New member- need help with food

[Mr. Steve]

My Stevie was recently diagnosed with diabetes. He’s on Vetsulin and science diet m/d. He only eats a few bites of dry food, licks the wet food but won’t eat it. I’ve tried blending it with bone broth but again only a few bites. I’ve seen that people use fancy feast classic pate, but he again only licks it. He’s gone from 18lbs to 11lbs. I know 11 lbs is good for most cats, but he’s a big boy and now he so boney. His numbers keep going up at his vet appointments. He started in the low 400’s and is up to 535. Is there anything else I could try? He does like Sheba perfect portions pate, but I’m not sure how safe that is. I have seen the food chart by Dr. Lisa and it looks to be ok, but I did notice it has tapioca starch. Is Sheba a good alternative? Just overwhelmed trying to get Steve to eat along with his daily injections.

 

[Ale & Bobo & Minnie (GA)]

In addition to low carb food, you want a long lasting insulin which Vetsulin is not. It’s also called caninsulin because it was created for canines who have a much slower metabolism than cats. I would suggest asking your vet about Lantus or prozinc.
You may want to share the guidelines from the American Animal Hospital Assn for the treatment of diabetes in both dogs and cats. the AAHA no longer recommends Caninsulin/Vetsulin for treating feline diabetes.

most wet pate style foods are low carb. Most members here feed fancy feast or Friskies because it’s budget friendly. You can look at higher end brands like Weruva, tiki and Ziwipeak too. Unregulated cats will eat and still lose weight because they can’t process the nutrients in food as well as a healthy cat. I believe the science diet is high carb. No need for expensive prescription foods that are actually not good for them.

Are you home testing or just doing spot checks at the vet?

With a diabetic cat you need:

• A low carb wet diet that is 10% carbs or under. Most of us use around 4-7% carbs
• A suitable insulin such as Lantus or Prozinc which are long acting, more gentle insulins than the old insulins.
• We recommend hometesting the blood glucose with a human meter…it is not necessary to use a pet meter which is expensive to run and is no better. It will keep your kitty safe and you will know how the dose is working for your kitty. Only testing every so often will not tell you what is happening in between those times and an awful lot can happen in even a day.
• HELP US HELP YOU has information about the spreadsheet, signature and hypo box which you will need to be able to look after your beloved kitty properly

We are happy to help you with setting up the spreadsheet, sorting out what food to buy, how to transition safely to a low carb diet, how to learn to home test and much more!

 

[Mr. Steve]

Thanks for all the information. Definitely something I need to talk to my vet about. I am not home testing, just spot testing at vet. From what you shared I’m thinking he needs a different insulin and home testing. As far as the food goes I’ll keep trying the fancy feast and maybe some Sheba if he doesn’t eat. He will not eat any wet food that has shreds or chunks , only the smooth pates.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

The Sheba pates are fine. One of the points she makes on her website is that there are a number of foods that may have something with carbs in their ingredients. However, they are fairly far down on the list and the amount is negligible.

One other option is a raw diet. If your cat seems interested in ground beef, chicken, etc., that may be an alternative. There are powders that you mix with water and add to the ground meat that makes the food nutritionally complete.

You do not need a vet to agree to home testing. You can purchase a glucometer anywhere. Many members use the Walmart Relion meter. the strips are inexpensive especially if you compare the cost to the strips for a pet-specific meter.

If your vet gives you any push back regarding switching insulin, either Lantus (glargine) or Prozinc are the two insulins that are recommended by the American Animal Hospital Assn since 2018. They no longer recommend Vetsulin for treating feline diabetes. This is a link to their guidelines.

 

[squeem3]

One other option is a raw diet. If your cat seems interested in ground beef, chicken, etc., that may be an alternative. There are powders that you mix with water and add to the ground meat that makes the food nutritionally complete.

There are also commercially available raw diets available in frozen, freeze dried, air dried, and dehydrated forms if a homemade diet of any type is not an option (typically the cost for most people). Most commercial raw foods are low carb but read the ingredient list and choose one that has few fillers (fruits, veggies, starches, useless ingredients, etc).