Feeding questions - dry vs. canned

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oscem

oscem

Member Since 2015
Hello!

So my boy Malcolm was diagnosed with diabetes this past Friday. I'd kind of suspected it for a little while and the vet confirmed those suspicions. I was given a crash course on giving him insulin injections and feeding him (Science Diet dry for diabetes/weight loss). We started injections on Saturday through Sunday morning, but then on Sunday, he stopped eating and grew lethargic. We held off on the injections since he wasn't eating and got him into the vet yesterday afternoon...turns out he also had an infection and was now running a fever (he showed no signs of this on Friday, so no idea where it came from). After some fluids, an anti-nausea med, antibiotics, and an appetite stimulant, he came home feeling MUCH better. The vet sent us home with a can of Science Diet canned food and I'm glad she did because we finally got him to eat. He had that can yesterday afternoon and at night. This morning before his injection, we gave him another canned food that we had on hand after he didn't want to touch his dry food and he ate that up - injection given, all is good.

So after reading this board a little, it seems like wet food may be a better choice than the dry as far as low-carbohydrates/high protein feeding goes. And with him refusing to eat the dry SD (which may still be from the infection - we did mix it with his regular dry food to transition, but it was still a no-go), I have no problem feeding him wet food. He's fed separately from our other cat (who could stand to lose a little weight, so we may try the dry SD for him). I know it's probably too early for him to be 'spoiled' on the canned food, but he's always been my boy with a delicate tummy anyway, so I want to make sure we're going easy on his system.

Is there a particular wet food that's appropriate for diabetic cats? I've read online to try to find it without by-products or with rice as an added ingredient, but recommendations for a particular brand would be very much appreciated. (We have the usual suspects around - Target, Petsmart, Petco, Walmart - and I also don't mind ordering online.)

(Sorry this is so long, but thanks in advance!).

Amanda
 
Thank you! That's a huge help - I'll take it with me when I go shopping this afternoon.

Also, I meant to ask what the standard serving is for wet food - my two boys now have never had wet food and it's been a long time since it was a staple for our cats. Malcolm weighed in at 11.9 lbs at the vet (he's lost a couple of pounds in the past few months). Should I give him a full can 2x a day or 1/2 can and leave some dry food out for him? We're feeding him separately from his brother (Neal the Kitten is no longer a kitten and really needs to slim down...if someone pushed him on a hill, he'd roll...and roll...) so leaving out dry food will mean they can both graze.

Thanks!
 
Hi Amanda, What you will find is most people totally skip the dry food and feed only can. You will be amazed how the overweight can easily lose weight eating just wet food, I had one cat go from 17 to 14 pounds, he has so much energy now, it is the lower carbs, so just like people they lose weight. Feeding amount can depend on the size can you purchase. I have 6 cats I split 8 5.5oz cans a day, 4 in am and 4 in pm. My cats range in size from 7 - 17 pounds. Frodo is my big boy, but then again he weighed in at 22 when first diagnosed so I am really happy with the 17.

Also you can leave the can food out for them to graze on, that is what a lot of us do. This way they can graze on it just like they are use to doing with their dry food and you don't have to leave dry out and worry about Malcolm getting into it.

You mentioned Malcolm has a delicate tummy, the can food tends to help a lot with those issues also.

I didn't see where anyone provided this website, www.catinfo.org has lots of great info and it is where the basis of the cat food list Larry provided came from. One of the nice people on this board sorted out the foods that were less than 8% for us.

You will notice there are lots of nice folks here.

Good luck, with the switch and welcome.
 
Transition the food slowly - 20-25 % per day, so you can safely accommodate the changes in glucose level (as much as 100-200 mg/dL) with adjustments to the insulin dose (decreasing 1-2 units in some cats) as needed.
 
Thanks for the advice. We've been giving him his regular food as well, just less of it. I picked up a few different varieties from the list in case he didn't like something, and I'm not sure if he's just not feeling well again, but he ate okay last night, ate some this morning, and now he's just listless again. He's been on his antibiotic, has had his insulin, and he may just be tired - he's had a tough few days. Is it normal for cats to be super sleepy after starting insulin? I hate to worry for nothing, but he seemed so much better last night and I feel like we're back to square one with him today.
 
If his glucose levels are high after eating, they may be making him sleepy.
Have you started blood glucose testing? It will tell you if he is too high or too low - and too low can be fatal, so you need to know.
Also, you need to be checking for urine ketones while he's not regulated yet. Ketones form as a byproduct of fat breakdown for calories. Too many ketones may indicate diabetic ketoacidosis, an expensive to treat, potentially fatal complication of diabetes.
 
Thank you! We have not started testing yet (I plan to pick up the monitor and strips on Friday). On the plus side, he ate well tonight, and has perked up quite a bit - he's still sleeping, but it's his usual sleeping pattern, not the vacant-stare deep sleep that he was in on Sunday and Monday. I think he just didn't like the food (he hates the dry food but we did find a Meow Mix wet that he was inhaling...I've never had a cat who was picky about canned food before!) and finding one he likes was a big turnaround.

He goes in for his first curve next week, but I do plan on testing him before that. It's good to see his old personality coming through, though!
 
Here is a food list to identify low carb canned foods, which are less than 10% calories from carbohydrates. Fancy Feast Classic pates and Friskies pates (except Mixed Grill) are below that.
 
Craaaap. I don't know where I thought I saw the Meow Mix wet on a list for a good food...I must have been seeing things - I've been looking at so many articles and lists that it must have gotten in my head somehow. I was just glad he was eating something. I should have realized because I normally wouldn't feed them that brand.

We'll get the hang of this, we really will.
 
No worries. I figured you'd been reading your eyes dry and its like taking a college course on feline diabetes!
 
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