New Food

Going to try my kitty Zoey on some new food. I'm giving her another two months before we decided if we need to surrender her back. (We can't afford the insulin costs.) I think part of the problem she can't lose weight is she is eating the other cat's food (wilderness- 36% carbs- grain free... yeah right). Hers is the diabetic purina DM (13%). I found looking online that we can get her Wilderness Core (11%) carbs and just feed for both. That way she's getting less carbs. I don't have a meter at home but I'll decrease her insulin dose down. She gets 5-6U Lantus BID. (She's 20 lbs- Maine coon- ideal weight of 16). We'll see if that helps.

I know this whole thing is overwhelming. But if you are giving her two months, it would be fairest to give her 2 months under ideal conditions. That is, testing at home and feeding the lowest carb you can. Wellness Core is dry right? Even though it is one of the lowest carb dry, with some cats, even a little dry can raise the bg levels. Most cats won't eat the Purina Dry; it is liver based and they get tired of the taste. Can you get them both eating Fancy Feast or Friskies? Both are among the least expensive and there are many flavors that are in the 6% range.

We can send you a testing kit free and maybe find someone in your area who can help you get started on the hometesting. (See the picture above)

We want to help you her get well. I am very concerned that she is on a high dose of insulin that may be at least partly caused by the food. By feeding lower carb and keeping track of her numbers, you might be able to safely lower the dose. Less insulin = less expense.

Let us know how we can help you.

Part of the problem is my husband won't do home testing. I'm a medical resident and work 80hrs a week. I do her evening shot + food when I get home around 8pm. And we also have a 14 month little girl at home so it's difficult for him to take care of the cats + her. I want the best life for my cat. If I can't control her sugars well enough, I will return her back to her pure bread rescue so they can re adopt her out so someone else can. Because it's not fair for her. She is developing early catarcts as well (even I can see them with my opthalmoscope) and that's not common in cats.

If you eliminate the dry food, you may well find that you have a DIET CONTROLLED cat. Just by switching to any of the inexpensive low carb wet foods, like Friskies pates, you could see a big improvement and the dose may drop down to a very low dose within a week of changing foods.
At such a high dose, and not home testing, it's a bit of a danger to lower the carbs and not adjust the insulin dose to match the improvement.
I think if you are to do testing in the evening before that shot, you may find your husband will come around and do at least the one test before the morning shot. It's worth a try.

We decided to buy one thing of Wellness Core today at Petsmart. We might try the wet food too to see if we can get her insulin needs down. We would of course adjust her insulin way down if we feed her only wet food. What are inexpensive wet food brands? And how much do we feed? She is overweight and we have two cats. The other is a norwegian forest cat (8lbs) and the maine coone who is 4 lbs overweight. And, how much do you guys pay for your needles? Here in illinois we need a prescription to get them. We were getting them at target but it seems they have raised their prices. I think it was $35 for a pack of 100.

ZoeyMaineCoon said:

We decided to buy one thing of Wellness Core today at Petsmart. We might try the wet food too to see if we can get her insulin needs down. We would of course adjust her insulin way down if we feed her only wet food. What are inexpensive wet food brands? And how much do we feed? She is overweight and we have two cats. The other is a norwegian forest cat (8lbs) and the maine coone who is 4 lbs overweight. And, how much do you guys pay for your needles? Here in illinois we need a prescription to get them. We were getting them at target but it seems they have raised their prices. I think it was $35 for a pack of 100.

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Holy smokes, that's horrible for syringes! Yes, we need a script in IL, have you tried Costco or Sam's? You can also order syringes cheaper online from Diabetic Wholesale http://www.americandiabeteswholesale.com/?site=k518432&source=GAN

Where in IL are you? We may have members nearby who can help, either with testing or supplies.

Vicky & Gandalf (GA) & Murrlin said:

And, how much do you guys pay for your needles? Here in illinois we need a prescription to get them. We were getting them at target but it seems they have raised their prices. I think it was $35 for a pack of 100.

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Holy smokes, that's horrible for syringes! [/quote]

$35 is typical for the BD brand of insulin syringes. You can buy other brands of insulin syringes that cost much less. Many people here buy the inexpensive Relion insulin syringes from Wal Mart. Is that an option? You can also buy online. AmericanDiabetesWholesale.com is a popular place. Monoject insulin syringes are about $13 for a box of 100.

ZoeyMaineCoon said:

We decided to buy one thing of Wellness Core today at Petsmart. We might try the wet food too to see if we can get her insulin needs down. We would of course adjust her insulin way down if we feed her only wet food. What are inexpensive wet food brands? And how much do we feed?

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Fancy Feast, Friskies, and many other brands that you find at the supermarket, chain pet stores, and big box stores are inexpensive and are often on sale. Have you seen the food charts/lists?

Binky's canned food charts
Pet Food Nutritional Values list
Dr. Lynne's Wet Food list
List of low carb gluten free Fancy Feast

On Binky's charts, stick with foods that have a number 10 or less in the carbs colum. On the Pet Food Nutritional Values Chart, look at the %kcal from carbs column and choose foods that have a number 10 or less.

For an unregulated diabetic cat you should ideally feed the cat as much as he/she wants but without causinga huge weight gain. Most people free feed their cats multiple small meals throughout the day by using a timed feeder. You can start with one 5 oz can per day and adjust accordingly.

It's generally suggested to feed 20 to 25 calories per pound of ideal body weight. There are tips here on how to help a cat to safely lose weight: http://catinfo.org/?link=felineobesity

I am sorry if this comes across as harsh.

But I've been where you are, adopting a cat and later learning that they have diabetes. Scared about the commitment, scared about the costs, wondering if it is all worth it... my first post ever on FDMB was expressing my concerns over that.

I was seriously considering surrendering Scooter to the SPCA because I couldn't afford/wasn't sure if I was going to be able to commit to treatment. It is expensive. It is overwhelming. It takes commitment. But consider this - had you known Zoey was sick, would you have adopted her? No. And neither would anyone else. If you surrender her back to a place like the HS or SPCA, she will probably be euthanized without further consideration simply because, who wants to adopt a sick cat, when they could adopt a fun, playful, healthy kitten instead? Even if that kitten could just as likely get diabetes, CRF, CHF, asthma, etc?

I just could not give Scooter up to a shelter that would put him down simply because he required a bit more care than once or twice a day feeding and a litter box clean here and there. He is young, loving, and his quality of life, even with the diabetes, was too good to even CONSIDER euthanasia. He was skinny, constantly exhausted, flooding the litter box, always hungry, and his fur was clumpy... but he still had so much life in him. Yes, I could've adopted him out to someone else. But you are going to have a hard time finding a home for a cat that has a chronic disease. Again, not many people voluntarily take in sick cats. Even if you surrender her back to this pure bred shelter, they are going to have a heck of a time finding her a new home that will treat her. And even if someone were to take her, how can you make sure they are willing to commit to a safe, studied, treatment protocol, and she is not going to wind up on a deadly dose of Humulin or left untreated with DKA? I trusted myself more than anyone else with Scooter's care. I took that upon myself when I adopted him. Disease or not, that is what you commit to when you adopt a pet. You came to FDMB instead of just giving up - that shows me you have a will to make this work out.

There IS help out there for low income folks taking care of diabetic cats. If you are willing to commit to a proper treatment regime, DCIN WILL help you with funds. Scooter is a DCIN sponsored kitty. They have covered most of his vet bills, taxi costs to and from the emergency vet, his insulin cost, lancets, and even syringes when I was really strapped for cash. Without DCIN, I would not have been able to keep Scooter in my situation back then. Please, do contact them, if it would enable you to keep Zoey. I am about to start a new job soon and now I will be able to care for most of Scooter's needs. I just needed that extra help in the beginning. It all worked out in the end.

I have not regretted committing to treat Scooter for one second. This disease has brought us closer together and we share a bond deeper than any other pet I've had before. With feeding low carb, administering proper insulin, and home testing, I am in control of his diabetes. He is well regulated, has gained 3 pounds, his fur has smoothed, his litter box activities have returned to normal, and he runs around playing like a kitten again. And even though he's just a cat, I truly think he knows what I've done for him has made him feel better. He has become such an amazing companion to me.

I do not know why you seem hesitant to the idea of wet food. I know transitioning a dry addict to canned is tough. But trust me, it makes a world of difference, and as others said, you might even find Zoey is regulated on food alone. Even though CORE dry is "low carb", it can still keep the numbers high. Some cats are just more sensitive to starches. Please, read the replies in your thread "Hard Decisions" as you were given a lot of good advice that could really help yours and Zoey's situation. Give us a reply when you have read it. We are trying to help... but we cannot help if you are not willing to listen...

Just as in humans, diet is the key to control. Cats never evolved to eat high carb, moisture deprived foods. The manufacturing process for dry food requires that they are high in starches! And by feeding dry food you are also risking future kidney problems. Cats just don't drink enough water to make up for the lack of it in their diet. At least not until there is a serious problem and they spend their days laying by the water bowl. There is no good reason to feed dry food other than our own convenience.

You've been given a lot of good tips on low carb foods. If you buy the larger 12oz cans it brings the cost down even more. Both your cats would benefit from an improved diet, and one can a day would probably take care of both. Be careful about trying to reduce weight too quickly, that can lead to another whole set of problems. Think about calories, not volume of food. The higher the quality of the food the higher the calories usually are, that means feeding less. so that cuts expenses right there.

On testing, you are a medical resident. I'm sorry, but, what would you think of a human parent that gave insulin to their child without testing? It is just as dangerous to give insulin to your cat without monitoring. Periodic testing at the vet isn't enough and is way more expensive. Once you learn it takes less than a minute to test. Surely, there is 5 or 10 minutes a day to keep Zoey safe?

I feel your pain - I'm on disability & my senior cat was diagnosed with diabetes.

Just writing to say: as soon as I put him on wet food (Wellness Grain free) from dry food (Hill's k/d) his blood sugar dropped into the low range. He is controlled ONLY by diet right now. I panicked, as you did, or are doing, and was directed to DCIN. Without them, I wouldn't have been able to get Sab started on a post-diagnosis life. He did have some insulin prior to getting control only through food.

what I'm trying to say is, it HURTS the budget for me, but the food change is worth is because I know its the cheapest and easiest thing I can do to keep him healthy. thankfully, he prefers wet food lol