Help desperately needed...diabetic cat feeding info!

HI, my 14yr old kitty has just been diagnsed with diabetes. But I dont quite know how to go about feeding her. Teh vet gave me some special food but he told me to just alternate it with her normal diet. IE: Normal food, am, speacial food lunch, normal food pm.

Also, he said to feed her 1/3 of a packet of food before her injection, and then wait 7 hours before I feed her again. Because I ought to give the injkection at the same time each day Im havign to give it at 7am which means Tiff isnt really getting any food until 2pm.

Also, I dont know wether I should leave the food out and let ehr eat when she is hungry which she has done her entire life...or should I stick to specific feeding times? And removed all food when she is done? I also own another cat, who would find this hard to get used to as they are both used to just eating when they are hungry.

Ive read confilcting information on the ent and Im getting really confused. Aos, is it ok to let her "Snack" on high protein treats - like a bit of beef or fish after her insulin when she is hungry due to the 7hr wait?

HELP!!!
Angie
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Hi Angie

I'm sorry to hear that your moggie has diabetes My Mittens was also diagnosed as diabetic when she was 14 too

With regards to feeding her, you should treat her as per normal. There really is no need to have specific feeding times although you may find that as time goes on, your kitty will get fussy and insist that you feed them at a specific time. If you normally only feed her twice a day, stick with that and just ensure that one of those meals is her special diabetic food. If you are feeding 3 times a day, just do as the vet says with regards to alternating the food

The most important thing to remember is that your kitty MUST eat before you administer the insulin - if you inject before feeding, you could send your kitty into hyperglycemic shock. The best thing to do is let her eat, wait 15 minutes and then give her the injection. By the way, how often are you having to inject?

I am giving you a link to a specific feline diabetes forum - there are some very good and knowledgeable people there http://www.felinediabetes.com/phorum5/list.php?8

Managing feline diabetes will be hard work because your life will have to revolve around the insulin injections and watching your moggie for signs of change but once you get into the swing of things, it won't be so hard. If you need any more help or advice, feel free to PM me or post back here

Good luck!

I would recommend a high quality diet that is high in protein and low in carbs. Purina makes a diabetic diet for cats and so does Royal Canin. Both are available through veterinarians. I have seen a lot of cats and dogs regulate really well on diet alone, and some that need less insulin when fed one of these Rx diets. They are both available in wet and dry forms- I would recommend wet if you can afford it as it will provide your cat with more water.

here are some other good websites:

www.cat-dog-diabetes.com

www.veterinarypartner.com

The most important thing to do is feed a high quality, high protein diet. I would most strongly recommend Innova EVO, canned and dry. It is grain free and excellent for diabetic cats.

The only thing that is really critical is to make sure she has eaten when she gets her shot. It's actually dangerous to only give her a little food with her shot and then nothing again for 7 hours - if you leave the house and she regurgitates and doesn't have anything more to eat, then she can go into hypoglycemic shock which is possibly fatal.

Overall she can basically eat what she wants, when she wants. Her insulin should be given at the same time every 12 hours, or as close as possible, and she should eat right before each shot to keep her blood sugar from dropping. Too little insulin is much less dangerous than too much.

Overall, managing diabetes is a hassle because of the need to give the shots at the same time each day but beyond that, it's not as bad as you'd fear.

Here is my favorite site - www.gorbzilla.com and as I understand it, yes, high protein/no carb treats can be worked into a diabetic cats diet...but you'd want to run that by your vet

My Fuzz also became diabetic at 14.

It's been my expeirence that each cat has it's own unique needs and responses, just like people.

If you haven't done this, talk to your vet about teaching you how to test your cat's blood sugar yourself (you can do it on their ear easily once you're used to it, and use a regular diabetes testing setup for the results). If your vet says you can't, find one who will do this with you.

If you test fairly often the first few weeks (the vet will tell you how often), you will know how your cat's body responds to different foods, times, number of meals, snacking, and set up a routine based on that, when you can then lower the number of times you test significantly.

Also, it is my understanding 2 meals a day is better than one, especially for diabetic cats, and I was told snacking was not the best thing. But as I said, each cat is different and by testing you'll find what's best for your little guy.

The more you can keep his blood sugar stabilized, the longer quality life he'll have.

Good luck!

Thanks guys. At the moment she is only being injected once a day, the easiest for me is at 6pm due to my horses and work commitments. SHe used to have 3 feeds a day, brekkie, lunch and a diner about 10pm that she nibbled throughout the night.

Because Ive only had her home 2 days, Ive made sure that once her brother has eaten, his food stays out of reeach, and we're letting him go back to it when he wants to, but keeping her out of it - thats pretty easy because she always ate upstairs and he ate downstairs.

At the moment she is eating Felix Senior once a day, with 2 meals of Hills diabetic soft food (I tin split into 2 meals) at the moment the vet doesnt have any dry, but I wanted to get my hands on some just so she can nibble in the day if she does get hungry. When she first started showing symptoms I removed all biscuits and havent fed her any since, but dry food is her fave. She used to have the soft meals, and a tub of biscuits to go to in the day if she was feeling hungry, and she has always stayed a very skinny cat. I just wanted to find the safest routine and way of feeding her so it stays easy to regulate her, because she rarely stays with one type/flavour/brand of food for very long! (poor kitty will have to learn!)

MY vet was very vague when it came to feeding, she has to go back all day on Wednesday for a check up, so I was planning on telling him what was going on then, and getting his input.

Thanks
Again...Im a worried mommy at the moment! lol

Angie
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Angie, I don't know if this is available where you are but here in the UK, Hills make a specific food called diabetic cats called MD - you can get it as wet food in a tin and as dry food. You could ask your vet to get you a bag of this if your kitty prefers dry to wet

Cats are notoriously fussy eaters so if you want to keep her interested in the diabetic food, vary her food e.g. 2 meals of Felix Senior or other Senior cat food and 1 meal of diabetic food.

Mittens was also a one insulin shot a day girl and lucky for us, she never progressed to become a 2 shot a day girl and after 7 months, she became what is known as a "transient diabetic" i.e. she came off insulin and her diabetes was completely controlled by diet

Home testing is a good idea although my vet didn't think it was necessary for Mittens. However, once her diabetes was stabilised, Mittens had to have fructosamine tests every 3 months just so that the vet could keep an eye on her blood sugar level and adjust her insulin dosage accordingly

Like semiferal said, it is a hassle initially but you do get into a routine soon enough

Yeah I have the tinned hills MD, which she now seems to haev decided isnt good enough for her. The hardest thing is is that she wont eat anything when Im not at home, my parents have both tried feeding her, and she wont eat a thing, then when I get home, its time for her shot. She has her breakfast before I leave for work...wont eat any lunch when Im out...then when I get hoem she has 1/2 a tin of food, waits 15 mins or so and then has her shot, and its a few hours before she has her dinner. She has to go back to the vets all day on Wednesday for a check up, I'll try and see if the vet managed to order me in any dry HIlls MD.

Glad Mittens got better!!!

Angie
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We had exactly the same problem with Mittens - after a few days, she went off the MD and we had to come up with creative ways to keep her interested. This included warming the MD up in the microwave so that the aroma would be strong. We also tried sprinkling some dry treats on top of the MD and that also went down a treat.

Whilst it is important that she eats the diabetic food, if she refuses to eat, your priority will have to be to make sure she eats - even if it is just regular senior food or even treats. I'll keep my fingers crossed that you can get hold of some dry MD and that your moggy will like it

Tiff went in for her first glucose curve today adn its not good, after a week of being on insulin there is no change, so poor kitty is going to stay in over night and try and sort out a dosage that works for her...my poor baby...and I promised her Id have her home tonight...
Im sure this is jsut as traumatic for me as it is for her...we have never ben parted before, other than twice in the 14yrs Ive had her that I could go on holiday, and both those times she refused to eat when I was away...I dont function too good without her either! lol

Angie
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how much insulin the vet is suggesting? What's the current weight of your cat? And a year ago?

Angie, if this is of any help, when Mittens was first diagnosed, the vet kept her at the surgery for five days in order to build her blood glucose curve. He started off by giving her a little bit of insulin and increased it every day until he got it right. It's better to start them low and build it up to reduce the chances of hyperglycemia.

Also, by the time Mittens was diagnosed, there were already ketones in her urine so it was pretty serious. You'll see, you will be reunited with your baby soon

I understand what you are going through - I really do. Until the diabetes, I had never really been separated from Mittens before either and it was hard. Just take every day as it comes. We're here for you

Thanks...I just got her home after an overnight stay and the vet has suggested changing from one unit once a day to four units twice a day...Im not sure if this is too high? He suggested hypoglycemia could happen, and to keep an eye on her, I have to take a urine sample in next week, and she is having her second curve the week after.
SO much stress....Sheesh!

Angie
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Not knowing the severity of the diabetes, I couldn't say whether the new dosage is high or not. HOWEVER, that seems to be an awful big jump to go from one unit a day to 8 units a day. Do you know what sort of insulin Tiff is being treated with? Is there any way the dosage can be increased incrementally? More importantly, has the vet explained to you what you have to do if Tiff goes into hyperglycemic shock?

Originally Posted by Dr. Doolittle

I would recommend a high quality diet that is high in protein and low in carbs.

Click to expand...

I feel sorry for you cat.. And you.. But I would have to agree with the recommendation of a low-carb diet. I'm a diabetic human, and it works wonders (of course, I'm a tad bit more disciplined with the eating than a cat). (Now if only the ADA would listen - we seem to treat our diabetic animals more sensibly than we treat ourselves!) Dr. Bernstein's online forum is full of people who follow LC-management for diabetes - and a few with diabetic cats for "patients" too. You mentioned your cat was skinny - I don't know about cats, but in humans, insulin is neccessary to gain fat, as insulin supresses the enzyme which breaks down fat for energy instead of storage (lipase).

The human version of the LC-diet is low-carb, MODERATE-protein, high-FAT (about 10-40-50 %). The fat will break down into ketones, which can be used as metabolic fuel by (most of) the brain, the heart, and probably most other vital organs. In humans at least, this appears to lower the threshold of "severe hypoglycemia" (seizures, loss of conscieousness) a LOT - I can go down to 30 mg/dl (normal is 83), and still be functional and lucid. The danger here is ketoacidosis - which I assume would be greater for cats as you can't monitor them as much as people. As long as insulin is adequate and blood glucose is kept normal, ketoacidosis will not occur - but that might be hard with a cat. As long as insulin is adequate to prevent BG from rising too far, this should not occur - I'd think the easiest way to do this would be a long-acting basal insulin such as NPH or Lantus I'm not sure if NPH will work safely in a cat though. NPH also has a pronounced peak unless the dose is very small - I assume, I don't use NPH.

So I don't know if a high-fat diet would really be appropriate for a cat.. I assume a cat's natural diet is closer to a high-protein diet. I'm told that most diabetic cats are similar to human Type 2 (so there is little if any beta-cell deficit), and many will somehow go into remission after about a year (humans apparently got short-shrift when it came to our regeneratory systems). A low-carb diet of any kind will help this, as it puts less stress on what beta-cells are there.

Snacking on protein only should be okay, if your cat still has some beta-cells left (which she probably does). Or cheese (although getting a cat to eat cheese might be a trick)

Good luck,

The one consistent thing is to change your diabetic cats diet to a hi protein / low carb diet and drop all dry food and give only wet food.
Pay much attention to your cats behavior. You will figure this out in the first 4-5 days of testing BG and vet should tell you if BG is over 150 give 1 unit insulin. Test2 times each day to determine if kitty should get insulin or not
Low BG (hypo) is serious could cause seizures. Do not give insulin!
Hi BG (hyper) over 150 give 1 unit insulin but check with your vet on number of unitsfor
Hi BG!!!
Additionally there is diabetes ketoacidosis and etc
Have your kitty checked out by vet first. To see what he has which will determine treatment.
I have a great vet in Fort Lauderdale FL if anyone needs her.
Regulation is rough the first week or two. Be patient. You'll figure it out.

I agree with the others that it is vitally important that you move your cat to a high-protein, low-carb wet food. Diabetic cats really need that extra water in the food, and dry foods are always too high in carbs, even the diabetic formula ones. In general, wet food is better for cats because they don't like to drink, and it frequently causes kidney issues later.

What insulin did the vet put her on? There are fast-acting and slow-acting insulins. Mine is on Lantus, which is slow-acting and allows for more of a gradual curve during the day. He's on 1.5 units twice a day. I give him his shot while he is eating, because he barely notices then. Because it is slow acting, it doesn't matter if he is just eating then or not. It also helps that I got a discount card off the Lantus website for the pens that limit my insulin costs to $25 a month. Lantus is a very frequently used insulin for cats because it is very effective in controlling their diabetes.

If you don't already have one, order a blood sugar tester for home. It's good in the first month or so to test once or twice a day, and later maybe once a week or so. You'll also want it if she starts acting sick, because high blood sugar and low blood sugar can look the same but are obviously treated very differently, and you want to be able to properly address an emergency. I got the blood tester that my vet uses, because the human versions use a larger drop of blood. If you master the home test, you can do your own blood sugar curve at home and report the results to the vet. Cheaper and more accurate since you don't have vet stress elevating the blood sugars.

Make sure she is eating all the calories she needs but not really more. Be careful with the treats - an occasional small one is okay, or a regular one that is figured in. But varying food intake affects how much insulin she needs, so you want to keep it consistent. The other reason for keeping feeding times relatively consistent is that you want insulin shots on a consistent schedule. You want the food and insulin matched properly so that you aren't giving doses of insulin when there isn't incoming or present food to temper it, or big bursts of blood sugars from a feeding when the insulin is on the low effectiveness part of the curve.

As far as what your vet said, that is a really big jump to send her home with. I'd be concerned about giving her that much at once without trying it before and outside of the vet's office. I definitely wouldn't want to make these adjustments without testing her at home. As mentioned above, until she is regulated, test before the insulin shot.