Pumpkin powder raising cats glucose levels??

[Kana]

Hello! This is going to be abit long: I've been back and forth with my vet on my diabetic girl Tiki who will be 14 on Friday. She is not overweight and is actually underweight/lost some weight so I'm trying to get weight back on her too. Tiki does not take insulin because even on the smallest dosage she went into catatonic shock twice in a day and it was really scary... Vet and I agreed to try her on food only after that. She was down as low as 222 the other day however, since switching her wet and dry she has been having stomach issues.(She was eating the same dry food almost her entire life.) So, I think the new dry food may be the culprit? She's on Purina Dm for diabetics dry for free feed and I've been giving her purina choice pate (nonprescription.) Via vets hand out saying its good for diabetics three times a day. I've been giving her fortaflora in the morning and that alone wasn't helping. She was still having really loose stools but not full blown diarrhea as she wasn't having to run to the rest room and was having a normal schedule bowellwise. So I heard pumpkin powder helps and is good for diabetes. I started giving her that over a week ago and she had normal poops. However when I checked her levels this week they were 400. The week before a day after starting the powder she was 275. Can pumpkin powder raise cats insulin levels?? Is there anything else I can give her to regulate her stomach that won't raise her insulin?? Dr. Suggested flavorless maltodextrin but I thought that was more for constipation?? Any advice or help would be appreciated. I want my girl to have normal bowl movements and get back to a normal weight. She also had a ultrasound and there were no obvious indications of cancer so thankfully that's not causing anything. I also just fully switched her little sister over to the purina dm dry since she was always eating it anyway and while I haven't seen Tiki going for the old dry food Maki was having while I was home. Perhaps she did when I was asleep or out? Still her numbers didn't spike until I gave her the pumpkin powder. The pumpkin powder is:Raw Paws Pet Organic Pure Pumpkin for Dogs & Cats, Powder. I got it from Amazon

Thanks again for all your help! Diabetes sure is frustrating. But I love my baby and wanna help the best I can.

 

[Margie and Jackson]

Welcome! Others will come along with more instructions and expert information, but I can tell you that prescription foods are not such great quality and they are ridiculously expensive. Many people use other foods, from fancy feast and friskies, to Tiki Cat, which is generally 0 carb. Tiki might go lower with Tiki Cat!
I think that powder might raise bg, but plain canned pumpkin seems to work well without affecting bg too much. Plain canned pumpkin works for diarrhea and constipation. Good luck!

 

[Margie and Jackson]

I use about a teaspoon to start, mixed in food. My cats are happy to eat it.

 

[Kana]

Thank you so much I really appreciate it!! I'll try looking into Tiki cat and fancy feast for the dry food options for Tiki. I'll look into canned pumpkin as well.

 

[Idjit's mom]

Diabetes can be frustrating, I agree. But, first of all the dry food, even the Purina DM dry for diabetics is too high in carbs for a sugar cat. The best diet for any cat is meat, they are obligate carnivores. They don't need or have the ability to use the fillers, carbs and starches in dry food, and in much of the canned food we buy/bought. So we recommend a low carb wet diet to help control the blood sugar levels and provide proper nutrition for diabetic cats. Many members with a diabetic cat and other kitties in the home have transitioned to the low carb wet diet for all kitties. It can be a long process if the cat is a dry food addict but with patience and perseverance, it can be done.

Our vets are "educated" by the so called Rx diabetic food reps, and many are not knowledgeable about feline nutrition.

Please visit www.catinfo.org for really good information about feline nutrition.

Give us some additional background please, what insulin did the vet put Tiki on, what dose? Do you or have you tested her blood sugar at home and if so, how often do you test?

We can help in many ways, not just about diet, but learning about the different insulins that are available for cats that you might not know about. I'm not suggesting that this is an answer, but it may be a possibility.

Margie & Jackson has informed you about using plain canned pumpkin..not pumpkin pie filling. Maltodextrin is sugar.. is a white powder made from corn, rice, potato starch, or wheat. ... Maltodextrins are closely related to corn syrup solids. A diabetic cat does not need sugar or starches. It would be like giving a human diabetic a few cookies and a donut. Since you would add such small amounts of pumpkin to a meal for Tiki, you can freeze the rest of the can in ice cube trays and thaw one at a time without wastage.

I am not certain your vet is very well educated, experienced or knowledgeable about feline diabetes. Perhaps it's time to begin to educate yourself more fully and see how you can better help Tiki to better health and well being?

 

[Idjit's mom]

I'll try looking into Tiki cat and fancy feast for the dry food options for Tiki. I'll look into canned pumpkin as well.

Tiki Cat and Fancy feast are not dry food, they are canned food. There are a couple of lower carb dry food brands, but they are expensive and one of them has been reported by some members to cause gastric upset, diarrhea and very stinky poops. A low carb wet diet is best, and has the moisture in it that cats need too. You might buy a can of Fancy Feast Classics and put a little dab on a plate for your kitties, see what happens.
A low carb diet lowers blood sugar and can't help but improve Tiki's blood sugar levels.

 

[Margie and Jackson]

Yeah, sadly I’ve learned dry food isn’t good for all cats, but it’s terrible for diabetics. Even the dry stuff FOR diabetics is terrible for them. I think there are a few really low carb options, but I’ve never used them.

 

[Kana]

Diabetes can be frustrating, I agree. But, first of all the dry food, even the Purina DM dry for diabetics is too high in carbs for a sugar cat. The best diet for any cat is meat, they are obligate carnivores. They don't need or have the ability to use the fillers, carbs and starches in dry food, and in much of the canned food we buy/bought. So we recommend a low carb wet diet to help control the blood sugar levels and provide proper nutrition for diabetic cats. Many members with a diabetic cat and other kitties in the home have transitioned to the low carb wet diet for all kitties. It can be a long process if the cat is a dry food addict but with patience and perseverance, it can be done.

Our vets are "educated" by the so called Rx diabetic food reps, and many are not knowledgeable about feline nutrition.

Please visit www.catinfo.org for really good information about feline nutrition.

Give us some additional background please, what insulin did the vet put Tiki on, what dose? Do you or have you tested her blood sugar at home and if so, how often do you test?

We can help in many ways, not just about diet, but learning about the different insulins that are available for cats that you might not know about. I'm not suggesting that this is an answer, but it may be a possibility.

Margie & Jackson has informed you about using plain canned pumpkin..not pumpkin pie filling. Maltodextrin is sugar.. is a white powder made from corn, rice, potato starch, or wheat. ... Maltodextrins are closely related to corn syrup solids. A diabetic cat does not need sugar or starches. It would be like giving a human diabetic a few cookies and a donut. Since you would add such small amounts of pumpkin to a meal for Tiki, you can freeze the rest of the can in ice cube trays and thaw one at a time without wastage.

I am not certain your vet is very well educated, experienced or knowledgeable about feline diabetes. Perhaps it's time to begin to educate yourself more fully and see how you can better help Tiki to better health and well being?

Thank you for the reply as well and sorry for the delay. I'm working mandatory overtime for my job. The insulin the vet had Tiki on was called NPH i believe. You could get it from Walmart. She said it was affordable and effective for most cats. Sadly my girls body couldn't take the minimum dosage. I almost lost her it was very traumatic. Tiki is primarily on a wet food diet. I give her three large portions of purina pro chicken pate a day. My doctor had it as one of the recommended non prescription wet foods that work well for diabetes. The dry food is more of a free feed as needed and she won't go for it all the time. Unlike her little sister who inhales the dry.(She is not diabetic and a year old only.) The dry food is the prescription purina dm. And either it or the pro chicken pate gives her very soft stools. I cannot cut out dry food all together, however Tikis numbers have been dropping quite well since the two months ago we found out she has diabetes. I do a blood test at home once a week on Saturdays and write down her numbers. Is there anything I can give her to make her stool more solid or is it because she's not use to having so much wet in a day? You all also mentioned Tiki cat food. If I did switch her dry I found Tiki cat an option for high protein low carb would this be better than purina dm for her? https://www.amazon.com/Tiki-Carnivo...aked/dp/B07KYSD2JB/?tag=felinediabetesfdmb-20

Also, what Tiki wet food is best? I see this one coming up as a good choice: Tiki Cat Puka Puka Luau Succulent Chicken in Chicken Consomme Grain-Free Canned Cat Food.

I'll look into the diabetes link you provided too. Thank you all for the help!! This is my first time dealing with diabetes and it has been real overwhelming. I lost my other cat who was 11, 3 months ago to a short but aggressive battle with mammary cancer. So Tiki and I have been super stressed plus she got a new sister but they actually get along just fine. This whole diabetes thing is so overwhelming though. I want Tiki to have normal poops and her weight to go back up. I'm thankful though on just food that her numbers are going down.