New to board - advice on food

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tara-and-zac

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Hi, I'm new here so please forgive me if this has been answered elsewhere.

My Zac has had diabetes mellitus for about 8 months now and was diagnosed with CRF about a year ago. He takes one 2.5mg of Fortekor per day for the CRF and is on 6IUs of Caninsulin twice a day.

Since food that's good for CRF seems to be contra-indicated for diabetes (and vice-versa) I just wondered if anyone had any tips for healthy food that's least likely to aggravate these two conditions?

Before Zac was diabetic he started on Hills K/D, which he absolutely hated, made him vomit a lot and he lost half his bodyweight on (He was a big boy around 9kg - now he's approx 5.5kg. Oh, and he's about 15 years old, but with the cheeky spirit and drive of a 2 year old).

The vet insisted we persist with the K/D, however once Zac became diabetic we were switched to Hills W/D. Then he after about 4 months of that diet he developed severe neuropathy, front and back paws, to the point he had to eat lying on his side because he could barely hold his head up.

Thinking Zac's time was up, I threw all the rulebooks out the window so he could have some quality of life (continuing with meds of course!), but I just fed him all the old foods he used to love - a random mixture of cooked coley fish, some wet Hills I/D pouch food, and bits of raw steak and cooked chicken, letting him guide me. To my surprise, at this point he completely turned around. So far he is doing *SO MUCH BETTER* on this, rather than cat food!! He even put on weight for the first time in a year. I then got us a new vet with a new opinion, who administered a couple of Methyl-B injections, and after about 6 weeks of TLC and this mix of food Zac's now back to jumping on the bed again to pester me for his dinner :-D.

However I know this diet doesn't provide the nutrients etc. he needs long term, so I was wondering if anyone had any advice for nutritious food I can make him?

Hope this is relatively clear - sorry for the long post. Look forward to hearing from you.
Many thanks! :)
Tara
 
I assume you are in America so I hope some of the peeps stop by this and help you.

Basically you need help finding a new food for a diabetic with crf, which I know others have experience with here from the large selection of foods you have over there.
 
You don't need to purchase the expensive prescription food. If you look at these links they provide information on diabetic and CRF friendly foods that you can give your cat.

Some other things that you should know.

1) Feline Nutrition: Now, as far as diet - definitely dump the dry food (if you are feeding any) and if the vet recommends purchasing prescription food like DM just say "no thank you". ALL cats, and especially those with diabetes, do best on a species appropriate diet that is high in protein and low in carbs. Dry food DOES NOT fit that bill and DM food, even canned, just really isn't that great as far as quality. Most here on FDMB feed low carb/high protein canned, raw bought from a pet store or they make there own.

Here great links, one is to a food chart put together by one of our board members that breaks down the carb % and protein % of most of the commercial brand foods. You want to keep the carb % below 10% and around 7% is great. The other link is to a site by a vet "Dr. Lisa DVM" ... who also posts on this board from time to time ... there is in-depth info. there about many things, including nutrition and how to make raw food.

Nutrition/food info



2. Home testing: By any chance are you home testing?

It is impossible to convey the value of testing your cat's BG (blood glucose) level at home. Some vets will "suggest" this, but most won't even mention it. They will send you home with insulin and an amount to shoot and maybe some instructions about hypoglycemia (blood sugar dropping to a dangerously low level).

Well, the thing is, human diabetics don't EVER give themselves insulin without checking there BG to make sure it is safe to do so, so why shouldn't it be the same for our kitties. Here on FDMB it is. You will notice that the vast majority of people here test their cat's BG at least 2x/day (before giving each shot to make sure the level is safe enough) and periodically at other times to see how the cat is responding to the current dose. We use a human glucometer, test strips and lancets - which are all very readily available and easy to use.

Our kitties get lots of love and treats for "putting up" with this and most of them actually come out to be tested on their own 'cause they want those treats . Here is a collection of great links that "Carolyn and Spot" pulled together about hometesting. See what you think ... it truly is the best way to not only keep Your cat safe but also really get a handle on this disease and help him to live a healthy life with FD (feline diabetes).

Home testing Links

3. Insulin: You are using one of the more difficult/challenging insulins. Is there any possiblity that you could change to a different insulin such as Lantus (glargine) or Levimer or even Prozinc? They are gentle insulin and given twice (BID) per day in 12 hour increments.

Also, how was the dosage of 6 units determined? I ask, because that is a high dose and it's possible that it may be too much insulin for your cat. Especially when you change the food.

Please read up on the insulins available, here is a link to the Insulin Support Groups:

Insulin Support Groups

However, one caveat and again this shows how these three things are inter-related:

If you are feeding dry food or even a high carb food, BEFORE removing these foods, please make sure of your insulin dose as it will most likely need to be reduced, so as to avoid a possible hypoglycemic situation due to the removal of the dry/high carb foods that will lower the BG’s and reduce the amount of insulin required. Again, another reason why home testing is important.

Tell us where you are located as we may have people nearby who can help you in person.
 
Thanks for all the helpful information - I am reading through it all, there's a lot to take in. Just wanted to add that I am home monitoring him and we're based in the UK, in London. Our original vet told me that Caninsulin was the only one available in the UK, however I haven't asked the new vet and I don't know if that is even true. He also doesn't eat any dried food. Thanks once again!
Tara
 
Hello from Essex

Hi Tara. We're located in Essex.

When our Sweepy was diagnosed I gradually changed her diet, following advice from FDMB UK members, to Butchers Cat Food Classic. I still feed our three non-diabetic cats on Butchers Classic to this day. They are very happy with it.

It can be a little hard to locate as most of the major supermarket chains stopped stocking it but it is still available from ASDA stores and also the franchise of NISA stores.

The other good news ... It's one of the cheapest cat foods available! For once, low cost is best!

Good luck

Love
 
Hiya! My Willie appears to be on the road to renal insufficiency, so I've been reading up on CRF a lot lately and getting info from folks here as well. With canned/tinned food, you need to be looking primarily at two things... carb levels for the diabetes and phosphorus levels for the CRF. Unfortunately, I'm in the States and just don't know anything about foods available in the UK, so I'm not of much use there.

I do know that many folks with CRF cats use phosphorus binders that help keep their CRF cats from absorbing the phosphorus in their foods. Aluminum hydroxide is the most commonly used one. It is only recommended in cats who have a certain level or higher of phosphorus showing up in their bloodwork, so it is definitely something you should discuss with your vet and perhaps with folks on one of the CRF forums. You can find more info on Tanya's CRF site here.

Hope that helps... good luck in your search!
 
Thanks so much guys, for the great responses. Nice to meet you all, and your lovely furries. That's a great tip Simon and Christie, I'll gradually introduce the Butchers Classic food with the phosphorus binder Ipakitine and see how we get on.
It's so nice to hear from others who are in the same situation, much appreciated.
Best wishes xx
 
Not sure if anyone's still reading this threat, but I just wanted to say a big thanks again. We've been using the Butcher's Choice with Ipakitine supplements. The vet has been amazed at Zac's progress, he's put on 1kg in the space of about 3 weeks and can run and jump almost as well as prior to his neuropathy. He's also dropped from 6ius Caninsulin twice daily to 2ius. So thanks once again! This advice has literally saved his life, as the vet had wanted to put him down a month ago! Most importantly his quality of life has returned, and I get to spend longer with my happy cat. <3 <3 <3
 
Great to hear that your kitty is so much better. And that the insulin dose has dropped. Are you hme testing? I know I sound like a bit of a nag, but it really is so important, and not difficult. If you need help, just say.
 
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