New Member

[MsCat]

Hi. I am a new member. My husband and I have 3 cats-one on a hypoallergenic diet (1-year old Sammy), one diabetic cat (9-year old Frankie), and one who is 13 years old (Rudy). We had another cat who was diabetic (Binks) who lost his battle against diabetes this past April. He had diabetes for about 4 years and was never regulated. Frankie has had diabetes for the last 1 1/2 years or so, and we are struggling with getting him regulated. We feed the cats separated because of their health needs. Frankie eats dry food-Hills MD. Is dry food okay for him or should we try to get him on canned food? What kind of canned food? I appreciate any help!
MsCat

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

Do you test Frankie at home? We would strongly encourage you to. It's the best way to regulate because it lets you know that your doses are safe and how the insulin is working.

We also support feeding wet low carb food. It can make a huge difference in blood sugar levels. Most people who have multiple cats feed all their cats the same food. It is best for all cats. See this website by a vet to find out why: www.catinfo.org. When we switched Oliver from dry to wet food, he dropped 100 points overnight. That's why we want you to test first. If we hadn't been testing, we would overdosed him if we had given him his usual dose.

What insulin are you using? What dose?

We'd love to help you help Frankie.

 

[rhiannon and shadow (GA)]

Hello.
Welcome!
You have found the best place for help and support.

Here is a link to the food lists. Most of us here choose foods that are 10% carbs or less. As Dr. Lisa Pierson advises on catinfo.org , the best diet is
raw or partially raw. That would have no carbs and is the most natural for cats.
But not all of us can get our cats to switch so the lists below are the canned varieties. Dry food for cats is so overloaded with carbs , even the specialty
prescription diets for diabetic cats. It's just like jumk food for us. And we know better than to sit around and eat cheetos and poptarts all day.
well, maybe not. And now we're feeding our pets the same way without realizing it.
No one likes the Hill's dry. It's way to high in carbs. Too many vets blindly give it out.

http://binkyspage.tripod.com/CanFoodOld.html
http://binkyspage.tripod.com/CanFoodNew.html
http://www.felinediabetes.com/glutenfree.htm

You don't have to get the most expensive canned food, there are cheaper options like fancy feast classics.
And there are some from walmart on the list that many here use.
Dr. Lisa has great advise if you have a dry food junkie but most cats are willing to switch.
You have to also get out of that habit of leaving dry food out for convenience. If your cats like the canned right away then take the dry food away completely.
It's the best thing you can do.

Using fancy feast as an example, with 3 cats , you would be feeding each about 3 cans a day ( for a 12 1/2 lb cat) as the cans are only 3 oz each.

It is also better for your cat if you can break up to several small meals a day. It's better for their blood sugar than feeding twice a day because it becomes feast or famine for their bodies for hours.
Many here who have to work all day freeze portions to leave out and let thaw ( which in your case would mean the cats are separated since you don't want to
cross feed).
We also like high protein only treats which are given out mostly during the glocose testing with a home monitor.
There are a few out there. They are harder to find. Just look for onces that say 100% protein.
I like one call PureBites .
comes in shrimp, liver, chicken and fish. I hear they are bringing out a turkey.
Here is the cheapest place I've found them.
http://www.entirelypets.com/purebitechickencat.html
With 3 cats you might want to make your own http://www.felinediabetes.com/homemade-treats.htm

There are lots of resources here and you will find lots of help.
You are doing the best thing for your friends.

 

[Blue]

Hi. I am a new member. My husband and I have 3 cats-one on a hypoallergenic diet (1-year old Sammy), one diabetic cat (9-year old Frankie), and one who is 13 years old (Rudy). We had another cat who was diabetic (Binks) who lost his battle against diabetes this past April. He had diabetes for about 4 years and was never regulated. Frankie has had diabetes for the last 1 1/2 years or so, and we are struggling with getting him regulated. We feed the cats separated because of their health needs. Frankie eats dry food-Hills MD. Is dry food okay for him or should we try to get him on canned food? What kind of canned food? I appreciate any help!
MsCat

Before you change the food to a low carb wet type, what is your insulin type and dose?
There are a great many cats who are DIET CONTROLLED so depending on the dose you are giving, you may want to lower the dose and also be home testing to see that Frankie does not go too low.

I would suggest you start home testing first, just to see what kind of numbers he has while at home and relaxed, and then introduce the better foods. You will see a definite improvement in his numbers when you change the foods. You may not even need to give any insulin!

Be sure to ask any questions you may have about home testing, and if you have any difficulties, just post as there will be someone here who has had the same issue and found a solution for it.

 

[CoatCheckGirl]

Hi. I am a new member. My husband and I have 3 cats-one on a hypoallergenic diet (1-year old Sammy), one diabetic cat (9-year old Frankie), and one who is 13 years old (Rudy). We had another cat who was diabetic (Binks) who lost his battle against diabetes this past April. He had diabetes for about 4 years and was never regulated. Frankie has had diabetes for the last 1 1/2 years or so, and we are struggling with getting him regulated. We feed the cats separated because of their health needs. Frankie eats dry food-Hills MD. Is dry food okay for him or should we try to get him on canned food? What kind of canned food? I appreciate any help!
MsCat

Hi MsCat, sorry for your loss. As far as Frankie, get him started on wet (referencing the links posted above) asap. Good luck to you.

 

[MsCat]

Thank you for all of your advice. We have just started over the last couple of weeks to do home testing, which is not as bad as I thought it would be. I also didn't think I could give insulin, and that wasn't as bad as I thought either! I am going to look into the wet food-the frozen food suggestion was interesting and helpful, since my husband and I both work full days and aren't able to give him small meals during the day. Frankie is on Lantus insulin, 5ml twice daily. I think the hard part for me is having another cat who needs special food-we have really had to make some lifestyle changes lately! I really appreciate all of the support. I was really feeling frustrated this weekend when I did some spot checking with Frankie and his readings were not what they should be. I wish I had known all this when we had Binks.
Catherine

 

[rhiannon and shadow (GA)]

Since you are interested in the frozen idea.
There was one person who froze hers in ice cube trays. I don't think she's away for too long at a time.
If all of your cats aren't getting fed the same, you have the added complication of separating them if you're gone for awhile so they don't eat each others food.

And for a longer time away, there are automated feeder bowls.

Many here use these to delay feedings so they don't eat it all in the morning and do without all afternoon.
There is a 2 portion feeder and also a 5 portion feeder.
I hear some freeze the canned food and put it in one of the slots to delay their cat and by the time it thaws, it's still fresher than it would be without freezing.


http://www.amazon.com/PetSafe-2-Meal-El ... eal+feeder

just another possibility .....

 

[Julia & Bandit (GA)]

Thank you for all of your advice. We have just started over the last couple of weeks to do home testing, which is not as bad as I thought it would be. I also didn't think I could give insulin, and that wasn't as bad as I thought either! I am going to look into the wet food-the frozen food suggestion was interesting and helpful, since my husband and I both work full days and aren't able to give him small meals during the day. Frankie is on Lantus insulin, 5ml twice daily. I think the hard part for me is having another cat who needs special food-we have really had to make some lifestyle changes lately! I really appreciate all of the support. I was really feeling frustrated this weekend when I did some spot checking with Frankie and his readings were not what they should be. I wish I had known all this when we had Binks.
Catherine

5u of insulin is a very high dose of insulin. How was that reached? Lantus dose adjustments should be made via home testing by slowly raising the dose in .25-.5u increments. The average dose of Lantus for a cat on a low carb diet is about 1u. Please do not change to a low carb diet until you are testing daily and lowering the dose. Otherwise, a deadly hypoglycemic incident could occur. Cats' blood glucose will drop 100-300 points just from the diet change, and about 25% of cats go into immediate remission and no longer need insulin.

Giving too much insulin will keep blood sugar levels just as high as giving too little insulin. This is because cats' livers will release glucose into their bloodstream if they drop too low. With Lantus, you want to get at least 3 tests a day--once before each shot to make sure it is safe to give insulin, and at least one test about halfway through either cycle to see how much the insulin is lowering your cat's blood sugar.

Check out the stickies in the Lantus forum: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewforum.php?f=9. There is a ton of incredibly helpful information for you there.

 

[hmjohnston]

High there!

I make the raw diet on catinfo.com and freeze it in ice cube trays- I get 17 trays with 14 wells- enough for 2 months supplemented by FF. I also have a feeder (petsafe5) and put the frozen cube of chicken in with a water cube. It takes about 3-4 hours to thaw out.

Other choices to keep moist- put an water ice cube on the plate with the food- as it melts it keeps the canned food moist. If you have an ice maker this is a good choice. I just have two water ice cube trays and the ice holder and it keeps me in cubes for cat and water jug :lol:

Freeze the canned food- I use a tray, others just put it in a baggie, some put it in a little storage box, pop it out before you leave. If you do this, add some water to it up front so it all melts the same.