Michaelc26
Member Since 2014
Hello Everyone
So not something I usually do but at this point its probably the only option I have. My cat Carol was recently diagnosed as Diabetic, needless to say this was a shock. Let me tell you a bit about our family.....
Carol - 8 yr old gray Tabby stripped shorthair. A VERY personality filled cat, sweet as the day is long. Loves to take a bath in the sink with the water running, strange cat. She is now our diabetic cat, she used to be 21lbs, then dropped to 14lbs thats when we knew something was up and found out from the vet.
Alice - 8yr old gay tabby stripped shorthair, Carol's sister. She was the runt of her litter and the most nervous cat you will meet haha a leaf can blow in front of her and she is jumping up the nearest tree. Go figure, she is also the most vocal cat, not afraid to tell you what she is thinking. She is 9lbs, very lean very muscular
Frankie - Our 5yr old gay shorthair, she was adopted from the humane society. A very picky cat! She is my mother-in-laws cat if you ever saw one (she lives with us btw). She sits with her every night, follows her around and wants nothing to do with anyone else haha UNTIL She goes on vacation and then she is nice to us only because she knows we will be the one feeding her. She is getting big, around 16lbs, not diabetic yet but want to curb it before she does become
Fluffy - Our rescued Stray cat we found in maine, he is a Ragdoll, exact age unknown but around 11-13yrs old according to the vet. Anyone who knows the breed will understand this, he is the most docile & Social cat in the world. A stranger could break into the house and he would walk right up to him and want to be pet/picked up. Everytime we have a party he has to make his rounds and say hi to everyone, be the center of attention.
We live in a nice area, rural area , bordering a small stream and a forest. Needless to say our cats are very happy, they go outside during the day and play, chase small creatures (occasionally bring one in) climb trees, explore etc. Its a cat paradise.
So thats the backstory now to the predicament, Carol is diabetic. She is currently on 3 units of insulin twice a day. Her last BSC showed her averaging around 400, still way to high but going down from what it was. Being a multi-cat household its not possible to change the feeding habit of only one cat, especially when they have been in the habit for 8yrs. They eat at 7am, carol gets her shot at 7:30am and then we feed her at 7pm with her evening shot at 7:30pm (per the vet)
The USED To eat friskies dry throughout the day when they got hungry and would split a can of friskies wet in the mornings. Needless to say since having a diabetic cat and looking at ingredients I've come to realize that friskies is crap. We are trying to find a new permanant food for them but the selections are large and well I'm a boy on a budget also, already spend $1000 on Carol's vet bills.
Currently they are eating the Purina DM Wet food in the mornings and we have the Wellness Core Grain Free dry food to leave out. Our vet said if they are used to a dry food being out to not change it, just switch over to a lower carb version.
HOWEVER With the DM Wet costing $50 for a 3wk supply and $50 for a bag of dry its going to be expensive and I want to make sure they are all on a low carb diet. Below are some options I've seen and would LOVE any thoughts or experiences anyone has had on these...
Merrick Purrfect Bistro - Saw this in Petco, has alot of natural ingredients, is it low carb? Got good reviews, is reasonably priced. Only negative I saw was regarding some digestive issues with cats.
Wellness - They are currently on the wellness core Dry food, and seem to like it. The wet food unfortunately is $2 per can , same as the DM
Blue Buffalo/wilderness - Saw this also, seems to have similiar ingredients to Merrick and is priced about the same.
There are also others I saw,
Evo , Nutro Natural, Science Diet etc.
I would love any thoughts/experiences on these. I read the ingredients of the DM Wet and am not impressed and would love to transition them off it it. Thanks in avance
So not something I usually do but at this point its probably the only option I have. My cat Carol was recently diagnosed as Diabetic, needless to say this was a shock. Let me tell you a bit about our family.....
Carol - 8 yr old gray Tabby stripped shorthair. A VERY personality filled cat, sweet as the day is long. Loves to take a bath in the sink with the water running, strange cat. She is now our diabetic cat, she used to be 21lbs, then dropped to 14lbs thats when we knew something was up and found out from the vet.
Alice - 8yr old gay tabby stripped shorthair, Carol's sister. She was the runt of her litter and the most nervous cat you will meet haha a leaf can blow in front of her and she is jumping up the nearest tree. Go figure, she is also the most vocal cat, not afraid to tell you what she is thinking. She is 9lbs, very lean very muscular
Frankie - Our 5yr old gay shorthair, she was adopted from the humane society. A very picky cat! She is my mother-in-laws cat if you ever saw one (she lives with us btw). She sits with her every night, follows her around and wants nothing to do with anyone else haha UNTIL She goes on vacation and then she is nice to us only because she knows we will be the one feeding her. She is getting big, around 16lbs, not diabetic yet but want to curb it before she does become
Fluffy - Our rescued Stray cat we found in maine, he is a Ragdoll, exact age unknown but around 11-13yrs old according to the vet. Anyone who knows the breed will understand this, he is the most docile & Social cat in the world. A stranger could break into the house and he would walk right up to him and want to be pet/picked up. Everytime we have a party he has to make his rounds and say hi to everyone, be the center of attention.
We live in a nice area, rural area , bordering a small stream and a forest. Needless to say our cats are very happy, they go outside during the day and play, chase small creatures (occasionally bring one in) climb trees, explore etc. Its a cat paradise.
So thats the backstory now to the predicament, Carol is diabetic. She is currently on 3 units of insulin twice a day. Her last BSC showed her averaging around 400, still way to high but going down from what it was. Being a multi-cat household its not possible to change the feeding habit of only one cat, especially when they have been in the habit for 8yrs. They eat at 7am, carol gets her shot at 7:30am and then we feed her at 7pm with her evening shot at 7:30pm (per the vet)
The USED To eat friskies dry throughout the day when they got hungry and would split a can of friskies wet in the mornings. Needless to say since having a diabetic cat and looking at ingredients I've come to realize that friskies is crap. We are trying to find a new permanant food for them but the selections are large and well I'm a boy on a budget also, already spend $1000 on Carol's vet bills.
Currently they are eating the Purina DM Wet food in the mornings and we have the Wellness Core Grain Free dry food to leave out. Our vet said if they are used to a dry food being out to not change it, just switch over to a lower carb version.
HOWEVER With the DM Wet costing $50 for a 3wk supply and $50 for a bag of dry its going to be expensive and I want to make sure they are all on a low carb diet. Below are some options I've seen and would LOVE any thoughts or experiences anyone has had on these...
Merrick Purrfect Bistro - Saw this in Petco, has alot of natural ingredients, is it low carb? Got good reviews, is reasonably priced. Only negative I saw was regarding some digestive issues with cats.
Wellness - They are currently on the wellness core Dry food, and seem to like it. The wet food unfortunately is $2 per can , same as the DM
Blue Buffalo/wilderness - Saw this also, seems to have similiar ingredients to Merrick and is priced about the same.
There are also others I saw,
Evo , Nutro Natural, Science Diet etc.
I would love any thoughts/experiences on these. I read the ingredients of the DM Wet and am not impressed and would love to transition them off it it. Thanks in avance
Another route is to feed raw, where you can control what is in the food. Dr. Lisa has a recipe on her site: