New Post - this is Loki

[aleLoki]

Hi everyone,
I’d like to introduce my cat Loki. He’s almost 5 years old, neutered, and was just diagnosed with diabetes last Friday.

We first did a urine check in early December because we suspected kidney stones. The stones were there, but his glucose was zero. Last week, when we rechecked the urine to see if the stones were gone, we found his glucose was 500! Blood tests confirmed he’s diabetic, and our first diabetes check-up is on Monday.

For now, we’ve started him on Royal Canin Diabetic dry food. I’m feeling really anxious and want to do everything I can to help him live a happy, healthy life.

 

[CORKY]

Hi everyone,
I’d like to introduce my cat Loki. He’s almost 5 years old, neutered, and was just diagnosed with diabetes last Friday.

We first did a urine check in early December because we suspected kidney stones. The stones were there, but his glucose was zero. Last week, when we rechecked the urine to see if the stones were gone, we found his glucose was 500! Blood tests confirmed he’s diabetic, and our first diabetes check-up is on Monday.

For now, we’ve started him on Royal Canin Diabetic dry food. I’m feeling really anxious and want to do everything I can to help him live a happy, healthy life.

Welcome to FDMB
Loki is one beautiful kitty! Well you are in the right place and is good you are here before your next vet visit, The best insulin for diabetic cats are ProZinc and Lantus, they are a 12-hour insulin and easy on the cats' system, just remember if your vet prescribes Caninsulin insist on either of the above, Caninsulin is a dog insulin and it hist the cat hard and fast, also home testing is very important, testing before each shot helps to avoids hypoglycemic episodes, and several times during the day, Most members use the ReliOn Premier human monitor and strips (Walmart) You do not need a Pet Meter, it would be wise for your vet to start Loki on a low dose, you want to feel comfortable and get to know how the insulin works in Loki's system and work from there, as you learn Loki's diabetes, all cats are different but the great thing about FD is that is manageable with the right insulin, home testing and low carb diet
Regarding diet, the Royal Canin Diabetic dry food, is a bad start, there's nothing diabetic about this food and it contains over 20-30% carbs, you do not see humans eating diabetic foods right? the diet for FD is very important and RCD is not one of them, diabetic cats need to consume a diet of wet can or raw foods between 0-10% carbs, ( cats cannot digest carbs ) and 3-4 snack/small meals during the day, below is a Drs approve Food chart, the third column contains the carb % for each food, most member use the Fancy Feast Pates between 0-10% most feed up to 5%, they are US made so they are regulated and no waste goes into the food, please continue to post, ask questions your concerns, on our main menu we have sticky notes with much valuable information

https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

 

[squeem3]

Since your cat isn't on insulin yet, ditch the dry food even if the vet prescribed it. Dry food is the last thing you want to feed to a diabetic cat, kind of like telling a diabetic Human to eat sugary carb dense foods instead of something healthy like the Mediterranean diet or something. There's nothing in diabetic dry food that helps the diabetes. It's ok to ignore the vet about food Just be firm about your choice.

The ideal food to feed is low carb canned food. Lots of brands out there: Fancy Feast Classic / Gourmet pates, Weruva, Friskies, Special Kitty, etc. Take a look at the chart Corky linked above. Anything under 10% carbs is best.

Some people feed home cooked food or home made raw or commercially available raw foods.

Treats need to be low carb too. Single ingredient freeze dried treats are best. PureBites is one popular brand and there are many others. Plain cooked chicken is also good.

Arm yourself with knowledge so you can discuss your cat's treatment with the vet. There's a 2025 guideline on treating diabetes here: 2025 iCatCare consensus guidelines on the diagnosis and management of diabetes mellitus in cats Lantus and ProZinc are the two best insulin choices. Testing blood glucose levels daily is a must, just like it is for Human diabetics. Most people just test from the cat's ear with a Human diabetic blood glucose meter. Pet meters are available but are expensive and aren't sold in stores and they're no more accurate than a Human meter. Give manual testing a go for awhile. It does take a bit of time to get a routine down and your cat to hold still for testing. We have tons of tips to help. If you have a cat who doesn't like to be handled at all, there's a CGM meter that sticks to the cat's skin. Pros and cons of using it. There are two threads here that go into detail: https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/think-tank.22/ One con is price of the CGM that needs to be replaced every 2 weeks or sooner if it falls off or malfunctions.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Welcome to FDMB!

As the others have noted, dry food tends to be quite high in carbohydrates. We consider below 10% to be low carb and most members feed their cat a food that is in the neighborhood of 5%. Unfortunately, Royal Canin diabetic dry food is among the so-called "prescription" foods that are highest in carbs.

If your cat insists on dry food, there are a few brands that are lower in carbs. Let us know if you need that information. In general, canned food is much healthier for your cat. Cat's need the moisture that's in canned food in order to keep their kidneys healthy.

You may also find this post helpful. It's our helping us to help you post. It provides instructions for setting up Loki's spreadsheet so you can track his progress and we can offer feedback and there are instructions for your signature.