Diabetes Info

[leeseyoo27]

Hi All!

My Nine year old, over weight, asthmatic cat with urinary tract issues was diagnosed on Sunday with diabetes.  He had been throwing up, every few minutes all day on Saturday.  I ended up calling the vet at 11pm on Saturday.  Initially, an xray revealed his colon was full.  After two enimas and no change to his overall poor heath, the diagnosis was diabetes.  I picked him up on Monday and brought him home with Purina DM wet cat food.  He has eaten maybe three or four bites of food since then.  I ordered the DM dry food, hoping this will appeal to him more.  His regular diet has always been dry food, so I'm hoping this does the trick.  In the meantime, what can I try to get him to eat SOMETHING?  No insulin yet, we were trying to control via diet first.  I'm not opposed to insulin, just trying to take it one step at a time.  

Thank you, all, in advance for any insight and advice!  

Lisa

 

[josiegirl]

I'm so sorry your kitty has diabetes. But I will tell you that dry food is not good for your cat! My cat died from diabetes and after doing lots of research I learned they need a low carb wet food diet. Carbs in wet food should not be over 5% and I would stick with around 2%.

I'm typing from my dumb phone so I will give information on how to figure out carb content in a little bit. (You will not see carbs listed on pet food cans!)

 

[leeseyoo27]

I'm so sorry your kitty has diabetes. But I will tell you that dry food is not good for your cat! My cat died from diabetes and after doing lots of research I learned they need a low carb wet food diet. Carbs in wet food should not be over 5% and I would stick with around 2%.

I'm typing from my dumb phone so I will give information on how to figure out carb content in a little bit. (You will not see carbs listed on pet food cans!)

Thank you.  The vet was the one who originally recommended the Purina DM (diabetes management) dry food.  Thus the reason for me placing the order.  This cat is not a picky eater.  He seems to just have zero appetite.  

 

[josiegirl]

I understand. But I have to say that almost all the vets I've had they have no experience when it comes to nutrition. There are several articles for cats with diabetes and the biggest No-No is putting a cat on a dry food diet. I will link those articles in another post.

Here's how to figure carb %: look on the guaranteed analysis of a wet food can. Add protein, fat, fiber moisture and ash. Then subtract from 100. That's your carb %

To prevent this from happening to my other cats I feed them low carb food. I give Wellness Core, Instinct, Merrick purrfect bistro and Fancy Feast classic (when I'm on a strict budget) I also mix it with water to encourage drinking.

 

[LTS3]

A great place to check out is FelineDiabetes.com

There are tons of articles there and a great message board to get info and advice from other diabetic cat owners. My previous cat was diabetic and the FelineDiabetes.com message board was a huge help.

Here are some recent threads with diabetic cat info: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/291670/diabetic-cat#post_3684702 and http://www.thecatsite.com/t/291635/newly-diagnosed-diabetic-cat

Ditch the DM dry food. It's not good for your diabetic cat, contrary to what your vet may say. The vet who helped develop DM doesn't even recommend it. Low carb canned food is best for cats. Dry food = junky fast food. Low carb food = healthy and sensible diet. Since your cat is not on insulin at the moment, it's easy to switch to canned food. However the soon you can start insulin, the greater the chance of remission is. Try diet for a week or so and then start insulin. You'll find info about low carb canned foods on the FelineDiabetes web site and how to get your dry food addict to eat canned food. I fed my diabetic Nature's Variety Instinct and Innova EVO. Some of the regular Fancy Feast are low in carbs.

 

[josiegirl]

Thank you for posting links! For some reason it's not working on my phone!

 

[josiegirl]

Here's another link:

www.yourdiabeticcat.com

This lady is a vet who owns a diabetic cat. She also testified against the pet food companies about the junk they put in their food!

 

[sugarcatmom]

I would consider it an emergency that your kitty has eaten so little since Monday. Diabetics are prone to developing ketones when calorie intake isn't sufficient, and that can quiickly lead to ketoacidosis, a life-threatening condition. Try anything and everything to get some food in him: plain meat baby food, low sodium canned salmon, tuna, cheese, canned Fancy Feast,Temptations cat treats, whatever kibble he was eating before...... HE HAS TO EAT!!!!

I would also recommend picking up some Ketostix from the pharmacy today and seeing if you can dip them in a urine sample (I can give you tips on how to do that). Barring that, call the vet and make sure you tell them he hasn't been eating and you're worried about ketones. They can test for them at the clinic. Any reading of ketones on the dipstick is serious, and the earlier you catch them, the easier (and cheaper) it is to get a handle on them.

Good luck!

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• sugarcatmom
• Feb 4, 2015

 

[hexiesfriend]

I agree about the eating. At this point you probably need to get him to eat anything. It is dangerous for a diabetic cat to not eat. He does need to return to the Vet too. I think priority one is getting him to eat anything get his appetite back and then concentrate on diet changes. Controlling your cat's diabetes with food is a tough task, dry food probably won't get you there because of the high carb content. If his diabetes is out of control he may have no appetite. It's a vicious cycle that may have to be solved by the introduction of insulin.

 

[ldg]

Finger feed, use a spoon, get a syringe - but kitty needs food in him. Sugarcatmom is right - a diabetic not eating becomes life-threatening. :nod:

Here is a very helpful site for assisting your cat in eating: http://www.assistfeed.com/FeedingTechniques.htm

For future reference, I find these syringes the easiest to work with - because they have no rubber, they are very easy to clean. Consider ordering them to have on hand, they're a part of my "kitty care kit." One is for liquid, one is for food. Just snip the tip to the desired width:

Another excellent site for information on managing the health of your diabetic cat is also by a vet: http://www.catinfo.org/?link=felinediabetes

The diet that is best for his diabetes is also best for his urinary health, and it should help his weight!

 

[leeseyoo27]

Thank you all for your advice! He seems to be better today. He's eaten about half can of DM food. I'm super vigilant with my animals. Trying to do the best I can. I just picked him up on Monday from a weekend long stay at the vets with a $625 invoice and 75 dollars in food. I've been researching diabetes in cats for days, as in all new to this. Again, thank you!

 

[LTS3]

I agree about the eating. At this point you probably need to get him to eat anything. It is dangerous for a diabetic cat to not eat. He does need to return to the Vet too. I think priority one is getting him to eat anything get his appetite back and then concentrate on diet changes. Controlling your cat's diabetes with food is a tough task, dry food probably won't get you there because of the high carb content. If his diabetes is out of control he may have no appetite. It's a vicious cycle that may have to be solved by the introduction of insulin.

too. An unregulated diabetic who is not eating enough can develop a condition called diabetic ketoacidosis very quickly. This is something that needs immediatel vet treatment (as in absolutely no waiting the next day to call the vet or for an appointment a couple days later) and cannot be treated at home. One easy way to tell if your cat is ketotic is to smell the breath. It will smell like nail polish remover. Testing the urine with a ketostix or ketodiastix (available at any pharmcy) can help, too. Even a trace amount of ketones present means a trip to the vet for treatment.

http://www.felinediabetes.com/ketones.htm

Thank you all for your advice! He seems to be better today. He's eaten about half can of DM food. I'm super vigilant with my animals. Trying to do the best I can. I just picked him up on Monday from a weekend long stay at the vets with a $625 invoice and 75 dollars in food. I've been researching diabetes in cats for days, as in all new to this. Again, thank you!

The DM canned is ok for now. Just make sure your cat eats

There are more palatable and less expensive foods you can feed. Here's a quick list of Fancy Feast: http://www.felinediabetes.com/glutenfree.htm You can also use this chart: http://catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf Any canned food that has under 10% carbs is fine to feed a diabetic cat. These are typically pate/loaf style foods since gravy based foods contain starches and thickeners which tend to be high carb. Note: the chart is a few years out of date and some foods may have changed their ingredients slightly since then. Definitely check the FelineDiabetes message board for the most up to date info on suitable brands of food (and treats) to feed.

 

[racn1320]

So whats the carbs for ddy food uzually range vs wet food?

 

[josiegirl]

So whats the carbs for ddy food uzually range vs wet food?

It's much higher! They range in 25-50% range, depending on the brand you get. Iams and Hills are some of the worst offenders. Even the vet prescribed food is very high!

There are a few that are pretty low (but still over 10%) so if you absolutely have to give dry food here are the lower ones:

Evo kitten dry food: 13% (claims to be 8% but actual testing was closer to 13%)

Wellness Core kitten: 11%

Natures Variety Instinct chicken with raw boost coating: 13%

 

[josiegirl]

Here is a dry food chart for you:

http://www.binkyspage.tripod.com/dryfood.html

Keep in mind that Natures Variety is 13% and not 7%!

 

[racn1320]

I was feeding her science diet dry,have her off dry completely and feed her friskes patess,the only one she will eat is mixed grill,little higher jn carbs tho. But alot better than what she had

 

[josiegirl]

The dry food link I posted doesn't work, sorry!

http://binkyspage.tripod.com/dryfood.html

Hope this one works!

 

[leeseyoo27]

I just wanted to post a quick update.  Junior is doing so much better today.  My husband is the cat's human of choice.  He was able to get him to eat a half can of Fancy Feast last night and the other half can this morning.  His eyes are brighter, fur shinier and up and moving so much more. You all were very helpful.  I have a follow up vet appointment on Friday to get insulin instructions, so I'm sure I will return here with my questions  

 

[leeseyoo27]

I understand. But I have to say that almost all the vets I've had they have no experience when it comes to nutrition. There are several articles for cats with diabetes and the biggest No-No is putting a cat on a dry food diet. I will link those articles in another post.

Here's how to figure carb %: look on the guaranteed analysis of a wet food can. Add protein, fat, fiber moisture and ash. Then subtract from 100. That's your carb %

To prevent this from happening to my other cats I feed them low carb food. I give Wellness Core, Instinct, Merrick purrfect bistro and Fancy Feast classic (when I'm on a strict budget) I also mix it with water to encourage drinking.

Sadly, I am learning the hard way with the vets not having a whole lot of experience with not only nutrition, but diabetes management.  I have been reading these boards, websites, books non-stop for the past several days trying to learn all I can.  

 

[LTS3]

The dry food link I posted doesn't work, sorry!

http://binkyspage.tripod.com/dryfood.html

Hope this one works!

Bink's food charts are really old, from 2008, so the info is out of date but still useful to get a general idea of how high in carbs certain brands of foods are.

Supposedly Young Again dry food is very very low in carbs and ideal fore diabetics. If your cat will eat canned food, there's no reason at all to feed any dry food IMO.

 
I just wanted to post a quick update.  Junior is doing so much better today.  My husband is the cat's human of choice.  He was able to get him to eat a half can of Fancy Feast last night and the other half can this morning.  His eyes are brighter, fur shinier and up and moving so much more. You all were very helpful.  I have a follow up vet appointment on Friday to get insulin instructions, so I'm sure I will return here with my questions  

Definitely check out FelineDiabetes.com and the message board there

You'll get much more in depth tips and advice and help from the members there than you can here at TCS.

Ask the vet for Lantus, Levemir, BCP PZI, or ProZinc insulins.These work well for cats. Lantus in particular has a high remission rate if started early enough and by following a specific protocol which you will find over on the FelineDiabetes board. Humulin N is too short acting and "harsh" for cats. Caninsulin is for dogs but some cats do use it with mixed results.

Yes, some vets have no idea how to treat diabetes. If you need a new experienced vet, post over on the FelineDiabetes board for recommendations. There's bound to be someone there who lives in your area.