Hello, meet Chip

[Chip’s Dad]

My boy is 12 years old, and was first diagnosed in July of 2017. I have struggled to get him into remission, which I know is not always possible. He only eats dry food, and I have tried the usual suspects (YA, Dr. E) as well as two prescription diets. All produced the same effects. He is on Lantus 6 units, and gets BG readings in the mid 200s to low 300s. He sees a feline endocrinologist and a nutritionist. We’re trying to get his weight down, but still a work in progress. Thank you!

 

[Sharon14]

Welcome! Come to the Main Health forum and tell us more about Chip. Maybe we have some ideas to help you.

 

[Chip’s Dad]

Thank you! I’ve had him since he was 8 weeks old (he was a rescue.) Other than a slight murmur, he’s been healthy up until a 4 day stay in intensive care when he was first diagnosed. His sugar was in the 500s at first, and we slowly increased his Lantus until we got to the point we’re at. I switched his food to Young Again, hoping for remission. After several month, along with some pancreatitis and very soft stool, I switched him to Dr. Elsey’s. The vet suggested I consult a nutritionist, who reviewed all his labs and medical records. She suggested transitioning to Purina OM, thinking his resistance was due to obesity. I’m in the process of doing that, and his sugar is generally in the 250s (daily testing twice a day.) While his endocrinologist is comfortable with his numbers, I was hoping to get his diabetes under control either totally with diet, or at least on a lower dose of insulin. He’s the sweetest cat, lays down on the bed for his testing with no resisting. He turned 12 last week, and I love him to death. I’d do anything to make his health better.

 

[FurBabiesMama]

Welcome! If you have been looking around here, you may already have picked up on the fact that a low-carb wet food diet is preferred. If you have not been there yet, I suggest a trip to catinfo.org. If you have any questions/issues, please post on the main health forum. You will get a lot of support and advice here.

 

[Chip’s Dad]

Thank you! I have tried every wet food (low or no carbs) and he refuses to eat it. He’s never liked wet food his whole life, and being a diabetic, I can’t wait him out. No “flavor enhancements” have gotten him to eat.

 

[FurBabiesMama]

I have tried every wet food (low or no carbs) and he refuses to eat it. He’s never liked wet food his whole life, and being a diabetic, I can’t wait him out. No “flavor enhancements” have gotten him to eat.

My girls also refused to eat wet food in the beginning, so I understand. I went through a ridiculous amount of wet foods during the transition process. Catinfo.org has a section on converting kibble addicts...it really is possible. I started cooking chicken breast and bone broth and adding that to the wet food, and that peaked their interest. I also had to sprinkle kibbles, either crushed or whole, on top of the food before Mia would even acknowledge that what was in her bowl was food. The last few days, I have been sprinkling PureBites freeze dried chicken pieces on top instead, and it has been working. It took us 10 months to get to the point that she would eat a meal with no kibbles involved. I still have the kibbles on hand. It was the YA Mature Zero that I was putting on her food most of this time, but I think the latest bag was causing serious runny poop. So, I had started using Dr. E's Clean Protein instead. Since it has 5% carbs, my plan is to add it to her food if/when her glucose level is getting low enough that I want some extra carbs in her. (I also still have some of the Hill's m/d food that the vet who diagnosed her sold to me. I did some research and right away decided I would never feed it as a meal. It has, however, come in handy several times over the last 10 months when I needed a carb boost for her. Having seen the direct impact it has on blood glucose, I cannot believe vets 'prescribe' foods like this!)

 

[Chip’s Dad]

I read the entire article on transitioning to wet food, but she doesn’t address diabetes and letting a cat go without eating for 12 hours. I’m curious to know how you alter that plan for a diabetic.

 

[Chip’s Dad]

Thanks for the suggestions. I’m going to give it another shot!

 

[FurBabiesMama]

I read the entire article on transitioning to wet food, but she doesn’t address diabetes and letting a cat go without eating for 12 hours. I’m curious to know how you alter that plan for a diabetic.

For what it is worth, I never let my cats go 12 hours without eating. I had to jump through a bunch of hoops sometimes to get them to eat enough that I felt okay about it, but I always managed to do so. I think texture is a big part of the problem. Wet food is so different than dry. So, I really think putting the kibbles on top of the food was the biggest help. They would inadvertently get some wet food when trying to eat the dry out of it. At first, I had to give them wet foods with pate texture like Fancy Feast classic and Sheba, but over time, I was able to shift to a higher-quality food with more of a shredded texture. It is definitely a process!

 

[Chrissy66]

Hi Chip's Dad and Welcome. Everyone here is an expert or to me they are. LOL!!! If they can help you wean him off his crunchies they are the ones to help. What FurBabiesMama mentioned will work. Try mixing just a tad of canned food to his dry food slowly transitioning a little less dry food each time until you get to mostly canned. It took us getting Candi used to all canned but she did from the beginning love canned food so it was much easier than what you are going through. Here is a suggestion I might add, does Chip like Sardines, Tuna, or better yet Salmon from a can? If you have never tried one of these pick up a can of Tuna, Sardines(No Salt Added), or Salmon. We used to give our Cats some as a treat over the years and now with just Candi she just hears you opening a can and gets a whip of the smell and in the kitchen she goes wanting some. Also she loves to beg from our plates but the only time she gets anything is if we do not season the meat. Good Luck and Chip is a beautiful baby.