Food Help

[Milo & Norman & Sarah]

Hi everyone. Norman and I were on here a few years ago when Norman was first diagnosed with diabetes. We soon had him diet controlled and he has been doing excellent ever since. This past August Norm became very ill and from what his vet can figure, he has colangial hepatitis (sorry about the spelling). He has been in and out of the vet every two months or less with a flare up of the hepatitis, but we think we have it under control now. He sure has used a lot of his 9 lives...bouncing back from these hepatitis outbursts hasn't been easy for him at 12 years old. This past episode was bad enough, we had to talk about putting him down, he was really bad. I didn't think he was going to make it back, but sure enough...he did! Sorry for the long explanation, but it helps to give you the background. Anyway, he stopped eating again this past Thursday and I instantly had him in to the vet since that was one of the main signs of his hepatitis flare up. But...everything was normal. His blood work was PERFECT...except...his blood sugars. He registered at 245. We have been checking his blood twice a day since and he isn't getting back down. He is constant around 250 which isn't good. They thought his elevated sugars was from stress and he was running a fever, so he has something else. Not anymore though. I was thinking about what has changed in his diet...and all I could think of was his antibiotic is different. Could this be a factor in his sugars? Another thing that came to mind was the Fancy Feast we feed him. We typically give him the Gourmet Chicken Feast on the list of foods. They have recently within the past two weeks changed the packaging (in our area...) and have renamed it to Classic Chicken Feast. Have they possibly changed the food too? I'm trying to figure this out before I talk to the vet on Monday. This vet is wonderful, but they are not very knowledgeable on the diabetes front. Any help would be appreciated!!!

 

[Hillary & Maui (GA)]

I understand that the "classic" named FF are the low carb varieties. However some people have expressed concern that the formula may have changed as well. There is a post either here or in community about this and that people are trying to get the new values.

My suggestion is to read the label and see if anything on it jumps out as questionable. In addition, you may want to try a different brand of food to see if it really is the FF or not.

 

[Jayne & Sweety]

Hi Sarah,
I think a lot of companies are changing their petfood ingredients. One grocery store brand (Hannaford - in case anyone uses their food) I used to rely on recently changed their label and when Sweety wouldn't touch it (used to love it) I read the label and there was garlic in it. I got in touch with the company (garlic is NOT good for cats!) and they sent me list of the ingredients - said the garlic was a misprint - but the new ingredients were all corn, wheat and soy! So take a look at the label. here's a link that can help.
http://catinfo.org/#Learn_How_To_Read_a ... ient_Label
and this one: http://catinfo.org/commercialcannedfoods.htm
Calculating the carbohydrate percentage, I use alot for the foods that are not on the Janet & Binky's list, and on foods that are on J & B's list and gotten higher carbs too, so it would seem that companies are starting to put more "junk" in to make higher profits - IMO.
It just takes a couple of times calculating it and then it gets easy.

 

[Milo & Norman & Sarah]

Thanks Jayne & Sweety and Hillary & Maui.

I do need some more help though. I can't get a hold of Norman's vet...and he isn't doing so great. His BG is still at 241 and I can tell he's not feeling well at all. He is very lethargic, but he is eating some. Not his normal eating habit, but he will eat in small portions. I'm getting really worried now, and I know my vet won't have the best advise. This morning I ran out and got him a different cat food. How soon might I see his BG come down if the old cat food is the issue raising his numbers again? I still have some insulin in the refrigerator from his major flare up in August of 2007...should I give him some (is it even still good?) or wait till the food has time to try to work? Poor Norm just looks miserable...and what worries me the most...when he has the strenght, he is following me around the house...everywhere I go. Not a normal Norman habit. I'm scared...

 

[Terri & Tananda]

Hi Sarah,

I just read on another post how to make a Kitty Shake: Take his favorite food, warm it in the microwave until it is nice and stinky the way cats like it, add some water, and maybe some tuna juice. Then blend it until it is the consistency of a shake. You can also add some tuna flakes or even Parmesan cheese. He should lap it up.

I hope this helps
Terri