Feeding conflicts

Discussion in 'Feline Health - (Welcome & Main Forum)' started by Gracie85, Nov 6, 2018.

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  1. Gracie85

    Gracie85 Member

    Joined:
    Oct 20, 2018
    Lamborghini, recently diagnosed very hyperthyroid and possibly diabetic, is doing well. He gets his thyroid medicine in his ear with no problem, levels are coming down. He is happily scarfing down cans of Fancy Feast classic pate 4-5 times a day (he should be a 13-14 pound cat, was down to 11.5, but is gaining again), rarely, if ever, see him nibble on the dry food, mostly just when I am being too slow at getting his bowl of FF down to him (I add a little water, stir and fluff it up into gooey cat food mousse as he only likes to lick it up, not take bites). His fructosamine test was evidently good, as the vet said he didn't need to start on insulin, just keep up with the new diet. Blood and urine tests at the vet were high, not extreme, so we're hoping that the diet will hold off worse problems while we get the thyroid under good control and see if there are any kidney or liver problems, etc, that may have been caused/masked by the thyroid.

    However, our other cat, Ferrari, is the one causing issues with feeding. Ferrari has no diagnoses for diabetes or thyroid or anything. However, she has environmental allergies that had her licking all of her belly and leg fur off, and licking raw spots in her skin, before we finally convinced the vet that it WAS allergies (evidently cats here in the northeast can't have allergies, only stress, we took her to several different vets, even a fancy (read that as incredibly expensive) cat dermatology specialist who labelled it as stress without doing any testing or biopsies or anything). The cat would get eye problems from blocked tear ducts, sneezes, wheezes, snores, all kinds of noises, then finally the fur stripping started, but "no, cats don't get allergies, it's stress." Anyway, convinced our current vet to give her steroid shots, about once a month (whenever she starts stripping again), and she becomes a happy, cuddly cat who loves being stroked, when she needs another shot she cringes away from your hand and keeps to herself to avoid being touched. We know the steroid shots are likely to do something bad to her, but figure that a shorter but more pleasant life is better than a longer but miserable one.

    So, Ferrari should really be eating a diabetic diet as well, for her own sake as the steroids are likely to do that to her (if not worse, but...). And then there would be no dry food for Lamborghini to eat at all. But Ferrari only eats a tiny bit at a time, of either type. She doesn't even usually eat 1/4 can of FF at a time. She likes it, she wants it, but she only eats a little bit. At the dry food bowl, she eats maybe 10 kibble at a time, then wanders off. She sleeps on the top back of the couch most of the time, so I know that she hasn't just filled up on kibble before being offered the FF canned. She's just a nibbler.

    We also have two dogs. So, Lamborghini's full bowl of wet food goes into a cat "food cage" we made, with openings too small for the dogs to get into, since it takes him some time to eat it, and the bowl of dry food is in there, too, as they were always allowed to free feed. Ferrari gets fed her spoonful of wet food in a defended corner of the kitchen, or barricaded under the counter stools, but she will walk away leaving food on the plate if we give her more, she only eats her little bit at a time, no matter what. And then you turn your back, or even just blink, and the dogs have finished it up, so there is no leaving it out for her to come back to. Or if the dogs are outside when they are fed, Lamborghini runs over and finishes it.

    So, if we leave canned food out for Ferrari in a barricaded place like the food cage, Lamborghini will eat it and become fat and probably fully diabetic. If he doesn't get it, the dogs will, as I would bet unattended wet food left in the cage would be too much for them and they will find a way to defeat it, even if it means flipping the whole thing (it's built into the bottom of a shelf).

    Ferrari is eating more canned only because we are feeding Lamborghini four to five times a day, so she eats a spoonful more often than the previous twice a day they got a little, mostly as a treat (Lamborghini would steal the dog's food if we didn't give him some, is how it started, one dog is a gentleman and a pushover, and would let Lambors take over his bowl!). Dry food consumption is definitely down, but Ferrari just won't increase the amount she eats at a time, so we cannot eliminate it, as even with 4-5 feedings she won't consume an entire can of FF a day.

    Had ordered Wysong Epigen 90 Canine/Feline Dry Diet on Amazon, then read the reviews and saw so many cases of diarrhea that I cancelled it. Right now we are offering a blend of the Purina DM the vet sold us, and Tiki Cat Born Carnivore Fish Luau, as the local pet store had it at 1/2 price and the carbs calculated out as about the same as the Purina DM. They had no problem switching from their previous dry food to this. But, I'd like to get the carbs even lower, so that if Lambors does eat some, he's still okay, and because it can only help Ferrari to be low/no carb.

    I cannot risk a cat with diarrhea, I am disabled and getting down to floor level to clean up a mess is not only difficult but can cause dizziness and blood pressure issues for me. Money is also tight, although I understand that the calorie content is higher so they eat less and it evens out, but still...What are some suggestions for a better dry food to use since obviously we cannot get Ferrari switched to an all-wet diet anytime soon?

    And any suggestions for dealing with the whole situation can only help. It's a flippin' four-ring circus here at feeding time, trying to keep everyone eating their own food and only their own food when they all want what the others have simply because the others have it....
     
  2. majandra

    majandra Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 11, 2018
    Have you looked into micro chip feeders? They do cost, but maybe one or the other would help make things easier enough to validate the expense.
     
  3. Gracie85

    Gracie85 Member

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    Oct 20, 2018
    I think my dogs would just chew them up. One is a chinook-type with power jaws, and the other is a lunatic Mountain Cur who will stop at nothing when she gets an idea in her crazy little head....
     
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