Advice on feeding my sick kitty

Hi there, I've posted on the health forum about Gem, my 13yo diabetic cat who was recently diagnosed with heart & kidney problems. Here's a quick food history. For most of her life, we fed Gem Science Diet dry food (feline maintenance, I think, was the one). We didn't know any better, thought this was a "premium" food, and it was easy for us to leave the food out all day. This past summer, when Gem was first diagnosed with diabetes, the vet prescribed the canned Science Diet D/M. After doing online research on diabetes, particularly catinfo.com  I decided that it would be in Gem's best interest to switch to canned foods (in fact I switched my other healthy cat as well). I bought a few different varieties, based on the advice given on that site, and we settled on Fancy Feast beef & chicken original - maybe not the best, but seemed like a better choice than the dry, and she liked it. After thinking her diabetes had become transient, we continued with the FF. Last month, she was rediagnosed with diabetes, and once again, the vet (a new one) prescribed the D/M. Feeling overwhelmed, I decided to go with it. More and more though, I think it's not the right thing to be doing. Now, we factor in her other health issues (vet made no mention of any necessary dietary changes for heart & kidney issues). 

So, after reading all that, can you guys suggest some specific brands/varieties that you think would be appropriate for Gem. I'm considering Merrick grain free, Wellness grain free and Nature's Variety. But even within those brands, there are so many choices it makes my head spin - fish or no fish, some have fruit & veggies, there's the carrageenan and guar gum. I want to do right by her, but don't want to make myself too crazy. Any advice would be most appreciated! I read through LDG's wonderful information but still feeling a bit overwhelmed.

Thanks so much!

Hello, I heard many good things about Fancy feast canned (tender beef feast) A vet once told me he went to a seminar and they told him this could be sold as a prescription diet, but they do not market it that way. I recommenced this to a friend whom has a older cat whom they were have a hard time getting her to eat, this food was a success and they said if I wouldn't have told them about it they do not believe she would of continued to prosper. Just a suggestion. My cats also love it...

I really don't know what it means that Fancy Feast could be sold as a prescription diet. Prescription diets, IMO, are marketing hype, and as most vets receive little in the way of nutrition training (though I hope that's changing), they simply parrot the Pet Food Industry. And the PFI has profits in mind, not the health of our pets, or those same prescription foods wouldn't be high carb or high fiber, and they would have meat-based proteins, not corn, rice, or wheat-based stuff that cats just don't need.

Fancy Feast is a terrific food for getting sick cats to eat. It's like having a sick child, and offering them pudding. It tastes good, but it's got coloring, additives, and preservatives in it, not the stuff their bodies need to heal. But it does give them some much needed energy.

JKbank, for my one cat not eating 100% raw food, I feed exactly those brands of wet food. I stick to chicken, turkey, duck, lamb, and rabbit with the OCCASIONAL tuna or salmon. Wellness has the carrots and potatoes that are so finely ground you can't pick them out: NV has carrots and peas that are easy to pick out. B.G. doesn't have veggies. So I rotate. I also purchase ZiwiPeak Lamb and Venison, and include that in her rotation, along with EVO chicken & turkey 96% (or is it 95%?) grain free food (though I think it has carageenan in it).

My cats ate exclusively kibble for many, many years. Prescription c/d. They hated wet for the first few years; they ate one wet meal a day, then two. In 2010 (when the oldest were 8), I switched to all wet, timed food feedings. They did not like B.G. or N.V. at first. I used their wet c/d they'd eaten for so many years to mix in small amounts of the higher quality food, until they were eating the higher quality food. If someone's appetite was off but they didn't need medical treatment, I'd give them Fancy Feast (classic only - no wheat gluten). I keep it on hand for appetite encouragement.

My kitties were very sensitive to texture. They liked gravy. So I always added some warm water into their meals, and mixed it up to make their food soupy. I also REALLY liked the increased water intake. It meant a lot more scooping, but I knew it was good for their insides.

Oh - if you want to avoid guar gum and carageenan, otto worked VERY hard to find foods without them: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/240614/help-me-find-a-low-phosphorus-canned-food

LDG said:

I really don't know what it means that Fancy Feast could be sold as a prescription diet. Prescription diets, IMO, are marketing hype, and as most vets receive little in the way of nutrition training (though I hope that's changing), they simply parrot the Pet Food Industry. And the PFI has profits in mind, not the health of our pets, or those same prescription foods wouldn't be high carb or high fiber, and they would have meat-based proteins, not corn, rice, or wheat-based stuff that cats just don't need.
Fancy Feast is a terrific food for getting sick cats to eat. It's like having a sick child, and offering them pudding. It tastes good, but it's got coloring, additives, and preservatives in it, not the stuff their bodies need to heal. But it does give them some much needed energy.
JKbank, for my one cat not eating 100% raw food, I feed exactly those brands of wet food. I stick to chicken, turkey, duck, lamb, and rabbit with the OCCASIONAL tuna or salmon. Wellness has the carrots and potatoes that are so finely ground you can't pick them out: NV has carrots and peas that are easy to pick out. B.G. doesn't have veggies. So I rotate.

I also purchase ZiwiPeak Lamb and Venison, and include that in her rotation, along with EVO chicken & turkey 96% (or is it 95%?) grain free food (though I think it has carageenan in it).
My cats ate exclusively kibble for many, many years. Prescription c/d. They hated wet for the first few years; they ate one wet meal a day, then two. In 2010 (when the oldest were 8), I switched to all wet, timed food feedings. They did not like B.G. or N.V. at first. I used their wet c/d they'd eaten for so many years to mix in small amounts of the higher quality food, until they were eating the higher quality food. If someone's appetite was off but they didn't need medical treatment, I'd give them Fancy Feast (classic only - no wheat gluten). I keep it on hand for appetite encouragement.
My kitties were very sensitive to texture. They liked gravy. So I always added some warm water into their meals, and mixed it up to make their food soupy. I also REALLY liked the increased water intake. It meant a lot more scooping, but I knew it was good for their insides.

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Thanks for your responses…the info you have posted is really interesting and informative!

The fancy feast has been great in transitioning them from dry to wet. I do stick with the "classic" variety. Mine like the gravy also, and will sometimes lick that up, walk away and then come back for the food! And they don't seem to like the chunky type stuff.

So it seems I'm ok choosing amongst those varieties mentioned. And probably the small amounts of veggies in there, while not ideal, aren't terrible, right? I will buy a bunch, see which she likes and then rotate those. Now, I know these are better for all kitties, and certainly in addressing diabetic cats, but how do the other medical issues play into this? Is there anything I need to watch for with those? Like I said, vet didn't say anything about it, but as you note, nutrition is not their strong suit!

LDG said:

Oh - if you want to avoid guar gum and carageenan, otto worked VERY hard to find foods without them: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/240614/help-me-find-a-low-phosphorus-canned-food

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I did read that thread. It's not so much that I'm adamant about avoiding them, but it just looks like there are some drawbacks to all the foods. I think given everything I'm dealing with, my primary concern is the low carbs…would you agree?

One other thing, on a separate note - I have been using greenies pill pockets to give her her pills. Does this negate the necessity to give water after she takes them? I read that dry pilling can cause esophagus problems, and you need to make sure they get some water. With the pill pockets is this still a concern?

Thanks so much!

Oh, and I suppose I need to discuss the food change with the vet re: insulin dosing? Gem is due back at the vet Tuesday for a recheck of everything. Should I wait and see what her glucose levels are at that time? Haven't really gotten the hang of home testing!

I know there are some links on nutrition and diabetic cats - I'll have a look and see if I can find them. But to the best of my knowledge, it is exactly the same with cats as it is with people - the issue is carbohydrates. :nod: In fact, for cats, I'd think it would be far more important than with people, because cats have no dietary requirement for carbs. So yes, I would look to minimize the carbs in the diet. :nod:

And I would definitely discuss it with my vet. I don't know what the carb profile of the food he wants you to feed is - and I have no idea on what they base the insulin amount decision. (You'd think with a diabetic father I'd know more about this!). Hopefully your vet is open to the diet changes you want to make - being willing to work with you on that I think will go a long way to helping Gem. :heart2:

Just wanted to pop in and say that you also have raw as an option. It seems daunting at first, but it really can help your kitty with issues. :nod: I won't preach about it here so if you'd like to know more, PM one of us raw feeders or pop on over to the raw subforum.

LDG said:

I know there are some links on nutrition and diabetic cats - I'll have a look and see if I can find them. But to the best of my knowledge, it is exactly the same with cats as it is with people - the issue is carbohydrates.

In fact, for cats, I'd think it would be far more important than with people, because cats have no dietary requirement for carbs. So yes, I would look to minimize the carbs in the diet.

And I would definitely discuss it with my vet. I don't know what the carb profile of the food he wants you to feed is - and I have no idea on what they base the insulin amount decision. (You'd think with a diabetic father I'd know more about this!). Hopefully your vet is open to the diet changes you want to make - being willing to work with you on that I think will go a long way to helping Gem.

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Thanks, I just didn't know whether kidney and heart issues presented any dietary restrictions I need to take into account.

Not sure how the vet will respond, they want me to be giving her the Science Diet D/M - standard stuff from vets for diabetic cats. As far as I know, the insulin dose is based on BG levels - they start low and go up if there's been no change. But I've read that just a change in diet can improve BG and as such, may not need as much insulin.

LDG said:

http://www.yourdiabeticcat.com/

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Done a lot of reading on that site, and a few others as well….thanks so much!

speakhandsforme said:

Just wanted to pop in and say that you also have raw as an option. It seems daunting at first, but it really can help your kitty with issues.

I won't preach about it here so if you'd like to know more, PM one of us raw feeders or pop on over to the raw subforum.

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Thank you. I do pop on and do some reading on raw but I don't think I'm there yet! I've considered ordering the Feline Pride (I think that's what it's called) as a way of dipping my toe in, but there's just too much going on in my life to take this on. In addition to Gem and all her new problems, I have one more healthy cat, and 2 young kids! Thanks for your sensitive response, though!

Jkbank said:

Thanks, I just didn't know whether kidney and heart issues presented any dietary restrictions I need to take into account.

Not sure how the vet will respond, they want me to be giving her the Science Diet D/M - standard stuff from vets for diabetic cats. As far as I know, the insulin dose is based on BG levels - they start low and go up if there's been no change. But I've read that just a change in diet can improve BG and as such, may not need as much insulin.



Done a lot of reading on that site, and a few others as well….thanks so much!

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Well, from what I understand, a diet that will benefit the diabetes problem will be beneficial if there are also kidney issues, because a more species-appropriate diet (low carbs in particular) will result in less stress on her system. :nod: I do know the thinking is changing re: CRF (kidney failure), and high protein diets are recommended. It is, after all, what a cat's GI system was designed to digest.

Have you considered looking for a holistic vet (also trained as a D.V.M.)? I don't know where you're located, but if you're in the U.S. this may be of help: http://www.ahvma.org You can search to see if there are any in your area. This way you may find someone that can help with the diet better than a traditional vet, but can also provide traditional support. :nod: