Canned cat food

[Georgia]

Rocky is a very poor eater. Even before he was diagnosed, he didn't eat a lot and was very picky. I have a hard time finding something he will eat in order to give him his insulin.
Would someone be able to tell me why it is bad for diabetic cats to eat canned food that contains vegetables. He really likes the Fancy Feast Morning Medleys, but I haven't given him these since he went back on insulin. I think I was being to lenient with his food during his time of remission. I don't want to make that mistake again.

 

[Rachel]

Cats are obligate carnivores. That means the only nutrition they need comes from meat. Vegetables raise the BG for a cat. My girl was so sensitive that even friskies classic pate was too high in carbs.

Have you tried forti flora? I never used it but it's worked wonders for others.

 

[Deb & Wink]

This vet journal published article, from May 2010, AAHA Diabetes Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats recommends feeding your cat the lowest carb canned food they will eat.

A cat's natural diet is small rodents and those do not contain much in the way of fruits or vegetables.

Any food with grains, fruits, or vegetables and even liver is going to be a higher carb content than foods that do not contain these ingredients. Save those high carb foods for your hypo toolkit.

You might try mixing a bit of the old food with the newer lower carb food, gradually decreasing the amount of high carb food and increasing the amount of the low carb food. It may take weeks for your cat to transition to a better food. Try some of these transitioning tips.

Sorry to hear your cat fell out of remission. :cry: It probably was at least partially caused by the high carb Fancy Feast Morning Medleys. Anything with "Gravy" in the name is going to have some type of grain in it, like wheat gluten. That does increase the carb content.