Changing food to one with a higher protein base

[debbiequin]

My cat, Storm, was diagnosed with diabetes in April, 2013. She was put on strict canned and dry Science Diet M/D. Last week, her insulin was increased to 4 units 2x daily, as her BGL was at 244. She is quite active and doing very well. My concern right now is that I would like to switch her food to what I feel is a better choice; EVO canned turkey and chicken, due to the high protein content. (also, maybe the dry form, as Storm loves her kibble) Any thoughts on how I should proceed with changing her diet and also your thoughts on EVO? Thank you so much!

 

[Shelly & Jersey (GA)]

Good morning!

Is your name Debbie? If so, hi, Debbie! For diabetic cats, it is actually recommended that they eat low-carb canned foods. Most dry food is way too high in carbs for them. However, I would not recommend making a food change unless you are testing at home. When cats are switched to low-carb foods, their need for insulin often decreases very quickly.

Do you test blood sugar levels at home? If you aren't, I would really recommend that you start. I know it sounds terrifying, but it really isn't that bad. If you're interested, we have a lot of tips that can help you. Just let us know! Testing at home lets us see day by day how our kitties are doing. Since insulin needs can change quickly, getting those home tests will help us know when we need to make adjustments. If I wouldn't have been testing at home, for example, I wouldn't have realized when Jersey's pancreas kicked in, and I would have kept giving her too much insulin. Although a vet test gives us a number at one point in time, it doesn't give us the full picture we need to truly understand what's going on.

I hope someone can answer your specific questions about the food brands.

(By the way - we usually use the candle icon to indicate that our kitty has passed away.)

Welcome to FDMB!
Shelly

 

[zzyzzx]

The Science Diet D/M dry food that you are feeding her is too high in carbs at around 13%. You can do better, like Young Again Zero Carb:

https://www.youngagainpetfood.com/10bro ... egory=cats

The Nature's Variety and Innova Evo have recently changed their formulas, so I can recommend avoiding those, unless you find 12.5% carbs acceptable. I am still trying to confirm the % carbs in Innova Evo, but I am pretty sure that it has to have gone up.

 

[tiffmaxee]

Hi. I am guessing that you are new here and hope I am right. The candle means your cat passed away so if all is well I think you want to remove it. I made the same mistake when I first started posting.

Elise

 

[BJM]

For safety, you must be home testing before making any food changes.
Changing to a lower carb diet may reduce glucose levels 100 mg/dL for at least some cats.

What insulin are you using?

 

[Elizabeth and Bertie]

Hello Debbie and Storm, and welcome to FDMB!

That blood glucose reading of 244 wasn't bad...
At what point in the insulin cycle did that test take place? (Just before giving insulin? Mid way through the cycle...?)
And was that test done at the vets or at home? (Tests at the vets can be elevated as a result of stress).

As others have said, it is only advisable to switch the diet to one lower in carbs if you have learned to hometest and can monitor the effect of the diet change. Fortunately though, hometesting is not that hard to learn. And it shouldn't hurt Storm at all. If you'd like to learn how to do it we can certainly help you with that. :smile:

What insulin are you using?

(Sorry for all the questions! :roll: )

Eliz