Food for diabetic kitty

Hi there! I have a newly diagnosed (about a month ago) 12 yo cat... she is currently on 1 unit of insulin twice a day. I have not gotten into the home testing yet... have a follow-up appointment on the 23rd at which I will discuss that. Anyway I have spent the last month reading all the various sites and have the Janet & Binky food chart I just don't seem to be having much luck converting my three dry food addicts over to wet and was just interested if all the helpful people here might give me some input. Just basically looking for anyone that has had a diabetic kitty and what wet foods seemed to work best... thanks for any advice you can offer

PLEASE talk with your vet.....

There are a number of very good sites that deal with diabetes. Grain free foods are something to discuss with a vet.

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.

The advice given here cannot take into account your cat’s previous history, and nobody here can give your cat a physical exam to check for any abnormalities. Please feel free to get opinions here, but take your cat to the vet, and discuss any possible solutions with your vet to get their expert, medical opinion first.

Oh I have a good relationship with my vet... we have already been back twice to check her glucose levels and have reduced her insulin from 2 units twice a day to 1 unit twice a day. She said the main goal is to get her on a wet food that she will eat enough of (not just pick at) so I was just looking for suggestions as to what foods other people have had luck with. They all tend to like the flakier kinds which come in gravy so usually means higher carbs. But yeah anyways my vet is great she is a cat only vet and is pretty up on the whole nutrition stuff (not a Science Diet/prescription food pusher at all). So in a nutshell not looking for advice on how to treat her condition just looking for advice on what foods have seemed to work for other people.

Hi there, I have had two diabetic cats. One passed away last year due to old age. I have Goofy now.

An excellent site is www.yourdiabeticcat.com. It is run by a veternarian. Yes, it's best for your kitty to have all wet food. I am not doing home testing. I do not feel confident doing it. But I watch him like a hawk, he is full of energy and the minute I feel he is off, I will take him in to the vet. His problem is he is soooo stressed at the sight of the carrier, his sugar goes through the ceiling. He gets 2 units in the morning and 1 in the evening. We have a difficult time going out, as we have to be home by 6:30 to give the shot.

There is a list of foods on the above site. You will learn how to read the "guarenteed analysis" on the can of food and know how much it should add up to in order to be ok for your cat to eat.

All my cats had to convert to wet. But that is a good thing. I got tired of seperating Goofy out. I also didn't need another cat coming down with sugar or crystals. Some of my cats aren't thrilled, but still eat the food. I just keep rotating the flavors as best as I can. I will make up some salt free chicken boullion and drizzle it on the food. Homemade bouillon would be better. Try warming the food a bit, as it brings out the flavor more.

Of course, take notes and ask your vet about food. It sounds like you have a great doctor.

Keep us informed as to your cats progress. It isn't a death sentence. It's is a challenge though. You'll get through it.

Thanks for info!! I have been on that site before, very informative... although I didn't see a specific list of foods anywhere. I mostly have been going off the Janet & Binky's food chart. I was trying to find something that came in a 5 oz. can since it is easier (and cheaper) to split three ways but unfortunately the only ones that seem to be working so far are the Fancy Feast Elegant Medleys (which come in at 9% carbs on the chart) and the Fancy Feast sliced chicken hearts and livers (which I believe are around 9% also) although the sliced chicken hearts one they have on the chart is the Sophistacat Supreme which I believe is basically the same as Fancy Feast?? I also picked up a tub of Beefeaters freeze dried salmon treats and they all LOVE those! I guess I will know more after the follow-up with the vet.

OK, I just went through the deal how to find the food list at yourdiabeticcat.com.

Log in, go to "forums"
Click on "Caring for your diabetic cat"
Click on "Information and Resourses" sticky
Click on "Food lists and carb calculator"

Seems like a lot, but it is invaluable to me. I printed it out and keep it in the truck so I always have it when I need it.

Research the "guaranteed analysis". It will tell you at a glance if the food is ok for your kitty.

Wow! Thank you so much! That is so informative! I had been reading other sites on how to calculate carbs but for some reason the way that site explained it, it just clicked. I printed out the food list and the sheet on how to calculate carbs and will take it with me to the pet store. But it was nice to browse the various cat food websites and figure out which ones were ok so at least I know what pet store to go to. I was particularly interested in the Weruva brand and noticed that most of their food seemed to fit the profile so... there is also a brand at Petco called Soulistic which looks pretty good too. She seems to be doing so much better so I am anxious for her follow-up next week... I am hoping that since we caught it so early and she is on a pretty low dose of insulin already that maybe she will be one of the lucky ones that can be controlled through diet because I know what you mean about not doing much because you're schedule is controlled by those shots. We go out of town almost every weekend to watch my son play ice hockey and while I lucked out that the young man who house sits for us had experience giving shots to a diabetic dog I still just worry the whole time we are away that he is not watching her close enough. Anyway, thanks again for all your helpful input it was much appreciated.

Canned Wellness(the grain-free varieties) are a good low carb food. if you can't afford that, the feline diabetes message board is big on the pate fancy feast(not the gravy flavors) as a low-cost alternatives.

Try feline diabetes.com I got a lot of good info there your situation sounds a lot like mine was, I spent hours researching food and went with the fancy feast diet and did in fact get her regulated and off insulin bottom line is stick to the pate, ground foods no sliced shredded or roasted and stay away from gravy only give fish maybe once a week if that and use it as a treat poultry is the best choice stay away from the prescription and dry these are the worst things you can feed a cat raw is actually the best but can be expensive and time consuming go to the web site and register and ask lots of questions lots of experienced people there my vet knew very very little about feline diabetes so I had to educate myself (needless to say I no longer go to that vet) My girls are still on the fancy feast diet, it works so im not gonna change anything , im not a vet and do not claim to be one I am speaking from my own experience, if I can be of any help to you let me know, I could mail you my food list if you would like, good luck to you I wish you much success....Karen

Thanks Swabby, so were you home testing before you went off the insulin? And the main thing that is driving me crazy right now is the 6-8 oz per day... I have three and I cannot get any of them to eat that much. I am sure it is because they are used to grazing on dry food all day. I don't worry too much about the other two because I know everyone says when they get hungry they will eat but I worry about my diabetic going too low and it is hard for me to leave the food out for very long because my dog always finds it and cleans the plates. So anyway I went with Friskies since it is easier to split the 5 oz. cans (and cheaper) but I am also feeding the Fancy Feast too. I guess what I am asking is do your cats really eat that much per day?? Before the diabetes diagnosis I had them on Natural Balance Green Pea and Chicken they loved it but one came down with diabetes and the other one blew up like a balloon so definitely need to get them all on wet food I am just tired of obsessing about how much they are eating. Thanks again to everyone for all the helpful advice.

Yes we were home testing at the time she went off of insulin, and continue do to so occasionally (just to be sure she is still ok) I did not worry about how much she was eating, she was a good eater anyway, I would split a can of fancy feast between 2 dishes for them (2 cats) at every feeding usually 4x a day, hubby and I work opposite shifts so we got to feed more lol, I also made sure that when I fed I added a little water to thier dish to make sure they were getting some fluids to prevent kidney stones, you will find that when she is regulated she will not drink much (i mixed the water in so they never knew) you will also notice a weight loss when you have better control of their eating habit, I hope this helped some, any more I can help with I would be happy to do, good luck, keep me posted, my thoughts and prayers are with you, hang in there it does get easier.....also feel free to e mail me if you would like.....Karen