Phaewryn
Member
Hello. I was just joining to gather information, but the process of signing up informed me that my first post had a requirement to be specifically in this forum, so I guess I am making my first post now, because I can't be sure I will remember those instructions if I leave and come back in a month or whenever I need to come back and I don't want to start here by breaking the first rule of diabetic cat club. I will state foremost that I do not yet have a diagnosis for my cat. My vet said that I need to bring him back for a recheck, but that his blood glucose at his dental was concerning (he had to have a full blood panel drawn since he is a senior), and combined with some other symptoms, I believe it's looking like he may be diabetic, so here I am. I'm here just looking at the information, trying to mentally prepare myself. He was fasting in preparation for his dental and his blood glucose was 241. In addition to that, his potassium was 3.3 and his chloride was 110, so his electrolytes are dilute, which isn't surprising as he has been drinking a ton of water and peeing non-stop for months, I have to change his litterbox every 3 days as it is completely saturated.
Anyway, his name is Sammy, and my name is Jules. Sammy is a senior cat (we don't know exactly how old, his prior owner went into assisted living and he was taken in by someone who worked at the hospital, which is who I got him from). I adopted Sammy because his previous caretaker wasn't managing his very uncontrolled thyroid disease. He was a walking skeleton at only 4.3lbs when I adopted him about a year ago. He's now up to 11lbs and I have gotten his thyroid disease under control, managed his arthritis, and he is doing very well other than this constant thirst and urination issue. He probably should be a 13lb cat, as he is very large-framed, so I am hopeful that I can get him all sorted, but I'm also worried because I am running out of funds and I am also suffering from some mental illness issues that complicate things like keeping on a schedule and getting things done, which I know are pretty important when managing diabetes, so I'm feeling overwhelmed, which is compounding my mental illness and really stressing me out. I want to do what is right for Sammy, but I am not sure I am mentally well enough to take care of that much right now. So I'm just here to try to get a feel for it to see if it seems less overwhelming if I immerse myself in it more. In addition to Sammy, I also have a cat with feline asthma named Seraph, who is on an expensive inhaled medication which must be given every 12 hours, and a healthy but somewhat overweight cat named Buddy, whose only problem is that he drools when he is happy and slings saliva on everything like a basset hound.
I've been reading and I am wondering if maybe Sammy is borderline enough if I just take away all his dry kibble and feed him only a low carb wet food if that would be enough? I thought 241 was high, but after reading a bunch of posts, it doesn't seem like that is really that high for a cat (I previously had a human partner who was type 1 diabetic so to me that seemed very high because in a human that is disconcertingly high and that was my previous experience with diabetes). Sammy is currently eating a combination of mostly Fromm Chicken and Duck pate, which has 1.86% carbs on a dry matter basis, the absolute lowest I could find (I emailed the premium cat food companies until I found a good one with low carbs), Wellness Tiny Tasters Chicken which has 2.05% carbs on a dry matter basis (also pretty good numbers), Wellness Tiny Tasters Chicken and Turkey which has 5.91% carbs on a dry matter basis, and Chewy's Tiny Tiger Turkey Pate which is 13% carbs on a dry matter basis, alongside Fromm Hasen Duckenpfeffer kibble which I have no idea the carbs on but it's kibble that has peas, lentils, and potatoes in it, so I know it's bad. This is the diet he has been on for months, nothing new. I have always fed a mostly meat-based diet and aimed for foods without a lot of carbs, except for the kibble, which for a kibble, is also pretty decent ingredient-list-wise, but is still a kibble (I know it's bad, I'm aware of the issues). I do sometimes have to mix pumpkin into his wet food as he is prone to constipation. This probably raises the carb content of the food, but I am not sure by how much as carbs are not listed on the pumpkin products I use (Tiki Cat Tummy Topper and Weruva Pumpkin Patch Up). He was a walking skeleton, so my priority has been putting weight on him, and the kibble has been helpful because my other male cat (the feline vacuum) "finishes" all the wet food in the house so Sammy has nothing left to eat sometimes unless there is some kibble laying around. I hate yelling at my other cat, whose name is Buddy, just for eating. Buddy was previously feral and has come a long way and doesn't deserve being chased and yelled at for just eating. But he will eat ALL of Sammy's food, which Sammy will eat maybe 1/4 of and then just walk away from. Sammy is a very light eater. He eats just a few bites and then walks off, and I do not have the patience to baby sit him constantly to ensure he is being served 10 tiny meals a day, taking his food in and out of the fridge like a butler. If he eats too much at once, he vomits (the Tummy Topper also seems to help with that). He's elderly, and I realize he just has limitations, and the kibble has been working to make the household work and not make it so I am constantly running around managing cat bowls all day. I, also, have limitations. But if it would "cure" Sammy to take the kibble away from him, then I will try that. Then there's the weekends. I leave on the weekends. I come home only to feed and give the cats their medications and I leave again immediately. This is not something I can flex much on. So these are my problems. Should I try taking away the kibble during the week, but leave it on the weekend? Should I get rid of the kibble all the time and just leave more wet food out and hope no one gets food poisoning on the weekends (I only come home once every 12 hours to do meds)? How do a rationalize wasted wet food? It's so hard because my budget is already so tight. If I stop buying the expensive kibble completely, maybe I could afford to buy more wet food - oh, but they will HATE me and Seraph really uses the kibble because she burns so many calories just breathing due to having asthma. They do not eat a ton of kibble as is. A 4lb bag always lasts the whole month (there are 3 cats). I currently spend between 30-50% my monthly income on cat food/supplies, so my budget is already very stretched. I am very paranoid about brands I feed. It's not because I am a snob, I have severe anxiety about poisoning my cats. I only have been feeding the Tiny Tiger because Sammy was previously on grocery store brands and I have been slowly switching him over to better quality but it has been a slow process to develop his taste buds to where he will eat better foods from more reputable companies, so when he's not eating "enough" he gets a can of the nasty Tiny Tiger food, which he eats very well, because it's nasty and he loves that nasty stuff. "Nasty" is a subjective term that is in my mind anything from a company with recalls, or that isn't from a brand I trust - it's subjective and paranoia-based, please don't take it personally, I'm not here to judge you for what you feed your pets, but I'm not going to feed something that doesn't feel "safe" to me for my pets. I have been very very paranoid since the 2007 melamine poisonings and won't feed anything made by any of those companies or processed in any of those factories or factories I deem to be too similar to those factories, or if I suspect something similar could happen at a factory, or anything made by a company that has had recalls I can't rationalize away. This really limits the foods I feel safe feeding, and if I don't feel safe, my anxiety gets really out of control. My other two cats eat mostly Weruva, but Sammy doesn't like the natural texture (maybe because he has so few teeth) and prefers traditional pates. And it's just so easy to say "just switch your cats to wet food and feed meals and stop free-feeding kibble" when you're well and you have a sense of time and don't face a daily struggle to do the dishes and every other single little thing, but that would be so hard for me with my executive dysfunction issues. It's 11PM and I still have only drank half my cup of morning coffee and have not taken MY morning meds, done my PT, checked my mail, brushed my teeth, showered: nothing. I did the cats (food, meds), sat down here at my desk, and then stopped functioning from that point forward. That's all I have been able to do for a year, maybe longer. I'll get up at 1AM when the cats' next meds are due, because I have to, for the cats, and I'll wash just enough cat bowls to feed the cats, and I will cook and eat something then. Why do I tell you this? For perspective, so you can advise me on what's best for Sammy. I don't think I'm well enough to take care of a diabetic cat. I'm not well enough to take care of myself (I am under the care of a professional psychiatrist and I do have a therapist).
So, take away the kibble? Worth a shot? He also has to take his thyroid pill (which goes inside half a pill pocket), which he gets a few Fruitables cats treats with. I didn't think it was a big deal, but after reading some in here, it seems like I will have to try to find a lower carb treat. He does not like dehydrated/freeze dried meat, I think it's a texture thing, and the Red Barn Protein Puffs (which have "no carbs" according to Chewy and would be perfect) seemed a little big for his mouth and he struggled with them, but I will try them again now that he's had his dental and he's in less pain. Suggestions?
This is Sammy in the yard last summer:
Anyway, his name is Sammy, and my name is Jules. Sammy is a senior cat (we don't know exactly how old, his prior owner went into assisted living and he was taken in by someone who worked at the hospital, which is who I got him from). I adopted Sammy because his previous caretaker wasn't managing his very uncontrolled thyroid disease. He was a walking skeleton at only 4.3lbs when I adopted him about a year ago. He's now up to 11lbs and I have gotten his thyroid disease under control, managed his arthritis, and he is doing very well other than this constant thirst and urination issue. He probably should be a 13lb cat, as he is very large-framed, so I am hopeful that I can get him all sorted, but I'm also worried because I am running out of funds and I am also suffering from some mental illness issues that complicate things like keeping on a schedule and getting things done, which I know are pretty important when managing diabetes, so I'm feeling overwhelmed, which is compounding my mental illness and really stressing me out. I want to do what is right for Sammy, but I am not sure I am mentally well enough to take care of that much right now. So I'm just here to try to get a feel for it to see if it seems less overwhelming if I immerse myself in it more. In addition to Sammy, I also have a cat with feline asthma named Seraph, who is on an expensive inhaled medication which must be given every 12 hours, and a healthy but somewhat overweight cat named Buddy, whose only problem is that he drools when he is happy and slings saliva on everything like a basset hound.
I've been reading and I am wondering if maybe Sammy is borderline enough if I just take away all his dry kibble and feed him only a low carb wet food if that would be enough? I thought 241 was high, but after reading a bunch of posts, it doesn't seem like that is really that high for a cat (I previously had a human partner who was type 1 diabetic so to me that seemed very high because in a human that is disconcertingly high and that was my previous experience with diabetes). Sammy is currently eating a combination of mostly Fromm Chicken and Duck pate, which has 1.86% carbs on a dry matter basis, the absolute lowest I could find (I emailed the premium cat food companies until I found a good one with low carbs), Wellness Tiny Tasters Chicken which has 2.05% carbs on a dry matter basis (also pretty good numbers), Wellness Tiny Tasters Chicken and Turkey which has 5.91% carbs on a dry matter basis, and Chewy's Tiny Tiger Turkey Pate which is 13% carbs on a dry matter basis, alongside Fromm Hasen Duckenpfeffer kibble which I have no idea the carbs on but it's kibble that has peas, lentils, and potatoes in it, so I know it's bad. This is the diet he has been on for months, nothing new. I have always fed a mostly meat-based diet and aimed for foods without a lot of carbs, except for the kibble, which for a kibble, is also pretty decent ingredient-list-wise, but is still a kibble (I know it's bad, I'm aware of the issues). I do sometimes have to mix pumpkin into his wet food as he is prone to constipation. This probably raises the carb content of the food, but I am not sure by how much as carbs are not listed on the pumpkin products I use (Tiki Cat Tummy Topper and Weruva Pumpkin Patch Up). He was a walking skeleton, so my priority has been putting weight on him, and the kibble has been helpful because my other male cat (the feline vacuum) "finishes" all the wet food in the house so Sammy has nothing left to eat sometimes unless there is some kibble laying around. I hate yelling at my other cat, whose name is Buddy, just for eating. Buddy was previously feral and has come a long way and doesn't deserve being chased and yelled at for just eating. But he will eat ALL of Sammy's food, which Sammy will eat maybe 1/4 of and then just walk away from. Sammy is a very light eater. He eats just a few bites and then walks off, and I do not have the patience to baby sit him constantly to ensure he is being served 10 tiny meals a day, taking his food in and out of the fridge like a butler. If he eats too much at once, he vomits (the Tummy Topper also seems to help with that). He's elderly, and I realize he just has limitations, and the kibble has been working to make the household work and not make it so I am constantly running around managing cat bowls all day. I, also, have limitations. But if it would "cure" Sammy to take the kibble away from him, then I will try that. Then there's the weekends. I leave on the weekends. I come home only to feed and give the cats their medications and I leave again immediately. This is not something I can flex much on. So these are my problems. Should I try taking away the kibble during the week, but leave it on the weekend? Should I get rid of the kibble all the time and just leave more wet food out and hope no one gets food poisoning on the weekends (I only come home once every 12 hours to do meds)? How do a rationalize wasted wet food? It's so hard because my budget is already so tight. If I stop buying the expensive kibble completely, maybe I could afford to buy more wet food - oh, but they will HATE me and Seraph really uses the kibble because she burns so many calories just breathing due to having asthma. They do not eat a ton of kibble as is. A 4lb bag always lasts the whole month (there are 3 cats). I currently spend between 30-50% my monthly income on cat food/supplies, so my budget is already very stretched. I am very paranoid about brands I feed. It's not because I am a snob, I have severe anxiety about poisoning my cats. I only have been feeding the Tiny Tiger because Sammy was previously on grocery store brands and I have been slowly switching him over to better quality but it has been a slow process to develop his taste buds to where he will eat better foods from more reputable companies, so when he's not eating "enough" he gets a can of the nasty Tiny Tiger food, which he eats very well, because it's nasty and he loves that nasty stuff. "Nasty" is a subjective term that is in my mind anything from a company with recalls, or that isn't from a brand I trust - it's subjective and paranoia-based, please don't take it personally, I'm not here to judge you for what you feed your pets, but I'm not going to feed something that doesn't feel "safe" to me for my pets. I have been very very paranoid since the 2007 melamine poisonings and won't feed anything made by any of those companies or processed in any of those factories or factories I deem to be too similar to those factories, or if I suspect something similar could happen at a factory, or anything made by a company that has had recalls I can't rationalize away. This really limits the foods I feel safe feeding, and if I don't feel safe, my anxiety gets really out of control. My other two cats eat mostly Weruva, but Sammy doesn't like the natural texture (maybe because he has so few teeth) and prefers traditional pates. And it's just so easy to say "just switch your cats to wet food and feed meals and stop free-feeding kibble" when you're well and you have a sense of time and don't face a daily struggle to do the dishes and every other single little thing, but that would be so hard for me with my executive dysfunction issues. It's 11PM and I still have only drank half my cup of morning coffee and have not taken MY morning meds, done my PT, checked my mail, brushed my teeth, showered: nothing. I did the cats (food, meds), sat down here at my desk, and then stopped functioning from that point forward. That's all I have been able to do for a year, maybe longer. I'll get up at 1AM when the cats' next meds are due, because I have to, for the cats, and I'll wash just enough cat bowls to feed the cats, and I will cook and eat something then. Why do I tell you this? For perspective, so you can advise me on what's best for Sammy. I don't think I'm well enough to take care of a diabetic cat. I'm not well enough to take care of myself (I am under the care of a professional psychiatrist and I do have a therapist).
So, take away the kibble? Worth a shot? He also has to take his thyroid pill (which goes inside half a pill pocket), which he gets a few Fruitables cats treats with. I didn't think it was a big deal, but after reading some in here, it seems like I will have to try to find a lower carb treat. He does not like dehydrated/freeze dried meat, I think it's a texture thing, and the Red Barn Protein Puffs (which have "no carbs" according to Chewy and would be perfect) seemed a little big for his mouth and he struggled with them, but I will try them again now that he's had his dental and he's in less pain. Suggestions?
This is Sammy in the yard last summer:
