Diet of chicken, peas & carrots

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Borntohula

Member Since 2017
Hi my cat Frank has has diabetes for a good two years. Controlled for the first year on caninsulin.
After about 14 months, he stopped eating his food, which consisted of 'all in one' complete biscuits only. (I knew the pitfalls of this but the vet was very strict in no change of diet).
We changed his food to tinned meat whiskas cat food, while continuing regular insulin injections. After a while. It was clear he was receiving too much insulin, so I stopped the injections. He seemed ok, so after a while I took him to the vets for a check up. Franks blood glucose levels were good and the decision was made to cease insulin treatment.
After around 6 months, he went off the whiskas and we noticed him peeing more than usual (oh no). Due to the sugar content in processed foods, we decided to feed Frank on a mixture of chicken, peas, carrots, and occasional fish (mackerel, sardines and tuna).
All has been well, but in the past month, more peeing but no weight loss.
More concerning is a swollen abdomen and regular diarrhoea and flatulence.
My question is, is his diarrhoea and swollen belly likely to be a result of his diet? We are at a loss, and have tried to avoid the vets as it seems all they see is a diabetic cat and the money they can make.
I am at a loss now and am taking Frank to the vet tomorrow. I'm worried because the vet is likely to start diabetes treatment, and it's very expensive.
Thank you for reading, any advice or harsh realities welcomed. Cheers, David
 
Hi David, are you home testing Franks blood glucose? If so you’d have a heads up on the diabetes. I don’t know about the diarrhea and flatulence. Is he feeling ok or acting sick? How’s his appetite? Chicken is ok for cats as a treat, but it’s not a complete feed as it lacks certain nutrients they need. The peas are fairly high carb, so I’d cut them out. I’ll tag @Elizabeth and Bertie as she’s from UK and may help with food choices.
 
Hi Sharon, thanks so much for taking the time to read and reply.
I don't home test his blood, but have tested his urine and it is high in glucose at the moment. He is acting uncomfortable. However he is well groomed, has a good appetite and has not lost weight.
Advice on controlling the diabetes with food would be very helpful. We have struggled to find cat food that doesn't have added 'various sugars'. And the diabetic diets from vets are expensive and biscuits... I've lost trust in the vet to be honest.
 
Borntohula said:
We have struggled to find cat food that doesn't have added 'various sugars'. And the diabetic diets from vets are expensive and biscuits... I've lost trust in the vet to be honest.
Click to expand...

No reason to buy the "prescription" foods ....they are all lousy and too high in carbs for our sugarcats anyway.

Here's a list of low carb foods available in the UK that one of our UK members put together.

What you want is foods that are less than 10% carbs.

Chicken, peas and carrots isn't a complete diet for cats....they need certain amino acids and other nutrients added.....Also, peas and carrots are high in starches which break down into glucose, so they shouldn't be in a diabetic cat's diet at all.

Cats are obligate carnivores who don't have the ability to break down fruits and vegetables. In the wild, the only "veggies" they'd get would be in the contents of their prey's stomach...and that's very little.
 
Thank you Chris. We thought peas and carrots to keep up the fibre. However what you have said makes sense.
I really appreciate the list.
Frank went into remission, with agreement from the vet. I just hope he's not slipped back.
 
The old "high fiber" diet for diabetics is old school thinking (which unfortunately, most of our vets are pretty good at)

Low carbs is the way to go....If your cat has a problem with constipation, you can try adding some plain pumpkin (some cats really like it!) or there are other things you can use
 
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