Question about Hills m/d glucosupport cat food vs Fancy Feast

A

AnnieDracsMom

Member Since 2025
My new vet suggested I try Rx cat food for two weeks to see if we still need insulin after controlling the diet. I already switched kitty to fancy feast classic pates, which was no problem because he already ate fancy feast (other varieties). The vet said we should at least try the Rx diet, and we could get sample cans to try it out. Does anyone know if there’s a way to get samples at Chewy or petsmart? Also, I’m hesitant to switch him to a new food, because it will require a transition period, the Rx food is way more expensive, it has cornstarch and other suspect ingredients at the top of the list, and I have a feeling he won’t like it (he’s picky). Plus, if he does still end up on insulin, and I want to go back to fancy feast in the future, I see that can cause issues and adjustments with the insulin. Has anyone had a similar situation? Thanks in advance.
 
The M/D is 13% carbs - a medium carb food. The Fancy Feast, at the highest, is 3% carb. If your vet is anything like mine was, she was clueless about the amount of carbs in the prescription food. The vet went entirely by what the sales rep from the pet food company told her. I'd inform your vet that M/D is not low carb. You may want to share this chart with the vet. The chart is authored by a vet, Lisa Pierson, DMV, who has a website on feline nutrition.

The other piece of information you may want to share with your vet is that the pet food manufacturers lost a class action suit for calling their food "prescription." There is nothing medically prescriptive in M/D.
 
Pet stores or online sites don't sell prescription food. Does your vet not sell prescription food or know of a place where you can buy it?

Not that you need prescription food anyways. It's ok to disagree with the vet on food :) Many people here have and feed their cats commercially available low carb food like Fancy Feast or even make their own raw or home cooked food.
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
The M/D is 13% carbs - a medium carb food. The Fancy Feast, at the highest, is 3% carb. If your vet is anything like mine was, she was clueless about the amount of carbs in the prescription food. The vet went entirely by what the sales rep from the pet food company told her. I'd inform your vet that M/D is not low carb. You may want to share this chart with the vet. The chart is authored by a vet, Lisa Pierson, DMV, who has a website on feline nutrition.

The other piece of information you may want to share with your vet is that the pet food manufacturers lost a class action suit for calling their food "prescription." There is nothing medically prescriptive in M/D.
Click to expand...
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
The M/D is 13% carbs - a medium carb food. The Fancy Feast, at the highest, is 3% carb. If your vet is anything like mine was, she was clueless about the amount of carbs in the prescription food. The vet went entirely by what the sales rep from the pet food company told her. I'd inform your vet that M/D is not low carb. You may want to share this chart with the vet. The chart is authored by a vet, Lisa Pierson, DMV, who has a website on feline nutrition.

The other piece of information you may want to share with your vet is that the pet food manufacturers lost a class action suit for calling their food "prescription." There is nothing medically prescriptive in M/D.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the confirmation and the chart link. I will discuss this with the vet. I’m going to stick with the fancy feast.
 
squeem3 said:
Pet stores or online sites don't sell prescription food. Does your vet not sell prescription food or know of a place where you can buy it?

Not that you need prescription food anyways. It's ok to disagree with the vet on food :) Many people here have and feed their cats commercially available low carb food like Fancy Feast or even make their own raw or home cooked food.
Click to expand...
It’s actually crazy because both vets said I need a script, and you can buy them on chewy but I guess they have to confirm with the vet (see pic attached). I will have to respectfully disagree with the vet and fingers crossed it doesn’t affect the quality of care my baby gets. I appreciate the confirmation.
 

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Oh I didn't realize that Chewy sells prescription food. If that's the case, yes you will need a prescription or maybe just the vet's phone number so Chewy can call to confirm the prescription. You can ask Chewy's customer service before you order to be sure.

I've bought prescription food before (early 2000s) and bought it from a grooming / boarding place that was associated with the vet hospital I was using at the time. They didn't ask for a prescription or anything.

Be firm about food with the vet.
 
I'm new here and don't want to cause any confusion, but I thought I'd offer a little bit of additional perspective? When my cat was originally diagnosed in 2021, I didn't have this resource and followed my vet's directions (and I have a great deal of confidence in her in general). She had Gen eating Hills m/d (a mix of wet and dry, which I understand is largely discouraged here). He'd been eating Hills Science Diet previously, on a prior vet's recommendation that may well have stemmed from sales talk. (I've had Gen for over a decade now, but he's my first cat, so I was entirely going off advice from the vet and friends who had more experience.)

I don't dispute anyone's claims or experience around lower-carb food being better, and now that Gen has relapsed I intend to discuss food with my vet in more detail. I'll just note that after three months of Lantus and a diet of Hills m/d wet and dry, his GB went back to normal and we were off insulin for well over three years. In fact, his relapse came after I experimented with switching him to other wet food this September (Wellness Signature Select, which now that I have the food chart linked above, I particularly regret) - on the advice of another vet (mine was out on medical leave) who I will never work with again. He was eating HIlls m/d the entire time he was off the insulin up until then.

I'm sharing all this not to disagree with anyone, but just to offer the perspective that my cat did seem to do very well on Hills m/d for whatever reason. That definitely doesn't mean your cat should switch, especially given all the positive experiences I gather people here have had with Fancy Feast etc. Plus, every cat is different.

I hope you have a great vet who will be collaborative and receptive!
 
Oh, and yes, you can buy Hill's m/d and other so-called prescription food at Chewy and some other major retailers (I think I looked into PetSmart once when Chewy had a shortage) ... it requires a one-time "vet's authorization" (not a formal prescription), which you get by submitting your vet's contact information through the site.
 
@eddis
It also helps to keep in mind that some cats are less carb sensitive than others. There may be one or two canned "diabetic" foods that are lower in carbs. In general, the dry "diabetic" foods are high carb.
 
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