Cat not eating diabetic food

[buddysmom]

Hello everyone!!

My name is Cydni & I am new here (just registered). This site was recommended to me by a Facebook friend after voicing my concerns on Facebook. My cat, Buddy, is 9 years old & was recently diagnosed with Diabetes. He is on 3 units of Lantus twice per day. This is a bump up from the previous 2 units, after his glucose did not curve. He was prescribed Hills Science Diet M/D or Royal Canin. He does not like either of them & will NOT eat either of them. I tried the whole "Oh he'll eat when he gets hungry enough," but that's not working. I've mixed his old food with his new food & it still doesn't work. He ONLY wants his old food, which is Purina Cat Chow & the carbs are off the charts for that food. He has never eaten canned food & still won't. I've tried that also. He LOVES meat from the table. I tried cooking him a scrambled egg & he sniffed it, licked it & then walked away. I need help!!!! The vet just keeps telling me to give him those prescription foods, but he's literally starving himself. I've never heard his stomach growl before in his entire life, but tonight, it's growling like crazy. He needs something in his tummy. I have no problem cooking him food if that's what I need to do. I just need some ideas of what to try next that will be healthy & safe for him.

Any advice?

Thank you!!!!

 

[BJM]

You might try Evo Cat & Kitten dry food or Wellness Core dry food which have lower carb levels, while you continue to work on switching.

And take the DM back since he won't eat it.

Are you home testing? Any food switches may affect glucose levels and require dose adjustment.

 

[Just-As-Appy]

Have you tried Fancy Feast? Any of the pate varieties are ok for diabetics. Same with Friskies or Walmart's Special Kitty. Ideas to enhance the taste - crush a few of his kibbles and sprinkle on top of the wet. If you have to sprinkle liberally at first, that's ok. Just get him eating and then slowly decrease the kibble powder. Also parmesan cheese tempts some cats. You can get Fortiflora from the vet or on the internet. It is the 'stuff' that makes kibble so irresistable but without the carb of kibble - but that is not a short term fix. Steamed chicken breast is another 'can't resist' for some kitties. Some cats will also eat the recovery food- yes, its a prescription food but for a can or two to get the texture it might be worth it. AD is one of them - can't remember the others. Hopefully these help- if not come back because others will have other suggestions for you.

 

[squeem3]

He has never eaten canned food & still won't.

Here are tips on how to transition a dry food addict to canned food: http://catinfo.org/docs/Tips for Transitioning PDF 1-14-11.pdf Some stubborn cats may take months to accept canned food so don't give up after a couple failed attempts.

In the meantime, you can try a "better" dry food such as Innova EVO, Wellness CORE, or Nature's Variety Instinct.

Dry foods are coated in an irresistable coating that many cats are addicted to. It's usually animal digest. FortiFlora is basically animal digest and can be used to help with the food transition. Your vet sells the product or you can buy it online. A little sprinkle goes a long way.

You could also try crushing up treats and sprinkling that on top of the canned food. Freeze dried meat treats are diabetic-friendly and work great.

He LOVES meat from the table.

Cooked meat? That's ok as a treat but not good as the main diet because it lacks all of the imoprtant vitamins and minerals a cat needs.

Have you tried giving your cat a small piece of raw meat to try? There are some cats who were dry food addicts and would not eat canned food but went ga-ga over raw meat. Here's a recent thread with info about raw food diets, the options on how to feed it, recipies to use, commericial brands, etc: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=87363

Cooking changes the nutrients in meat so it's not an ideal way of feeding a cat. There are lots of recipies out there for cooked cat food but many are not suitable for diabetic cats.

Here is one recipie that is ok for diabetic cats: http://tcfeline.com/2010/08/16/cooked-meat/ It uses the TC Feline pre-mix which contains all of the vitamins and minerals a cat needs. You will need to buy a package of it through that web site. The recipie clearly states that it is not a long term diet.

 

[buddysmom]

Wonderful information & advice! I am very thankful this site was referred to me! I am checking out all the info & links & will try the crumbled up treats/dry food on top of some pate that I previously bought him. I am also going to contact my vet about the fortiflora. I was curious about the meat alone. Other friends recommended that he eat the boiled chicken, but I was curious as to whether that would be good for him as his only form of food. So, I thank you for your responses & I'm going to take all of the advice & see if I can't get something to work for him.

 

[BJM]

You can purchase FortiFlora online - try our shopping partner Amazon (link at top of page)