3/6 New Member

[crazycats]

Hi,

My kitty Caramel Sundae (orange & white) was recently diagnosed with diabetes this year. He is 12 years old and also has FLUTD. He had the PU surgery a couple years ago. We caught his diabetes early. He had bloodwork in Nov and all good. He had been on Rx Hills Urinary dry and wet for awhile. When we adopted a kitten for our kitten we rescued. All the cats got Giardia in October. The shelter did not know the kitten had it. Since then, Caramel refused his rx urinary food. So I switched it to otc hills urinary + hairball and pro plan urinary wet.

Then in January, I did a urinalysis for a check up because of things I noticed. Came back + for glucose. They ran a blood test and diagnosed him I have had issues with the contour next one monitor and lancet device plus self poking his ear. We ended up getting a Libre. He does not mind it and helps! I was not expecting to be charged almost $50 to have the vet tech apply it .

He is currently eating Rx Purina Pro Plan DM dry food (lowest carb (15-16%) with the dl-methionine for urinary concerns that I could find) and OTC Purina Pro Plan urinary wet food. He gets a 3oz can and 1/2 cup of dry a day split into 2 meals followed by 1.5 units of lantus. We have 3 cats and 2 of them are kittens. They eat Purina pro plan kitten dry & wet. We have 3 feeding stations. They are fed at 915am/pm and insulin at 945am/pm. I work 10a-7p m-f from home, so that is what works for us.

Caramel Sundae's glucose is still in the high 300s. He has only been on insulin and diabetic dry food for less than a month. I am not sure when the vet will increase his insulin. I have considered attempting to transition him to mostly wet food with a small amount of dry if he tolerates it. I have read many remission stories using all wet. We are a Purina pro plan family but considering other brands like Purina Fancy Feast. I am not sure of Fancy Feast will be an appropriate food for him since he also has FLUTD. It is cheaper and if I feed mostly wet (might all 3), the cost will add up really fast using a pricer wet food.

When I asked the vet, he suggested getting the Pro Plan DM wet too. It is higher in carbs than otc and only 1 flavor but 2 textures. Do anyone have any suggestions?

Sorry for rambling. Just an anxious cat mommy. Pics included if my 3 babies. Caramel Sundae (orange & white), Luna (gray), and Merlin (black).

Christi

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Welcome to FDMB!

One of the most important aspects of managing your cat's diabetes is a low carbohydrate diet. Diabetic cats can go into remission but remission is highly unlikely if your cat is eating food that is high in carbs. We consider low carb as under 10% although most of the members here feed their cat a food that's in the neighborhood of 5% carb. (Medium carb = 10 - 15%; high carb is anything over 15%.) Unfortunately, there are very few dry foods that are low in carbs (only Dr. Elsey's Clean Protein and Young Again Zero Carb -- it's not zero carb but it's low). To complicate things further, most of the "prescription" diabetic foods are not low in carbs. Frankly, many people here feed their cat Fancy Feast. The Classic line is mostly low carb. The same website on nutrition also has a chart that lists most of the canned foods available in the US along with nutritional information including carbs.

Given your concern about urinary tract issues, you might want to take a look at this site on feline nutrition. The website is written by a vet with an interest in feline nutrition. If you look on the menu on the right side of the main page, there's a section on urinary tract disease. The author, Lisa Pierson, DVM is not a big fan of dry food. This is due to cats having a limited thirst drive and especially for diabetic cats, getting moisture into your cat's diet is important. Water is good for the kidneys and diabetes is notoriously hard on the kidneys.

This is a link to our info on using a Libre. If you've not already found it, there's a Facebook page devoted to pet owners using a Libre. The Facebook group has information on how to replace the Libre sensor yourself vs paying a vet tech to do it. There are also several members here with a great deal of experience using a CGM so please let us know if you need a hand.

If you're going to stick around, we encourage everyone to set up a signature and spreadsheet. The signature provides information about your cat (e.g., Caramel Sundae's date of diagnosis, age, insulin you're using) so we don't bug you by repeatedly asking these questions. The spreadsheet allows you to track your cat's progress and allows us to follow along. The information, and more, is included in this link on helping us to help you.

Please let us know how we can help.