New to board and worried

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stymie577

Member Since 2012
Hi all! I'm new to the board today. My husband and I have 2 cats and a guinea pig. The older cat (my cat prior to our relationship) is Jilly and she was adopted through PetSmart at 12 weeks old. I've had her for 9 years now and she's SO my cat. My parents always said she had my personality, probably why we get along so well! :smile: Ripley, our other cat (my husband got her at approximately 5 months old shortly after we met) is a big old chicken and is 5 years old. Our guinea pig (I also brought her to the relationship) is 5 years old and lost her sister back in March. She's also 5 and so stinkin' cute! Jilly acts as though Lizzy is her baby and Ripley is afraid of Lizzy.

Ripley has urinary problems and is on a prescription food but LOVES eating Jilly's food. Jilly has diabetes, hip dysplasia, arthritis and teeth problems. She loves eating Ripley's food. Jilly eats Purina D/M dry and has been eating that for approximately 3 years now, when she was diagnosed with diabetes. She does not need insulin because we've regulated her blood sugar through diet. Only problem is prior to the diabetes she was eating a light formula food because she was so overweight. At that point in time she was 18 lbs and dropped down to 16 on the light food. When we switched to the Purina D/M she put the weight back on, plus. She's around 20 lbs now. She has always been a grazer and does not eat a whole lot. When she was younger she ate 3/4 can of Fancy Feast in a day plus 1/2 a cup or so of dry food and lots of water. Now, she eats probably 3/4 cup of the Purina D/M with Cosequin sprinkled on it but still cannot lose weight. She's a lazy cat who will walk away and hide under the bed if she doesn't want to be bothered. Up until today, she was doing well with her hips and arthritis but we noticed her limping today. Has anyone managed successful weight loss with a diabetic and grazing cat who already doesn't eat a whole lot? Our vet said she's a believer that animals are like humans, in that some just have a slower metabolism and said she has a cat similar to ours. We just have to try to get her to exercise as much as possible. Any suggestions?? Especially when she's limping now and in pain??

Side note, Ripley and Jilly are not the best of friends. They have gotten to the point where they tolerate each other and often times will run by each other with a smack. They also like tormenting each other to see who is more clever and "tough" than the other.

Thanks, everyone, for your help and I'm really looking forward to getting to know you all!

Smile!
 
Generally we find that if we feed our cats low carb food, they do lose weight and it is best for their blood sugar levels also. Our Oliver was 16 pounds and overweight when he became diabetic -he had been on Science Diet Light dry for years and never lost a pound. We switched to Fancy Feast - under 8-10% carbs. He went off insulin within 6 months and as a great bonus, lost 2 pounds. He was not an active cat either. If you check out this food chart, you can find lower carb and lower fat food that might work:
Janet and Binky’s chart

The best excerciser I ever found for him was this ball that dispensed treats if he would roll it around. I found some of the crunchier low carb treats (PureBites) and he really would move it around and around.
 
Are you regularly home testing Jilly's numbers to make sure she is staying in a normal range (50-120 on a human meter)? One red flag that is standing out to me with her situation is that she has both diabetes and "arthritis" at 9 years old. It's not very common for a 9 year old cat to have arthritis. I'm wondering if she is NOT diet controlled and her arthritis is actually diabetic neuropathy--this is a weakening of the limbs from uncontrolled diabetes. Diabetic neuropathy can be reversed by getting blood sugar under control with insulin therapy and Methyl-B12 supplements.

Many cats are diet controlled--my own cat is diet controlled after a brief period on insulin. However, diet controlled cats need less than 10% carbs, and the dry food that she's currently eating way too high in carbs for a diabetic cat. That's another reason why I suspect that it's possible she's not actually diet controlled.

Urinary tract problems are also caused by dry food, so it would be best for both of your cats if you switched them to a low carb, canned food. Cats evolved in the desert, so they never drink enough water (even if you see them drinking like a fish from their water dish) to compensate for the lack of moisture in their dry food. This leads to chronic dehydration, which causes the urinary tract problems. The prescription dry foods treat a symptom (urine that is too alkaline) but not the cause of the alkaline urine--chronic dehydration. Check out this information: http://catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth. See this article to learn about the connection between diabetes and dry food: http://catinfo.org/?link=felinediabetes. Here's a link that explains how to implement a safe weight loss program on canned food: http://catinfo.org/?link=felineobesity#Implementing_a_Safe_Weight-Loss_Program

There are a ton of canned options--check out this page for food suggestions and a link to the cat food nutrition charts: http://www.felinediabetes.com/diabetic-cat-diets.htm. you just need something under 10% carbs that fits your budget.

If you're not home testing, I would strong urge you to pick up a meter and do so immediately (Walmart's Relion Confirm or Relion Micro are both very good meters that are very inexpensive). Even cats in remission need to be tested to make sure their blood glucose is staying normal, because they can drop out of remission due to infection, diet, dental problems or even just stress. Bandit had a dental last year and dropped out of remission because of it--he needed insulin for about a month until he became diet controlled again. The faster you catch these incidents and treat them, the more likely and quickly you can get them back into remission. I test Bandit's blood glucose once every week or two to make sure he's staying in a normal BG range.
 
I fed dry when they put on weight and became diabetic many years ago. After I started feeding canned food and after a few months on insulin she was diet controlled.I have read an article where they say that every 8th cat will be diet controlled.Some people can keep their bs down too. I have stopped my Metformin in April and will have a blood test soon. I still test myself from time to time.
 
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