sucess story

[corky5239]

My Gypsy Lee was diagnosed with diabetes on March 13th. I immediately stopped all dry food and changed her diet to Tiki Cat and some Fancy Fest pates and 4 small meals a day. She got no insulin. I had regulated my previous Snowy with food so there was no way I was jumping on the insulin train right away. Today her fasting sugar is around 98 and over all frutosmine values was in a normal range. I was thrilled. The new food charts helped in a lot SO many thanks to all who put their time and effort into the research. I personally would always try food regulation first - if it didn't work well then I would have to go the insulin route. This is my 3rd cat in a row with diabetes and you just wonder why. They all have always gotten good food - not the grocery store variety. But I can't tell you how thrilled I am. Of course now you just have to keep up the routine and keep your fingers crossed.
Thank you so much to this site. I hope many people read this and find that they can try food first.
Kathie and Gypsy Lee

 

[BJM]

Um ... one size doesn't fit all.

For example, a cat in diabetic ketoacidosis needs insulin asap, as well as other intensive care. Once the DKA is stablized, the cat discharged, and the owner home testing, diet adjustments may be made carefully and the insulin titrated as needed.

 

[Deb & Wink]

Kathy and Gypsy Lee - Glad to hear the diet change worked for your cat. I hope you stick to the new diet to keep your cat in remission and continue to monitor as needed to make sure the blood glucose numbers do not increase to a diabetic range again.

I personally would always try food regulation first - if it didn't work well then I would have to go the insulin route.

Well, yes, you can try food first but if the numbers are high, over 250, you want to get your cat on insulin as quickly as possible. Some cats on diagnosis have blood glucose readings in the 300's, 400's, 500's or 600's and it would be dangerous to hold off on starting insulin.

This is my 3rd cat in a row with diabetes and you just wonder why. They all have always gotten good food - not the grocery store variety.

Define good food. There is certainly a big debate in the veterinary world about what is a good diet for cats. I don't think we know everything about cat nutrition yet and can still make improvements.

Steroids can induce diabetes. It can be genetic in some cats (i.e. mother and son cats both have diabetes). Researchers are still trying to determine causes and food may play a big role in some cases.

Your cat could have been a transient diabetic, or have high blood glucose numbers from an infection.

I hope many people read this and find that they can try food first.

We will often advise people that switching to a low carb food, preferably wet, can lower the blood glucose numbers by 100 points. This may not be enough for some cats with high numbers and insulin needs to be started sooner than later. One week on low carb food is about as long as you would want to go without insulin for some cats. Other cats, maybe only a few days with the diet change before starting insulin. Other cats need insulin immediately to stave off worse problems like DKA. Some cats are dry food addicts (my Wink) and it took three weeks to get him to realize that this canned 'stuff' was edible and he would eat it.

The latest research, like that in this March 2013 issue of Veterinary Clinics of North America Small Animal Practice, Feline Diabetes issue for 2013, has a great article about the role of diet in preventing and managing feline diabetes.

As we say ECID, which means Every Cat Is Different. I'm glad that you found what worked for your cat and he is now in normal numbers.(50-120)

 

[Hillary & Maui (GA)]

what Deb said! :smile:

Maui was a dry food addict, she also had skin problems her whole life, itchiness, fur coming out in clumps, etc. The vets treated the symptoms never the cause and steroids were used on her many times over the years.

As a result of this, she became diabetic, however, given that she was on insulin for about three months and has been off insulin for four years now, I believe she was a transient diabetic.

The interesting result of all this - after removing the kibbles (she's been eating raw and canned food only) her skin issues cleared up and like I said, she is in remission almost 4 years now.

I believe there was something in the dry food (and she had everything from low to "High" quality, grain free, etc. ) that she is allergic to and caused the skin problems. In addition, she used to be a water fiend, needing to drink so much that she would lick the condensation off my glass and was always sticking her head in my glasses. She also demanded to share my ice cream.

Being on the wet/raw only diet with water added - she hasn't taken a drink from a water bowl, my glasses or anything in 4 years.

so yeh - what Deb said.

 

[corky5239]

Thanks for everyone comments. I'm learning all the time. I will always keep Gypsy Lee on her routine and have her monitored. I would never stop because I know how dangerous it is. She gets the best care I can give her. I think my first cat may have been a transient diabetic, he was on and off insulin all the time and had every problem you could have with it. That was 15 yrs. ago and I didn't know the food issue and I know I could have done so much better with the knowledge I have today, but he lived to be almost 19. My second diabetic cat was in the high 300 when she was discovered. I did take a month and got her regulated on food also and she never went on insulin. She always remained on the high side (170 or so) but I stayed with that and she lived a good long life. The 3rd - Gypsy Lee was high for about a year but she was also a very sick kitty most of the time and the high number was thought to be her sickness BUT when she was finally well the vet said we needed to check and make sure the number had gone down And when we did it was the same high number it had been for a year SO I took 6 weeks and with the info now available on the charts tried to do it with food and it worked. She had always been on wet food with just a few "crunchies" everyday. now just wet food. She never displayed any signs of diabetes. My other cats did.
I will try and get ahold of the article you mention from March 2013 and diabetes research and read it. I'm always looking for new information and ideas.
Thank you again. I appreciated all your info and comments.

 

[Deb & Wink]

You can find some low carb pure protein treats to replace the crunchy texture Gypsy Lee used to get. A couple of products I use are the Pure Bites freeze dried chicken treats or the Halo LIv-a-Little freeze dried chicken or salmon treats or the Whole Life freeze dried liver treats. Look in the dog aisle of the pet specialty stores like Petsmart or Petco for larger bags of these treats to save a bit on the cost.

I break off a tiny piece, about corn kernel size, and give each of my 3 cats a couple of bites of a tasty treat. Since Wink went OTJ he misses his treat during our daily tests so I still give him a treat now and then. Don't over feed the liver ones because I understand that organ meats can contain some carbohydrates. One a day is my selected limit for the organ meat ones.

These treats can also be crumbled and sprinkled over the wet food if your kitty's appetite is a bit off. I do this when Wink doesn't seem to want to eat much, to tempt him a bit with a yummy taste to get him to eat a bit more.

That vet journal I quoted also talked about watching for a fasting BG of over 117 being of concern for cats in remission.

A recent study of diabetic cats in remission found that fasting glucose concentrations greater than 6.5 mmol/L (117 mg/dL) or glucose concentrations greater than 6.5 mmol/L (117 mg/dL) 4 hours after a glucose challenge (1g/kg) were predictive of relapse. Suggesting that cats with glucose concentrations greater than 6.5 mmol/L (117 mg/dL) should also be considered pre-diabetic.

Since I can easily measure fasting glucose in the morning because of the feeding schedule I use, I plan to test weekly for Wink and if his numbers start to creep up again, over 100, I'm going to try some of the ultra low carb foods with <4-5% carbohydrates to see if that helps to lower the numbers again. Some people with OTJ cats may only test every couple of weeks or once a month or every few months. Since Wink is newly OTJ, I prefer to be more vigilant to catch a BG rise as quickly as possible.

I think my first cat may have been a transient diabetic, he was on and off insulin all the time and had every problem you could have with it. That was 15 yrs. ago and I didn't know the food issue and I know I could have done so much better with the knowledge I have today, but he lived to be almost 19.

Even the vets 15 years ago did not know about the food issue. Lots of vets even today are still advising their diabetic cat owner clients to feed high fiber diets instead of the low-carb option that studies have shown is more beneficial. Even the AAHA Diabetes Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats, a vet journal article published in 2010 recommends feeding diabetic cats the lowest carb content the cat can tolerate. Here is that link for your reading pleasure. http://www.aahanet.org/PublicDocuments/AAHADiabetesGuidelines.pdf

Unlike vets who have to deal with so many different types of animals and a wide variety of diseases, illnesses, accidents with their clients, we are concentrating on diabetes management. Because of that, we can spend the time to do more intensive research and find the latest vet research and tend to be more current than many vets. We also have a lot of detailed day-to-day practical experience here on this message board that a vet could never have all that information at their fingertips. We also have multiple members chiming in on a topic and that brings the peer review aspect kicking in to get differing experience levels.

Remember, "Once a diabetic, always a diabetic". Good luck with Gypsy Lee and here is hoping for a continued remission for her.