High Blood Sugar, High Insulin with Food Allergies

[Natha Hall]

I currently have a foster boy, Romeo - I've had him for about 10 months now. When I got him, his blood sugar was 600+, he only weighted 4 pounds and had very little hair. He is now on Prozinc @ 5 units twice a day, and his blood sugar is averaging 350.
His biggest issue is food allergies - he was mostly bald when I got him - he had flea allergies and he he has been fully test and treated for types of bugs. He is now on Royal Canin, Hydrolyzed protein food and his coat has completely grown back, so he doesn't get the benefit for wet food or high protein cat food.
I am a type 1 diabetic, so very familiar with testing and food impact.
He is ear tested weekly - if there is a change in his food, he is tested daily - he is a cool boy and handles it well.
He is on a high dose of insulin due to the type of food, but after exploring all options, this is the food that works for him.
He is in process of getting a referral to a feline endocrinologist to assist with his treatment, but I'm looking for all options for him. He has come a long way on recovery. He now weights 12 pounds and looks healthy, but he does pee alot, so worried about his kidneys in the long term.
Most of the articles I have read are success based on the right cat food, wet food, but after testing 20 different brands, I increased the insulin to give him relief on his skin.

 

[Lisa and Witn (GA)]

You should be testing before every dose. Even if the food stays the same, a cat's body can respond differently each time insulin is given.

Have they been able to determine specifically what he is allergic to?

My cat Simon has IBD and his body was not absorbing all of the nutrients from his diet. Though he initially did well on hydrolized food, I switched over to making his food. He has improved immensely from the change. There are a few sites that provide information on making your own food. I follow the same process for making raw food except I cook his meat before adding in the supplements. It is not very difficult. I rotate the protiens in his diet between chicken, pork and rabbit. I tried beef, but he didn't like it. My other cats did though so the food didn't go to waste.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Have you tried a novel protein to see if he can tolerate that better?
You might consider a home made raw or cooked diet with supplements.
If you ride that you would have to be testing closely and reducing the dose of insulin.

One of my cats has food allergies. With a process of elimination I have found it is chicken and pork. So I have eliminated those. She was also not absorbing all the nutrients int the food and found it hard to put on weight.
I now give her 1/2 zyrtec tablet ( 1/2 if a 10 mg tablet) each day and the difference is quite remarkable.
She no longer has weepy eyes or red skin, her appetiser bette and she has put on weight.

 

[Natha Hall]

You should be testing before every dose. Even if the food stays the same, a cat's body can respond differently each time insulin is given.

Have they been able to determine specifically what he is allergic to?

My cat Simon has IBD and his body was not absorbing all of the nutrients from his diet. Though he initially did well on hydrolized food, I switched over to making his food. He has improved immensely from the change. There are a few sites that provide information on making your own food. I follow the same process for making raw food except I cook his meat before adding in the supplements. It is not very difficult. I rotate the protiens in his diet between chicken, pork and rabbit. I tried beef, but he didn't like it. My other cats did though so the food didn't go to waste.

Thanks Lisa - his food allergies are pretty extensive - chicken, tuna, salmon, rabbit, lamb, venison, pork and beef are all culprits that kept him chewing and hair falling out. Luckily for the hydrolized protein, he is not chewing and his hair is much fuller!! We have been food testing for quiet a while to find something for him. The hydrolyzed protein also mitigated his chronic runny poops which has also been a blessing for him. I am hoping with his referral to a specialist we might be able to try a different insulin. Being a type one diabetic myself, insulins like Novolog I can't even absorb, but Humalog works really well (and they are suppose to be same formulary, so I know that inaccurate)

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Sounds like you still have protein options such as turkey, duck, goat, kangaroo come to mind. My Neko also had pheasant, quail, buffalo and elk too. The HP food tend to be very high carb, so you will have to stay at high insulin doses if he stays on that. I do agree with Linda that once a week testing is not enough. A cat’s insulin needs can and do change over time.

Have you given psyllium husk fibre to him? It can help the runny poop situation.

Out of curiosity, what insulin are you on? We’ve had some cats share their caregivers Lantus or Levemir, both good insulins for cats too.

 

[Natha Hall]

Thanks for recommendation. We knocked out all the birds, turkey, pheasant, quail. I have tried kangaroo or any exotic meat and he would not eat buffalo
Fiber made poop some much worse and he was miserably bloated
I’m a type 1 diabetic so I don’t do long acting insulin. I’m on Humalog

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Fiber has to be added to the diet very slowly, or it will cause bloating. What type of fiber did you try specifically?

 

[Natha Hall]

Fiber has to be added to the diet very slowly, or it will cause bloating. What type of fiber did you try specifically?

Thanks for the reply. It is true fiber has to added super slowly, but he didn't respond well to it. The vet didn't think it was his correct course and now that he is doing much better, gaining weight and doesn't have all the stomach issues, I can agree that was not his path.