Pre-diabetic cat

[laralove]

I've been gone for a while, but I'm back because I'm worried about my Oliver and remembered this site! I took him to a new vet. It's been a couple years since his last visit (got married and moved last year, and it just got postponed repeatedly. Anyway, she said based on his weight, he pre-diabetic, but she didn't do a blood glucose test. Regardless, he's a chonk, weighing in at 18 pounds. He's a long cat with long legs, but still... he fat.

So, I've switched his food from Friskies pate to Whole Earth Farms pate. And I'm trying to get him to exercise more. He's fairly active already, and his weight doesn't keep him from jumping up on everything all the time. So there's that. I take him in for a weight check in a couple weeks, and she didn't give any other recommendations, so I was just wondering if anyone here has experience with "Oh lawd, he comin'" cats who can maybe provide some insight into how else I may be able to help him.

 

[denice]

Did the vet give you the weight that would be an ideal weight for him? The rule of thumb is between 15 and 20 calories per pound of his ideal weight. You don't want to go lower then 15 calories per pound of his ideal weight. You can usually find calories for wet food on the companies website.

 

[LTS3]

You can make changes now to prevent diabetesLow carb canned food is best. Try to stick to foods under 10% or so. All of the Friskies pates are very low carb. The Whole Earth pates are fine, too. You can find out the carbs from this chart: https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf Gravy / sauce based foods and some pates may be on the high end of carbs but an occasional meal or as a topper won't hurt IMO. Same with many commercial big brand treats. Freeze dried meat treats such as PureBites are low carb and healthy.

Feeding enough calories daily will help your cat lose the extra weight. It's generally recommended to feed 20 to 25 calories per pound of ideal body weight daily. Figure out how many calories you are currently feeding and then sloooowwwlly over the course of weeks , sometimes months, reduce the calories by a little until your cat reaches the ideal weight. Cutting calories right off the bat will likely result in fatty liver disease. Catinfo.org has info on helping cats lose weight safely.

 

[jen]

Dr Pierson says under 10% carbs for diabetics which means Friskies pates are ok, but for Whole Earth Farms stick to the duck and turkey only. Out of those 2 I would chose turkey since it has 10% HIGHER protein then duck. Also exercise, exercise, exercise! Get that weight down. Use a laser pointer or wand toy and get him moving.

Feline Diabetes- treatment and prevention in cats

 

[laralove]

Thank you for your replies. When I take him for his weight check, I'll ask about ideal weight. I did buy some Raw Instinct toppers that I give as treats. And I got a laser pointer. He chases it briefly, then gives up. My other cat, however, will spin in circles and attack the walls until *I* get tired, haha. Pleased to know Friskies pate is good for him still. Will alternate with WEF to keep costs reasonable.Thanks so much again!