Looks like the canned food you're giving in the 9 Lives group is about 4%-5% carbs, so that not bad. I'm not well-versed in raw diets; perhaps someone else here can address that. Here's a
food chart for many canned & raw food brands, showing carb content, that you may find helpful (just click the blue link).
Even a few bites of dog kibble can affect your cat's blood sugar, but I think you're already aware of that ...
A few thoughts, for what it's worth:
- 10 oz. + of food is quite a bit for a 10 pound cat. (Example: My 11 lb. cat maintains her current weight at 7 oz. on a Fancy Feast Classic pate.) Seriously, 1 to 2 extra oz. of food per day - above what's needed to maintain healthy weight - can wreak havoc on blood glucose, just like a half-pound of extra weight can help keep BG levels higher. (She will continue to be extra hungry as long as her diabetes remains uncontrolled.)
- Regardless of playfulness, even a BG level of 200 - (test taken at home @ any time) - is
not normal for a cat; if that's your BG goal, it's just not a healthy one for any cat. As you have already
been feeding her a lower-carb diet, it's probably not all that realistic to expect you'll be able to get your cat's blood glucose under control with diet alone; I base this assessment on your report that she's still peeing and drinking water to excess. However, if you think you may, in fact, be overfeeding her, and/or she is regularly sneaking into the dog's kibble, and/or is allowed to be outdoors unattended for any length of time (where she can catch a mouse or something else to ease her hunger) it MAY be possible that with strict diet control her BGs
could come down further. But also please note: the top end of "normal" cat BG range using a human glucometer is around 130 - that's a far piece from the mid 200s.
BUT ... here's the good news:
Because you've already got her on low-carb food and you report she's running BG# in the mid-200s (rather than, say the 400s), it's likely she will not need a really large dose of insulin - and with careful BG monitoring, adjustment of insulin dose as required along with her diet control, you may actually get her regulated fairly quickly.
But I must say this: The longer you wait to get her regulated (the longer you allow her to go on drinking & urinating excessively) the worse her diabetes can become ... and you risk her developing some major complications down the road.
While I realize insulin is not inexpensive, two in particular - Lantus & ProZinc - have proven
very effective - often with cats going into full remission. And there are other, less-expensive insulin options, too. You do
not have to buy your insulin directly from the vet (they usually charge more than what you'd pay at a pharmacy or by ordering online with a valid prescription), and you can even order Lantus from Canada to save money. (Some of our members have done that, I understand.) In-clinic blood glucose testing & fructosamine tests are generally not necessary as long as you are willing to be vigilant about home BG testing. You can do the BG curves, when needed, yourself - usually much better for the cat, not to mention that it cuts veterinary expenses considerably.
Sorry this is long - I hope this is somewhat helpful to you.
(Again, you're already
miles ahead in that you know how to test at home and you have already switched her to low-carb food! So ... good job there!)
