Yellow river

Tigger has been in the yellow for the past 4 days(8 cycles)! I am edging up the dose from a 1unit to a "fat" 1 unit and maybe really even 1.25. I am just so pleased that he is stable. One concern I have is that at his last vet's visit he had lost 4-6 oz. in weight. I have been feeding him a half can of low carb canned food twice a day and a tablespoon of human grade tuna stretched out over the day as treats. I think I need to be weighing him regularly and maybe increasing his food a bit but keeping his carbs low. Anyone have any thoughts?

 

One 5.5oz can of food does not seem to be enough to me. Most canned food labels recommend feeding so many ounces per so many pounds of cat. SOme foods are also higher in fat and fat will put on weight sooner than protein. If a cat is underweight they should have more food. Also, higher BGs will cause them to lose weight faster. Once you get the BGs better under control, the weight loss may stop and reverse.

Glad to hear he's in the yellow. Getting more stable BGs is a first step in the right direction and raising a small amount is probably the way to go at this point.

 

Well, he is having better numbers on the lower dose than he was on the higher dose, so any weight loss is not being caused by the lower dose.

I free feed my cats - and have done so since Beau was diagnosed. I know both he and Jeddie ate a LOT of food until they were fairly regulated. Like 9-12 ozs. Then they dropped back some. I think Beau eats about 6 ozs of food and I give him treats, maybe equal to another 1/2 to 3/4 oz.

I think Tigger needs more food. Probably half again as much as you are feeding now (9ozs). Just make sure it is low carb. If you aren't already, you might try mixing in some Wellness canned because of it's good quality protein, very low carb and higher fat content. I feed a 1:1 mix of Wellness and PetSmart's Great Choice.

 

Where can I get Wellness brand cat food???

 

You should be able to get it an any of the large pet store chains, or on line. I get mine at Pet Supplies Plus because they have the 12.5 oz cans. PetSmart, at least the one near me, only has the two smaller sizes (5.5 oz and 3 oz).

 

Grayson's ravenous appetite isn't so normal for FD, but is more typical of unregulated Acromegalic cats (they're like feeding teenage boys!), but I pretty much feed him whenever he acts hungry. That's typically 2 - 3oz cans of FF at preshots, and one more every hour or two through +5. Usually another at +8. He's approx 14 pounds now - seems to be FINALLY filling back out. Down from 21.6 a year ago, and up from the 12 he got down to. He's a LONG kitty, so I personally think he looks best around 18 or so. Obviously your cat's size and appetite are significant factors on how much you should feed. It about killed me to NOT give food to a shrinking (and from the sounds of it - STARVING - kitty!). You've gotten some good advice already to start based on weight - I'd use that as a baseline and see what the appetite looks like from there.

 

Hi. I get large cans of Wellness at Petco. You could at least ask if they will order it for you if you don't see it there. It sells out. Sometimes I nearly clear them out if I get a two week supply. The last time we went there were only 5 large cans available. I had to get some with Salmon in it just to get enough until I can go back for more. I go through about one large can a day, maybe a little less, between what Max eats and what he lets spoil.

 

I was wondering where to get the large cans. I'd like to get some for just a change for Sneakers.

Yes, more food would help. Like Grayson, Sneakers is an acro-cat and at her full-blown GH-1 output can hoover in 15-18 oz/day

Even when she wasn't FD she still ate 8-10 oz/day.