Weight gain??

[smiley747]

Hi. Brandy has put on a pound or two. The only difference is starting insulin. Should food amount be decreased once insulin is introduced? She was already 12.5 pounds. She's a big cat body size. I don't want her to keep gaining

 

[Robin&BB]

What is Brandy eating now (brand names/formulas), and how much food does she get per day right now? (in ounces)

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

If she's gaining unwanted weight, then yes, you need to reduce the amount of food she's getting. Adding water to canned food to make a "gravy" will help fill them up without adding any calories

Once they're on insulin, their body is able to use the nutrition they're getting from the food, so most cats will start needing less food

Weigh her once a week to monitor how she's doing. You don't have to have a fancy scale...a plain bathroom scale will do..just weigh yourself, pick Brandy up and do the math!!

 

[smiley747]

What is Brandy eating now (brand names/formulas), and how much food does she get per day right now? (in ounces)

She eats either special kitty or fancy feast classic. 2 five ounce servings or a little less if fancy feast at dinner

 

[smiley747]

If she's gaining unwanted weight, then yes, you need to reduce the amount of food she's getting. Adding water to canned food to make a "gravy" will help fill them up without adding any calories

Once they're on insulin, their body is able to use the nutrition they're getting from the food, so most cats will start needing less food

Weigh her once a week to monitor how she's doing. You don't have to have a fancy scale...a plain bathroom scale will do..just weigh yourself, pick Brandy up and do the math!!

Makes sense. The body can actually use the food nutrients with the insulin

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Exactly....the easiest way I find to explain it is that insulin is the "key" that opens the door to the cells and lets the glucose get in...without that key, the glucose just stays in the bloodstream and the body starves no matter how much food the cat is actually eating

 

[Robin&BB]

@Chris & China gave you great suggestions! I'd say try going to 4.5 oz. servings twice a day and keep weighing her until you get those extra pounds off.
(Don't want to do that too quickly - more gradual weight loss is best; also because she's on insulin keep up the BG monitoring (you're doing a good job there, btw). As her weight decreases over time she may need less insulin, too.

When thinking about your cat's weight: An extra 1 to 2 lbs. on a 10 lb. kitty, for example, is roughly what an extra 10 to 20 lbs. would be on a 100-lb. human. So while 1 to 2 lbs more isn't much for us, it's significant for a cat.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

There's a formula for calculating calories per day too....it's [weight in lbs x 13.5]+70....for a 12.5lb cat, that's about 235 calories per day.

The Fancy Feast classics run about 80-90 calorie per 3oz., so 3 cans would be about 240-270 calories

Friskies pates (which are comparable to Special Kitty) run in the neighborhood of 160-180 calories per 5.5oz can, so if you use 170 as an average, 1 1/2 cans is 255 calories

That's just a starting point though...if the cat needs to lose weight and that amount of calories causes them to gain, then you reduce the amount they get

You can find calories per can on the Food Chart...far right column

 

[smiley747]

@Chris & China gave you great suggestions! I'd say try going to 4.5 oz. servings twice a day and keep weighing her until you get those extra pounds off.
(Don't want to do that too quickly - more gradual weight loss is best; also because she's on insulin keep up the BG monitoring (you're doing a good job there, btw). As her weight decreases over time she may need less insulin, too.

When thinking about your cat's weight: An extra 1 to 2 lbs. on a 10 lb. kitty, for example, is roughly what an extra 10 to 20 lbs. would be on a 100-lb. human. So while 1 to 2 lbs more isn't much for us, it's significant for a cat.

thanks. I'm trying my best, but she is getting worse and worse reactions when I take her BG. I've tried everything, treats, food can, lots of petting. It's really getting bad, but I take the BG as much as I can. Kinda hard in the morning when I'm rushing out to work too. Today was the lowest she's ever been - 95 this morning at 7:30 and last night at 7:30 she was 252.

 

[smiley747]

There's a formula for calculating calories per day too....it's [weight in lbs x 13.5]+70....for a 12.5lb cat, that's about 235 calories per day.

The Fancy Feast classics run about 80-90 calorie per 3oz., so 3 cans would be about 240-270 calories

Friskies pates (which are comparable to Special Kitty) run in the neighborhood of 160-180 calories per 5.5oz can, so if you use 170 as an average, 1 1/2 cans is 255 calories

That's just a starting point though...if the cat needs to lose weight and that amount of calories causes them to gain, then you reduce the amount they get

You can find calories per can on the Food Chart...far right column

thanks for all the info !!!