Complete Care for Your Aging Cat - Amy Shojai [121]
To begin his diet, Pooh was given one cup of his mixed dry foods spread out over a 24-hour period. This amount was slowly reduced. “Now he’s holding at about half a cup mixed dry foods a day,” says Michelle. “He is always hungry and always begging for food. He has the biggest gold eyes, and he looks at me so sadly. But I had to learn to be strong.”
Pooh is fed on a strict schedule around the clock, to keep his blood sugar as stable as possible, which has ensured a lack of complications from the diabetes. Each morning Pooh’s daily ration of a half cup is measured into a cottage cheese container, and his meals are doled out every two-and-a-half hours throughout the day until the tub is empty.
“I give him these dry food meals spread out in a large fifteen-inch round tray. It takes him longer to eat because he has to hunt all the pieces down,” she says. She’ll give him ten pieces or so as a snack if he paw-pats her head to wake her during the night for a snack. “Then I fall right back asleep,” says Michelle. “Pooh is so used to his schedule, his little tummy-clock keeps perfect time.”
For times when she must be out of the house, Michelle bought an automatic Cat Mate Feeder. Its two food compartments are on a timer and open only at prescribed intervals. “He always tries to break into it when I'm gone,” says Michelle. “I've even found it in a different room from him pushing it. Even if he did get in, he would get no more than his usual next tablespoon a little early.”
Michelle’s method for locking up all the food works best for someone who works at home, or for people able to come home at lunch time. “My girls ask for food at least eight to ten times a day each,” says Michelle. “If you are home at meal times, this container system makes feeding different foods a breeze. It's so much easier than feeding multiple in different rooms, some on the counter and some on the floor. That's very difficult.”
The system simplifies giving Pooh his insulin shot. “He’s so hungry that when he's eating at 11:00 a.m., I give the shot and he never even notices!”
Pooh’s diabetes has been well regulated for four years. Michelle’s diet system enabled him to lose ten pounds in one year until at thirteen-and-a-half-years old he was stable at sixteen pounds—and to reduce his insulin needs to one unit once a day.
“I know I'm probably going overboard in my care for Pooh, but I love him so much and want him to be with me as long as possible,” says Michelle. “He's in perfect health now, and is more alert and lively than when he was younger. I hope he will be with me another thirteen years.”
Feeding For Health
Some cats are able to lose weight simply by reducing the amount of their regular diet and increasing exercise. Most cats, though, need the extra help of a reduced-calorie food. Some “lite” products are available in grocery stores but obese cats usually do best on a therapeutic diet dispensed from the veterinarian. Products designed for feline reducing diets include:
Eukanuba Adult Weight Control Formula
Hill’s Prescription Diet Feline r/d
Hill’s Prescription Diet Felin w/d
Iams Veterinary Diets Nutritional Weight Loss Formulas Restricted-Calorie/Feline
IVD (Royal Canin) Select Care Feline HiFactor Formula
IVD (Royal Canin) Select Care Feline Weight Formula
Nutro Complete Care Weight Management
Max Cat Lite
Precise Feline Light Formula
Purina Veterinary Diets, OM Overweight Management Formula
Waltham Feline Calorie Control Diet
PANCREATITIS
The pancreas, a small organ situated near the liver, provides digestive enzymes for the small intestines, and insulin that aids in glucose metabolism. Inflammation of the organ, called pancreatitis, disrupts the function and spills enzymes into the bloodstream and abdominal cavity. That causes an array of subtle to severe symptoms.