Info on trying to manage newly Dx cat by diet only?

[lisa_michelle]

Hello there,

Someone in my local area has an otherwise healthy 4 year old kitty who was recently diagnosed w/ diabetes and she's wondering if she can first try managing kitty's diabetes w/ diet before going the insulin route. She's also got questions about the oral med Bexacat. I've referred her to this Feline Diabetes website (I used to have a sugar kitty myself and this entire website and these message forums were a true Godsend) and this this message forum but there are sooooooooooo many posts and I'm sure she's already feeling overwhelmed by the news that her 4 yr old kitty is diabetic so I was wondering if anyone here could refer me to the best post here or website that gives info on first attempting to manage the diabetes by diet (to hopefully put kitty into remission). Diet changes were never successful for my angel sugar kitty Taco so I don't really know the best info to give her on where to start. She's in Canada, too, by the way (well, so am I lol).

So if anyone here could please refer me to the best info to share with her (I can send her the link to this post as I've encouraged her to join this Message Board) on whether she should (and if so, how to) attempt to manage her kitty's diabetes first before starting insulin. Also, I'd be curious to know if anyone has had success with the oral feline diabetes meds....namely, Bexacat.

Many thanks
Lisa in Alberta (Canada)

 

[CORKY]

Hello there,

Someone in my local area has an otherwise healthy 4 year old kitty who was recently diagnosed w/ diabetes and she's wondering if she can first try managing kitty's diabetes w/ diet before going the insulin route. She's also got questions about the oral med Bexacat. I've referred her to this Feline Diabetes website (I used to have a sugar kitty myself and this entire website and these message forums were a true Godsend) and this this message forum but there are sooooooooooo many posts and I'm sure she's already feeling overwhelmed by the news that her 4 yr old kitty is diabetic so I was wondering if anyone here could refer me to the best post here or website that gives info on first attempting to manage the diabetes by diet (to hopefully put kitty into remission). Diet changes were never successful for my angel sugar kitty Taco so I don't really know the best info to give her on where to start. She's in Canada, too, by the way (well, so am I lol).

So if anyone here could please refer me to the best info to share with her (I can send her the link to this post as I've encouraged her to join this Message Board) on whether she should (and if so, how to) attempt to manage her kitty's diabetes first before starting insulin. Also, I'd be curious to know if anyone has had success with the oral feline diabetes meds....namely, Bexacat.
Many thanks
Lisa in Alberta (Canada)

Hi and welcome, I am tagging several members that can help you with your questions, however, to my knowledge, diet alone, without insulin will not be of help if the cat has been diagnosed with diabetic, but is a start, as for the diet it is important for a diabetic cat to consume wet cat food that contains between 0-10$ carbs, no kibbles(dry food or dry snacks) which they contain between 25-35% carbs, which is detrimental for them
@Bron and Sheba (GA)
@Sienne and Gabby (GA)

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Hi and welcome to the forum.
Here is some information about oral medication for diabetic cats. I would tell your friend to read the information closely and to be cert careful before going down this route. We have had a couple of bad outcomes from it.
INFORMATION ON ORAL TREATMENT FOR DIABETIC CATS

As far as going down the trying a diet first…as long as the cat did not have ketones at diagnosis and the caregiver is willing to test for ketones while she tries a low carb diet first, that would be fine. If there is no outcome in a week or ten days then I would look at insulin.
To test for ketones in the urine you need to buy a bottle of Ketostix from Walmart or a pharmacy and test the urine of the cat as per the instructions on the bottle.. it is a simple test but a great insurance.

 

[Christie & Maverick]

Hi Lisa, waving to you from Calgary . There have been kitties who have seen improved blood sugar levels with diet change alone, and have quick paths to remission, just depends. Did your friend mention how her kitty was diagnosed, and whether that included a fructosamine test by the vet? Was the cat exhibiting symptoms like drinking a lot of water, peeing a lot which made your friend think it was time for a vetty visit? If the cat has been eating high carb dry food, the change to low carb wet food can help. Has she any interest in doing home BG testing?