New diagnosis, Cdn food suggestions?

[Ash]

Hi, my baby Kash (my 13 yr old baby) just got diagnosed with diabetes yesterday. I'm very overwhelmed and stressed about how I am going to manage his care. Obviously one issue is cost. Of course my vet immediately suggested the prescription/highly expensive brand. Can anyone help with less expensive Canadian food choices? I would like to include some dry as it has been great for his teeth so far in life. But he definitely loves his canned food.

Any help would be amazing!

 

[BJM]

Welcome to FDMB.
Fancy Feast Classic Pate should be available in Canada.

We do not recommend dry food as except for a couple of US brands, they all run 30-40% calories from carbohydrate.
If you want something with a touch of crunch, freeze dried chicken (ex Pure Bites), work well.

 

[MrWorfMen's Mom]

Hi and welcome to FDMB. Sorry you found yourself here but we can help. I am in Ontario, Canada. Where are you located?

Unfortunately, there are no dry foods appropriate for diabetics in Canada. There are some that are lower in carbs but none under 14% and you should try to keep all food under 10% carbs. Since Kash likes canned food, I'd forget about the kibble from now on if I were you. Contrary to popular belief, dry food really doesn't do anything to help their teeth.

As BJM mentioned Fancy Feast Pates are a good option. HERE is a list put together by another member of this board of some other inexpensive foods you could try. Prescription foods are definitely not necessary and in many cases NOT as good as regular commercial brands for our sweet furry kids.

As far as keeping costs down, if you learn to home test Kash, you can reduce vet expenses considerably and it will keep Kash safe. Any human glucometer can be used and we can help you learn to do this.

Have you started Kash on insulin yet? If so what kind?

This board is a treasure trove of info so please don't hesitate to ask any and all questions that come to mind. You can post questions on the
HEALTH FORUM as there is considerably more traffic there and you will get all the assistance you need.

 

[Catticus Maximus]

I've found that Canadian Tire is the cheapest place to buy Friskies pates (even cheaper than WalMart)...I'm pretty sure Fancy Feast is cheaper there too.
If you try the President's Choice food, it's pretty cheap at No Frills.

Speaking of Canadian Tire, they have their own pet food brand called Paws Up. Has anyone tried it? Reading the ingredients, I figured it's probably really low carb.

 

[MrWorfMen's Mom]

I have to run over to CT today so I'll have a look at the Paws Up. I have a kibble addict and am always looking for new options to try to get her to eat anything that doesn't crunch! Thanks for the tip Tanya!