Should I Up Her Food?

O.K., here I go again on the roller coaster of caring for my cat.

Mist is 14 1/2 years old. She's on the edge of diabetes, formerly on glipizide but no longer. Controlled with "Catkins" diet - high protein, low carbs. No dry food.

Currently she gets two 3 ounce cans of food a day, in four servings. Brands are Purina Pro Plan Kitten chicken & liver flavor, Fancy Feast beef classic (brown label) and turkey & giblets (olive green label.) The FF are recommended on Janet & Binky's low carb list.

Now that she's an only cat Mist is more active. She is also trying to convince me that she is being starved to death - if I head even somewhat towards the kitchen she runs ahead chirping eagerly.

I don't think it is a flare up of the diabetes as she is not losing weight, she's not hovering over the water bowl, and while she pees generously (in the litter pan like a good kitty, I hasten to add) it is no more than she has been urinating.

So - after this lengthy preamble - would you suggest upping her intake? If yes, how much? I would give additional food at regular feedings rather adding in a mid-morning snack and a tea break - breakfast, lunch, dinner, and bedtime would seem to be ample.

So what do you folks suggest. TIA for all the good support I always get here at TCS

I recommend adding more feedings. I feed like you 1/4 can servings. four times a day is good, six would be better for a diabetic cat, in my opinion.

Add in two snack times, with 1/8 can extra in each snack, so she is only getting a total of 1/4 can extra. If she does not gain any weight on this small bit of extra, then she needed it., If after a few weeks she has put on weight, cut out half of the extra food, but not the extra feedings, just take some from her other meal to continue with the two snacks.

Having said all that, it is pretty common for cats to run into the kitchen saying they are STARVING TO DEATH, when a human goes in there, even if they are not really hungry. But, since she is diabetic, I would add the extra snack times.

Otto, that is sheer genius! "If she does not gain any weight on this small bit of extra, then she needed it., If after a few weeks she has put on weight, cut out half of the extra food" This is my "duh, why didn't I think of that: moment.

Mist gets 1/2 can / 1.5 ounces at each of four feedings. The longer intervals are lunch to dinner, and bedtime to breakfast.

The two sensible snack times would be mid-afternoon (easy if I'm home) and middle of the night. As Mist is not a bottle baby, I am not stumbling around in the dark with a snack for her. Also, I don't want to up things to 6 feedings a day as that becomes very awkward when I'm not home all day.

So I will add 1/8 can to lunch and bedtime, see how that goes. She polished off her lunch with the extra - she's always been an eager eater. When I free fed dry in addition to some wet she was a pudgy little cat rather than her current svelte self. If only I could manage portion control as well for myself . . . .

Yes, I think that often myself

There may come a time when you will have to get up in the middle of the night to feed her, and when that time comes, I doubt you will mind it at all.

I did it for my Ootay for two years. In her last years she couldn't go more than 4 hours without food. For months after she left us I continued to wake up at 3 a.m (for feeding) and 6 a.m. (for medicating and feeding).

I'm glad to hear Mist has a good appetite. Keep us posted!

Give your vet a quick call just in case. There may also be some safe treats you can get for her - non kibble type treats. Something she could hunt for to keep her busy. Maybe look at the wellness treats or another one that's just a freeze dried meat? Again, ask the vet before trying anything.

Have you checked out this website?: http://www.catinfo.org/

... on the topic of diabetes
http://www.catinfo.org/?link=felinediabetes

Excerpts:

Diabetes is one of the most common feline endocrine diseases and, while we do not know all of the causes of this complex disease, we do know that many diabetic cats cease needing insulin or have their insulin needs significantly decrease once their dietary carbohydrate level is decreased to a more species-appropriate level than that found in many commercial foods. ...

...Portion control has recently become even more important because as pet food manufacturers move toward making more grain-free (low-carb) foods, this process is selecting for high fat diets. Keep in mind that we get our calories from 3 nutrients: proteins, fats, and carbohydrates ...

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these are only excerpts - reading the whole article was really helpful to me because I am trying to feed my cats SO they don't have to deal with diabetes in the later stages of their lives. We bring our cats inside for safety where all they do is lay around which can't be helpful. I know exercise, at any age, is really important for maintaining good health, but alas - we do what we can.

If you take the time to read the article (if you haven't already, that is) I'm sure you will find it helpful. I hope you will be able to evade the diabetic "bug"!

oh, here's Binky's list of canned foods: http://binkyspage.tripod.com/CanFoodNew.html

Strange-wings, Mist is bright eyed, active, eating well, drinking well but not excessively, and making a lovely pest of herself. So at this point I'm not worried she's again actively diabetic. Was just thinking that if she's more active she might need more food.

GloriaJH - thanks for all the links. I did already have Janet & Binky's bookmarked - great site. My vet claims that the perfect diet for a cat would be those little 30 calorie mice, eating one every couple of hours.

I never said take her to the vet, I said call the vet. It takes you all of a few minutes and the vet is made aware of any changes in the cats diet/feeding schedule in case there is a future problem.

I don't get why people resist calling the vet so much. It's better to call before there's a problem than wait until there is one.

When to call the vet? I understand what you are saying, strange-wings. In this case, respectfully, I have a different point of view.

If Mist was somehow "off" - well, I'd be on the phone right away.

But what happens if I call now to report that my cat is fine just seems a little hungrier so I'm going to feed her an additional 1/4 can of food per day. Unless the vet tech or receptionist pulls Mist's records and makes a note in them no one is going to remember this by tomorrow.

Except me. So the important thing, to my way of thinking, is to make a note on my calendar that on Nov 9 I started feeding Mist more food. That way if something does crop up in a few days, a week, whenever, I will have the necessary information.

I do appreciate your reply to my query. All of us here on TCS want the best for our cats, and for all cats. Just sometimes we each have different ideas of what's best.

You call and ask "hey, can the vet call me back or can I reach them via email about this?" Then you ask the vet how much food and meals would be safe to keep her blood sugar levels even.

Technically what you're asking for would be something you should seek advice from your vet from, not an online forum. No one on here can provide advice or treatment in place of a vet - it's in the very rules of this forum if you want to disagree with those.

1. No online advice can replace direct veterinary intervention. If you suspect that your cat may be ill, please contact your vet immediately. You are welcome to look for advice in the health forum while waiting for that appointment, but never delay proper veterinary care waiting for Internet advice. Remember that cats, and especially kittens, are very adept in keeping pain to themselves and delaying treatment may cause irreversible damage.
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The rule you agreed to upon signing up...

No one on here is a VET .... Some claim to be techs but this is the internet and I can say I am 6 ft 6 if I like ... Kinda a buyer beware issue

I'm not looking for a substitute for a veterinarian's advice. Mist is not ill - her eyes are bright, she grooms herself, she's active, trots up and down stairs, she's in my lap right now making it difficult to type, purring. She does not hover over the water bowl and the litter pan is not awash.

Her diabetes was never severe enough that it was necessary to run a blood sugar curve nor was she ever on insulin. Got her weight down, put her on glipizide, switched from dry & wet food to only wet food low in carbohydrates. She did well enough on this regimen that last November 2009 she came off glipizide and was fine as confirmed by periodic glucose tests.

My concern is that I don't want to overfeed and have her put on weight, balanced by the concern that if she's more active I don't want to underfeed and leave her hungry all the time.

I'm sorry if I have upset anyone by asking this question. I'll refrain from doing so in the future.

Originally Posted by Catapault

I'm sorry if I have upset anyone by asking this question. I'll refrain from doing so in the future.

Click to expand...

That's not it... Your cat has been on medication and could have ended up with a serious illness in the past. No one on here (hopefully) wants to say "sure go for it!" because we don't want be responsible for making your kitty ill.

So do ask your questions, just remember we do not want to do anything that can harm your cat.
She's healthy now, and I for one really hope she stays that way for many years to come.

So please, make use of your vet. That's what you pay them for - I'm sure that throughout all of this you've certainly paid enough to earn the right to take up a little of your vet's time.