Dry food

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I will bump this up for you as the experts can offer more help--- we like to see our diabetics on wet food as it is much lower in carbs (the right wet foods with many to choose from) and it is more species appropriate for a cat as well. If you are giving insulin now you want to be careful if you switch to wet and the numbers may come down and you may need to adjust your dose.
BUMP
If you have a dry food addict Young Again offers a 0-very low carb dry food.
 
As a general rule, no. Dry food is not recommended for diabetic cats for a number of reasons (water depletion, urinary & kidney issues, too high carb, etc.). Ideally, a diabetic cat should be eating a low carb (approximately <8% carbs), wet food diet. But life is often not ideal. If your cat is a dry food addict, or needs some assistance during the transition to wet food, then there are some very low carb specialty dry foods available like Young Again Zero.

I recommend Dr. Lisa's food chart (PDF) as a starting resource. In fact, her CatInfo.org site is chock full of info about nutrition and offers a much more in depth examination of the problems with dry food than any of us can provide here. If you need help selecting food appropriate for your kitty, the folks here can offer a ton of very helpful suggestions.

With that said, welcome! We're wishing you and your kitty much success on your diabetes journey. Everyone here is ready to support you :)
 
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I switched mine to wet food. Much lower in carbs and it is very important for them to be taking in enough water to support kidney health. Friskies Pates are sufficient for a diabetic. I buy the case of 32 at Walmart for $14.95. My cats both eat about half of a 5.5oz can morning and night with a little snack in between.
 
AZJenks said:
As a general rule, no. Dry food is not recommended for diabetic cats for a number of reasons (water depletion, urinary & kidney issues, too high carb, etc.). Ideally, a diabetic cat should be eating a low carb (approximately <8% carbs), wet food diet. But life is often not ideal. If your cat is a dry food addict, or needs some assistance during the transition to wet food, then there are some very low carb specialty dry foods available like Young Again Zero.

I recommend Dr. Lisa's food chart (PDF) as a starting resource. In fact, her CatInfo.org site is chock full of info about nutrition and offers a much more in depth examination of the problems with dry food than any of us can provide here. If you need help selecting food appropriate for your kitty, the folks here can offer a ton of very helpful suggestions.

With that said, welcome! We're wishing you and your kitty much success on your diabetes journey. Everyone here is ready to support you :)
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Thanks.
 
Rusty1962 said:
Thanks.
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Our Vet gave us Hills w/d diet food but she won't eat that at all. We've been researching cat foods. Is it ok to give her fancy feast? We bought the ones that are lower in carb. She is very thin and needs to gain weight.
 
Rusty1962 said:
Our Vet gave us Hills w/d diet food but she won't eat that at all. We've been researching cat foods. Is it ok to give her fancy feast? We bought the ones that are lower in carb. She is very thin and needs to gain weight.
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Fancy feast classic pates are commonly fed to diabetic cats. That is fine.
 
Rusty1962 said:
Is it ok to give her fancy feast?
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If Henley is on insulin and she's eating a higher carb food at the moment then you need to be careful about transitioning to a lower carb food - her insulin dose may need to be adjusted to take into account the lower carb load. I see you've got Henley's spreadsheet ready to go. Have you started home testing yet? If you are home testing it will help to keep Henley safe during any transition to a lower carb food.

I'm not sure whether you've found Dr Lisa Pierson's site yet. It's a wonderful place to learn all about cat nutrition, how much to feed, etc. Here's a link:

http://www.catinfo.org/

If you need any help with the home testing, just shout! :)


Mogs
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Critter Mom said:
If Henley is on insulin and she's eating a higher carb food at the moment then you need to be careful about transitioning to a lower carb food - her insulin dose may need to be adjusted to take into account the lower carb load. I see you've got Henley's spreadsheet ready to go. Have you started home testing yet? If you are home testing it will help to keep Henley safe during any transition to a lower carb food.

I'm not sure whether you've found Dr Lisa Pierson's site yet. It's a wonderful place to learn all about cat nutrition, how much to feed, etc. Here's a link:

http://www.catinfo.org/

If you need any help with the home testing, just shout! :)


Mogs
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Thanks. We haven't started home testing her yet. We have a vet appointment this Sunday to show us how. We have been giving her insulin twice a day, started last Thursday. All very new to us.
 
You've found a great place to learn more about diabetes and how to help Henley to get better. All going well, as her regulation improves the insulin will help her to make proper use of the food she's eating and she'll start regaining some weight.

To get you started, here are some very useful forum stickies with information and tutorials on home testing:

Home testing links and tips (includes videos)

Testing and injecting tips (has a very useful diagram of the 'sweet spot' on the ear where it tends to be easiest to get a blood sample)

Hopefully a review of the above will be a help to you ready for your tutorial with the vet on Sunday. :) Be sure to tell the vet about the low amount of carbs in the Fancy Feast classic patés. It will be much lower than the Hill's w/d food and your vet will need to know that to make sure that Henley has an appropriate dose of insulin.


Mogs
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What insulin and dose is Henley on? Hills W/D is extremely high in carbs and probably one of the worst foods for diabetics because it dramatically raises blood glucose levels in diabetics. I would highly recommend changing the food (Fancy Feast pates are great) but not until you are home testing and lowering your insulin dose. Changing the diet can lower blood glucose levels as much as 300-400 points, so a previously OK dose can quickly become very dangerous.

Welcome to FDMB! :)
 
AZJenks said:
We all start out wide eyed and bewildered when discovering this place. The amount of info and things to do and remember seems daunting and overwhelming, but I assure you that in no time at all you will quickly assimilate it all and grow very comfortable with the process.

What insulin is your kitty getting?
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Vetsulin
 
Julia & Bandit said:
What insulin and dose is Henley on? Hills W/D is extremely high in carbs and probably one of the worst foods for diabetics because it dramatically raises blood glucose levels in diabetics. I would highly recommend changing the food (Fancy Feast pates are great) but not until you are home testing and lowering your insulin dose. Changing the diet can lower blood glucose levels as much as 300-400 points, so a previously OK dose can quickly become very dangerous.

Welcome to FDMB! :)
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Vetsulin, dose is 0.4 the first full line on the syringe. We are feeding her fancy feast like we have always been but sticking to the ones that are low carb. She won't eat the Hills the vet gave us. We go to the vet this Sunday for him to show us how to test her blood, use the meter and all that fun stuff.
 
When you go to the vet, inquire about putting Henley on a more feline-appropriate insulin like Lantus or Levemir. Vetsulin was created for the slower metabolism of dogs, so it tends to act quicker and harsher in the faster metabolisms of cats. This creates the possibility of the insulin not lasting the full 12 hours between cycles, which can lead to less-than-ideal regulation. Not saying that it's a bad insulin, just that there are better choices on the market for kitties today.
 
You can also take the Hills back and get a refund...it's got a guarantee. Just tell them your cat refuses to eat it. There's lots better things to spend your money on than expensive prescription foods
 
AZJenks said:
When you go to the vet, inquire about putting Henley on a more feline-appropriate insulin like Lantus or Levemir. Vetsulin was created for the slower metabolism of dogs, so it tends to act quicker and harsher in the faster metabolisms of cats. This creates the possibility of the insulin not lasting the full 12 hours between cycles, which can lead to less-than-ideal regulation. Not saying that it's a bad insulin, just that there are better choices on the market for kitties today.
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Thanks for the advice. I asked my vet about it and he said vetsulin used to just be for dogs, but they have changed it so it's better for cats now. He seems to be a good vet so I got to hope he knows what's best for Henley. It's all scary.
 
Rusty1962 said:
but they have changed it so it's better for cats now.
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Looking at Vetsulin's site I see no changes to the formulation. It is still:
As a lente insulin, Vetsulin is classified as an intermediate-acting insulin. It is an aqueous suspension of 40 IU/mL of highly purified porcine insulin, consisting of 35% amorphous and 65% crystalline zinc insulin.

Unlike human insulin, porcine insulin has the same amino acid sequence as canine insulin, making it less likely for dogs to develop anti-insulin antibodies.

Not only is the efficacy of Vetsulin proven in clinical trials, Vetsulin also offers veterinary practitioners the added security and confidence that comes from over 20 years of successful use by veterinarians worldwide (under the brand names Vetsulin® and Caninsulin®).

A couple of years ago Vetsulin had manufacturing problems that resulted in stability problems. See:
http://www.vetsulin.com/vet/Product_Update.aspx
 
Larry and Kitties said:
Looking at Vetsulin's site I see no changes to the formulation. It is still:
As a lente insulin, Vetsulin is classified as an intermediate-acting insulin. It is an aqueous suspension of 40 IU/mL of highly purified porcine insulin, consisting of 35% amorphous and 65% crystalline zinc insulin.

Unlike human insulin, porcine insulin has the same amino acid sequence as canine insulin, making it less likely for dogs to develop anti-insulin antibodies.

Not only is the efficacy of Vetsulin proven in clinical trials, Vetsulin also offers veterinary practitioners the added security and confidence that comes from over 20 years of successful use by veterinarians worldwide (under the brand names Vetsulin® and Caninsulin®).

A couple of years ago Vetsulin had manufacturing problems that resulted in stability problems. See:
http://www.vetsulin.com/vet/Product_Update.aspx
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My vet seems to think it's good for Henley. Should I look for a different insulin?
 
Rusty1962 said:
Should I look for a different insulin?
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Difficult question to answer....the "BEST" insulin is the one that works in your cat.....that being said, with all the cats that I've seen come through here, most don't do very well on Vetsulin because it hits "hard and fast" and then wears off long before the next shot is due

There are better insulins that seem to work better with a cats faster metabolism, like Lantus, Levemir and ProZinc

@Squalliesmom just recently switched from Vetsulin to Lantus and is doing MUCH better
 
Chris & China said:
Difficult question to answer....the "BEST" insulin is the one that works in your cat.....that being said, with all the cats that I've seen come through here, most don't do very well on Vetsulin because it hits "hard and fast" and then wears off long before the next shot is due

There are better insulins that seem to work better with a cats faster metabolism, like Lantus, Levemir and ProZinc

@Squalliesmom just recently switched from Vetsulin to Lantus and is doing MUCH better
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I'm completely new at this so it scares me to change her insulin since our vet put her on the vetsulin and she just started it on 3/13. Also we have to be away in 2 weeks for 5 weeks (very scary) and have a vet tech coming to our home to take care of Henley.
 
Rusty1962 said:
I'm completely new at this so it scares me to change her insulin since our vet put her on the vetsulin and she just started it on 3/13. Also we have to be away in 2 weeks for 5 weeks (very scary) and have a vet tech coming to our home to take care of Henley.
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She is on a very small dose 0.4.
 
ProZinc is another option, it was developed for cats. It allows for a SOMEWHAT flexible dosing schedule, but is given twice daily 12hours apart.
 
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