1/27 Luna, new poster

[Katie M]

Hi guys,
I'm a new member and I have one cat, an 11 year old female named Luna. She's not exactly newly diagnosed but I am still new to most diabetic things since everything has been controlled by diet so far, she's been diagnosed for almost a year. Her high glucose levels were found during routine blood work and her vet and I have been keeping an eye on them since then.

So far she hasn't needed insulin and her sugars have been controlled through diet, but recently she's become more allergic to her prescription food. Initially she was on Hill's W/D and later Bexacat was added and this lead to a lot of gastro upset so she was switched to Purina DM which made her ears itchy but controlled her sugars well, she was also taken off of Bexacat at this time.

Mainly she eats dry food, she'll never finish wet food and doesn't seem to like it that much. Purina recently has started giving her acne though, and it has progressed to bloody scabs on her chin. This has been evaluated by her vet and she was given an ointment and a new prescription for Canin's Glycobalance, I'm still in the process of transitioning her to the new diet.

However, the new food seems to be bringing back some of her hyperglycemia symptoms intermittently (needy, purring very very hard, and less balance than normal) and although it might still be too early to tell, I'd like to get ahead of it and be able to have a new food in mind if she needs to be switched. Although it looks like I've run out of diets intended for diabetics. I'd rather not have to give her insulin until absolutely necessary, she hates me having to do things to her whether it's putting ointment on her chin or giving her a syringe full of something that she'll eat as a topper and I'm afraid it might make her more fearful of me and tint our relationship.

So, in essence, after trying Hill's W/D, Purina DM, and Canin Glycobalance, are there any dry foods that might be good for a cat in diabetic remission and keep her levels controlled enough to not need to start insulin?

Also, p.s. should I look into getting a glucose monitor or a cgm? I've brought it up to a vet before and she outright said that I should not get a monitor and that it'll be useless unless I get a cgm. On my most recent visit her husband told me I shouldn't get a cgm because her fructosamine looked good. But I've been a little wary of the advice I've been getting from that office, I feel like they don't listen to me very well.

Edit: some information that might be helpful is that pre-diagnosis she loved the Iams ProActive indoor cat formula and the Sheba perfect portions pate, she would finish all of that wet food

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Hi guys,
I'm a new member and I have one cat, an 11 year old female named Luna. She's not exactly newly diagnosed but I am still new to most diabetic things since everything has been controlled by diet so far, she's been diagnosed for almost a year. Her high glucose levels were found during routine blood work and her vet and I have been keeping an eye on them since then.

So far she hasn't needed insulin and her sugars have been controlled through diet, but recently she's become more allergic to her prescription food. Initially she was on Hill's W/D and later Bexacat was added and this lead to a lot of gastro upset so she was switched to Purina DM which made her ears itchy but controlled her sugars well, she was also taken off of Bexacat at this time.

Mainly she eats dry food, she'll never finish wet food and doesn't seem to like it that much. Purina recently has started giving her acne though, and it has progressed to bloody scabs on her chin. This has been evaluated by her vet and she was given an ointment and a new prescription for Canin's Glycobalance, I'm still in the process of transitioning her to the new diet.

However, the new food seems to be bringing back some of her hyperglycemia symptoms intermittently (needy, purring very very hard, and less balance than normal) and although it might still be too early to tell, I'd like to get ahead of it and be able to have a new food in mind if she needs to be switched. Although it looks like I've run out of diets intended for diabetics. I'd rather not have to give her insulin until absolutely necessary, she hates me having to do things to her whether it's putting ointment on her chin or giving her a syringe full of something that she'll eat as a topper and I'm afraid it might make her more fearful of me and tint our relationship.

So, in essence, after trying Hill's W/D, Purina DM, and Canin Glycobalance, are there any dry foods that might be good for a cat in diabetic remission and keep her levels controlled enough to not need to start insulin?

Also, p.s. should I look into getting a glucose monitor or a cgm? I've brought it up to a vet before and she outright said that I should not get a monitor and that it'll be useless unless I get a cgm. On my most recent visit her husband told me I shouldn't get a cgm because her fructosamine looked good. But I've been a little wary of the advice I've been getting from that office, I feel like they don't listen to me very well.

Edit: some information that might be helpful is that pre-diagnosis she loved the Iams ProActive indoor cat formula and the Sheba perfect portions pate, she would finish all of that wet food

@Bron and Sheba (GA)
@Chris & China (GA)
@Sienne and Gabby (GA)

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

There are only a few low carb dry foods -- Dr. Elsey's Clean Protein and Young Again Zero Carb. What you are currently feeding Luna is likely driving her numbers into higher ranges. The Royal Canin line of diabetic food is especially high in carbs - even the canned food is 14% carb. A diet controlled diabetic cat needs to be on a low carb diet. We define low carb as under 10% carb. That said, most members here feed their cats a food that is in the 5% range.

There are some additional crunchy options. There are freeze dried and air dried raw foods (e.g., Stella and Chewy's). However, you need to add water to the pellets.

The issue with dry food is that cats have a limited thirst drive. They typically get most of the moisture in their diet from their prey. Canned food has a similar moisture content as prey.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

If your kitty is getting itchy to a food, it's probably an allergy to something in the food. Chicken and fish are common allergies, and unfortunately in a lot of cat foods. You may have to take a look at the ingredients lists of the foods causing itching and see if you can find a common ingredients that isn't in the one that causes itching.

The other thing to consider is what you are using for feeding dishes. Plastic ones are worst for chin acne/sores. Try switching to glass, metal or ceramic if you are using plastic.

The Sheba perfect portions pate ones are all low carb and a good option, as long as they don't trigger her allergies.

As for getting a glucometer, it's a cheaper, quicker and less stressful way of checking her blood sugars than taking her to the vet. I think a lot of people here in the US buy the Relion Premier from Walmart. You want one that needs a small blood drop and cheap test strips. You absolutely do NOT need a CGM - they didn't even get used in cats until recently. They weren't around when I started. People on FDMB have been testing cats for 25 years with human BG meters.

 

[Katie M]

There are only a few low carb dry foods -- Dr. Elsey's Clean Protein and Young Again Zero Carb. What you are currently feeding Luna is likely driving her numbers into higher ranges. The Royal Canin line of diabetic food is especially high in carbs - even the canned food is 14% carb. A diet controlled diabetic cat needs to be on a low carb diet. We define low carb as under 10% carb. That said, most members here feed their cats a food that is in the 5% range.

There are some additional crunchy options. There are freeze dried and air dried raw foods (e.g., Stella and Chewy's). However, you need to add water to the pellets.

The issue with dry food is that cats have a limited thirst drive. They typically get most of the moisture in their diet from their prey. Canned food has a similar moisture content as prey.

I've heard that there have been some issues with freeze dried foods being potential vectors for the H5N1 avian influenza that's very dangerous to cats, has there been any talk of that on the main board yet? I keep seeing people suggesting freeze dried foods but I want to make sure that I'm doing it in the safest way possible since freeze drying won't kill viruses like H5N1. I know it's an issue with chicken and I've heard that many cows are getting sick with the virus too but I'm not sure if their meat can be as contaminated? If anyone knows about this I'd be interested to learn. Thanks!

 

[Wendy&Neko]

You can get canned foods with lamb, venison, duck, kangaroo, rabbit, quail, bison and maybe a few others I've forgotten. If you are worried about raw at this time, the canned ones are cooked. Beef is also a common allergy for cats.

 

[squeem3]

I feed freeze dried raw food and don't have any concerns but I only feed rabbit. There is frozen raw food brands like Primal and Nature's Variety that could also be fed. Air dried raw is another option and is crunchy. So is making raw (or cooked if your cat won't eat raw) from a recipe.

Canned food is a cooked product and perfectly fine to feed if your cat likes it Poultry is a another common allergy.

 

[SmallestSparrow]

Hi guys,
I'm a new member and I have one cat, an 11 year old female named Luna. She's not exactly newly diagnosed but I am still new to most diabetic things since everything has been controlled by diet so far, she's been diagnosed for almost a year. Her high glucose levels were found during routine blood work and her vet and I have been keeping an eye on them since then.

So far she hasn't needed insulin and her sugars have been controlled through diet, but recently she's become more allergic to her prescription food. Initially she was on Hill's W/D and later Bexacat was added and this lead to a lot of gastro upset so she was switched to Purina DM which made her ears itchy but controlled her sugars well, she was also taken off of Bexacat at this time.

Mainly she eats dry food, she'll never finish wet food and doesn't seem to like it that much. Purina recently has started giving her acne though, and it has progressed to bloody scabs on her chin. This has been evaluated by her vet and she was given an ointment and a new prescription for Canin's Glycobalance, I'm still in the process of transitioning her to the new diet.

However, the new food seems to be bringing back some of her hyperglycemia symptoms intermittently (needy, purring very very hard, and less balance than normal) and although it might still be too early to tell, I'd like to get ahead of it and be able to have a new food in mind if she needs to be switched. Although it looks like I've run out of diets intended for diabetics. I'd rather not have to give her insulin until absolutely necessary, she hates me having to do things to her whether it's putting ointment on her chin or giving her a syringe full of something that she'll eat as a topper and I'm afraid it might make her more fearful of me and tint our relationship.

So, in essence, after trying Hill's W/D, Purina DM, and Canin Glycobalance, are there any dry foods that might be good for a cat in diabetic remission and keep her levels controlled enough to not need to start insulin?

Also, p.s. should I look into getting a glucose monitor or a cgm? I've brought it up to a vet before and she outright said that I should not get a monitor and that it'll be useless unless I get a cgm. On my most recent visit her husband told me I shouldn't get a cgm because her fructosamine looked good. But I've been a little wary of the advice I've been getting from that office, I feel like they don't listen to me very well.

Edit: some information that might be helpful is that pre-diagnosis she loved the Iams ProActive indoor cat formula and the Sheba perfect portions pate, she would finish all of that wet food

I have one observation: perhaps they told you if you used a meter get a Libre because if you don’t feel you could give Luna insulin (and perhaps voiced this concern) then they realized home testing with a hand held glucometer would face challenges (a lot more new people complain here about testing than they do giving shots)

with time and practice you can manage both but I hope it doesn’t come to that. Good luck with the diet changes and the testing