Hungry cat doesn't want low carb

What do you do when you know your cat is hungry (I know this because she paces back and forth in front of my computer monitor when she's hungry), but when you give them food, they don't want it?

I have tried so many different foods for Coco. I was so happy bc she took to the Lotus raw. Then day 4, nope, no more. Done with that.

I decided to really try and stick with the FF Pate and not keep trying different foods bc I figured there was no way we could get any regular readings if things kept changing. She will eat some, not a lot, of the Stella & Chewy freeze-dried raw (but if I put the recommended water in it, she won't eat it). It seems no matter what low carb canned I've tried, she doesn't like it. She has always been finicky anyway.

The injection times are so stressful. She takes a few bites and walks away. Initially I could sprinkle Purina Forti-Flora on her food, and that would entice her to eat. Doesn't help now. I put bonito flakes on it, which she loves, and that will get her to eat maybe a couple more bites. I put in a few Temptations. I try the Pure Bites. I've tried so many things trying to get her to eat enough that I can give her the insulin.

My other cat likes the Pate even less. So tonight I finally gave in and gave them both some Fancy Feast Grilled, which does have some gravy, but not as much as their actual gravy line. As soon as I put it down, Coco started eating. She ate almost 1/2 of a 3 oz can in one sitting. Proof that she was hungry, after the pate had sat there for 4 hours.

Coco has already lost weight - one of the reasons I took her to the vet - and she is not eating nearly what is her normal. I don't even know how much is enough food before insulin injections. But I know 4 bites of Stella & Chewy isn't enough.

So I have mixed feelings. I know she's supposed to be on low carb, but if the kitties aren't eating as much as they should, how is that helping them?

It's been 5 weeks since she was diagnosed, so it's not like I threw in the towel after week 1, but I'd appreciate any suggestions from people who have cats that you know are hungry but are still refusing food bc they don't like it.

Thank you!

 

Try foods with different textures. Sometimes cats can prefer one texture over another. While we usually recommend pates because they're almost always lower carb, there are other foods that are low carb that come in shreds, bits and chunks.

Weruva has a large variety of flavors and textures and they actually put their nutritional breakdown on every one of them on their website. You might try buying a few different flavors and textures and see if any of them hit the spot.

 

Sprinkling Fortiflora on food seems to help lots of cats. Parmesan cheese also works or crumbling up some low carb treat on top. When my cats get finicky about their low carb food, I'll put some tuna or sardines packed in spring water on top and they will lick their bowls clean. I would not worry too much if she doesn't eat a whole lot at shot time. Lantus doesn't kick in until +2 or +3, and as long as she eats a good amount before then, you should be fine.

 

I've tried Weruva, though it looks like most of their food is now gravy, not au jus. So they all seem to have potato starch, which I thought wasn't good for them. The Fortiflora doesn't entice her anymore. I've tried Parmesan cheese too. She doesn't like shredded foods of any kind. The FF Grilled is bits, so she's used to bits.

Are there any low-carb foods that have bits? I'll definitely try the sardines in spring water. Thank you for that.

That makes me feel better - a lot better - knowing I have a small window with the Lantus. That is a huge relief.

Thank you!!

 

If you check out my Ruby’s SS, I have a Weruva tab with the carb percentages listed as per their website. A lot of them are low carb and have different textures so I would not rule them out. My cats love them. I switched them to raw mostly but still use it for Ruby’s medium and high carb food because I know the percentages I’m dealing with and I use the low carb pates these days in the overnight feeder.

 

The Weruva originals and stews have many flavors that are under 10% carbs. Also their "Cats in the Kitchen" line and "BFF originals" also have lots of variety in flavors and textures. When looking at carbs, look at the ME numbers.

 

Weruva is really transparent with the nutrition information. A lot of the gravy foods are OK. Like Goody stew shoes or what a crock. Look on their website at the ME profile for the flavors to see what the carb counts are.

 

Learning that with Lantus, you don't need to pressure yourself at the exact injection time, helped me so much. Now if Sister is not too hungry (eats some but walks away to drink), I do not stress out because I know I can give her the rest over the next hour or so (and she finishes it).
Your SS says you give Lantus ONCE a day. Is that an old notation from the previous insulin?
Cuz I do see some twice a day entries.

 

Oh, I need to fix that. Yes, the Lantus is 2x a day. And I actually slept better last night not worrying about another stressful morning.

OMG!! Ruby's spreadsheet is amazing. Thank you so much for sharing that! What kind of raw do you feed her?

I have been looking at Weruva's site. Surely with all their different types of food, there must be something in there my kitty will like. Definitely more options than just shredded and pate. I'm hopeful.

I'll preface my remarks below by stating my main goal right now is to feed low carb that my cat will eat because I know she's hungry, but she's not liking the FF pate, not eating enough food, and I need to get some weight on her and food in her.

So having said that, I notice with Weruva that so many of their foods - all of the BFF originals - have some kind of fish, which I thought we were supposed to limit. The bonus is they have minced, which my kitty likes that texture.

All the stews have tapioca starch. All the Oh my Gravies (that have minced - yay) have tapioca starch, which I think we're supposed to avoid.

Many of their foods also have potato starch (3rd or 4th ingredient).

Right now, how important is it to worry about potato starch and tapioca starch? How many times a week is max I should give my cat food with fish? I need her to eat, but I don't want to feed her something that will keep us from progressing.

This has just been such a helpful and reassuring thread. Thank you all so much!!

 

You are asking great questions...

 

Any luck with Coco's food? I'm still struggling with Mocha. He's hating all wet food and doesn't like the low carb dry either. His numbers are OK but I want to get him on some sort of regular schedule so I know that the fluctuations aren't because I'm trying 10 different foods every day

 

I feel your pain. If I get Sister totally off dry food, I still have 4 other cats to face-off with. Kaylaya and Rochana will be easy. They enjoy their wet food.
Monkeydo and Cappy will be tough. They find wet food disgusting and try to bury it.
Hugs,

 

You may drive yourself crazy if you look only at the ingredients. Look at the carb count, as well. Something like potato or tapioca starch are likely used as thickening agents. If the food is low in carbs, there is not going to be very much of anything with carbs. Frankly, if they are using potato or tapioca starch, it's better nutritionally than guar gum or any of the other gums.

 

Having multiple cats is definitely proving to be challenging here! Charlotte accidentally took a bite of wet food and spit it out. She's going to be harder than Mocha! But I want them both on the same food if possible. For my sanity lol! Should I try some of the higher carb gravy type wet food? I don't know if they find that tastier than the lower carb kind. Maybe that would be an easier way to transition?

 

That is exactly how I felt. How are we ever going to get regulated when I'm trying all these different foods, and Coco doesn't want any of them. It was - and is - so stressful. I did try mixing some of Coco's old food (Purina Pro Plan with gravy) with the pate, and it was a no-go. :-( And it's definitely a struggle with another cat. I can't imagine dealing with more than two.)

My cats were also fed dry with their Purina. The FF pate was a struggle, but seemed to be the only one of several foods that I had a remote chance with. I was really hopeful the Weruva with gravy would be a hit. Nope. Not at all.

But I did have some luck with Weruva. As far as FF pate, I have found my cats prefer the kitty version of pate (except chicken, which they prefer regular classic pate. Go figure). Coco will eat a little bit of Stella & Chewy freeze-dried raw, salmon and chicken, as long as I don't put too much water in it. Then she looks at me, like, Really? This is waaay too much water, and she'll walk away. My other cat has decided at this point she is highly offended at the thought of anything that has the word "raw" in it.

With Weruva, they are receptive to Fowl Ball, Chicken Frick 'A Zee & Cats in the Kitchen Kitty Gone Wild. What I've been doing is splitting up the dish 3 ways. I give a little of the pate, a little of the Weruva, and then a little of the two mixed together. Sometimes they will just start eating the pate or just the Weruva, but eventually it all kind of gets mixed up, and for the most part, they'll end up eating it. The Weruva has some bits or pieces to it and more moisture, so that seems to help and be more of a texture that they like. Neither of my cats wants anything to do with shredded, but I have taken some of the juice from Paw Lickin Chicken and added it to their food too.

If it's been sitting for a while and I want them to eat, I'll warm it up a little bit. Sometimes that helps. By lunchtime, if there's still food on the plate, I just throw it out and start a completely new meal.

At some point, I'm hoping to just transition all the way to Weruva, but for right now, this is working, and that's all I care about. If I'm trying a new flavor, I do it at lunch, but I'm sticking with these right now so they aren't thinking when they go to their bowl, Oh, great, what kind of crap is she trying to force on us now.

Also, the Cat-Man-Doo bonito flakes are a HUGE hit!! They both love them. Just putting that on the food is sometimes enough to get them to eat. It's like they can't help themselves. I'm keeping my fingers crossed with that.

I also have tried putting some PureBites as a topper. I also bought some Dr. Elsey's CleanProtein dry. It's tiny kibble, and I put a few pieces of that on their food last night. Both cats liked it. Sometimes it feels like feeding my cats is a nonstop bribe, but hopefully that gets better. I'm just grateful every time Coco eats.

As they say, ECID, so not sure if any of this will help. I know it sounds complicated. It really is trial and error, and I was about at my wit's end. I sooo feel your pain.

Monkeydo? How great a name is that.

 

If you're looking for different textures that are cheaper than Weruva, Fancy Feast has some flaked and roasted flavors that were a really good transition for us. We did flaked chicken/tune and roasted turkey quite a bit. Mine didn't like pate either, but now that seems to be her go-to.

 

My bonito flakes arrived. Both cats looked at me like I had 2 heads. HARD NO right away. Obviously it's a completely different texture than anything they've ever seen before. Kinda reminds me of fish food but in much larger pieces lol!! I left some pieces next to their bowls so they could think about it. But boy does that stuff stink!!! OMG I thought FF pate smelled bad....

I have yet to try the kitty version of pate. Mocha isn't used to having to take "bites" out of food if you know what I mean. He's used to dry kibble, same size, same shape, every day. So for him to have to work at it seems to be the issue. He licks it to death until it's fallen off the plate. (BTW he prefers plates over bowls for some reason)

The TikiCat broth seems to have the least smell (which Momma likes best) but the cats seem to hate. I think the smellier the better. UGH

PureBites are still a hit with my non-diabetic Charlotte. But Mocha is a copycat and he'll eat it when she does. But it's not something he'll crave *yet*.

My Dr Elseys came today. I'll see how that goes!!

 

May be a strange question, but do you think the flaked/roasted flavors smell the same as pate? To me they all smell horrible. But I'm finding that the pate peaks their interest more than the flaked. Probably because of the smell?? Mocha has snubbed his nose at everything wet but he actually got close enough and tasted the pate. He won't taste anything else. The flakey stuff (like TikiCat) doesn't seem to interest him at all. He's always been a tuna juice only kind of cat. God forbid a piece of tuna actually got in his mouth lol! He would spit it out!

 

If only our cats would tell us.
Excuse the suggestion if this has been covered, but have you tried sprinkling Fortiflora on top of wet food?
It is working for Sister, although she only eats off the portion with that special flavoring. So far.

 

I know, right!

I think I tried it once and he didn't like it. But it may have been right after he rejected the wet food anyway. So he's already thinking, I'm not falling for that trick!

It worked on the dry food that he refused initially (epigen90). But at least it was something he could pick up with his mouth. Those kibbles are smaller than his previous dry food so he was very reluctant. But the FortiFlora at least made him pick up the pieces in his mouth. Now....whether he liked them? I'm not sure. He's mostly eaten only the top layer of it, just like Sister did with her wet.

Mocha's (non-diabetic) sibling Charlotte refuses all wet food. I bought the YoungAgain dry food and she was ok with it (with a few freeze dried rabbit nibs on top). She won't eat the dry Epigen90 w Fortiflora on top. And Mocha won't eat the YoungAgain dry

Usually they are good "copy cats" but not now! (I think they are conspiring against me lol)

Today was a small success...Mocha had a little FF chicken pate (maybe 1/4 can?).

I can't imagine having both dry & wet food lovers like you. But we are kinda in the same boat. We want them all to eat the healthy low carb wet food! But I feel bad denying my other cat her usual food just because her brother is diabetic. But ultimately I want her to be healthy too! Did I make Mocha diabetic by feeding him McDonalds for 10 years?

 

Millions of cats have lived long lives on dry food alone. My grandma's cat lived to be almost 20 and he was fed exclusively dry. Like people, some cats are probably more genetically prone to the disease than others.

I'm sure all of us would go back and do things differently if we knew this was coming. But there is no blame here. We just adapt.

 

This is true. I have had many cats over the years. They ate dry food from a special cat food store, never a supermarket, because I believed the hype.
When I got into cat rescue, I started paying attention, reading labels and rejecting dry food companies one by one, but it was mostly based on recalls.
I have had cats die of heart disease, asthma (complications of pneumonia), lung cancer, intestinal lymphoma, etc.
Sister is the first cat to get "lifestyle" diabetes.

 

I do not like how Young Again smells so it is just sitting in the cabinet. Yes, the kibbles are small. Dr. Elsey's Clean Protein kibble is normal sized. That said, the turkey kibble is so hard I am crushing it in a bag with a meal mallet. Even then, they do not all break up. I am afraid they will crack Sister's teeth. Chewy is going to take that bag back in case it is just "over roasted" and not typical. Trying Elsey's chicken next...on the way. For now, I float the Elsey's kibble in a tablespoon of water. Sis loves it like that.

 

My cats have always been on wet plus dry. I didn't anticipate transitioning to low carb would be such a struggle, though I should have just because they've always been so picky. They want their gravy.

My other cat is not happy. She's not eating nearly what she used to , but she really likes the Dr. Elsey's, though I'm trying to keep it to a bare minimum, just an enticement, but if Coco hears the crunch, she comes running. Okay, well maybe not running but her version of running. Cat food stinks. The stinkier the better my cats say.

I have two dogs. They are horrified at the selfishness of cats being so picky. They say to send them to bed without supper, but because they are so caring and thoughtful, both dogs have offered to finish off the leftover cat food. Sorry. Just a little humor in an otherwise very stressful situation.

I really thought there was no way my cats would eat the bonito flakes. Not even a chance, but they love them. It pretty much goes on top of every meal at some point. Ugh.

Let me know how the Dr. Elsey's goes. I love the name Sister for a cat.

 

HAHAHAHAHA!! That was great!! Wouldn't want it to go to waste! (but if you did throw it away, I bet they'd volunteer to dig through the trash and find it for you!)

 

Yes, indeed. They would dig through the trash and find it!!!!

 

No luck with the Dr Elseys. Couldn't get either one to even try it. And it's pretty stinky!! But I think I'll try adding water to see if I can soften it up a bit.

Their moods seem to change almost hourly, so something they snub their noses at today will be tasty tomorrow. Fingers crossed! Otherwise Chewy is gonna be getting a big box of returns soon!

 

Well the Dr. Elsey's chicken arrived and it is just as hard. Sister bites down and sometimes the kibble shoots out of the mouth. Seriously?
My cats did not know what Bonito flakes are. Won't touch them. Got some for my intestinal lymphoma guy, Yogi, back in 2018 before he died.
Nobody said this was gonna be easy...
Today Sister had bloody diarrhea. This is a young lady with previous Poop Perfection. (I am an experienced poop inspector.)
Probably, too many selections offered too fast. (I hope, anyway. Blood always scares me.)
BTW, Sister is not Sister because I neglected to give her a beautiful name or all the good ones were taken. She is Monkeydo's sister so the name just stuck.
But her official name is Victorianna. I should have nicknamed her Tori.
Hugs,
The journey continues...

 

I am currently switching from Weruva to Tiki Cat. Lots of shreds and textures there and lots of low carb food to choose from

 

Ugh. Sorry about the bloody diarrhea. ☹️ I hear ya on too many selections too fast. Just when you think you found one they really like, they change their mind. It is a struggle.

Yeah, Dr. Elsey's is hard, and it's so small, my cats seem to have a hard time with it. I think it's for younger teeth.

I think Sister is a wonderful name. I'm sure she likes it a lot. Now Monkeydo .....

Good luck with Sister.

 

I've tried watering down the Dr Elseys chicken and they still won't eat it. It's too crunchy out of the bag and too soggy with water. Go figure!
Still a hard no on the bonito flakes. Which is fine by me because that's the stinkiest of all!
Mocha's sister Charlotte is now on day 2 of diarrhea. No blood but just lots of puddles. She still refuses wet food and for the time being has been ok on the YoungAgain and freeze dried rabbit. But after 2 days she's totally miserable and I feel terrible for her. Today she ate some of Mochas Epigen90 so I'm hoping that clears things up. He seems to be doing fine on that plus the FF wet food. I guess any time you completely switch up the diet that is to be expected. I just hope it clears up soon. Charlotte is a long haired ragdoll so you can only imagine how messy it's gotten! Good thing she doesn't mind cleaning her butt all day! Poor baby..

 

Young Again gave Sister really loose poop so that was another reason to cease that; I did not realize it was pork back then. Could be she does not digest that well.
I added water to the Elsey's. But just enough to wet about 20 kibbles; Sis does not like it to get mushy either. She will walk away from it. So I am back to "no water."

 

Sounds like Sister could be Mochas sister lol! Too much water, not enough water. Make up your mind! I’m finding that Mocha likes his wet food to get a little dry. I think he can pick it up easier. Who knows. He’ll probably change his mind tomorrow.
Glad to hear Charlotte wasn’t the only one w loose stools from YoungAgain. I’m hoping she’ll transition to the Epigen90 since wet food is still out of the question.

 

Small win today. Mocha's sister Charlotte wasn't thrilled with the diet change and decided that YoungAgain plus freeze dried rabbit would suffice while Mocha ate *some* wet food. Until her diarrhea yesterday and today. And long haired cats plus diarrhea aren't a good mix.
She decided to try Mocha's Epigen90 w Fortiflora sprinkled on top. Not super thrilled-- she grabbed a couple pieces and put them on the ground before she would eat them. I immediately took away the YoungAgain so she didn't have access anymore (aka didn't have more diarrhea). She ate a few nibbles.
And Mocha is slowly getting used to the wet food. As recommended I keep leaving it out next to the dry food so they are forced to smell it when they eat. (I'm forced to smell it permeating through my house & choking on the smell but I'll do what it takes to make them happy).
I've noticed that Mocha prefers the wet food either right out of the can where he licks it to death, but it seems to be at about +6 to +8 it gets to a consistency he likes. He can pick it up once it's dried up a bit.
Well, Charlotte (being a copy cat) decided to try a chunk of the dried out wet food tonight!! I caught her red handed! She ate it! (Last week she accidentally ate a piece of wet food and promptly spit it out).
I don't know if I can convince her to eat wet food out of the can yet but that's definitely a win!
Both cats seem to like semi dried out FF chicken pate.
It took 2 weeks, lots of money buying every can imaginable, lots of tears, & lots of diarrhea but we're making progress!!

 

I am running out of ideas. Chewy credited me for the Elsey's CP chicken flavor and the Origen Red freeze dried treats because as soon as she ate them, the diarrhea began.
I thought perhaps since the chicken flavor has more pork, it gave her an issue (Young Again which is mostly pork did not work out for that reason). I think.
So she's only been eating Sheba pate (just siphons off the juice) and Elsey's CP turkey dry. No diarrhea for 48 hours and then today, boom, diarrhea after dinner.
Why? She doesn't get ANY treats with testing anymore. Not even the chicken freeze dried. Because I cannot trust any of it.
She won't even lick Fancy Feast pates.
Perhaps I should order the Epigen 90 that is designed for cats and dogs both. It does not have pork.
Is Mocha still diarrhea free?

 

Mocha never even had diarrhea. And I put them both through the ringer with trying all kinds of foods! It was just Charlotte. The Epigen90 has been the overall winner that they both like now. Charlotte finally ate a tiny amount of wet food the last 2 days and today was her first day diarrhea free! Not sure if it had anything to do with the wet food (maybe it's because she ate less dry food?) but I'll take it as a win.
I'm wondering the same thing about the freeze dried chicken. I've been using that as a topper & treats for her and that's really the only thing that she's eating that he is not.

I've tried the Sheba pate to no avail. And how the heck do you get the foil wrapper off without it spewing everywhere??? Neither cat likes those (yet). I've got a whole box so I'm gonna keep trying.

I'm also gonna reach out to Chewy to see if I can return some of foods that didn't work out. I'm surprised the dr Elseys didn't work for mine. Maybe because it's too hard?

 

When Magic was diagnosed he was switched 'cold turkey'. There was NO transition and it was an uphill battle.

One thing that's worked - entirely by accident - for me with Magic getting him to eat Fancy Feast was to take the pate and cut it into little cubes and scatter them on a plate - without smooshing them (easier said than done). Stuff he was turning his nose up and walking away from he'll now eat. Don't know if he just didn't like the form factor or if it being in cubes makes him think it's something totally different but it works.

I've now got him up to three flavors.

I can relate to what you're going through. I think I've thrown away more cat food that I've kept trying to find the (pun intended) 'magic' trick.

 

Thanks. I got confused about who had diarrhea. The Elsey's chicken was just as hard as the turkey variety. I think they overbake batches. It is not "extruded" as some believe.
This morning I cooked up some fresh turkey crumbles. Nobody in the house knew what it was. Sister licked it out of politeness. I guess I will be having turkey tacos for the next 3 days.
I made a mess of the Sheba pates at first as well. Those suckers really have tight seals. You must hold it down against the counter with one hand and pull the tab with the other but only half way.
I bought a big variety case of them so the cats that eat wet enjoy them.
I just messaged Chewy to express my disappointment in the foods, asking how complicated the return process would be. The reply said they credited my card for the full amount.
The Epigen 90 does not contain pork. Going to order some. It's really for dogs AND cats? Hmmm.

 

Thanks for the tip. I will try the slice and dice. I will try anything!

 

I tried Denver's advice this morning about the slice and dice and I think it was successful!. I was squishing the pate down with my spoon & adding water to it and he just licked it. Basically kept licking it until it fell off the plate. And then he'd walk away. He probably got a total of 10 calories in the whole process. But today I left giant chunks. He had some difficulty with them. Kept picking it up and dropping it. Took maybe 3 or 4 tries for him to eat an entire chunk but that's progress!! I'll take it!

 

The size that works for me are cubes about the size of the width of your little finger (about 1/2"). Larger doesn't work. They pretty much have to be bite size servings.

 

Hi, the Fancy Feast Savory Centers are very low carb , thought it might be worth mentioning as a lot of people seem to overlook them expecting them to be too high carb. They may be a bit more appealing than the classic pate as they are not as dry.Marnie is more likely to eat it when I put it out in chunks or tip the whole thing straight into her bowl. My husband keeps mashing it up and she tends to not finish it all when he does that. Not sure of the availability where you are, I am in Australia and most supermarkets stock them