Is Low-Carb Wet Diet doing this?

[Opus]

Hi All,

I put my Chloe on a wet low-carb diet as suggested on this site. She was diagnosed about a month ago but has only been on the new diet 2.5 weeks.

Her a.m. BGs have gone from the low 300s/upper 200s to a range of 218-184. I felt that her a.m. dose needed to come down from 1u to .5 and the vet agreed. I began this new dose 4-5 days ago and her recent a.m. BGs are sitting at 144 yesterday and 108 today. Even her BG last night was only 218 and the one prior was 256; the norm has been low-mid 300s until now. So even the p.m. BGs seem to be coming down.

I'm wondering if the new diet could be helping her BGs to come down and even regulate them? I'm hoping this may be the cause of her lowered BGs and not something else going on.

I think a call to the vet on Monday is in order but I wanted to gather some knowledge from all of you.

Thanks!

 

[BJM]

The change to a low carb, canned or raw diet has dropped the glucose from 100-200 mg/dL in diabetic cats. Chances are good it is the diet change.
What insulin are you using? Perhaps you could add that to your signature,

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[Elizabeth and Bertie]

I'm wondering if the new diet could be helping her BGs to come down...

Yes, highly likely.
That 108 is a nice 'normal' number for kitty.

At what times are you getting your test results? Immediately prior to giving insulin? Some hours after the shot?

Eliz

 

[Opus]

Eliz ~ I test Chloe's BG prior to her insulin and feeding. She gets .5u in a.m. and 1u in p.m.. I'm hoping this better diet will lower her insulin needs even more. It would be lovely if Chloe ended up like some cats and not need insulin at all after changing to a better diet. I am truly impressed with this positive change. If it hadn't been for all of you, I would not have known about diet playing such a significant role in diabetic cats even though it should be obvious. Afterall, diet plays a major role in diabetic humans so common sense tells you it should be the same with animals.

I question why my vet nor his partner knew to speak to me about diet. I'm wondering how many vets do??

Thanks, again,
Opus

 

[BJM]

They've gotten their nutrition training from the pet food manufacturers, and usually only for a day or so.

If you are still using N insulin, the duration is such that it usually only lasts 6-8 hours in the cat. You can check this by testing at +7 or later.

Also, many cats go lower at night, so it would be better to use an even 1.5 units morning and night rather than a larger dose at night.