Need Some Help...

Hi,

I'm hoping someone can help. We have two cats - Bob (almost 10) and Simon (8 yrs old). Bob was diagnosed with diabetes a year ago (in fact, we found out when the vet ran tests just prior to a dental cleaning.) Bob has been doing well overall the last year, and since he can be a very picky eater, he was on a combination of fancy feast wet food (the only kind he would eat off the vet-approved wet food list) twice a day (after which he gets an injection) and some diabetic dry food to nibble during the day. Simon, who is not diabetic, had to be converted to the same diet, since he prefers dry food to wet and it was too hard to ensure Bob would not try and eat Simon's food.

This past Friday, Bob finally went in for the teeth cleaning he needed a year ago. Poor little guy is now down to two teeth after having a number of teeth extracted. This vet says he should only be on wet food from now on (and in her opinion the other vet was wrong to say we should give him dry food at all - regardless if it is diabetic formula). Clearly, eating kibble with almost no teeth would be a chore for Bob, and given his sore gums, wet makes sense. The question is...how much should we now be feeding him in wet? If I follow the direction on the small can, Bob would be eating six small cans a day...which seems a lot...even divided up into two feedings (please note: he has a tendency to gorge if he gets too hungry and then throws it up.)

Yesterday, his first full day home from the vet, he ate about 2.5 small cans of food. Oh yes - Bob is a large cat (long, big feet)- weighing about 16 lbs.

Many thanks in advance for your help!

Hi and welcome to the forum, NCR!

What size cans are you referencing when you say "small"... 3oz or 5.5oz? For a cat Bob's size - and as long as he's not overweight at 16 pounds - I think you could try feeding him one and a half to two 5.5oz cans of wet food a day. Then watch his weight, if he maintains, you're good, if he moves up or down in weight, you can adjust the food accordingly.

Would it be possible to feed three meals a day instead of two, though? Kitties are really built for several small meals a day instead of fewer large meals.

P.S. I think your second vet is a definite keeper! So few veterinarians are aware of the negative aspects of feeding dry kibble to cats, and too many of them promote and sell kibble (which distorts their ability to view new information in an unbiased manner).

General Rule of thumb for a a wet feed cat ... 1/2 oz to 1 oz of wet per lb.. thus 16 lb kitty would need 8-16 oz or 1.5 to 3 cans per day

Assuming you mean 3 oz cans two and a half is 8.5 oz or within the ball park ... if they were 5.5 that 13.5 and 6 oz would be 15 so all are within the guidelines... Of course as with any guideline you have to use common sense if weight is gained or lost
I agree it is nice to have a vet who recommends wet, they seem to be ever increasing... IMHO I just shake my head when a vet recommend dry for a diabetic cat

Hi!

Actually - the vet is one of four who work out of the same place - and while I can definitely see why wet is better (and more logical), my husband was particularly frustrated by this recommendation since another vet at the same place had put us on the wet/dry combo a year ago- and has been SELLING us the dry diabetic food for the last year! (It's damn expensive, too.)

Sorry for not being more clear about how much is in the small tins - it's 85g (I'm in Canada) which converts to 3 oz. Since we're headed to more wet food, we'll likely search out the larger tins.

Feeding the cat three times - yes, that would probably be better than two. Since I will be home on mat leave for the next year that would likely work (and indeed was what I did today).

I really appreciate the feedback and advice - one worries about feeding, particularly with a diabetic cat (the nine months pregnant aspect likely doesn't help either!)

Thanks again to both of you!!

Originally Posted by ncr

...I really appreciate the feedback and advice - one worries about feeding, particularly with a diabetic cat (the nine months pregnant aspect likely doesn't help either!)

Thanks again to both of you!!

Click to expand...

I'm glad to help; that's what we're here for!

And super congratulations to you on your pregnancy!!!!!

Yes, WE are here to attempt to help, it is great when we do help! or give what we have seen or done

Congrates on the new baby