A few months in

[Mum of two felines]

Hi everyone! My one little 14 year old feline was diagnosed with diabetes this last August. I am trying to learn all I can so we can have him around a while longer. I am at a disadvantage because our small town has only 2 vets. My current vet has been a talented vet for us. My little feline has had lots of UTI's and he's been able to get him all straightened out. My little pup had allergies with a collaspable trachea. He treated him and pulled him out of many attacks. My pup lived for 18 1/2 years.
So, saying all this, I don't want to alienate this wonderful vet. But, I keep reading my feline should be eating canned good and one that is low carbohydrate. Well he eats prescription diet w/d because of his urinary track problems. Do I mention to the vet I would like to move my two felines onto canned? I am confused,

 

[Larry and Kitties]

Welcome.
Good insulin are the human Lantus and Levemir and the pet insulins ProZinc and BCP PZI. For those two human insulin it is best to get the 5 pack of 3 ml disposable pens via a 10 ml vial. Although per ml the vial is less expensive most cats will not use up a 10 ml vial before the insulin goes bad/becomes ineffective. The human insulin N/NPH is sometimes prescribed but only lasts 8-10 hours. Same for the pet insulin Vetsulin/Caninisulin.
Most of us here test or cats blood glucose at home using a human meter. We test before each shot and periodically between shots. We record our reading and other info in a spreadsheet. See:http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...te-a-ss-and-link-it-in-your-signature.130337/
I never heard of W/D for urinary problem. Hills,
http://www.hillspet.com/products/pd...ent-gastrointestinal-with-chicken-canned.html
the manufacturer, says it is high fiber and is for thinks like excessive weight gain, constipation and other related things. Not for urininary proboem. Hiss C/D is typically for urinary problems.

Here is a link to home testing blood sugarshttp://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

 

[Sharon14]

Hi and welcome. It sounds like you have a pretty good vet. I live in a small town too with only a couple vets. I was afraid to alienate him, so at first I just did what I wanted and didn't tell him. Of course then I worried that if I had a problem, I'd have to tell him everything, so I went ahead and talked to him. I explained why I wanted to feed the food I chose, shoot insulin on a different schedule than he prescribed, etc. surprisingly he was ok with it. I had printed out info, mainly from links found on this site, that convinced him. He was actually impressed with all my research and asked questions. Give it a try, research food, a good resource for that is http://www.catinfo.org it is written by a vet. What urinary tract problems does your cat have? I agree with Larry that W/D isn't really for urinary tract issues. We usually try to feed a canned food low in carb as well as low in Phosphorus and add extra water to it. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Mum of two felines]

I think I am going to at least talk to him about switching to canned food. I know he'll be open to that. My other kitty has been having intestetial issues and is getting an abscess removed from his back today so it probably would be the best time to switch. Sharon and Larry, both kitties started on W/D when they both were overweight, I was feeding them Purina indoor cat food when they ended up being overweight. Maybe if I switch to canned and Buzz can taper off his insulin they'll be more inclined to listen. And, yes, I am going to start checking his blood sugars before feeding and won't switch until I have a few days of data. Thank you for your links!

 

[Sharon14]

Good luck today with your other kitty's procedure. Let us know how the talk with your vet goes and if you have any more questions, please ask!

 

[BJM]

Gradual food changes of 20-25% different food per day help avoid food refusals and GI upsets (diarrhea and/or vomiting), along with letting you monitor the glucose level closely so you can adjust as needed or intervene to stabilize the glucose at a safe level.