Unexplained weight gain-diabetes?

Concerned about diabetes. How much of a carb load does a daily tablespoon of pumpkin add to a cat's diet? Enough to cause diabetes?

Jennie is still gaining weight. She had gained 8 ounces (a half pound is a lot for a cat) in a few weeks so I started cutting back on her amounts. I (over time) cut her food back gradually, until she is now eating almost a whole ounce less than she used to eat, but she is not losing any weight.

So I made an appointment for her next week for a check up and blood work. My concern is diabetes, though how ironic would that be, she has been on a low carb diet for many years, with the exception of the pumpkin, and the pumpkin is now what I am wondering about.

She was on daily pumpkin for almost 2 years (1 tablespoon a day) but when this weight gain started, plus something I read about long term use of pumpkin in ferrets, I decided to take her off it, and use other methods for constipation help.

So she's been completely off the pumpkin for about a week.

Jennie eats (other than the aforementioned pumpkin which has now been stopped) a very low carb diet, combination of Prey Model Raw and By Nature Organic canned. She is down to eating only 3.3 ounces total a day.

Just some basics based on experience. 

Among other things I would want to have her checked for fluid retention and the possibility of hypothyroidism.  (Since one of mine had that - actually her test showed she was borderline hypothyroid at the time,  I know for a fact it is possible for cats to have a slightly underfunctioning thyroid gland even temporarily - so I would want to rule that out.)  

Fat in the diet the cat's body can't deal with very well, can also cause weight gain.  With that issue I would want to take a look at blood cholesterol.  (Sometimes that's the only value that becomes elevated while everything else still looks all right.  And it can show an elevation even in very young cats.) 

Two other blood values I would want to look at:  amylase and lipase.  Some labs include those in the regular complete chemistry profile, but not all.  Sometimes one has to ask for them specifically. 

Hopefully the results of a complete chemistry profile will give you some answers.  (I would not expect a little bit of pumpkin causing a major problem, especially diabetes,  but then, anything is possible.) 

Please be sure to fast her overnight for her blood test.  Very, very important.

Thanks Violet. Yes I always fast them before blood work. My concern is because the diet has not changed, she ate 4.2 ounces of combo PMR and canned for 6 months maintaining a healthy weight, then suddenly began to gain weight. I've gradually reduced her canned intake (not the PMR portions) until she is now eating only 3.3 ounces of food a day (combination), and still has not lost even one ounce of the extra half pound she gained, though I at least halted the weight gain.

I hope and pray that the blood work will not reveal anything out of range with any of the major organ functions. 

If you get the good report I'm hoping for I might have a couple of thoughts for you.  

Thanks Violet. This morning weigh in, Jennie remains at 10 pounds. So she is maintaining 10 pounds at 3.3 ounces of food a day, for the past 3 weeks, after maintaining at 9 lbs 8 ounces for most of her life before that on 4.2 ounces of food a day. Plus I have stopped the pumpkin, which she used to have daily.

Queen Eva eats 3.9-4.5 ounces a day and maintains a weight of 7 pounds 3 ounces. Mazy used to eat 4.2 ounces a day to maintain her 10 pounds 3 ounces, but since I started her on raw egg yolk 3-4 times a week I have had to cut her back, she is now eating 3.5 ounces a day, because egg yolk is very high in calories. Mazy and Queen Eva are both more active than Jennie, and both get more raw than Jennie.

Jennie has a food anxiety though, and these reduced rations are very difficult for her psychologically. The other two cats aren't that interested in food. They eat when it's given, but aren't thinking about it every minute of the day like Jennie does.

Food anxiety is a very serious issue.  (My Rosie had that,  so I know how anxious and upset they can get.)

If they don't feel satisfied with the amount of food they are getting, then the reason has to be found and corrected, if possible.  Diet and diet changes have to be examined for the particulars. 

I also believe body chemistry (even when the thyroid gland is functioning normally)  has a lot to do with weight and cats' desire for a certain amount of food and that this can't  be changed,  no matter how hard we try.  Also, I honestly don't think that cats on a good diet they have been functioning well for several years have psychological reasons for wanting more food.   There are other reasons we probably don't understand.  (Diet change might be one of the first things to consider if there was a fairly recent one.) 

Allergy to any ingredient in the food can cause unexplained weight gain (or, in some instances, weight loss).   A difficult problem to track down and correct.  With cats, recent food changes (going back a year or so) might provide some answers.

I also believe that our ideas about perfect, healthy weight might not be as sound as we would like to think.  I'm trying to say, perfect blood work results  would prove that a cat we might think was heavier than we might want her to be, was still perfectly healthy.  On the other hand, if blood results showed some elevations, those would prove the cat's body was struggling with some ingredients in the diet and we could go to work trying to correct that. 

Jennie has food anxiety relating to her history. She was a stray, raising a family of four on her own. It was not her first or even second litter, according to the vet who spayed her.

There is no knowing how long she was a stray, or what kind of care she received before she was abandoned, though the most likely scenario is she was left by college students, as so many are here. It's quite possible in fact that she was abandoned repeatedly, left to fend for herself during every college break, then taken back in, until she was finally left permanently, or decided to strike out on her own. But if she was abandoned over and over, it's easy to understand why she is so anxious about food.

Based on certain behaviors that eventually faded after she came forever home with me, I believe she was not treated well, even possibly hit/abused, even when she did have a home.

Jennie has been with me almost 6 years. October 2, 2007 is her Gotcha Day.

While I do believe Jennie is healthier at 9 pounds 8 ounces rather than 10 pounds, it's more about why she gained the half pound in the first place.

I don't agree that perfect blood work is an indication that an overweight cat is healthy. Obesity takes time to leave it's mark. I will not have overweight cats.

If there is a health reason, of course I want to know about it, which is why I was looking for suggestions from members here and have made an appointment at the vet.

I don't think there is any way to relieve Jennie's food anxiety. I can't feed her two larger meals a day in the hopes she will feel full enough to not feel anxious the rest of the day, because the other cats are fed multiple times a day, and I think it would be even worse for her to not be fed when the others are.

I do add a little water to all her meals to slow her down and help her feel filled up. I give her raw portions in larger chunks so she can get that satisfaction, and she gets a wing tip or wingette every Sunday to also help her.

I completely understand you don't want weight gain to continue and possibly get out of control. 

Since issues with diet (particular ingredients mainly) can cause unexpected weight gain and even changes in some blood values, if everything else is all right, this might be something you would eventually have to work with.   

I'm familiar with food anxiety for the same reasons you mention.  It's amazing and kind of sad that with some cats it just never goes away completely, no matter how secure they are in their present environment.   

Has she been to the Vet yet?  What's the verdict? (or did you start up another thread that I missed)

Sorry I forgot about this thread. The discussion is here

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/262186/how-to-cut-back-on-fat#post_3382255

But to answer your question all is normal but cholesterol which is rather high. It's being discussed in the new thread.