All wet food diet question

Hey all,

For those feeding an all wet food/minimal kibble diet, how many cans/or how many ounces of food are you feeding a day?

Monster is 23lbs. I know he needs to lose weight. I have read Dr. Lisa’s nutrition articles and I have to sit down and do some calculations. I’m looking for guidance/ideas on implementing a safe weight loss plan for Monster.

I have been feeding approx 1 3oz can or half a 5.5oz can (with water added) in the morning and evening. I give Monster a little bit of dry kibble (Purina DM). I have contacted Young Again and Dr. Elseys for samples of their food. If he likes them, i will switch.

He tends to graze on his food. Larely, he is getting hungrier earlier in the evening. I’m thinking he will need an afternoon snack with a timed feeder?

Thanks!

 

I am still new to this. Mogee was just diagnosed a couple months ago but I just switched him from dry to an all wet diet.

When I seeked advice on here about how much he would need to eat (he is big himself 18lbs, but not as big as Monster) @Chris & China pointed me to Dr. Lisa's website where it recommends to to start at 13.5 × weight in lbs. then add 70 for calories needed per day.

So Monster, based on that, would need about 380 calories a day. (13.5 × 23 + 70). So depending on what low carb food you are using, just look and see how many calories are in each can and go from there.

Hope this helps!

 

Definitely helps! Thank you! Are you only feeding the Fancy Feast Classic? What are
Mogee’s favorite flavors?

 

Yes, I started Fancy Feast Classic exactly two weeks ago. He was on prescribed Glycobalance but his numbers were high and he was getting 6 units twice a day.

I made the switch and the very next day he was in the green for the first time at +3 in the AM with only 3 units. We are currently at 2 units twice a day but I am probably going to slightly increase soon.

I started out feeding only the chicken feast as I know Mogee loves chicken. He was free fed Pro Plan Chicken dry, which is probably what got us to where we are now.

He now eats the rotation of chicken feast, beef feast, the chicken and Beef Feast, and he loves turkey and Giblets.

If it weren't for the change, Mogee would probably be around 8 or 9 units twice a day on the dry. His water input/output has improved. He hardly drinks or urinates as much, which is how I discovered he may have diabetes, and seems to be back to normal when it comes to that.

 

Only two 3 oz cans or a full 5.5 oz can for the entire day for a 23 lb cat doesn't seem like very much food.

You mentioned you give Monster a little bit of the dry. How much of the dry are you feeding?

Something is going right, Monster's SS numbers look great.

 

Today I did not give much dry at all (like 20 pieces of kibble), as I want to see his numbers without the carbs from the Purina DM. He usually gets 1/4 cup of the DM in addition to the wet food. That equals to approx 148 calories.

You are right about the volume. based on the calorie count of the cans I fed today, he is only at 300 calories. That explains why Big Boy was hungry! Bless...

The “something going right” was dumb luck, diet change, and starting the home testing. Lol....I regret not doing more research earlier. I was so overwhelmed and other aspects of life got in the way. I just did what I was told to do. I was playing with a dangerous fire and It’s a miracle he didn’t hypo or worse!

Mogee’s numbers this week are getting better! I sure hope the diet continues to help and he continues to improve. It’s amazing to see how much the food changes the glucose numbers. Makes perfect sense though.

 

It sure is amazing to see how much the food changes the numbers. I wish I would have listened at the beginning. Mogee seems to be coming around, so I hope the change was soon enough and the right one.

His numbers are way better than before and at a third of the amount of insulin per day.

We have had some issues with diarrhea but I am hoping that, with time, will come around too. Otherwise, I will find another low carb wet food. One thing is for sure, I will never feed a cat dry food again.

Home Testing is great. I am one of the fortunate ones who has a cat that comes running when they hear the "supplies" being brought out. He does not mind it one single bit. I can test him in probably under 20 seconds total. I feel I may sometimes overtest but this early in the food change, and having those low green at +3 those first couple of days, scared me. I've tested over 200 times and use ointment each time and I don't see one difference in his ears and he doesn't ever act like it hurts.

Based on that formula Mogee only needs about 3.4 cans of FF each day but I give 2 each injection and sometimes half a can in between if his numbers are low early in the curve. So he's eating about 5+ a day almost. I hope that is a good sign? He seems to love the food but does seem hungry often.

I sure hope Monster keeps doing well and giving out those nice blues and greens. You are doing great.

You're hardly giving any insulin now, if any at all. Based on Monster's numbers, I wouldn't be surprised if you needed any in the near future if you stopped the dry DM altogether from what I've learned in this forum.

 

Mogee is making improvement and that’s what matters! A good appetite is a big sign that they are feeling good. Any time one of my animals does not eat, i know we have a problem. And usually it is a big one!

The food change is definitely the right change. I had no idea about the dry food and just how hard it is on a cat’s body. The catinfo.org website is a great resource.
I have never put that much thought into feeding a cat! Lol...but I have never had one as high maintenance as Monster. Feeding the horses is a whole lot easier and not nearly as complicated. Crazy, right??

I requested samples of Dr. Elsey’s and Young Again. I’m hoping he will like them and I can leave that out for him as a mid day snack. Unfortunately my work is about 20 miles away from home, so coming home to feed him lunch is not an option.

Monster is on the FortiFlora by Purina. It has helped his stool stay firmed and formed. He had diarrhea problems during his diagnosis and anytime he has been on antibiotics. I mix one packet in with the morning food.

Do you give a treat when you test? I don’t think he minds the testing, just gets tired of me holding him and messing with his ears. He is tolerating me testing....it will get better. When I made the food change is when i started testing. I knew i had to from reading posts here. So glad I did!!

You have a lot of good information on your spreadsheet. It’s great that you know how he is responding to the insulin. That data is so valuable, especially when you have a dosing question.

Thank you for your kind words. You are also doing a great job!

I hope you have a great and happy thanksgiving!