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[Butkus2012]

Hello.

I just signed up to this board this week when looking for info on feline diabetes. My 12 yr old cat was recently diagnosed in May. He's currently on 4 units of Prozinc twice a day (started at .5 and increased each week after blood test at vet).

I was doing some reading about switching to canned (low carb) only food and how many cats have been able to go off insulin. My cat is currently eating dry Science Diet WD and gets a treat of canned at night. He was on this food before diabetes because of constipation issues but that doesn't seem to be a problem any more. Plus I read the extra moisture in canned food can help with constipation too. I brought it up to my vet and she said she never heard of a cat going off insulin by switching to canned and never once mentioned home testing except for the stuff you put in the litter to spot check occasionally.

I just ordered a test kit so when it comes I'll look to get this process started. It's a little overwhelming but I'm going to try it. I've seen the spreadsheet people are using and it looks very confusing. I'll take another look and see if I can figure it out.

I've seen a lot of good information on this board and many stories of cats no longer needing insulin so that's great to hear. I hope to add my boy to that list soon.

Thank you in advance for any suggestions anyone has.

 

[Ry & Scooter]

Please do NOT NOT NOT change your cat to 100% canned until you are hometesting AND/OR significantly reduce your insulin dose. 4u is a high dose, and if you drop all the carbs, injecting that into your cat COULD kill him. If you want to switch to low carb I would advise you to wait until your test kit comes and restart back at .5 or 1u. nailbite_smile

As far as cats not needing insulin more, yes, it is very much possible. My Scooter was on insulin for 7 months and he is now in week 2 of remission. :smile:

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

My cat Oliver is one of those success stories. He was also on Science Diet (check out this website - the SD varieties run in the 20-30% carb range. We try to feed under 8-10% http://www.felinediabetes.com/diabetic-cat-diets.htm) He came down 100 points overnight when we switched from dry to wet (so be confidently testing first) and lost 2 needed pounds over the next 6 months before he went off insulin. It doesn't work that way for every cat, but does for lots of them.

We hometest because vet tests often reflect the cat's stress and stress raises glucose levels. Then doses based on those tests can be too high once the cat gets home and relaxes. In your cat's case, the dry food could be protecting him from the high dose.

Keep reading and asking questions. We would love to help you help your kitty.