Akbah thin and Hannah fat

Akbah went off the juice with the help of FDBM, back in January 2012. Its been 8 months!!!
I still test him about once a month, and he's always fine, tonight for example he is 4.6. I tested myself just to check the meter and I was 7.4, so maybe I need to worry about my own BG
Reason I checked the meter is because I can't get any weight on him. He is still 5.4kg, which is thin for him. His spine is like a breadknife, and his back hips are knobbly. His eye is runny. He yowls at night, and just seems frail to me.
Meanwhile my civvie, Hannah is fat!!! Fat fat fat, she is really feasting on the protein wet food. So the tactic I've tried, to deal with his thinness, which is to feed them whenever the bowls are empty, is backfiring and bad for Hannah's health.
And finally, I can't afford all this wet food, its really breaking the bank.

My husband wants me to 'try' putting him on dry food, because he loved dry food, it was cheap and he was bulkier then. But I don't trust it, I don't want Akbah going back on the juice. I have spent the night reading here, and all I read about in terms of going back on dry, is about going back on insulin again. Diabetes isn't cured by diet control, its only controlled, etc etc. In case there is anyone who can offer a counter example? Has there ever been a cat who could then have a bit of dry to supplement the cans?

My options seem to be:
- feed them less at meals, and give him snacks between meals (I'm going to try this one starting now)(Is it alright to give him cheese and dollops of cream for snacks?)
- get him tested for thyroid, bloodpressue, pancreas and liver (can't afford the vet either but maybe there's something wrong with the old boy Akbah?)
- change them to raw food? Apparently its cheaper, but then again I don't have a grinder, or a huge freezer... and buying a huge freezer is not an attractive option because we pay a lot more for electricity in Australia these days...

Any thoughts? Suggestions?
much love to all you cat-parents out there.
Natalya

 

There is no way I would even feed dry food as a snack, to an OTJ kitty. No way. Sorry.

I think I've read that howling may be a sign of thyroid problems. I'm in NO WAY an expert but this will bump your thread up for more eyes.

Good luck my prayers are with you,
jeanne

 

Definitely keep an eye on it.

In the meantime- for Akbah- can you find a low carbed kitten food that is high in protein and fat that can be fed to give him some mass again. I would not free-feed this food but only have it at meal times for Akbah b/c Hannah certainly doesn't need it so if you can find a low fat/low calorie choice for her to eat that would be good.

Is Hannah constantly feeding? Does she only leave the bowl when it is empty? Is that something new or has she always been that way? Have you checked HER BG levels lately?

Raw food- I do the chicken recipe from catinfo.org but I only make 9lbs at a time- mainly b/c my grinder is actually a mixer with a grinder attachment- so no bones. That usually fills 16-18 ice cube trays to freeze and then I stuff them into zip-lock bags once frozen (around 238-ish oz) and keep them in my fridge freezer. It lasts 2 months- I feed 6oz/day (supplemented with canned as she was eating 15-18oz/day- unregulated=starving). Now she is down to 8-10oz/day so it is better.

I do free-fed but you would need to make sure to free-fed the food for Hannah as she seems to be getting most of it. Apparently Akbah is only eating at meal-times and not much in between.

I hope you figure this out. But no dry for Akbah- that means going back on the juice and Hannah could be next with her weight being as it is.

Heather

 

Definitely check out the thyroid levels with a blood test. Hyperthyroidism can cause dramatic weight loss. Avoid any prescription diet which purports to treat hyperthyroid conditions; they are intentionally iodine deficient, and may have inappropriate carb levels for the diabetic cat as well.

Also, while less common, some cats may be hypothyroid and gain weight very easily. You may want a thyroid bloodwork on the obese cat as well.

 

Hi Nat! Glad to heard from you again, really glad it's not because Akbah relapsed. Whew!

Nipper is a picky eater and Scout gobbles everything in sight, so I've had to do some thinking about this myself. What I do is feed them separately, with each cat having their own bowl and their own spot. Nipper's spot is on my desk and Scout's is on the floor by the kitchen. They do every now and then get into each other's food, but for the most part, they respect each other's territory enough to steer clear. If I do see Scout getting into Nipper's food, I just call Nipper over and Nipper sorts her sister out for me. This rarely happens anymore even though Scout's bowl is licked clean 30 minutes after I filled it and Nipper's still has food left 12 hours later.

I also implemented this when we were a "blended" 4-cat household in which having all 4 cats in the same time was likely to end in tears (or blood). The two picky cats were fed on counters on different sides of the kitchen and the two piggies on the floor, in different rooms. Once they all knew where to go and that they didn't have to defend their food, most days, we had nary a hiss, though one of the piggies would occasionally try to chase the other off their food. We kept the same routine, always fed each cat in the same spot and removed/blocked any cat who was trying to get the wrong food.

Not sure if this will help your situation or not. Both Scout and Nipper initially lost weight on the low carb but they've since both put a bit back on so I'm cutting the amount they get each day until they lose a pound each.

Give Akbah and Hannah a scritch from me and a kiss from Scout.

Lori

 

Gday Lori! Yeah I've been a bit absent lately, I'm trying to finish this phd, its a real time-suck. So pleased to see you and I assume Scout is doing well? Head scratches to her and Nipper!

Hmjohnstone: That's a thought. I do have kitten food, which I was feeding to both of them (durr). They have this huge stash of catfood flavours in the cupboard, and I rotate around them as they both have been getting picky. I also rotate through chicken mince, beef mince, and microwaved fish. And chicken wings to chew on. I'll try giving a normal can to Hannah and a kitten can to Akbah (those 85g cans) three times a day, and meanwhile giving him snacks in between (while brushing her more often, she loves the brush). I think I'll try that before I try to separate their feeding dishes, its a good idea Miss Lori which I will keep up my sleeve.

Hannah leaves the bowl with food in, they both do, and they both free feed, so I see one or other of them snarfing down at random times. I guess she is just more into it than him. At first she lost weight on the wet food, too, like your Nipper, Lori. Hopefully with the cutback on free-feeding, this will change for our Han.

BJM: good idea, I'll get them both done at once.

 

So far so good with feeding them less often and giving Akbah snacks.
He likes cream and cheese!
What are the limits for feeding dairy to a diabetic cat anyway?
I'm giving him about half a teaspoon of cream, or about the same amount of cheddar cheese, about every couple of hours, at nights when I'm at home.
Hannah will get brushed if she comes asking for a treat.

 

Just check the carb content on the cream and cheese

Regular I can't give to Sneakers but I can the reduced fat as it seems to have lower carb count or the more natural cheeses that are made with skim milk and such.