Diet for diabetes & hyper t

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mislissa777

Member Since 2010
Hi,
Just wondering yoru thoughts on a diet to manage diabetes & hyperthyroidism. My Trina has ate Purina DM canned & some dry for 5 years & has been very well regulated. This past year she was diagnosed with hyper t. I have just found an article saying that soy can badly effect the thyroid & cause problems. Soy is one of the main ingredients in the Purina dry. I've also read an article saying that liver & fish "might" cause a problem with thyroid but they are unsure. But liver is a main ingredient in the canned Purina DM. I sometimes give her some Wellness chicken or some classic fancy feast too. I was considering using the EVO dry food but I noticed on the charts it has more calories than the DM. I don't want her to gain weight. I also emailed Purina to ask them about the soy in their food & question if plant derived soy was as good as animal derived soy, of course they responded that it is very good & sent me an attachment with all the benefits of soy in the food. But from research I've been doing I'm reading that it is not good for our pets. I'm very confused!!
If you had a cat with hyper t & diabetes what would you choose to feed them?
Thank you so much!
Missy & Trina
 
Missy, I'd be feeding a diet appropriate for diabetics and really all cats...that is, canned or raw, low in carbs and mod/high in protein. DM is really not a great food as far as the quality of ingredients go, especially with the dry, and there are many other better options. That said, if you change the food, please ensure you are monitoring bgs closely.

Jen
 
Thanks Jen! Just curious....what do you feed yours? I'm really confused on what is best to feed her. Now I'm worried about soy, liver & fish causing harm to thyroid.
 
Missy, I feed Beau Friskies, Wellness, Fancy Feast and Authority - all low carb wet food. He gets about 10 kibbles of Purina One as a treat every day and boiled chicken as a treat once a day (at testing time). All my cats get the same diet. I have two hyper-T's, two FDs and two youngsters. Beau has FD, hyper-T and cardiomyopathy. (that's 5 cats, btw)

I did notice some regulation issues when his hyper-T was not under control - he dropped into hypoT (actually below the measurable amount, so they don't know how low). Then we cut the methimazole back too much and he was slightly hyper-T, once I got that under control he went into remission. Diet did not seem to make a difference, but it did effect his insulin dose a little, I think.

I think that grains and, in general, plants that cause human food sensitives can do the same for cats: wheat, corn, and soy. DM is poor quality because the protein sources are poor (organ meats, by-products and plant proteins). If I could afford it, I would feed foods like Wellness or a raw diet for the muscle meat proteins to all my cats. I think that the best diet for a cat is the best diet for any cat - all these Rx foods are marketing schemes and "treat" illnesses that are caused by poor quality foods.
 
Thank you so much for this information. My 18yr grandma cat - recently diagnosed hyperthyroid- I'm working on regulating her thyroid and she has renal issues but what to feed her is a challenge. I will definitely be checking this information out.

Thank you for sharing!
 
Both kitties that own me (13 year old sisters Jazz and Alli) were diagnosed with hyperthyroidism about 2 years ago. I began treatment using methanazol ointment on the ear for six months. I asked the vet is there any special food I should give them and he told me the only thing is whatever is high calorie and they like. They were fairly regulated without special food until I could get them the radio active iodine treatment. They have been cured completelyfor a year now.
 
Alex also has FD, Hyper-t and HCM.... I feed the low carb diet on Janet and Binky's list and that has been just fine. I really only feed him the 'classic' fancy feast flavors and soup them up with a couple of tablespoons of water . I also sprinkle Halo's Liv-A-Littles(freeze dried 100% chicken treats)on top as a garnish, cause kitties should LOVE their food!!!! Alex and his bro' also get Halo's for no carb treats..they can't get enough (Jackson is also hyper-t but not diabetic)

It is hard enough managing FD and hyper-t together without adding anything else that will be a potential problem to the mix (although sometimes it can't be avoided). Low carb canned food is a good diet for your kitty :razz:
 
Missy said:
H I was considering using the EVO dry food

I would strongly urge you to stay away from *all* dry foods since feeding a water-depleted diet to cats is not in their best interest.

question if plant derived soy was as good as animal derived soy,

Soy is a plant so there is no such thing as "animal derived soy".

As a side note, there are few things about pet food companies that make me more angry than Purina's "research report" that came out a couple of years ago jumping through idiotic hoops to try and convince the reader that it is perfectly fine to feed soy to a cat.
 
The tuna water recommendation Dr. Lisa provides on catinfo.org is working great in hydrating and encouraging my cat to eat! I've had to warm up a tblspon of Hill's a/d and 2-3 tblspoons of Fancy Feast classic-mixed together then add the tuna water so it pools around the food in the bowl. I've tried several approaches and this is on the one my cat is going for.
 
Thank you so much everyone for your helpful information!
And I made a mistake in the origingal email I wrote (thank you Dr. Lisa for catching that!) I meant to say I asked Purina if plant dervied protein was as good as animal derived protein. And of course they sent me an attachment with info. on the benefits of soy, etc. I just tried to attach the file but I wasn't able too because it's too big. I thought it would provide some entertainment! After getting info. from members on here & doing research I understand now that it is important to feed a protein from meat & not soy.
I am considering have radioactive I131 treatment done on Trina. But the Radiocat in Pittsburgh does not have someone there with them overnight or for part of the evening. I"m very hesitant about having her be left alone while going through a treatment like that. So for now we are doing the methimazole pills. And I will try to make her diet be healthy for diabetes & hyper t.
Thanks again!
 
Missy said:
I am considering have radioactive I131 treatment done on Trina. But the Radiocat in Pittsburgh does not have someone there with them overnight or for part of the evening. I"m very hesitant about having her be left alone while going through a treatment like that. So for now we are doing the methimazole pills.

Hi Missy,

I really urge you to consider the 1-131 when you feel she is up to it even though she will be left alone. (I don't know all of the details of her case so I speak in a general way when I say that I strongly prefer I-131 over tapazole.)

The I-131 place near me in Tustin, CA has 24/7 webcams where you can view your cat all day and night! Pretty cool.
 
Thank you Dr. Lisa! I am going to call Radiocat & get more info. from them. I sure wish they had webcams like yours does, that would be wonderful!
 
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