Plz critique this feeding plan

I'm sort of new at this. My cat only started the insulin a week ago. I'm administering two two unit shots of Lantus per day.

I am feeding him only canned food, about 3/4 of a 5.5 oz. can at 7:30 am, WITH his shot, then about a 1/4 of a can around 2:30 pm, then another 3/4 can at 7:30 pm with the second shot. The vet said I could also give him a few bits of kibble as a treat. He makes it thru the night but is ravenous in the morning.

He hasn't had his first glucose curve yet - vet said to wait til he's been on the insulin 3 weeks.

He's about 13 years old, weighs 19 lb. needs to get down to about 14-15 lb. He's still drinking quite a bit of water - when should this start to abate, by the way?

Thanks for any comments.

 

Hi, my 14yr old cat was 18lbs prior to his dx. His wt fell to 11lbs then he recently gained one pound back. I free feed dry (innova) which is grain-free, and feed canned (evo) and fancy feast. Just noticed that Wilderness canned food is also grain-free. I think it's good for cats to eat small frequent meals and it keeps their glucose levels steady. What you feed is very important. High protein, low carbs is the goal. Since I had to put all my cats on this diet, my one fat cat has lost wt, which is good in her case.

 

You haven't mentioned any BG readings - are you hometesting yet? Are you feeding low carb wet food, as opposed to higher carb canned food with gravies? This info will help us gauge how your cat is progressing.

Your cat will start drinking less as it becomes better regulated. When the blood sugar is high, the kidneys try to bring down the level by peeing out the excess sugar. This makes the cat very thirsty. So, an unregulated cat is very thirsty.

An unregulated cat is also very hungry. He feels like he is starving because he literally is: the shortage of insulin means that the cells can't make effective use of the blood glucose. Has your cat lost a lot of weight?

If he has lost weight, even though your cat needs to lose more, then I don't think this is the right time to try to reduce his calories. You might try a relatively low calorie / low fat snack like some simmered chicken breast, which will be satisfying, and provide quality protein needed to rebuild any lost muscle. Another thing to try might be mixing more water into the food so that your cat gets plenty of hydration, and also it will help him feel a bit fuller.

Once he is better regulated, food intake can be adjusted or you can feed the same amount of a lower calorie food. The Janet/Binky food list can give you some great info on food carb and calorie comparisons. For example, Evo is bite-for-bite higher calorie than Fancy Feast -- it has more meat, but it also has more fat.

hope this is useful,
laur

 

if you don't want to do set feedings, you can free feed wet food -

add water to the wet food to keep it moist longer - I typically add about 1/3-1/2 can of water per can of food.

I also cat sat for a cat who really enjoyed lapping the mixture, so I gave him 1 can of water to 1 can of food.

By adding water - not only is it moist longer, you ensure the cat gets enough water in its system and you can also freeze this mixture to put out, if you will be out for several hours - put out fresh and the frozen mix - it will take a few hours for it to thaw and when it does, kitty will be ready for it.

I typically put my frozen in a baggie - makes it easy to store and easy to plop out.

 

I have done no home testing and I don't think I will be able to. This cat will NOT let me get near him for anything like that, and I am lucky to give him the shots. He has only been on the insulin for a week. He goes in two more weeks for a glucose curve.
His BG was 231 in March when we took him in for another problem. Why it wasn't mentioned than, I don't know. ONe thing at a time, I guess. All other bloodwork was normal except for his high PLT of 756 and his HCT was low at 24.4%.

I took him in this time because of inappropriate pooping and lots of drinking.

I'd rather free feed the wet so I will take your advice of mixing water and also trying the freeze and thaw method. The vet DID say to be sure not to give him the shot on an empty stomach.

He was 12 lb. when he was 4 years old, probably his right weight. He is rather large framed.

Right now, he's on Friskies - the pate' versions. He is not crazy about other wet foods I've tried. Is this OK, if not ideal?

Thanks for reading an replying, all of you.

 

The BG of 231 at the vet was probably not mentioned since being at the vet can elevate the BG of many cats. Therefore the somewhat high BG 231 could have been attributed to vet stress. The PLT is probably platelets, a constituent of blood that dose the clotting. An HCT of 24.4% is low. Was anything done about that?

How was he (what is his name?) diagnosed with diabetes? What BG was obtained? Was there glucose in his urine?

I am concerned that a BG curve performed at the vet may not be representative of the BGw when at home. The BG may be artificially elevated at the vet and the vet curve might result in too high a dose of insulin. I especially have this concern since you say he is "wild".

 

the thing about not giving insulin on an empty stomach is more critical with faster acting insulins like humulin R or vetsulin/caninsulin. with lantus, as long as you feed within a few hours of giving insulin he should be all right.

personally i wouldn't give 3/4 of a large can of cat food (i feed FF, so 5.5oz is a large can to me) at one sitting. i'd probably space it out more. maybe 1/3 a can with the shot, and the rest as more frequent snacks. until he's regulated he'll probably be starving but what he's eating wouldn't put the weight on.

any chance of giving him a timed feeder so you could feed 6 small meals a day instead? it gives kitty something to do instead of bugging you, for one thing (LOL), and could be very helpful in terms of weight control and not overwhelming the pancreas/insulin with a large meal at one sitting. i work at home so more frequent meals are easier for me. i just wait for my cats to ask for food, then i feed a few teaspoons at a time (equiv to 1/3 can fancy feast each time per cat).

 

His name is Joey. He went to the vet in March because of a bleeding rectum - he needed the anal gland cleaned out. He never bled again.
I don't know what his readings were this time - but the vet has an online site where I can look at all his history and data. I just haven't had a chance to sign up there yet - my dh has also recently been diagnosed with some problems, so it hasn't been easy to worry about both of them : ))

I am home all day - so maybe I will try to space the feeding out a bit more. Yes, he does bug me when he knows it's time. But, there will be times when I am out for a half a day or an evening.

I need to learn how to navigate this site - forgive if these replies are not indented correctly under your reply.

 

He is 'wild' in the sense that I can't do things like clip nails, brush teeth, give pills etc - I got him when he was about 2 and I think someone scared him a lot during his first ownership. Some of his sitters have never seen him - the present one took 6 years before he'd let her see him. That's why I say I think home testing will be impossible. Just getting mats is a job (he's a fluffy, longhaired cat and could support a Gulf boom on his own if I knew where to send his combings.)

 

What do you do if you go away for, say, a half a day, a whole day?

 

lots of people add water to the food and stick it in the freezer, then right before they leave they put the frozen food puck on the dish so the cat can eat it when it thaws (some cats start right away even on the frozen puck tho but at least it's slow feeding!).