Cat with diabetes in a Multi-cat house

[stepcutnut]

We just found out one of our old man cats(13yrs) has diabetes

I was wondering if anyone that has had a diabetic cat in a multi-cat home has any feeding tips?

We normally feed 2x/day-but they would never sit and eat all the food in a quick amount of time. Just little bits here and there over the day until the next feeding in the evening.

Now we will have to feed all 4 of the cats, twelve hours apart and pull the food when their eating time is up.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

 

[justginger]

I grew up in a household with 5 indoor cats, and one was diabetic. She had the illness for a very long time - she was only a year or two when diagnosed, think it was a side effect of the very high levels of lifesaving steroid injections she had when she was a stray kitten off the side of the road. She only passed away a year or so ago, think she was around 12. A much longer lifespan than was expected when was fell ill at such a young age.

Anyway, the diabetic food is very expensive, isn't it? I think if I remember correctly, my mom always left out normal food all the time for the others, which she would pick at, but when she had her insulin injections twice/day (6 am and 6 pm), Mom would take her in the bathroom by herself and give her big servings of the diabetic food. She always preferred the taste of that stuff, so she didn't really fill up on the other normal cat food. Mom just kept a bowl of it below the sink in the bathroom and refilled it when necessary.

 

[Enerchi]

We had a diabetic dog that required insulin twice a day. We fed all 3 dogs at the same time but monitored their consumption, so the diabetic dog ate his food (we did not put him on any special food) and if it wasn't consumed, we put it aside for him to eat later. He had so many complications and it wasn't a pretty end for him. Man, I miss him He was such a wonderful dog...

Anyhow, it is a lot of work on the owners part, but they are so special to us, our fur babies, that its worth the extra time and food management. Good luck to you, you can do it!

 

[lulu]

I've never had a diabetic pet, so I'm not sure I understand the situation. Is the goal to keep the cat from eating between meals or to only eat a special food?

 

[stepcutnut]

I grew up in a household with 5 indoor cats, and one was diabetic. She had the illness for a very long time - she was only a year or two when diagnosed, think it was a side effect of the very high levels of lifesaving steroid injections she had when she was a stray kitten off the side of the road. She only passed away a year or so ago, think she was around 12. A much longer lifespan than was expected when was fell ill at such a young age.

Anyway, the diabetic food is very expensive, isn't it? I think if I remember correctly, my mom always left out normal food all the time for the others, which she would pick at, but when she had her insulin injections twice/day (6 am and 6 pm), Mom would take her in the bathroom by herself and give her big servings of the diabetic food. She always preferred the taste of that stuff, so she didn't really fill up on the other normal cat food. Mom just kept a bowl of it below the sink in the bathroom and refilled it when necessary.

Thanks for the reply! Sounds like your kitty did very well with the diabetes and lived a long life-that is good to hear!!!

Yes the diabetic food is expensive, at least the bag should last quit awhile as he is only getting 1/4cup 2x/day.

He is unfortunately a food hog, so we will have to allow everyone separate feeding times and then pick up the rest of the food, as the Vet wants him to only have food with the insulin 2x/day. This is not making the rest of our feline crew very happy at the moment!

 

[stepcutnut]

We had a diabetic dog that required insulin twice a day. We fed all 3 dogs at the same time but monitored their consumption, so the diabetic dog ate his food (we did not put him on any special food) and if it wasn't consumed, we put it aside for him to eat later. He had so many complications and it wasn't a pretty end for him. Man, I miss him He was such a wonderful dog...

Anyhow, it is a lot of work on the owners part, but they are so special to us, our fur babies, that its worth the extra time and food management. Good luck to you, you can do it!

Sorry to hear about your dog, it is so hard to lose them! But, they give so much love and bring so much happiness to our lives-we tend to do what we can to make them comfortable and content!!!

 

[stepcutnut]

I've never had a diabetic pet, so I'm not sure I understand the situation. Is the goal to keep the cat from eating between meals or to only eat a special food?

He is only suppose to eat his special diabetic diet food 2x/day, 12hrs apart-this is when we give him is insulin too. Other than that he is not suppose to be eating in between his meals. So far(only the 2nd day into all this) the rest of the cats are not very happy with us picking up their food. They are used to getting fed 2x/day, but they wouldn't eat it all at once. They would just graze on it through out the day. So-we have had some really cranky kitties!!! I am hoping they fall into this routine soon

 

[justginger]

I remember now -- Lucy eventually stopped regarding the diabetic food as a treat, and thus would pig out on normal food AND the special diet food. Mom got around that by taking advantage of the fact that poor Lucy was massively overweight. She put all of the normal food up on high surfaces. The rest of the cats could jump up and eat, but chubby Lucy was stuck on the ground with only her 2x insulin time feedings.

 

[movie zombie]

my lahonda girl kitty was only barely diabetic so it wasn't such an issue......she did get some insulin at home but we did not change food or how it was left out due to health issues of some of the other cats. in her case, the diabetes was the result of steriod use for her IBD.

 

[stepcutnut]

I remember now -- Lucy eventually stopped regarding the diabetic food as a treat, and thus would pig out on normal food AND the special diet food. Mom got around that by taking advantage of the fact that poor Lucy was massively overweight. She put all of the normal food up on high surfaces. The rest of the cats could jump up and eat, but chubby Lucy was stuck on the ground with only her 2x insulin time feedings.

JG-Thanks for the suggestion, but our old man is quit spry still and not overweight-so feeding up high is no deterrent for him---I wish it would be that easy! Even our Vet is at a loss on getting the other 3 to eat only during mealtime-other than it taking time to change their whole routine. I just keep telling myself it could be much worse, so trying not to get too bothered by 3 crabby cats.

MZ-we believe his diabetes is from steroid use for his FLUTD

 

[EricaR]

I have a cat that is on special food for kidney stones.

What we did was get a bowl for each cat (we have two). Then those bowls went in different places, maybe 10 feet apart along a wall. One cat gets her food in her bowl, the other gets his in his bowl. We were VERY strict at first. When they were eating someone stood between the cats making sure that they stayed at their proper bowls. After a few months they "got" what was going on and we could be a little less strict. Three years later, this is how we feed. They got used to it very quickly. And my fat kitty lost quite a bit of weight doing this!

 

[decodelighted]

We're going through something similar right now w/one cat who needs special protein foods because he's developed allergies to all other foods --- another who needs just special kidney function food .... and a dog who is allergic to the cats' foods so must be kept away from their feeding times & whose own food is so tempting for the cats (who can't have it). GAH! It's maddening!

We're even on high alert when it comes to leaving human food around because our allergic cat will eat ANYTHING he finds. And if he gets something - massive diarrhea & vomiting.

If I come up w/any tips I'll come back to post them. Right now it's a bit chaotic here. And, between the meds & the feeding sitch, for the first time we're going to have to board our cats during a long trip because its too much for a our housesitter to handle.

 

[TristanC]

Research shows that a diet of dried catfood frequently is the primary cause of feline diabetes. As it is exceptionally rare in wild cat species.

It is for this reason that I feed only wet food to my cat. Can you switch to a wet food diet?

 

[Gypsy]

Well I don't know if it's helpful. But you can try to have a interior room/closet closed off to the diabetic cat that the other's can get into with a pet door installed? One of those ones that you need a the correct tag to get through? Then you can tag the others collars with the correct tag and the diabetic cat couldn't get in there to get the normal food. Feed the diabetic cat separate.

 

[Missy]

Hi stepcutnut,
Sorry you are dealing with this. It is more challenging but you can definitely make it work. It really was not a big deal once we got used to the routine.

Our dear Billy developed diabetes when he was younger and required insulin injections every 12 hours as pills did not work for him. We stopped leaving food out for our cats- we had 2 of them at the time. So we adjusted the other cat's feeding schedule based on Billy's feeding schedule because it was the best thing to do. We fed them in the AM and the PM and fed them wet food mainly with a bit of dry (special diabetic food for Billy). We watched them till they were finished with each meal so that Billy would eat no more than what we gave him as he developed diabetes in part because of his large appetite and lack of exercise (just like many people who develop diabetes).

It worked out very well and Billy lived a good and long life with diabetes. I would do it all over again no hesitation.

Good luck to you and your kitty!

 

[stepcutnut]

I have a cat that is on special food for kidney stones.

What we did was get a bowl for each cat (we have two). Then those bowls went in different places, maybe 10 feet apart along a wall. One cat gets her food in her bowl, the other gets his in his bowl. We were VERY strict at first. When they were eating someone stood between the cats making sure that they stayed at their proper bowls. After a few months they "got" what was going on and we could be a little less strict. Three years later, this is how we feed. They got used to it very quickly. And my fat kitty lost quite a bit of weight doing this!

Thanks for the suggestion! Right now we have one cat in a bathroom, one in the workout room and 2 in the laundry room-with one being fed up on a shelf

 

[stepcutnut]

We're going through something similar right now w/one cat who needs special protein foods because he's developed allergies to all other foods --- another who needs just special kidney function food .... and a dog who is allergic to the cats' foods so must be kept away from their feeding times & whose own food is so tempting for the cats (who can't have it). GAH! It's maddening!

We're even on high alert when it comes to leaving human food around because our allergic cat will eat ANYTHING he finds. And if he gets something - massive diarrhea & vomiting.

If I come up w/any tips I'll come back to post them. Right now it's a bit chaotic here. And, between the meds & the feeding sitch, for the first time we're going to have to board our cats during a long trip because its too much for a our housesitter to handle.

I feel your frustrations! We have 2 on different prescription foods(1 diabetic food and the other for bladder crystals) and the other 2 are on a special diet for bladder/kidney health. And we have a dog that if he eats any of the cats' food or people food other than veggies will get Colitis! It is Maddening!!!

We did buy and awesome gate a few years ago that made life a lot easier with keeping our dog out of the cat area-it has a people door to walk through and a cat door that we keep open for them. Our dog has only taken the gate down maybe 3 times since we've had it is a godsend! It is the Carlson Extra Tall pet gate.

 

[stepcutnut]

Research shows that a diet of dried catfood frequently is the primary cause of feline diabetes. As it is exceptionally rare in wild cat species.

It is for this reason that I feed only wet food to my cat. Can you switch to a wet food diet?

For us the diabetes was caused by steroids used for his FLUTD.

Nope-they are all on a special dry diet and none of them will eat soft food! It sounds weird, but we have tried so many times to convert them to soft food-I've lost count, but they are not having it

 

[stepcutnut]

Well I don't know if it's helpful. But you can try to have a interior room/closet closed off to the diabetic cat that the other's can get into with a pet door installed? One of those ones that you need a the correct tag to get through? Then you can tag the others collars with the correct tag and the diabetic cat couldn't get in there to get the normal food. Feed the diabetic cat separate.

Our Vet just suggested this, we will try if we have too. Right now we are just trying to just get everyone to eat on a 2x/day feeding schedule, 12hrs apart. As of now, they will only take a few bites of food during their feeding times-we give them like 15-20min. before we pull their food up. The first couple of days they were actually throwing up everything they ate too---so frustrating!

 

[stepcutnut]

Hi stepcutnut,
Sorry you are dealing with this. It is more challenging but you can definitely make it work. It really was not a big deal once we got used to the routine.

Our dear Billy developed diabetes when he was younger and required insulin injections every 12 hours as pills did not work for him. We stopped leaving food out for our cats- we had 2 of them at the time. So we adjusted the other cat's feeding schedule based on Billy's feeding schedule because it was the best thing to do. We fed them in the AM and the PM and fed them wet food mainly with a bit of dry (special diabetic food for Billy). We watched them till they were finished with each meal so that Billy would eat no more than what we gave him as he developed diabetes in part because of his large appetite and lack of exercise (just like many people who develop diabetes).

It worked out very well and Billy lived a good and long life with diabetes. I would do it all over again no hesitation.

Good luck to you and your kitty!

Thanks Missy!