Hello. I am new to this site and am trying to do some research. My cat, Harley is 10 years old domestic short hair. I took him to the vet because he was drinking and urinating excessively. Of course they did a blood test and it came back positive for diabetes. The test said his level was 490 they said normal for a cat is 300, I can't remember what they were talking about though..blood sugar maybe? Anyway they gave me Purina DM (dry and wet). This was about 2 weeks ago, I'm suppossed to go back this week for a tech visit to see if he is any better. He still is drinking a lot of water, maybe a little less since starting that food but still alot. All this reading is very confusing and overwhelming. It seems that this food isn't really even recommeded by this site and something like Fancy Feast would help. Do you think I should start him on that asap and quit the dry/wet DM food? I'm hoping I don't have to do insulin shots, is it even possible that a cat may not need them if their diabetes can be controlled by food? Thank you for any feedback it will be appreciated. Kim
My cat Harley
- Thread starter KimJ
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Sue and Oliver (GA)
Very Active Member
Welcome Kim.
If your kitty had a blood glucose reading of 490 at the vet, even with vet stress, that is a diabetic number.
But we have a very successful protocol that has worked to help hundreds of cats to become regulated or in remission. We advocate wet lo carb food as you have read. We feed our kitties food betwen 8-10% carbs. This website by a vet explains why wet food is best for any cat, but especially diabetics. http://www.catinfo.org Lots of us feed Friskies, Fancy Feast, Wellness or Merrick. This food chart will give you the carb levels of lots of foods: Janet and Binky’s chart
We also test our cat's blood glucose levels at home, just like human diabetics. Then we know if they need insulin and what dose is safe to give. Here's the method: Video for hometesting
You certainly could start testing your kitty at home and start a wet lo carb diet. Because you are keeping track of the blood glucose levels, you'll be able to see if the food helps and how much it brings down the bg levels. If it hasn't helped in a week or so, you should start insulin. But that is not hard - we always gave the shot to Oliver while his face was deep into his food and he never noticed.
We have taught hundreds of people how to test over the internet and we would be glad to help you. The information is overwhelming, but keep reading and asking questions. We would like to help you help Harely.
If your kitty had a blood glucose reading of 490 at the vet, even with vet stress, that is a diabetic number.
But we have a very successful protocol that has worked to help hundreds of cats to become regulated or in remission. We advocate wet lo carb food as you have read. We feed our kitties food betwen 8-10% carbs. This website by a vet explains why wet food is best for any cat, but especially diabetics. http://www.catinfo.org Lots of us feed Friskies, Fancy Feast, Wellness or Merrick. This food chart will give you the carb levels of lots of foods: Janet and Binky’s chart
We also test our cat's blood glucose levels at home, just like human diabetics. Then we know if they need insulin and what dose is safe to give. Here's the method: Video for hometesting
You certainly could start testing your kitty at home and start a wet lo carb diet. Because you are keeping track of the blood glucose levels, you'll be able to see if the food helps and how much it brings down the bg levels. If it hasn't helped in a week or so, you should start insulin. But that is not hard - we always gave the shot to Oliver while his face was deep into his food and he never noticed.
We have taught hundreds of people how to test over the internet and we would be glad to help you. The information is overwhelming, but keep reading and asking questions. We would like to help you help Harely.
Sue and Oliver (GA)
Very Active Member
Knowledge really is power with this disease, Kim. You can manage it at home and keep Harley safe, just like human diabetics do.
Everyone of us were terrified with the diagnosis but we learned how to care for our kitties. You can too!
Everyone of us were terrified with the diagnosis but we learned how to care for our kitties. You can too!
MommaOfMuse
Very Active Member
Hi Kim and welcome to the FDMB Family,
To answer your question about insulin shots. yes, some cats stop needing insulin once their diabetes is controlled by food. My Max is one such cat. When he was dxed he was 485, after 2 short weeks of insulin and a switch to a low carb/high protein diet he went off insulin and so far (knock on wood) he hasn't gone back on. He's been off insulin now since the first of November.
But home testing is critical especially for me with Max as I adopted him as a diabetic, so if I hadn't been testing him at home I could have very easily put him in harm's way, since we didn't have any history together and I could have missed early signs of hypo. Because at the time he started going off insulin I didn't know him well enough yet to know what 'normal' behavior was for him.
I have 10 other cats besides Max and they all eat exactly what Max eats which is just good old fashioned Friskies Pate flavors. Even my non-diabetic are doing fantastic on the change in diet, so if you have other little furry friends in the house they can all eat what Harley eats, as it is a far better diet for them all.
Mel, Max & The Fur Gang
To answer your question about insulin shots. yes, some cats stop needing insulin once their diabetes is controlled by food. My Max is one such cat. When he was dxed he was 485, after 2 short weeks of insulin and a switch to a low carb/high protein diet he went off insulin and so far (knock on wood) he hasn't gone back on. He's been off insulin now since the first of November.
But home testing is critical especially for me with Max as I adopted him as a diabetic, so if I hadn't been testing him at home I could have very easily put him in harm's way, since we didn't have any history together and I could have missed early signs of hypo. Because at the time he started going off insulin I didn't know him well enough yet to know what 'normal' behavior was for him.
I have 10 other cats besides Max and they all eat exactly what Max eats which is just good old fashioned Friskies Pate flavors. Even my non-diabetic are doing fantastic on the change in diet, so if you have other little furry friends in the house they can all eat what Harley eats, as it is a far better diet for them all.
Mel, Max & The Fur Gang
JenElliot
Member
Welcome!
It is absolutely possible for a diabetic cat to not need insulin if fed a proper diet. If you're not giving your cat insulin yet I would highly recommend switching to an all-wet low-carb diet ASAP. Any of the Fancy Feast "classic" varieties are good, so are the Friskies pates. And be aware - once a cat is diet-controlled you can never give them even one bite of dry food, it can put a strain on their pancreas.
If you test at home you'll never have to wonder how Harley is doing because you'll always know his blood sugar numbers. A lot of use the Relion meter from Walmart, it's only $9 and you can get 20 test strips for $9. If you test at home you'll be able to call your vet and tell them the numbers you're getting and they can advise you from there - no more expensive vet trips for glucose curves, tests, fructosamines, etc...! Tests at home are more accurate too because stress can cause the blood surag levels to rise. Let us know if you'd like to begin home testing and we can answer any questions you have.
You may also want to pick up some ketostix, they're available at any pharmacy/drug stores (I got mine at CVS). The strips test urine for ketones (ketones are in the urine when BG numbers are too high). This may give you a little peace of mind before you begin home testing and/or before your next vet visit, especially since you said Harley is still drinking more than normal).
It is absolutely possible for a diabetic cat to not need insulin if fed a proper diet. If you're not giving your cat insulin yet I would highly recommend switching to an all-wet low-carb diet ASAP. Any of the Fancy Feast "classic" varieties are good, so are the Friskies pates. And be aware - once a cat is diet-controlled you can never give them even one bite of dry food, it can put a strain on their pancreas.
If you test at home you'll never have to wonder how Harley is doing because you'll always know his blood sugar numbers. A lot of use the Relion meter from Walmart, it's only $9 and you can get 20 test strips for $9. If you test at home you'll be able to call your vet and tell them the numbers you're getting and they can advise you from there - no more expensive vet trips for glucose curves, tests, fructosamines, etc...! Tests at home are more accurate too because stress can cause the blood surag levels to rise. Let us know if you'd like to begin home testing and we can answer any questions you have.
You may also want to pick up some ketostix, they're available at any pharmacy/drug stores (I got mine at CVS). The strips test urine for ketones (ketones are in the urine when BG numbers are too high). This may give you a little peace of mind before you begin home testing and/or before your next vet visit, especially since you said Harley is still drinking more than normal).
janelle and Nomad
Active Member
Normal Blood glucose for a cat is between 70 and 130. So I am not quite sure what your vet meant about 300 being "normal" for a cat. 300 wouldn't even be considered a good number for a regulated diabetic cat.
It is very likely your cat will need insulin at least for a while. You can use this site ahead of time to educate yourself about types of insulin, dosages and home testing.
With BG numbers in the 400s I would also definately test for ketones. DKA is a condition that causes the body PH to become too acidic and it can be life threatening. As you can see from my signature, my cat has had DKA twice.
It is very likely your cat will need insulin at least for a while. You can use this site ahead of time to educate yourself about types of insulin, dosages and home testing.
With BG numbers in the 400s I would also definately test for ketones. DKA is a condition that causes the body PH to become too acidic and it can be life threatening. As you can see from my signature, my cat has had DKA twice.
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