New to Diabetes & Corporate Vet not very helpful

A

APLeKing

Member Since 2026
Hi,
I just joined. I have a lot of questions & am having some challenges getting comprehensive advice from the Vet, it’s a chain-style Veterinary Clinic with rotating Vets.
I’ve seen many posts about Fancy Feast helping many cats with diabetes & somewhere I found a recommendation for Young Again Zero Mature kibble, which I ordered.
Jack is a neutered 8yr old DSH & I just got the results that his blood sugar is high & in his urine. The vet’s advice was to immediately put on insulin… I want to try diet first. I just am not sure the best way to transition his food.
I have his brother, Figaro who has had several ER stays due to FLUTD, urinary blockages. In order to treat Figaro I’ve had them on Science Diet C/D prescription dry food for grazing, (very high carb content) and they get a 5.5 oz can of Blue Buffalo Tastefuls, water added, split between them (originally split between 3 cats, alas I missed the signs of kidney disease & now my poor Smudge is no longer with us & I’m devastated). So now split into 2 portions.
How should I transition their diet? Under normal circumstances, I’m aware that it should be done over a period of a week (2 days of 3/4 old food 1/4 new- 2 days 1/2 old 1/2 new- 2 days 1/4 old 3/4 new), Is this still the best way to transition them? I have concerns & am very worried about missing signs of distress (since I missed the signs on Smudge).
I did reach out to a diabetic friend who is passing along an old glucose meter & some test strips, I’m sure she’ll instruct me on how to use it, but from what I’ve read in some links, numbers will vary from cat calibrated monitors, so I don’t even know how to deal with that.
Any nuggets of advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
 
One week after Neko got her FD diagnosis, my other cat was diagnosed with crystals/idiopathic cystitis. The other cat's vet put him on CD, which is horribly high in carbs. When I went back to that vet and sold her Neko was stealing the high carb food, I asked what was a food both could eat. She suggested raw food, so that's what I did. Later on, I found that a low carb and lower phosphorus food with lots of water added was ideal for both conditions, canned or raw. More information here: Cat Urinary Tract Diseases: Cystitis, Urethral Obstruction, Urinary Tract Infection. There are plenty of commercially available options that work, but Fancy Feast isn't the best option as it tends to be higher in phosphorus. Dry food is also not idea, as you need to get as much water as possible into Figaro.

More good information here: Tips for Transitioning Dry Food Addicts to Canned Food.

Don't worry about the variation from human meters to pet meters. Most of us here use human meters because the cost of the test strips for pet meters is so high. And our dosing methods were developed before pet meters were even invented, so we've been using human meters for years here.

If you aren't going to put Jack on insulin right away, I strongly recommend picking up some ketone testing strips. At the first sign of ketones, he needs to be treated for the diabetes. Tips to catch and test a urine sample. By the way, did the vet suggest which type of insulin they wanted you to give? Lantus or Prozinc are the best for felines.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
One week after Neko got her FD diagnosis, my other cat was diagnosed with crystals/idiopathic cystitis. The other cat's vet put him on CD, which is horribly high in carbs. When I went back to that vet and sold her Neko was stealing the high carb food, I asked what was a food both could eat. She suggested raw food, so that's what I did. Later on, I found that a low carb and lower phosphorus food with lots of water added was ideal for both conditions, canned or raw. More information here: Cat Urinary Tract Diseases: Cystitis, Urethral Obstruction, Urinary Tract Infection. There are plenty of commercially available options that work, but Fancy Feast isn't the best option as it tends to be higher in phosphorus. Dry food is also not idea, as you need to get as much water as possible into Figaro.

More good information here: Tips for Transitioning Dry Food Addicts to Canned Food.

Don't worry about the variation from human meters to pet meters. Most of us here use human meters because the cost of the test strips for pet meters is so high. And our dosing methods were developed before pet meters were even invented, so we've been using human meters for years here.

If you aren't going to put Jack on insulin right away, I strongly recommend picking up some ketone testing strips. At the first sign of ketones, he needs to be treated for the diabetes. Tips to catch and test a urine sample. By the way, did the vet suggest which type of insulin they wanted you to give? Lantus or Prozinc are the best for felines.
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Thank you for your insight! I have to admit that my use of kibble is for convenience, as I do know it really isn’t the best diet they could have. Since I can separate them for feeding wet, I can switch Jack my diabetic to the Fancy Feast & have Figaro switch to ProPlan Urinary. Since I’ve already ‘trained’ them to be grazers, by portioning out some daily kibble (aforementioned C/D) I’m going to try the Young Again Zero Mature as a snacking/grazing option. I did see this kibble also is low in minerals that can cause a blockage. Because it’s very nutrient & calorie dense, I’ll only be portioning out a tbsp or so twice daily. Right now both cats are a bit overweight and could stand to lose a pound or two, tho the vet never mentioned their weight.
My friend dropped by last night & passed along her “TRUE2go” monitor and a bunch of test strips & spare lancets. This is going to be an interesting learning experience, at minimum! I have ketone strips already, but not sure I’ll be able to get Jack in the middle of a pee, as he’s a ‘nervous’ cat. I’m so grateful for this message board & all the info so readily available!
Thanks
 
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