Total confusion

[MC18]

I know that this post will seem redundant, but I am so confused. My cat was diagnosed six months ago. His current diet and treatment consist of Hill's Diet W/D dry, half a cup in the morning with two units of Pro Zinc. The same regimen is repeated twelve hours later. He does not get anything else. His blood sugar level is under control. But I have some questions:

Food: Dry or wet ( my cat eats both without issues) people on this forum seems to recommend, Fancy Feast Pate; if so how much do I give him with each injection?
What kind of safe treats can I give him between meals?
How often should I check his sugar level at home? Right now, I am taking him to the vet for curves.

I just bought a massive bag of w/d at Petsmart ($84) and opened it. Does any one knows if they will take it back?

Is it safe to give him a little bit of canned tuna between meals?

Can I switch him directly from Hill's Diet to the regular brand?

I hope that I am making sense, lol. Thanks a bunch for your help.

 

[Erin & Scott]

Welcome to FDMB! It's the place to be if you have a cat with diabetes!

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the Hill's Diet, especially the dry, is terrible for kitties with diabets - carb content is way too high. Based on sound nutritional information and vast experience with feline diabetes (not me, but the collective wisdom here), the recommended diet for diabetic cats is low-carb wet food. Low carb typically means less than 10% carbs. The preferred foods, for reasons of economy, are Fancy Feast or Friskies pates. Not all canned foods are low-carb, but we have a great list that has been provided by veterinarian Dr. Lisa Pierson, which lists the percentage of protein, fats, carbs, and grams of phosphorus for a long list of canned foods. That list can be found here:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/dr-pierson-new-food-chart.174147/

Dry food is not recommended; many members have switched from dry food to wet once their cat was diagnosed. For some it's a difficult process, but other cats take to it easily. If you decide to switch, you should do it gradually, and monitor his blood sugar at home; removing the high-carb food from his diet can lower his blood sugar significantly, so you may find you need a lower dose of insulin. Be sure you're doing home testing before you start.

You should monitor his BG (blood glucose) at home, at minimum 3 times per day - before each injection, and at least once somewhere in the middle of his cycle, to make sure his numbers aren't dropping too low. I'm less familiar with ProZinc, so I don't really know the critical times in the cycle to test, but if you post on the ProZinc forum, you'll surely get some good answers.

As far as returning the bag of dry to PetSmart, I don't know what their return policy is, but you can try. Tell him that it makes your cat vomit and he can't eat it, or something.

It is confusing - we all started out pretty much where you are. There is a ton of information on this site, and it sounds like you've already done some reading. Besides reading the posts, please take time to read the yellow stickied threads in the various forums; they provide lots of information that is important to know. Good luck with the food switch!

 

[MamaMug]

I echo, the yellow stickies are a wealth of information especially in regards to food. There are a ton of options for low carb wet food in Dr Lisas chart. I keep it in my Google drive do I can review it while at the pet store.

As far as treats, our guy really likes just plain chicken. I usually bake it, but some folks will boil or poach it and use the broth water to mix in with food. I think I'll go that route next time. We also really like orijen freeze dried treats which are low carb.

 

[Dusty Bones]

If PetSmart won't take your food back (returns must be saleable), Petco will. Tell them you bought it there and don't have a receipt and they'll give you store credit if they carry the same product. Petco will take any opened product if your pet or you are unhappy. They're expensive but have great customer service.

 

[Tom & Thomas (GA)]

Even before looking at the food chart maintained by Dr Lisa Pierson, you should visit her website, catinfo.org. It has a lot of good writing about nutrition and cat health in general, including material specific to diabetes. You should read what she has to say about transitioning a cat to low-carb foods. Dr Pierson is one of the most cogent and persuasive sources of information I have ever found.

That Hill's w/d dry food isn't just bad for a diabetic cat, it is exceptionally bad. It actually has more carbohydrates than most dry food. See what catfooddb.com has to say about it. The sooner you can get away from this, the better. (Or is the w/d being used to help with some condition other than diabetes? Even if so, you would still want to look for something else.)

Orijin and PureBites are two brands of treats that are very healthy, being just freeze-dried meat. Good as a reward each time you test your cat's blood glucose level.

 

[MC18]

Welcome to FDMB! It's the place to be if you have a cat with diabetes!

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the Hill's Diet, especially the dry, is terrible for kitties with diabets - carb content is way too high. Based on sound nutritional information and vast experience with feline diabetes (not me, but the collective wisdom here), the recommended diet for diabetic cats is low-carb wet food. Low carb typically means less than 10% carbs. The preferred foods, for reasons of economy, are Fancy Feast or Friskies pates. Not all canned foods are low-carb, but we have a great list that has been provided by veterinarian Dr. Lisa Pierson, which lists the percentage of protein, fats, carbs, and grams of phosphorus for a long list of canned foods. That list can be found here:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/dr-pierson-new-food-chart.174147/

Dry food is not recommended; many members have switched from dry food to wet once their cat was diagnosed. For some it's a difficult process, but other cats take to it easily. If you decide to switch, you should do it gradually, and monitor his blood sugar at home; removing the high-carb food from his diet can lower his blood sugar significantly, so you may find you need a lower dose of insulin. Be sure you're doing home testing before you start.

You should monitor his BG (blood glucose) at home, at minimum 3 times per day - before each injection, and at least once somewhere in the middle of his cycle, to make sure his numbers aren't dropping too low. I'm less familiar with ProZinc, so I don't really know the critical times in the cycle to test, but if you post on the ProZinc forum, you'll surely get some good answers.

As far as returning the bag of dry to PetSmart, I don't know what their return policy is, but you can try. Tell him that it makes your cat vomit and he can't eat it, or something.

It is confusing - we all started out pretty much where you are. There is a ton of information on this site, and it sounds like you've already done some reading. Besides reading the posts, please take time to read the yellow stickied threads in the various forums; they provide lots of information that is important to know. Good luck with the food switch!

Thank so very much for your input.

 

[MC18]

I echo, the yellow stickies are a wealth of information especially in regards to food. There are a ton of options for low carb wet food in Dr Lisas chart. I keep it in my Google drive do I can review it while at the pet store.

As far as treats, our guy really likes just plain chicken. I usually bake it, but some folks will boil or poach it and use the broth water to mix in with food. I think I'll go that route next time. We also really like orijen freeze dried treats which are low carb.

Thanks for your input. I certainly will try

 

[MC18]

Even before looking at the food chart maintained by Dr Lisa Pierson, you should visit her website, catinfo.org. It has a lot of good writing about nutrition and cat health in general, including material specific to diabetes. You should read what she has to say about transitioning a cat to low-carb foods. Dr Pierson is one of the most cogent and persuasive sources of information I have ever found.

That Hill's w/d dry food isn't just bad for a diabetic cat, it is exceptionally bad. It actually has more carbohydrates than most dry food. See what catfooddb.com has to say about it. The sooner you can get away from this, the better. (Or is the w/d being used to help with some condition other than diabetes? Even if so, you would still want to look for something else.)

Orijin and PureBites are two brands of treats that are very healthy, being just freeze-dried meat. Good as a reward each time you test your cat's blood glucose level.

I thank you for your reply. So, I have answers concerning treats, best food, possibly returning the bag and testing; but what I am the most concerned about is, when I switch food is when to give insulin or not and how much to give depending on the readings. For example, let say the early morning reading is 100 but the noon one is 154, do I give him an injection then? and food? As I said in my above message, Thurmond (that's my cat) is currently on two units morning and night. I just am afraid to do the wrong thing and make him sick or worse. Is there a chart with blood sugar levels and appropriate insulin dosage? If yes, I may have missed it. Thanks for your help.

 

[Tom & Thomas (GA)]

The section about diabetes Dr Lisa Pierson's catinfo.org includes good, general information about transitioning food. Beyond that I would suggest posting to the Prozinc / PZI forum, where you can get advice from people who are experienced with this particular type of insulin.

Try a subject line of "Need help with dosing, food transition" and pick the "?" for a symbol to go in front of your title.