Wellness Core Dry Cat Food Questions

Our one cat (have two) is diabetic and is on Fancy Feast canned Beef food as it is very low carb. But she is beginning to lose to much weight and I want to put her on a dry food as she tends to eat more on it. She is not on insulin as she is able to be maintained just on a low carb diet.

I may be overly cautious, but I prefer to feed a food that is manufactured in the US. Or, by a trusted name brand company.

I have been reading about Wellness Core. It is grain-free and low carb with only about 11 percent of carbs.

I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts about it, or have a diabetic cat that they are feeding Core to? There are some reviews in Petco about Core from people who are feeding their diabetic cats with it. But the more info I can get, the better I can make more informed decisions about changing to it or supplementing her wet food with it.

Or, if you have a diabetic cat that is on a different dry food (grain-free, low carb).

I know that there is a perscription diet (w/d) I think, but our kitty will barely eat it and it is also about 30.00 per small bag. The Core is about 10.00 less a bag of the same size.

We will be going to the vet for vacs next week and I will ask him about it, as well.

I'm a part time pet sitter, and I often petsit for a lady with a diabetic cat who is on Wellness Core (previously on Hills Prescription). Her cat is doing well on it, but if you want the best opinion, give your vet a call. It can't hurt!

Thanks for your reply. I'll ask the vet about it too when we go in this coming week.

If you were here right now, I'd get on my knees if I had to. Please read AT LEAST the main pages in the weblink below. I hope the Vet who created this site will be in heaven, just so I can personally thank her. My kitty's lives truly changed on the day I found her site, as did mine. I never knew that my choices for my babies diet was slowly hurting them. Please take the time to read this entire webpage. It will be the most important thing you ever read, in terms of you kittys health while there on this planet. I just know that it can change your entire outlook as well. If only I had known what my actions were doing sooner. It's difficult to speak in negative terms about Vets. These people have devoted their lives to helping our kittys. The majority however, are not knowledgable in the dietary needs of our babies. This young lady is considered an authority on the subject. You can take or reject her advice, but 10 minutes to consider her thoughts can have a most positive effect, I promise.

http://catinfo.org/?link=felinediabetes   (This is her article on Diabetes)

Catinfo.org  (This is the main page linking to each article)

furmommy said:

Our one cat (have two) is diabetic and is on Fancy Feast canned Beef food as it is very low carb. But she is beginning to lose to much weight and I want to put her on a dry food as she tends to eat more on it. She is not on insulin as she is able to be maintained just on a low carb diet.

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Has your diabetic kitty had her blood glucose checked recently? I'd be concerned that if she's losing weight, she may not be making enough insulin on her own. Could also be that she's bored with the same FF every day. There are plenty of other (and better quality) canned foods you could rotate into her meals to keep her interested, without having to resort to kibble. 

We check her glucose from time to time to keep a watch on her. She was basically just over the 300 reading at her onset. But since she has been on the Fancy Feast diet, she has remained stable with her curves averaging 200 on her glucose levels. When we first noticed her illness, she went from 15 pounds and dropped down to 12.5 in a couple of weeks. She was one sick kitty.

Since being on the Fancy Feast diet, with her curve staying steady at 200 on average (hasn't been above 224 at all on any reading), in the last 4 months, she has gone from 12.5 to 10.14 pounds.  I don't know if it is just her weight stablizing or is she just isn't getting enough calories. She eats good (2 1/2 cans a day) and eats freeze dried chicken treats (purebites).

I'm debating on whether she just needs an additional can of food, or if I should supplement it with some dry Wellness Core (mixing it with her wet food).

I should mention that our other cat (male - no health issues other than overweight), who was a little over 18 pounds, is also eating this same diet of Fancy Feast (2 1/2 cans) as well. In the last 4 months since we started them both on this food, he has also lost weight (which is good!!!) He is now, 16.10 pounds.

So, they have both seemed to have lost about the same amount of weight, the male losing just a hair more. That's why I am also wondering if it is just her weight stablizing.

I just don't want to see her losing any more. She is really thin - they are both big bodied cats, so she is boney to say the least at the moment.

I've been so used to them being overweight, that it is a big difference. Especially in her physical appearance. But, she has a healthy coat, good energy, eats good, drinks normal amounts. The way I feed them is, they each get a can in the morning, another can at our dinnertime, and I split a can between them when we go to bed.

Am I over thinking this? 

Do you think her weight is just stablizing? Or, is she not getting enough calories? Should I leave it the way it is, give her more (but the male would get more too as they eat throughout day, they are both munchers) Or, add some core for more calories without adding a lot more food?

ETA: They both have a vet appointment this evening. So, I can get his thoughts today too.  An added note: she is not on insulin as her low carb diet keeps her readings steady.

furmommy said:

Do you think her weight is just stablizing? Or, is she not getting enough calories? 

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I think she needs just a tiny touch of insulin (half unit or less, as needed). Averaging 200 is still too high, when a cat's normal glucose level should be around 50-130: http://petdiabetes.wikia.com/wiki/Blood_sugar_guidelines 

I don't think adding more calories in the form of dry food is going to help, and will probably push her bg levels up even more. Perhaps you can augment her diet with some fresh meat? Do you think she'd be interested in a raw diet at all?

Let us know what the vet says....

I'm thinking that we went into the twilight zone at the vets.

Our regular vet was not there - a short recap....

Apparently, since the last time we were there, they have messed up the records of our two cats. They kept insisting that our female (the diabetic one) was a year younger than our male cat, which wouldn't have been a major issue, except we were basically called lairs. --- excuse me but both our cats are from the same litter.

Then, they told us our male cat had gained over 4 pounds when in reality, they had the female's past weight on his chart and he had actually lost close to 2 pounds from his last visit. Again, they kept insisting we were wrong, until I (luckily) was able to produce their last visit papers from my purse showing we were correct -- which caused the woman to stomp off.

We should have left then and there, but then...

...the vet came in - one we had never seen before and when we told him we had a few questions about our females diabetes, he said we couldn't say she was diabetic because he didn't know if she had sugar in her urine. He actually lectured us about calling her diabetic. He couldn't seem to grasp that she had already been diagnosed as a diabetic cat. He treated us like we were below stupid. He finally insisted he do a urine sample and then 'proudly' came back and then told us we could say she was diabetic. He then insisted that testing her glucose at home was worthless as the glucose reading had nothing to do with where she was on her 'sugar' and we shouldn't be doing that. Needless to say, we didn't even ask him any of our questions.

They also did bloodwork on the male, I wasn't a happy camper when they brought him back into the room practically drowned in alcohol.

So, basically, they both got their vacs they were due, an exam that was laughable, and after a urine test for the female and blood test for the male, we are close to 400.00 dollars poorer with a bad taste in our mouths. We are shopping for a new vet.

furmommy said:

I'm thinking that we went into the twilight zone at the vets... they have messed up the records of our two cats...we were basically called lairs...they had the female's past weight on his chart and he had actually lost close to 2 pounds from his last visit. Again, they kept insisting we were wrong, until I (luckily) was able to produce their last visit papers from my purse showing we were correct -- which caused the woman to stomp off....the vet came in...he said we couldn't say she was diabetic because he didn't know if she had sugar in her urine. He actually lectured us about calling her diabetic. He couldn't seem to grasp that she had already been diagnosed as a diabetic cat. He treated us like we were below stupid. He finally insisted he do a urine sample and then 'proudly' came back and then told us we could say she was diabetic. He then insisted that testing her glucose at home was worthless as the glucose reading had nothing to do with where she was on her 'sugar' and we shouldn't be doing that. Needless to say, we didn't even ask him any of our questions.

They also did bloodwork on the male, I wasn't a happy camper when they brought him back into the room practically drowned in alcohol.

So, basically, they both got their vacs they were due, an exam that was laughable, and after a urine test for the female and blood test for the male, we are close to 400.00 dollars poorer with a bad taste in our mouths. We are shopping for a new vet.

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What a bloody nightmare! I'm surprised nobody has sued them for false advertising for calling themselves a veterinary clinic!

Look around your area for a cat-only clinic - the American Association of Feline Practitioners can also help your search: http://www.catvets.com/cfpandpractitionersearch/ This won't guarantee finding a competent Vet - you should still visit and interview prospective Vets before deciding - but it should narrow the field for you.

There's also a site with a list of Vets who have (in the view of the cat guardians) proved competent in the treatment of chronically ill cats (with kidney disease)...and, IMO, any Vet who can meet that standard really does know their way around cats. You'll find it here http://www.zzcat.com/CRF/vets/index.html

Hope that helps!

furmommy said:

He then insisted that testing her glucose at home was worthless as the glucose reading had nothing to do with where she was on her 'sugar' and we shouldn't be doing that.

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Say wha..? Sounds like dude is the one that's "below stupid".
Excellent idea! I'd also recommend asking for a copy of your cat's records from your old vet and then once they give them to you (although they might charge you for photocopying), tell them why you're switching vets. Otherwise they'll never learn. You are the client - you pay them for a service! You are entitled to be treated with respect and common courtesy. Anything else is bad business.