Underweight Diabetic Cat

MeganJeanne

MeganJeanne

New Member
I have a cat that is 15 years old and was diagnosed with diabetes on April 20th. He had his fructosamine levels checked on May 20th and they said they were looking really good and almost in the range that they want him in (which was surprising for being on a 1 unit twice day dosage). My vet initially told me to stop his free feeding diet and switch to feeding him twice a day and that is what I have been doing for the past month+. My only concern is that he is very very skinny (his spine is easily felt and the area around his hips looks almost emaciated). Can I feed him more throughout the day to help him gain weight back or will that affect his glucose levels too much? I am not concerned with him not eating at injection time because any time he sees food he will be willing to eat.

I have attached a picture of how he looks now. (He was trying to see if we had any food for him on the counter, my poor baby)
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Feed him more. Most diabetic cats do better on many small meals a day. Simply feed him before +6.
What food are you feeding him and how much?

He looks very emaciated. Has he been checked for hyperthyroidism (aka Hyper-T)?

What was his fructosamine levels? What country are you in? The reference ranges vary outside the US.

p.s. Feline Health is the best place for new members to post. More "eyes" there to help you.
 
I am currently feeding him half a (larger) can of wet food and 2 tbsp of indoor formula dry food at 9:30 am and pm.

They ruled him out for hyperthyroidism because those levels looked good.

I am in the US. I cannot remember the exact levels (I will request his report in the morning) but they said he was right outside of the high end of the range.

Thank you for the suggestion!! I am new here. :-)
 
When you say "half a can" is that a 5.5 oz can or a 13 oz can?

Please spend some time getting your User Id Signature setup and then the spreadsheet.
Most of this was in the email links you got when you signed up. You probably haven't even had time to read your emails lately. I know that life is so busy, I'm having a hard time keeping up with things. Can't imagine what you are dealing with for a newly diagnosed diabetic cat in this covid age.
What did you vet say about your cat and his weight? Was the vet concerned or not?
(What is your cat's name by the way?)
 
Looks to me like he has lost muscle mass from his hindquarters, from what I can see in the picture. He may not be getting enough protein.

Does your cat have other health conditions? Like kidney disease?
 
Okay I will go ahead and get that set up.

It is a half of a 5.5 oz can twice a day so 5.5 oz per day (supplemented with 2 tbsp dry food twice a day).

He is 8.96 lbs and they didn't express any concern with his weight, however, there wasn't much face-to-face interaction due to just dropping him off at the vet due to COVID. I would only receive calls with his lab results a day or two after.

His name is Rudy!

He does not have kidney disease, however, they initially said he could be slightly anemic, but it was not concerning enough to worry about it at this point in time.
 
I should also mention that he has a good amount of dandruff. I'm not sure if that's related to the diabetes but it started a little bit before he got diagnosed. The flakes aren't too large but enough to be noticeable in his fur. Any help with fixing that would be greatly appreciated.
 
MeganJeanne said:
Okay I will go ahead and get that set up.

It is a half of a 5.5 oz can twice a day so 5.5 oz per day (supplemented with 2 tbsp dry food twice a day).

He is 8.96 lbs and they didn't express any concern with his weight, however, there wasn't much face-to-face interaction due to just dropping him off at the vet due to COVID. I would only receive calls with his lab results a day or two after.

His name is Rudy!

He does not have kidney disease, however, they initially said he could be slightly anemic, but it was not concerning enough to worry about it at this point in time.
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Skip that dry and give an extra half can of wet. Dry food is keeping his bg up. Those indoor formula dry foods are around 40% carb.

Typically you give 20 calories per IDEAL weigh. So if he's underweight, let's say he should be 11 lbs, you would want him to have at least 220 calories, but diabetics often need more calories because they don't utilize the nutrients properly and so are starving even though they are eating.
 
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I just looked it up and Friskies is about 180 pet can. So if it were my cat, I would do 1/2 can for breakfast, 1/4 can mid day, 1/2 can at dinner, 1/4 can before bed. If he's still hungry don't give dry but you could give extra wet. Just no food at least two hours before the preshot test. If you are not yet testing at home we can teach you how. I have a video in my signature showing how I test my cat CC at home.
 
MeganJeanne said:
I should also mention that he has a good amount of dandruff. I'm not sure if that's related to the diabetes but it started a little bit before he got diagnosed. The flakes aren't too large but enough to be noticeable in his fur. Any help with fixing that would be greatly appreciated.
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They tend to get dehydrated. Add extra water to the wet food.
 
JanetNJ said:
Skip that dry and so am extra half can of wet. Dry food is keeping his bg up. Those indoor formula dry foods are around 40% carb.

Typically you give 20 calories per IDEAL weigh. So if he's underweight, let's say he should be 11 lbs, you would want him to have at least 220 calories, but diabetics often need more calories because they don't utilize the nutrients properly and so are starving even though they are eating.
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Thank you so much for the advice! I will switch him over to completely wet food and feed him more often!! :-)
 
MeganJeanne said:
Thank you so much for the advice! I will switch him over to completely wet food and feed him more often!! :)
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sounds good. The next thing you can do to help us help you is to set up a signature. To do that, click on your name at the top right and choose "signature". Add info such as your cat's name, date diagnosed, insulin type, meter you use to test BG, food you are feeding, and any other health concerns or medications he's on.

Please, if you have any other questions we might help you with, don't hesitate to ask.
 
If your cat is already on insulin, stopping the dry food completely could easily drop his BG levels by 100 basis points or more. Please be home testing the blood glucose before you totally stop the dry food.

Wink was eating 10-11 ounces of canned food a day. Until his diabetes was better regulated. Then he started to eat and need less food, around 6-7 ounces of food a day.

He also had severe dandruff, patches the size of nickels and dimes. The dandruff resolved once he was on the wet/canned food diet and had time to heal.

So yes, the dandruff or dry skin is a sign of the diabetes. You can brush your cat Rudy with a natural bristle brush, to distribute the oils in the fur. That often helps with the dandruff. Adding some water to Rudy's wet food also helps, to keep him hydrated from all that excess peeing. Try 1-2 teaspoons, so the food is like a thick soup or stew. Add more water as needed.
 
MeganJeanne said:
I have a cat that is 15 years old and was diagnosed with diabetes on April 20th. He had his fructosamine levels checked on May 20th and they said they were looking really good and almost in the range that they want him in (which was surprising for being on a 1 unit twice day dosage). My vet initially told me to stop his free feeding diet and switch to feeding him twice a day and that is what I have been doing for the past month+. My only concern is that he is very very skinny (his spine is easily felt and the area around his hips looks almost emaciated). Can I feed him more throughout the day to help him gain weight back or will that affect his glucose levels too much? I am not concerned with him not eating at injection time because any time he sees food he will be willing to eat.

I have attached a picture of how he looks now. (He was trying to see if we had any food for him on the counter, my poor baby)
View attachment 53819
Click to expand...
Hi, My cat, Cole was also underweight when diagnosed 2 months ago, 6 pds! Now he is 8 pounds. He will gain weight and I agree that you should give him some extra feeds because my vet said that they are diabetic hungry and they need to eat. Keep at it!
 
Jasper is the same. He weighed 8 lbs at the vet and very bony and lots of dandruff when he got diagnosed a couple of weeks ago. I've switched him over to 9 lives pate and now FF pate. I don't see the dandruff anymore, but he's still skinny. I've been giving him extra pate feedings throughout the day hoping he'll gain some weight back. Just trying to keep my overweight cat away from them. Vet didn't say anything about it.
 
One point that's easily overlooked....it's not entirely how many cans of food your giving your kitty. You need to pat attention to the calories. There are some foods that are ideal for a diabetic cat (e.g., many of the Tiki varieties of food) as far a the carbohydrate amount. They are, however, quite low in calories since they are almost entirely protein. (They look like and smell like shredded chicken.) Some of the low carb brands, like Wellness, are higher in calories due to a higher fat content.

I want to second Deb's point. If you eliminate the dry food, please home test if you're not doing so already. We've had kitties go into remission once the dry food was out of their diet. We want to make sure Rudy is safe so please test Rudy's blood glucose (BG) especially if you're changing his diet.
 
Hello my cat was just diagnosed less than 2 weeks ago his name is meme he weights 7.7pds the vet said to feed him 2 times a day and he is on 1.5 units of insulin I'm not sure if I'm giving him the insulin write I'm new to this and still nervous
 
Brandyann said:
Hello my cat was just diagnosed less than 2 weeks ago his name is meme he weights 7.7pds the vet said to feed him 2 times a day and he is on 1.5 units of insulin I'm not sure if I'm giving him the insulin write I'm new to this and still nervous
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Hello! Welcome to the FDMB! :)
I would request you to make a post on the Welcome & Main forum - using the Post New Thread option. Here’s the link to the Welcome forum - https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/feline-health-welcome-main-forum.28/

This (Caninsulin/Vetsulin) is not a very active sub-group and you will get more eyes on your post in the Welcome forum to help you getting started here. :)

Please also let us know the insulin that the vet has prescribed for Meme and the food he’s currently getting. Feeding cats twice a day is very old-school and folks here feed their sugar kitties multiple snacks throughout the day.

There's also some helpful stuff in this "How you can help us help you" thread that explains how to get your "Signature" set up. You can see my signature at the bottom of my reply. It just keeps people from having to ask you the same questions over and over again.

My cat Shen was diagnosed 5 months ago and his diabetes recently went into remission thanks to the help and support from the FDMB. So you’ve come to the right place! :)
 
Nimi S said:
Hello! Welcome to the FDMB! :)
I would request you to make a post on the Welcome & Main forum - using the Post New Thread option. Here’s the link to the Welcome forum - https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/feline-health-welcome-main-forum.28/

This (Caninsulin/Vetsulin) is not a very active sub-group and you will get more eyes on your post in the Welcome forum to help you getting started here. :)

Please also let us know the insulin that the vet has prescribed for Meme and the food he’s currently getting. Feeding cats twice a day is very old-school and folks here feed their sugar kitties multiple snacks throughout the day.

There's also some helpful stuff in this "How you can help us help you" thread that explains how to get your "Signature" set up. You can see my signature at the bottom of my reply. It just keeps people from having to ask you the same questions over and over again.

My cat Shen was diagnosed 5 months ago and his diabetes recently went into remission thanks to the help and support from the FDMB. So you’ve come to the right place! :)
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Thank you so much thus group has helped me out alot
 
MeganJeanne said:
I have a cat that is 15 years old and was diagnosed with diabetes on April 20th. He had his fructosamine levels checked on May 20th and they said they were looking really good and almost in the range that they want him in (which was surprising for being on a 1 unit twice day dosage). My vet initially told me to stop his free feeding diet and switch to feeding him twice a day and that is what I have been doing for the past month+. My only concern is that he is very very skinny (his spine is easily felt and the area around his hips looks almost emaciated). Can I feed him more throughout the day to help him gain weight back or will that affect his glucose levels too much? I am not concerned with him not eating at injection time because any time he sees food he will be willing to eat.

I have a kitty who was in the same situation, age, weight, diagnosis, hungry reaching for the counter.....

Our vet also started with low insulin. But you need to get Kitty's weight up. Doc said liver will shut down without getting weight up.

So, we increased dosage of insulin. First to 2 units morning and another 2 at dinner. But it wasn't enough. Now he's on 4 breakfast, 3 dinner. Keep whip cream around in case giving too much insulin, to place on Kitty's gums is what vet told us, IF kitty passes out from too much insulin. That hasn't happened to us, Thank God - and it's an excuse for me to keep whip cream around. Lol

Also, I keep food out all the time. Crunchy, whatever favorites, treats. With very low weight, give some rotisserie chicken to my kitty. Yes, we know seasoning can be bad. But 15 years old and a boney spine is worse. Get the kitty eating. My kitty is fortunately NOT lactose intolerant, so milk helped put on some weight, but must be occasional treat.

Feed kitty all day round, but give them them yummy wet food for breakfast and dinner insulin times.

I'm not a vet, but spent a fortune on pates, all kinds to see what would stimulate kitty'appetite. Now, meals are a big deal. An hour long process. I found that after tossing blue buffalo burst treats into pate watered down to a thick bisque gravy, he would lap at it, because he's been spoiled by milk and rotisserie chicken. But with crunchy food out all day now, he nibbles while I'm at work, so not all his diet is yummy people food like rotisserie chicken.

15 is old. You have done a great job. Increase dosage, monitor and feed kitty everything and anything.

Btw, slowly increase dosage. If on 1 breakfast 1 dinner, start by going to 2 breakfast and 1 dinner.

Then 2 b-fast 2 dinner.

My kitty was a 14 pound kitten down to 7 pounds. Eating but not gaining weight. Always hungry. Insulin helped but not until dosage was increased. Vet will charge each time to tell you to slightly increase and monitor.

My 14 pound, now 7 pound increased slowly but is now at 4 units for breakfast, 3 units for dinner, fussing through the kitty pate bisque I make, knowing I have rotisserie chicken backup. It's not the best solution, but he's at 14 pounds again. Sad eyes when I tell him no milk. I even picked up whole milk because they say it's better than low-fat as kitties really shouldn't have any. But he needed to gain weight.

Delectables Stew treats for 15+ years, and Bisque for 10+ years is now also an every meal regular. I add water which helps keep them hydrated and wash out the foil pouch - if any hidden gravy is inside. They're a little over a buck but was less expensive than keep returning to the vet.

In summary:

Increased dosage, slowly.
Kept crunchy food out always.
Spoil the kitty at 15 years, anything kitty wants - get kitty eating.

Best of luck. Prayers with you and yours. Godspeed. ;)
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I have attached a picture of how he looks now. (He was trying to see if we had any food for him on the counter, my poor baby)
View attachment 53819
Click to expand...
 
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