Help! Diabetic cat overnight food?

[Maxinesmom]

Hello! I am new to this board and my 13year old tabby, Maxine, and I are both new to feline diabetes. A few weeks ago i brought Maxine to the vet because she was displaying the symptoms. Sure enough, her blood sugar was over 280 so the vet said to put her on a different food to see if that might work. Here is my first question: Maxine had been on good low carb wet food for a year - Instinct Chicken, Wellness Beef and Chicken,Halo fish, etc. plus some dry food for overnight in case she got hungry. The vet told me to switch completely to DM canned food and gave me a case to start. HERE IS THE PROBLEM.....DM and DM Savory Selects have DIFFERENT amounts of carbs. Unfortunately, the vet only had DM Savory Selects and probably didnt think there was any difference, so I gave Maxine the Savory Selects for 10 days not realizing (until i did research very recently) that the food is higher in carbs than what she had been getting all along!! Naturally when I returned to the vet two weeks ago, her blood sugar was around 400 and the vet put her on Lantus 1.5 units twice a day. I have one question for this board (actually I have a million!)but I will ask only one for now. Over the past two weeks, while on therapy, I have gradually gone from feeding Maxine only DM Savory Selects to half DM Savory Selects and half the lower carb Natures Variety Chicken Instinct. Maxine seems to be better on the insulin plus nearly two cans wet food a day of the two different canned foods. My problem is what to do overnight?! She had lost weight (she is now 11lbs.but had once been plump and less bony looking)) So I feed her breakfast, lunch, mid afternoon, dinner and before I go to bed at 11. It all adds up to nearly two cans a day, everyday. But around 5 in the morning she often throws up white foam probably because she is hungry. I have eliminated all dry food because I read it is terrible for cats with diabetes. So what do you do overnight to fill the tummy? Thanks for any advise. PS if there is a DECENT dry food out there, what would it be?

 

[MommaOfMuse]

Okay before even addressing the food overnight. Are you testing at home? If not please cut her dose back to .5u since you've eliminated the dry food. 1.5 may now be too much without the carbs from the dry even with the higher carbs of the selects.

Now for overnight feeding some use a timed feeder, but you can also leave canned out with a little water added for up to 12 hours if she likes to graze. Or even freeze it and put it down frozen so she can nibble as it thaws.

Mel and The Fur Gang

 

[MommaOfMuse]

For dry if you must (none is the best for all cats) The best is Young Again Zero Carbs available online only.

All 16 of mine eat nothing but canned out of 3 diabetics 2are in remission and the last one may be joining them shortly. But my civies made just as spectacular changes once the dry went bye bye. They became so much softer and silkier

Mel and The Fur Gang

 

[BJM]

Changing from a high carb diet with dry, to a canned low carb diet has reduced glucose levels as much as 100 mg/dL and insulin requirements as much as 2 units. You need to be testing the glucose at home for safety!