Tiggs Needs To Gain Weight

Any ideas? He's got high quality canned food and all the roast chicken he can eat, plus some elk meat our roommate's dad gifted us. He's down to 10 lbs from his healthy 15lbs.

It's not like he can lie around eating eclairs all day, and his appetite is poor. Would kitten formula be good? Chopped deli meat? Straight up lard? He's already got Siamese body structure, but this is getting to the point where it's gross.

 

I just got back from WalMart trying to find something Luke will eat. Here are a few things I have tried: baby food meats...beech nut is good because it is the meat and broth. Luke will sometime eat the Fancy Feast kitten food. I know its not good for them but Temptations treats. I know how stressful it is when they won't eat! I am struggling with Luke not eating enough. He will lick the gravy off of the Whiskas and sometimes eat the meat pieces. At times I have had 5 or 6 bowls of different foods out for him. Maybe something warmed a little? I will let you know if I think of anything else. Prayers to your kitty!

 

Forgot to mention this. If you leave food out for him to eat whenever he wants take a pic of it then you can see exactly what he has eaten of it. Its hard to remember how much you put in the bowl. This is what I do.

 

Kitten fancy feast is fine. Don't give temptations, they will send the blood glucose glucose to the moon.

You can try FortiFlora on the food.
Purina Fortiflora Feline Nutritional Supplement Box, 30gm https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001650OE0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_TuW7zbYZQCKRG

Or sprinkle some Bonito flakes
Kaneso Tokuyou Hanakatsuo , Dried Bonito Flakes 3.52 Oz https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0052BGLMS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_XvW7zbRT3E4CM


As a diabetic cat that is unregulated he is having trouble utilizing the nutrients properly which is why he's losing weight. So the number one thing you can do is to keep testing and getting his bg under control.

 

I'll get some baby food and bonito flakes asap! God, I worry so much. He was only diagnosed two weeks ago but he's lost a pound and a half in that two weeks.

Hopefully the insulin starts working soon and he feels better. I hate seeing him so miserable, he's so sweet he just acts so passive and helpless.

 

Has he always eaten wet food? Or is he a kibble eater? Is he eating the same amount he used to, or less?

 

If he likes deli meats on the food that might entice him. Get a brand with less fillers like boars head. That was always my go to treat for cc when she was first testing.

 

Tiggs usually eats grain free kibbles, but he's not even interested in those. He also used to wolf down bits of chicken or jerky or what have you, now he eats maybe five little centimeter size shreds and walks away.

It came on suddenly, it seems like. We noticed he was acting off, and he started peeing on the bath mat, the vet told us to use amoxicillin in case of UTI. He improved, we took him in to be checked, and they ran a couple tests and discovered he was diabetic. All this started early October. He's only been on insulin a week.

 

since the change is sudden,
I would strongly recommend that you test for ketones. You can get ketone testing strips at any pharmacy... You dip it in a drop of urine. If it's anything above a trace head to the vet.

Since he was a kibble eater, Young Again Zero carb dry food is nutrient dense and high in calories..... You could ask them for a free sample of the food at Youngagainpetfood.com

Dr Elseys clean protein chicken flavor is another option at 5% carb.

 

How many ounces a day would you say he's eating? If he doesn't eat enough, in addition to ketones, it puts him at risk for fatty liver. You may need to syringe feed him.


You could also have him tested for pancreatitis!

And you could ask the vet for appetite stimulants.

 

Have you had the UTI rechecked? They can be stubborn to cure in a diabetic cat. I also second Janet’s suggestion of getting a ketone test.

 

Wow! I knew the temptations were not good for them but didn't realize that! No more of those. Thanks for the links!

 

Luke's blood sugar was 556 this morning at 2. He had been eating the temptations by the handful 20-30 at a time for a few days. As soon as I saw the post about them I went and took his bowl they were in. I told him his friends on the diabetes board said no more temptations! He is down to 446 now....I know that is still way high. Could the treats be to blame?

 

Temptations are very high in carbs. Some kitties can have high glucose readings from just a few pieces so with the amount you were feeding that certainly could be causing those higher numbers.

 

Once my cat was low. I gave her 4-5 temptations. 15 min later she was 100 points higher. So they definitely don't help.

 

Those shouldn't even be sold! I took them away about 6 this morning and here are his numbers:
2 am 556
5 am 500
10:30 am 479
12 pm 446
4:30 pm 413

I so appreciate your help and the help of others on the forum! I am completely lost and feel very overwhelmed! I haven't slept good in about 4 days. I hope I can get him through this!

 

Thanks for sending the testing video!

 

After I tried different adult wet foods, kitten food, baby food, and leaving out frozen cat food popsicles, what finally increased Pants's food intake was FortiFlora. It's like kitty crack. She went from resentfully eating 1/2 a can of wet food per day and begging for kibble to eating a full can enthusiastically. It doesn't seem to have any impact on her BG numbers, either.

 

Great, I'll get some. Since he likes kibbles so much I'll also get him those Nature RAWBoost gross little freeze dried meat nuggets. They're pure chicken or what-have-you, but they'll satisfy his need to crunch things. He also ate about half a big sheet of seaweed snack, so that's good.