. There are some foods that are good for protein/carbs but are horrible on phosphorous. I use 3 of their pates for meals and then 6 of the BFF Play pates for his 3mini snacks during each cycle (normally in an auto feeder). Howie has no teeth so has to have pates. For kitties who have choppers, you have a lot more options! I order mine on Amazon and Petco…wherever I can get it.
It took me a while to get Howie’s food and nutrition settled down, but it will happen! And it makes such a difference in his regulation!
 
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