Question on Purina DM

[Sharon2665]

it seemed like our Buddy took forever to get his nos under control. We finally did and they were running low so our vet had us take him off insulin. Right back up they went into the 300's! We have him on wet food (high protein low carbs) 2x a day and then we give him about a tablespoon full of dry SO at night. We have 4 cats total and they are all on the same diet. Today he was down to only 268 when the vet checked him. Our cat sitter who is a vet tech recommended trying Purina DM because she stated that cats on that as compared to regular wet food were more likely to go into remission and use lower doses of insulin. So I got some cans to try at the vets today. Buddy seemed to love it and hopefully that will continue but unfortunately we can only afford it for the one cat so we have to hover and make sure they don't play switch a roo with their food bowls. I plan on taking him off all hard food starting tonight just in case it is making a difference. In looking at the contents of the DM can I do not see where it is much different than the new Purina grain free that I can get at the store for half the price and would willingly put all our guys on. I try and buy grain free as often as I can afford and also use 9lives, fancy feast, and Friskies. My question here is will the Purina DM really make as much of a difference as they say it will and is it really any different than any other grain free wet canned food?

I am attaching a copy of the DM vs typical wet food chart that my friend sent me.
Thanks for your help guys.

 

[Erica & Carter]

Grain-free isn't necessarily what you're looking for as an appropriate diet for a diabetic. What is important is that it is low carb. Grain-free doesn't necessarily mean low carb either.

Purina DM canned (pate) is around 3% carbs I believe but there are a lot of other options for much cheaper. Check out this list. You have the option for some more premium canned foods, such as Wellness, Merrick, Nature's Variety, Weruva etc or many people simply use Fancy Feast Classics or Friskies Pate.

The dry SO is high in carbs and in general most dry food is recommended for a diabetic cat and it could be contributing to keeping his numbers high.

Are you home-testing? I ask because if you were to eliminate the dry food, his numbers could drop dramatically and therefore his insulin requirement could change and it would be important to monitor his BG levels at home.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

In looking at the contents of the DM can I do not see where it is much different than the new Purina grain free that I can get at the store for half the price and would willingly put all our guys on

You're exactly right!! The only thing "special" about DM is the price!! There's absolutely nothing in it that in any way works "differently" just because it costs twice as much!!

The real reason for the numbers on that chart aren't due to DM being so great....it's much more that DM is low carb and those cats whose insulin needs reduced after changing were on a high carb food (probably dry) to begin with!

The "prescription" food industry is a total farce.....that includes the SO, so I'd get rid of that little bit of dry too and you'll probably see better numbers! Here's a great article on The Truth behind Prescription foods

 

[Sharon2665]

Grain-free isn't necessarily what you're looking for as an appropriate diet for a diabetic. What is important is that it is low carb. Grain-free doesn't necessarily mean low carb either.

Purina DM canned (pate) is around 3% carbs I believe but there are a lot of other options for much cheaper. Check out this list. You have the option for some more premium canned foods, such as Wellness, Merrick, Nature's Variety, Weruva etc or many people simply use Fancy Feast Classics or Friskies Pate.

The dry SO is high in carbs and in general most dry food is recommended for a diabetic cat and it could be contributing to keeping his numbers high.

Are you home-testing? I ask because if you were to eliminate the dry food, his numbers could drop dramatically and therefore his insulin requirement could change and it would be important to monitor his BG levels at home.

No we have not been home testing yet. He has gone without the hard food at night and seems to do just fine. He is really getting such a tiny amount but I do realize it does make a difference. Mostly they have been getting Friskies pate in the am and Fancy Feast at night although it is grilled and not classic. We have not found a classic that they will all seem to eat. I will stop the fancy feast grilled and switch to on of the pages they like for pm and am feed to help cut down on the carbs. I am also going to look into the home testing. Thanks for your help.

 

[Sharon2665]

You're exactly right!! The only thing "special" about DM is the price!! There's absolutely nothing in it that in any way works "differently" just because it costs twice as much!!

The real reason for the numbers on that chart aren't due to DM being so great....it's much more that DM is low carb and those cats whose insulin needs reduced after changing were on a high carb food (probably dry) to begin with!

The "prescription" food industry is a total farce.....that includes the SO, so I'd get rid of that little bit of dry too and you'll probably see better numbers! Here's a great article on The Truth behind Prescription foods

Boy am I well aware that the prescription diet food market if a farce! One of our cats had bad stones and ended up needing a PU surgery and that is when we started him on SO. I quickly learned then why a soft food diet for cats was so important. Our vet claimed it wouldn't make a difference but his no of leakages almost completely disappeared when we switched to canned food. We only used the SO to supplement in the evenings or if we were out of town for a weekend etc. there seemed to be no other hard food that he didn't have a increase of stones with. Lately we have only given it to them right before bed because they drive us nuts begging for it. Think I will just remove it from the house! I also now know that 2 of the canned foods we are using are not the best for carbs so will quite buying them also and just give Buddy the lower carb cans until the bad stuff is gone. I think he would prefer it if we just gave him real meat to eat! That is his ultimate favorite.

 

[Olive & Paula]

Purina One Smartblend chicken pate is 2% carb and the beef is 5% carb. Sheba pate chicken and or beef are under 2.5%. There are conflicting % on this anywhere from 1.35% to 2.5% but they are safe to use. The wet DM is 3% carb.

 

[Sharon2665]

Purina One Smartblend chicken pate is 2% carb and the beef is 5% carb. Sheba pate chicken and or beef are under 2.5%. There are conflicting % on this anywhere from 1.35% to 2.5% but they are safe to use. The wet DM is 3% carb.

Yes I reloaded at the list and even though I have them on wet food I am changing it to make better carb choices. Hopefully that will help him and my pocketbook! Thanks.