Newly diagnosed - food question

[mjc1976]

So, my vet called last night to confirm my cats levels, and promptly provided no more information than that. So I've spent today researching as much as I can. Which is how I ended up here.

Anyway, on to the question. From reading here I feel that I'm in a good position, in so much as I have a chance to change the diet before insulin starts, and my feeling being that I hold off on insulin completely to see if the diet changes the levels. With that in mind, I'm assuming I shouldn't drop the dry from her diet immediately. She has mixed currently, but REALLY likes her dry (and Dreamies). Would I be right in thinking swapping the dry she currently has out for one of the ones I've seen "recommended" here, and then reducing quantities of that would be the way to go? My long term plan would be to get her on 3 wet servings a day ideally, and find some healthier treats

Am I on the right track here, or should I be adopting another approach?

 

[Larry and Kitties]

What is recommended is to mix dry with canned and increase canned/decrease dry over a week or two.
I would avoid the low-carb dry as an intermediate diet mix unless you need it to keep the cat eating.

 

[mjc1976]

thanks. so basically, stick with the dry she has at the moment, but reduce it bit by bit over the next week or so.

also, alternate treats have been found and she loves them, so thats a good thing

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

A great deal depends on the carbohydrates in the dry food you're using. If your cat has not started insulin, you can switch to all low carb. (The concern is that if a cat is getting insulin, especially at a higher dose, and you switch to all low carb, the blood glucose numbers may drop considerably causing symptoms of hypoglycemia.) The point of a slower transition is that any change in food may cause a tummy upset. If you've not had a chance to look at Dr. Lisa's site on feline nutrition, there's a great deal of information there.

Fundamentally, dry food is not a great choice for cats. Often, the food is loaded with carbohydrates. Cats are obligate carnivores and can't process carbs. They also have a limited thirst drive. Canned food has a much higher moisture content which is good for the kidneys -- and diabetes is hard on the kidneys. (I add water to my cats' food and they only get a canned food diet.)