Digestible protein vs crude protein

Hi! I have a 14 yo controlled diabetic cat on Lantus (1U 2x day). This site & these forums have been extremely helpful but I’m not seeing anything regarding this.

My cat is losing muscle mass - quite significantly. He’s been diabetic since 2017 & controlled for the most part with Lantus. I had some issues with controlling his diabetes at the end of December- early January likely due to stress (we just had a baby, I home test or I wouldn’t know this as he acted normal) but seems to be controlled now. I took him to the Vet and they believe the reason for the muscle loss is lack of enough protein. The Vet went on to state that cat food labels are really not very reliable & that high crude protein doesn’t necessarily mean a high level of digestible protein (what they need). They rec. Purina DM.

I have been feeding him Tiki Chicken, Tiki chicken & eggs, sometimes Wellness pate chicken & Caru chicken/turkey.

Has anyone encountered this before?

 

Crude Protein – the total amount of protein present as calculated from the total nitrogen present.
Digestible Protein (DCP)– the amount of crude protein actually absorbed by the animal (crude protein minus the protein lost in feces).
from:
https://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$depar... the total amount of,fibre in a forage sample.

Not all animals digest proteins equally and there are health conditions that can hinder digestion.
How much do you feed daily and of what?
How well is BG being controlled?
Does your cat have any other health conditions?

 

How much do you feed daily and of what? - I usually feed him Tiki chicken with eggs - about a can & a half per day (he weighs 9.5 pounds, could gain a little but not underweight)
How well is BG being controlled? So, if I didn’t home test I’d say great as normal water intake, hair looks normal & pretty active cat for his age w/zero issues jumping on the counter etc. (does not have hyperthyroidism). I actually think he’s been more active this past year as we moved into a bigger place. He’s never been easy with true curves etc. he ranges between low 100’s to 400. Rarely above 400 & usually he’s between 100 - 340ish. When he gets into the 100’s, I’ve had him tank with a insulin shot so I usually skip the shot when he’s under 200. (Any feedback on this is always appreciated. I’m home a lot & when he’s in the 100’s during the day I can monitor. I usually give him a shot if he’s close to 200 & I know I’ll be around in case there’s an issue)

Does your cat have any other health conditions? No

My cats weight has been around 9-10 pounds for a couple years. He holds more weight in his stomach & he’s bony hence the need to gain muscle mass if possible. I brought this up to the vet & that’s where this discussion came from. I will admit, a lot has happened this year for a little cat with probably the biggest thing being we had a baby at the end of December (our first & he’s never been around a baby before - I had issues regulating him initially but after about 2 weeks seems to back to normal. I’m guessing it was due to stress)

 

What size can? It comes in 2.8 oz. can | 6 oz. can | 10 oz. can
https://tikipets.com/product/tiki-cat/chicken-with-egg/
Will he eat more?
Since you home test, you should create a spreadsheet and fill out recent BGs and show it here so we can better help you figure out what, if anything, needs to be done. Here is how to creat the spreadsheet
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/

 

Yes, he’ll eat more. 10oz- I pretty much feed him what the label recommends But I’ve started giving him extra & maybe I need to feed him until he just can’t eat anymore. Thoughts?

He is a cat (& always has been) that will pretty much eat anything you put in front of him (& gets into everything - He’ll try almost anything even things you’d think a cat won’t try like cantaloupe & this is pre & post diabetes).

Will do on spreadsheet

 

The recommendation on the can is just an estimate. I wouod just feed more and then when desired weight is reached reduce the amount a little. My cats ned different amounts to maintain their desired weight.

 

Hi Beth,

I just stumbled across this factsheet and I thought you might find it useful:

https://www.pfma.org.uk/calorie-factsheet


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