Additional questions

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Thelma & Sinbad

Hello everyone!

Now that life has returned to semi-normal, I have a few questions. Sinbad's new doctor recommended Hills MD or Purina DM wet food to keep everything balanced. I don't have to tell anyone on here how expensive that is. After the frightening episode we went through last week, I want to ensure we are doing everything possible to ensure the health of Sinbad. I have 3 other kitties (one is Sinbad's littermate sister - pictured with him) and they all love Fancy Feast classics. In fact, they all but stopped eating dry food. Doc says thats great, they should be eating just wet food anyway. Is Fancy Feast a good choice? I'm reading on here that it is, but want to be sure. Also, I am monitoring his blood levels at home, this morning he was at 103. Is that a good range for him to be in? Doc says between 80 and 180 - he should be ok. I'll be a nervous nelly for awhile - lol
 
Vet recommended WD soft and hard food. They are both high in carbohydrates like 23 percent and the MD soft is lower at around 14 percent. After I told him it was high he switch to MD instead of WD.

I know that Friskies and Fancy Feast is lower in carbs but he was concerned about the quality of the product with haveing dyes in it and everything else so what I'm doing is mixing fancy feast with the MD half and half that keeps it under 10 carbs.

Plus my cat has IBD so he needs a little bit of a better quality protein for his intestines. Once a day I mix in a little bit hard food MD with a soft food and so far his blood glucose has been around 118 without insulin.
 
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The MD is supposed to be low in glucose but dry food is pretty high no matter what type of guy for you to get its all going to be high in carbohydrates so you have to limit the dry no matter what kind it is.
 
You're home testing!!! That's terrific. Let's get you started recording your numbers on a grid that color codes them based on the levels. Its a great way to visualize what is happening

Instructions are here.

Understanding the spreadsheet/grid:

The colored headings at the top are the ranges of glucose values. They are color-coded to clue you in as to meaning.

Each day is 1 row. Each column stores different data for the day.

From left to right, you enter
the Date in the first column
the AMPS (morning pre-shot test) in the 2nd column
the Units given (turquoise column)

Then, there are 11 columns labeled +1 through +11
If you test at +5 (5 hours after the shot), you enter the test number in the +5 column
If you test at +7 (7 hours after the shot), you enter the test number in the +7 column
and so on.

Halfway across the page is the column for PMPS (evening pre-shot)
To the right is another turquoise column for Units given at the evening shot.

There is second set of columns labeled +1 through +11
If you snag a before bed test at +3, you enter the test number in the +3 column.

We separate day and night numbers like that because many cats go lower at night.

It is merely a grid for storing the info; no math required.
 
Welcome to FDMB!
Can you let us know what type of meter you're using to home test? The human and pet meters read in slightly different ranges so it's important for us to know which one you have before offering advice. Either type is fine but most people here use a human meter because the pet ones end up being too expensive. Normal range for a cat on a human meter is 50-120 so it looks like the vet is using a pet meter. Take a look at @BJM's signature for a really helpful link called Glucometer Notes for a better explanation.

Also, what insulin are you using?

There's no reason to pay for expensive Rx food! The Fancy Feast is just fine.
 
BJM, thank you! very resourceful I will be keeping a much closer eye on this guy. Mitzelpik's Mom, I am using the Relion Prime.
 
When you get a chance, could you add a few details to your signature? If you click on your name at the top right of the page, you'll see "signature " there. Most people add their name, cat's name, date of diagnosis, insulin and dose and which meter they use. You can also add any additional medical info, medications, food, etc. It will help other members to have all that at a glance when answering questions.

Joan
P.S. Sinbad and his sis are gorgeous!
 
Mitzelplik's Mom said:
Welcome to FDMB!
Can you let us know what type of meter you're using to home test? The human and pet meters read in slightly different ranges so it's important for us to know which one you have before offering advice. Either type is fine but most people here use a human meter because the pet ones end up being too expensive. Normal range for a cat on a human meter is 50-120 so it looks like the vet is using a pet meter. Take a look at @BJM's signature for a really helpful link called Glucometer Notes for a better explanation.

Also, what insulin are you using?

There's no reason to pay for expensive Rx food! The Fancy Feast is just fine.
Click to expand...

Joan, I hesitate to say that Sinbad was diagnosed with diabetes because of the misinformation, we were giving him insulin when he should not have been. He is borderline and will keep an eye on his numbers from this point forward. I read a lot on here that Fancy Feast in adequate, but I'm nervous because I nearly lost Sinbad last week and just want to be sure about everything.
 
Save your money and continue with the Fancy Feast classics.....the prescription foods aren't anything magical and their ingredients aren't any better anyway (besides the fact they're higher in carbs than the FF are!)
 
Thelma & Sinbad said:
Joan, I hesitate to say that Sinbad was diagnosed with diabetes because of the misinformation, we were giving him insulin when he should not have been. He is borderline and will keep an eye on his numbers from this point forward. I read a lot on here that Fancy Feast in adequate, but I'm nervous because I nearly lost Sinbad last week and just want to be sure about everything.
Click to expand...
Thelma,
Got it - so you're monitoring him just to make sure he's with in normal range. I would most definitely avoid the the prescription foods then. There are lots of low carb wet foods to pick from on the Catinfo.org lists if you or Sinbad are not happy with the Fancy Feast. You've probably seen it already but just in case not: http://catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf

Joan
 
Joan,

Last week Sinbad was placed on a toxic 4 units of Lantus per day. Why such an aggressive amount for numbers that did not justify it, I don't know, but it nearly took Sinbad's life. I now know better and I'm keeping a watchful eye on him because he is borderline and his numbers could rise. Thank you for the advice on the food. My cats love FF and it is affordable. Is the script food too low in carbs for a non-diabetic cat?
 
Chris & China said:
Save your money and continue with the Fancy Feast classics.....the prescription foods aren't anything magical and their ingredients aren't any better anyway (besides the fact they're higher in carbs than the FF are!)
Click to expand...

My vet and I compared the carbs in the Purina MD wet (because Spaz didn't like the DM) and FF Pates as he really wanted Spaz on a prescription diet. The carbs were almost exactly the same. 2.9% if I remember correctly for the MD. He changed his mind about the FF once he saw that the carb content was the same.
He was consulting a reference book and I saw the numbers in the book myself. Everyone is always saying that the carb content in even the prescription wet is higher but according to his reference book the Purina Prescription is not. I wonder if the percentages in his book inaccurate, or if the carbs have gotten lower over the years as all the online info I have found is years old and possibly outdated.
Regardless though, FF is cheaper and both cats love it so I will stick with what works for the kitties!
 
According to Dr. Lisa Pierson (who's done more research into feline nutrition than anyone I know of) the Purina MD is 3% carbs so it sounds like that's what he was looking at

Glad that your vet decided to check into it himself so you can save the money on the prescription food! One of the big problems with all of the prescription foods (other than the carb content) is that our kitties get tired of it and don't want to eat it anymore....at least with the FF, you have some choices in flavors!
 
Yes, Spaz didn't like the Purina DM at all. My vet was trying to get me to try the MD as Spaz wasn't on a "diabetic diet" on FF and was really pushing for it until we both compared carbs and found out they were pretty much the same. After that he was okay with Spaz getting FF :).
 
One thing for sure, I will remain with FF. Also, is it common for a cat to act starving all the time? I feed them twice a day (wet) the other kitties get about 1/2 cup of dry daily because I'm still training to break them free of the dry. It works most of the time, but they beg for food from anyone who goes in the kitchen. This is a little out of the ordinary.
 
Thelma & Sinbad said:
Last week Sinbad was placed on a toxic 4 units of Lantus per day. Why such an aggressive amount for numbers that did not justify it, I don't know, but it nearly took Sinbad's life.
Click to expand...
Thelma, I'm so sorry you had to go thru that! And very happy that Sinbad is OK now!

If your schedule allows, dividing feedings into smaller, more frequent meals may help all the kitties feel more satisfied thru the day. I may also help keep Sinbad's BG numbers more stable. I know a lot of people here use automatic feeders even with wet food. I'm sure someone can recommend a good one if you're interested.
 
I don't know about Hill's but Purina DM caused my cats blood sugar to soar. They make a canned food as well. She refused to eat it at all. My vet wanted her on either or both of the two. I chose to go with Friskies pate or Fancy Feast Classics and they have worked well for me. And, over the past year my vet has taken on a different perspective about feeding wet food. Good luck from Jane and Stewey
 
Oh my goodness, you try to do the right thing, and turns out to hurt the kitty even more! I had Sinbad on FF classics and he took very well to it. I had the 3 on the wet food as well to train away from the dry. I still give them just about 1/2 cup of the dry food per day to the other kitties because the act like they are starving all the time. I refuse to give any dry food to Sinbad because of his BS. I tried the Friskies pate since the cans are bigger and cost is less. All 4 went on a hunger strike refusing to eat, lol. Back to FF, but it seems Sinbad is getting tired of this as well, he would not eat but just a few bites last night and this morning.
 
I have to rotate thru just about all the flavors of Wellness for Mitz. If I open the same flavor 2 cans in row, she'll turn up her nose at it. :rolleyes:
 
My cats don't seem to mind the same food. When I moved them all over to wet almost two years ago, we landed on Friskies Special Diet Turkey and Giblets and they have been on that for almost two years now. Every once in a while, I would throw them a different flavor or brand. I liked changing food mostly because of me. I just wanted to give them a change and to also see if any of the new food would change Merlin's numbers. The cats (4) would be ok with a few days of change and would eat as long as it wasn't given to them, long term. So, I always would go back to Friskies SD T&D. Because Friskies discontinued the SD T&D, I tried all sorts of food since the end of May. They all have been hating the changes and wouldn't eat much for about two weeks of tests. The first food I tried was Wellness Turkey Grain Free and they only liked it for about two days. I moved on to about a half a dozen of other foods like EVO, FF, Friskes pate, Tiki, etc. and they hated it all at the get go. It was a miserable couple of weeks in my household. They were always following me, crying and begging for food and yet they wouldn't eat much. After about two weeks, I went back to Wellness Turkey and they all loved it (which is the food I was hoping to transition to in the first place mostly because of the lower phosphorous). So now, hopefully, we won't have to change for a while in the long term, however, I am still going to give them a new taste once in a while. :) Since mid-June, we are now back to a happy, content household. Our cats are so funny and unpredictable!
 
I gave all mine FF again last night, 3 would not stop eating and were nudging each other out of their bowls. My one, Mia, looked at it and walked away. They lay the guilt trip on me thick, because I'm a softie and do not like them unhappy, lol. It's getting better though and they are starting to understand that the new menu will be around for awhile! I did take the advice on here and will not go with the prescription food, I think it will be a waste and not very beneficial. Thank you everyone.
 
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