Hello! My cat Fred was recently diagnosed. I was wondering if anyone knows an updated lower carb wet food options besides the prescription. His diabetes isn’t awful, they started him on 1U of insulin BID. We’re going to see if we can control without prescription food first! Thanks in advance.
low carb wet food
- Thread starter sydsnapp
- Start date
squeem3
Member Since 2009
Prescription food won't manage the diabetes at all. Expensive for very poor quality ingredients that aren't any different than any commercial brand. There is no magic ingredient that makes prescription food good to manage XYZ condition. Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition – Common Sense. Healthy Cats.
All the food charts are here: Links to FOOD CHARTS They are a bit out dated.
There's a somewhat newer US chart here: Cat Food As-Fed Chart
What is the name of the insulin your cat is on? Some insulins are better for cats than others.
What were you feeding your cat before the diabetes diagnosis? If it was dry food, then you need to be extra cautious with changing the diet to low carb canned food. The drastic drop in carbs (most dry foods are super high) can result in hypoglycemia even on the tiny 1 unit of insulin. You need to be closely monitoring blood glucose levels while you slowly change the food.
If your vet didn't say anything about daily testing, that's ok. Many vets don't. Testing is an important part of managing the diabetes, just like it is for Human diabetics. Many people manually test from the cat's ear or paw pad with a blood glucose meter. A Human one is fine as they are cheaper and more widely available than expensive pet meters sold only at the vet office or online. Some people use a (Human) CGM that sticks onto the cat for about 2 weeks before replacing it.
Hometesting Links and Tips
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/thr...ucose-monitors-cgms-for-diabetic-cats.303722/
All the food charts are here: Links to FOOD CHARTS They are a bit out dated.
There's a somewhat newer US chart here: Cat Food As-Fed Chart
What is the name of the insulin your cat is on? Some insulins are better for cats than others.
What were you feeding your cat before the diabetes diagnosis? If it was dry food, then you need to be extra cautious with changing the diet to low carb canned food. The drastic drop in carbs (most dry foods are super high) can result in hypoglycemia even on the tiny 1 unit of insulin. You need to be closely monitoring blood glucose levels while you slowly change the food.
If your vet didn't say anything about daily testing, that's ok. Many vets don't. Testing is an important part of managing the diabetes, just like it is for Human diabetics. Many people manually test from the cat's ear or paw pad with a blood glucose meter. A Human one is fine as they are cheaper and more widely available than expensive pet meters sold only at the vet office or online. Some people use a (Human) CGM that sticks onto the cat for about 2 weeks before replacing it.
Hometesting Links and Tips
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/thr...ucose-monitors-cgms-for-diabetic-cats.303722/
CORKY
Member Since 2023
Welcome to FDMB
It is overwhelming the word Feline Diabetes, but the good thing is that it is manageable, with the right insulin, home testing and the right diet, and lots of cuddles. what insulin was Fred Prescribed? ProZinc and Lantus are the best insulin for cats, they are a 12-hour insulin and easy on the cats, now if you are stating that he was prescribed 1 unit, it must be that his glucose levels are quite high, then he needs insulin, and yes a low carb diet of wet can or raw foods is a must for a diabetic cat, and the "prescription foods" ( good thinking, ) are far from being a healthy food for them they contain anything between 20-30% carbs, cats cannot digest carbs, most members here use Fancy Feast Pates between 0-10% carbs most feed up to 5% , grazing is not a good idea you need to have a feeding schedule, if you are not home during the day a wet food feeder mis a good idea, some have cameras, and several small meals/snacks 3-4 during the day, beside the two main meals before shooting insulin, the Drs approved food list has many brands to choose from, the third column will contain the carb% for each, Are you home testing? it is very important to test the glucose level before giving insulin to avoid a hypoglycemic episode, most members use the ReliOn Premier human monitor and strips (Walmart) very inexpensive and accurate, no need to spend on an expensive Pet Meter. also a CGM the LIBRE if you are not home during the day is an option as well, although manual testing may be necessary with the CGM since it reads low numbers lower than reality and you want to confirm, please keep posting any concern you may have, are her for you, in our main menu we have sticky notes with much valuable information
https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf
It is overwhelming the word Feline Diabetes, but the good thing is that it is manageable, with the right insulin, home testing and the right diet, and lots of cuddles. what insulin was Fred Prescribed? ProZinc and Lantus are the best insulin for cats, they are a 12-hour insulin and easy on the cats, now if you are stating that he was prescribed 1 unit, it must be that his glucose levels are quite high, then he needs insulin, and yes a low carb diet of wet can or raw foods is a must for a diabetic cat, and the "prescription foods" ( good thinking, ) are far from being a healthy food for them they contain anything between 20-30% carbs, cats cannot digest carbs, most members here use Fancy Feast Pates between 0-10% carbs most feed up to 5% , grazing is not a good idea you need to have a feeding schedule, if you are not home during the day a wet food feeder mis a good idea, some have cameras, and several small meals/snacks 3-4 during the day, beside the two main meals before shooting insulin, the Drs approved food list has many brands to choose from, the third column will contain the carb% for each, Are you home testing? it is very important to test the glucose level before giving insulin to avoid a hypoglycemic episode, most members use the ReliOn Premier human monitor and strips (Walmart) very inexpensive and accurate, no need to spend on an expensive Pet Meter. also a CGM the LIBRE if you are not home during the day is an option as well, although manual testing may be necessary with the CGM since it reads low numbers lower than reality and you want to confirm, please keep posting any concern you may have, are her for you, in our main menu we have sticky notes with much valuable information
https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf
Last edited:
Thanks for the reply. He is still getting the dry cat food he was getting prior just a smaller amount. I work in healthcare so i’m aware you can’t take all away and just assume his sugars will be fine. I am trying to find foods lower carbs to help with the sugar levels. He is on vetsulin which I have read doesn’t always do best with cats. I will bring it up when he has his next appointment for us glucose curve. The vet did not mention doing at home monitoring but I am totally open to doing whatever.
As I said prior I work in healthcare and know blood sugars can shift etc.
Thank you for the updated list.
Thank you for the nice reply!Welcome to FDMB
It is overwhelming the word Feline Diabetes, but the good thing is that it is manageable, with the right insulin, home testing and the right diet, and lots of cuddles. what insulin was Fred Prescribed? ProZinc and Lantus are the best insulin for cats, they are a 12-hour insulin and easy on the cats, now if you are stating that he was prescribed 1 unit, it must be that his glucose levels are quite high, then he needs insulin, and yes a low carb diet of wet can or raw foods is a must for a diabetic cat, and the "prescription foods" ( good thinking, ) are far from being a healthy food for them they contain anything between 20-30% carbs, cats cannot digest carbs, most members here use Fancy Feast Pates between 0-10% carbs most feed up to 5% , grazing is not a good idea you need to have a feeding schedule, if you are not home during the day a wet food feeder mis a good idea, some have cameras, and several small meals/snacks 3-4 during the day, beside the two main meals before shooting insulin, the Drs approved food list has many brands to choose from, the third column will contain the carb% for each, Are you home testing? it is very important to test the glucose level before giving insulin to avoid a hypoglycemic episode, most members use the Relizon Premier human monitor and strips (Walmart) very inexpensive and accurate, no need to spend on an expensive Pet Meter. also a CGM the LIBRE if you are not home during the day is an option as well, although manual testing may be necessary with the CGM since it reads low numbers lower than reality and you want to confirm, please keep posting any concern you may have, are her for you, in our main menu we have sticky notes with much valuable information
https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf
He is on Vetsulin which I have read is not the best for cats. I will bring it up at his next vet appointment. He has been on fancy feast just not the Pate which I am switching to and monitoring him for hypoglycemia since they have lower carbs.
I work 12 hour shifts so I am not home all the time unfortunately. But I am open to monitoring at home! He was previously a stray outside and he’s only been inside for 3 months. I am hoping to get it under control quickly! Again thank you for your reply I will reach out if needed
CORKY
Member Since 2023
Vetsulin/Caninsulin is a dog insulin it his hard and fast in a cat, and if you will not be for 12 hours especially after shots, ,,perhaps you should consider CGM Libre you can ask the vet to switch insulin like ProZinc or Lantus and start you on a small dose until you are comfortable enough with how the insulin affects Fred, also even though he is eating FF you need to transition from the non pate to pate slowly tge sudden change to low carb can cause upset stomach and a sudden drop in BG levels. So perhaps you want to do this on the days you are off, and a wet feeder is a good idea as well, with insulin Dred needs to have several meals during the day to keep the insulin in check
Mary & Jude
Member Since 2024
On the cat food lists that Squeem posted is this one which is my preferred list because it's 1) fairly comprehensive and 2) updated frequently (last update was 8/25). The creator and manager of the list is focused on phosphorous content mainly (the list is for cats with kidney disease), BUT it has the carbs % of calories as the third item on the list--that's the number you're looking for. You'll see, though, that the list is broken down by phosphorus content: https://www.bizave.com/foodlists/Combined_Food_Lists_Feeding_Guide.pdf