Cat with new diabetes and cat with IBD - need help please

[Mieke]

My 5 year old Calico cat Gypsy, was just diagnosed with diabetes 2 days ago. She is not overweight at all. She just started drinking more water which raised a flag to me. She has a Calico sister, Pirate, that has IBD. (they are from the same litter) Pirate has been on Eukanuka Sensitive Stomach for 3 years. This was the only food (after many many tries of both wet and dry) that finally stopped the IBD and got it under control. I have read so many posts that tell you not to use WD dry and use only wet food. Having 2 cats its hard to separate the feeding bowls and I want to give Gypsy the best food possible and not hurt Pirate where the IBD would start up again. Some posts mention Wellness Core.

Can anyone recommend a food for both cats? We go to the vets tomorrow to start her first insulin shot. I am so upset and unsure what to do. Your input is greatly appreciated.Thank you.

Mieke

Mommie to Pirate and Gypsy

 

[JenJee]

Re: Cat with new diabetes and cat with IBD - need help pleas

I have heard people with IBD cats have sometimes had success with a raw diet which you could certainly feed a diabetic cat as well, however, not everyone is comfortable feeding raw.

I used to feed Nature's Variety pre-made frozen raw which came in medallions and you just thaw in fridge and give. It's much spendier than making your own at home, though.

Good luck! I hope you can find something that works. I bet many others on here will have great advice for you. It is really difficult having two animals on different foods especially cats who tend to graze and I can totally understand you not wanting to deal with IBD flare ups.

 

[carolynandlatte]

Re: Cat with new diabetes and cat with IBD - need help pleas

What kind of foods have you tried for your kitty with IBD?
Most cats with IBD do best with a grain/gluten free diet. Sometimes it is the protein in their diet that needs to be switched (ie/beef allergy) or attempting one's the cat has never been exposed to (duck, venison, etc). A new protein is called a 'novel protein'.

My cat had IBD/lymphoma which we kept at bay for a while by switching to grain free wet food. Eventually she had to be treated with medications which pushed her into diabetes. So, I treated both at the same time. The best match we found was fancy feast (grain free) and wellness (grain free). There are many other options out there which are suitable for both dis-eases.

If you cannot switch your other cat's diet with out causing great flare ups or needs for medication, then I would consider finding a new way to feed them both (separate rooms?). I have only ever had one cat at a time, so hopefully others with multiple cats can coach you along in that area.

 

[Julia & Bandit (GA)]

Re: Cat with new diabetes and cat with IBD - need help pleas

Here's some more info about IBD and diet: http://catinfo.org/#Inflammatory_Bowel_Disease_(IBD). It is suggested that a raw diet is best (and that is low carb for the diabetic), but if that's not possible, you might have some luck doing trial & error with certain canned foods.

In my experience, IBD tends to be caused by one of two things with a commercial diet--high fat content, or a food intolerance to one of the ingredients. Looking the nutritional values for the Eukanaba dry foods, it looks like these are low in fat, and the sensitive stomach uses chicken as the main protein source. Your best bet is to try a canned, low fat food without any beef or fish. My Bandit has diabetes and mild IBD (fat based, not ingredient based), and he does fantastic on Merrick's cowboy cookout, Merrick's Surf & Turf, and Merrick's Grammy's Pot pie. Grammy's Pot Pie is the only food I know of that is low fat, poultry based, and low carb. You can find the nutritional content on this chart: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B8Uu8g1u8Su9YTgxNGE1MDItM2MyMC00Y2Y3LWI4ODMtMzhkYTkxOGM4NThk/edit, and places to buy it here: http://www.merrickpetcare.com/where-to-buy.php. Make sure you're transitioning slowly, switching the food over gradually over the course of a week. I would also buy some Fortiflora, a probiotic for cats, and give them a satchel a day for a few weeks while they're transitioning. This will help offset any upset to the GI tract caused by the food change. You can either get it at the vet, or online.

Even with that, you still may see some GI upset from the change, and some runny poo for a week or two. If the Grammy's Pot Pie works out for you, you could try introducing the other low fat Merricks' flavors, and see if it causes any upset. If it doesn't, you know the IBD is a fat thing, and not an ingredient thing and just need to watch the fat values in the future. If they do cause upset, you could try another low carb food with higher fat but limited ingredients, because you'll know it's a food intolerance. Fish is the most common protein intolerance, followed by beef.

If there is a food intolerance, you'll want to avoid foods with byproducts, sense you don't know what sources of protein are being used in the food. If it's a fat issue, foods with byproducts would be ok, but you'd want to feed something with a less than 50% fat content, and avoid foods like Wellness and EVO.