Hi, I'm new to this forum and my cat(named Tabby) recently got diagnosed with diabetes around 2 months ago, she's about 11 years old now. I've been trying to read up on the condition and the proper foods to feed her, but I'm so very confused. I live in Newfoundland Canada, so we have tons of pet food stores around if I got to go get a special food or anything. I want to get all information down to see if I can get some straight answers, so please bear with me. I apologize for it being long. I need help please.
The vet told me I had to feed her Purina DM Dietetic Management, 1/2 cup twice daily, and even offered the wet food from Purina DM Savory Selects, pate and chunks. I give her 1 unit twice daily of insulin, I think its Caninsulin(I don't know if that's the type or brand name). I don't do home BG testing, the vet told me the human meters don't work and the pet ones are very expensive. I'm not sure if BG is different with vets, but Tabby's range was 28-29 when I first took her in, then it went down to 8.2 and now it's at 7.8 from a couple days ago. I've seen posts with 300 or 400's, so not sure. She don't have to go back for another 3-4 months now to get it checked again.
Now the only way I can get her to eat for the needle is to use a little bit of canned food, I usually give a couple spoonfuls of the chunky wet food, as Tabby just tends to stare at pate, but eventually gives in, she usually only licks the gravy off the chunks and then eats a bit of the rest later. I only give her the dry when her bowl is empty, she don't eat that much of it, so it could be every second day I put a 1/2 scoop in. I have tried to take her wet and dry food away to just get her to eat a bit of the dry before needle, but she just meows at me for wet food. Once nurse at the vet said I should get her on a feeding pattern, food for the needle and then none until the next needle, 12 hours apart. But I kind of find that unfair to her.
I have asked the vet/nurses if there was any other canned/dry food I could get, as the vet stuff is very expensive($45 dry bag and $2.50 for canned), but they keep telling me no, she has to be on this stuff and this alone, but I keep reading everywhere that is not the case, one nurse told me to stay clear of Fancy Feast, said it was too much salt for her, along with all other non vet foods. I like the idea of Fancy Feast or other brands being good so I can buy it cheaper and stock up without a problem of the vet being closed when I need it. I have tried Tabby on Blue Buffalo High Protein canned, but it was with the whole change over in foods, she got diarrhea for about a week, so I never went back to it.
So my main questions are about the food, Do I take the ones with lower Carb % and Phos % and feed her those, stuff like the Fancy Feast Classics, and keep a bit of dry in her bowl for when she is peckish? and are the vets just trying to push their foods because it bring them in tons of money from people like me, they don't know any better or does the stuff actually work for some cases?
Thank you.
The vet told me I had to feed her Purina DM Dietetic Management, 1/2 cup twice daily, and even offered the wet food from Purina DM Savory Selects, pate and chunks. I give her 1 unit twice daily of insulin, I think its Caninsulin(I don't know if that's the type or brand name). I don't do home BG testing, the vet told me the human meters don't work and the pet ones are very expensive. I'm not sure if BG is different with vets, but Tabby's range was 28-29 when I first took her in, then it went down to 8.2 and now it's at 7.8 from a couple days ago. I've seen posts with 300 or 400's, so not sure. She don't have to go back for another 3-4 months now to get it checked again.
Now the only way I can get her to eat for the needle is to use a little bit of canned food, I usually give a couple spoonfuls of the chunky wet food, as Tabby just tends to stare at pate, but eventually gives in, she usually only licks the gravy off the chunks and then eats a bit of the rest later. I only give her the dry when her bowl is empty, she don't eat that much of it, so it could be every second day I put a 1/2 scoop in. I have tried to take her wet and dry food away to just get her to eat a bit of the dry before needle, but she just meows at me for wet food. Once nurse at the vet said I should get her on a feeding pattern, food for the needle and then none until the next needle, 12 hours apart. But I kind of find that unfair to her.
I have asked the vet/nurses if there was any other canned/dry food I could get, as the vet stuff is very expensive($45 dry bag and $2.50 for canned), but they keep telling me no, she has to be on this stuff and this alone, but I keep reading everywhere that is not the case, one nurse told me to stay clear of Fancy Feast, said it was too much salt for her, along with all other non vet foods. I like the idea of Fancy Feast or other brands being good so I can buy it cheaper and stock up without a problem of the vet being closed when I need it. I have tried Tabby on Blue Buffalo High Protein canned, but it was with the whole change over in foods, she got diarrhea for about a week, so I never went back to it.
So my main questions are about the food, Do I take the ones with lower Carb % and Phos % and feed her those, stuff like the Fancy Feast Classics, and keep a bit of dry in her bowl for when she is peckish? and are the vets just trying to push their foods because it bring them in tons of money from people like me, they don't know any better or does the stuff actually work for some cases?
Thank you.
