Switching my diabetic cat off of prescription hills w/d food

[nikkicantal]

Hello my name is Nikki and my 9 year old cat Jenna has been on 4 units of Lantis insulin twice a day for about 4 or 5 years. We have also been feeding her prescription Hills W/D canned food since she was diagnosed with the diabetes. I take her to our vet every 4 months to get her blood levels checked and once a year she has her full blood work testing done. The doctor says her levels look amazing and we are doing everything right. I really want to try something different and see if we can control her diabetes without insulin or just a lower foes with a new non prescription diet. I am extremely nervous about this but if it is what is best fory kitty them I will try anything. My vet doesn't seem to think it's a good sea to take her off the prescription food. I want to buy the on home testing kit but am also nervous about that. Does anyone have any advice on which testing kit is the best and what canned food I should try?

 

[BJM]

Re: Switching my diabetic cat off of prescription hills w/d

Your first step is to be home testing so any food changes can be done safely.

Many of us use an inexpensive human glucometer such as the WalMart ReliOn Confirm, Confirm Micro, or Prime. The first 2 are available as the Arkray USA Glucocard 01 and 01 Mini from our shopping partner ADW (see shopping link at top of page; purchase helps support the board). Pick up the matching test strips, plus 26-28 gauge lancets to use for getting the sample. The upper, outer edge of the ear is where you test. There is a fairly prominent vein around the edge; you test between that and the edge of the ear. Brace the ear with a folded tissue or cotton ball.

Once you are comfortable with home testing, you'll be ready to do a careful food change of 20-25% per day, while monitoring the glucose levels. Some cats drop 100 mg/dL after a change to low carb, canned or raw food ... which W/D is not. For a food list and terrific nutrition info, pop over to Cat Info and download the food chart. I feed all 15 cats in my home with Friskies pates in the 13 oz cans, It is one of the least expensive foods out there while being low carb. The Fancy Feast Classic pates are usually low carb too.

 

[nikkicantal]

Re: Switching my diabetic cat off of prescription hills w/d

Thank you so much! I have been doing so much research and reading today regarding my diabetic cat and it can be really overwhelming. I only want what is best for her. I just ordered the ReliOn Micro from walmart with the test strips but I think I ordered the 30 gauge lancets. Do you think that is ok? I should be receiving my order next week. Until then I will continue the insulin and the w/d canned food. I am a little nervous about this change and any helpful advice is greatly appreciated.

I have 2 cats and I feed them the same food because it is just too hard to separate them every time they need to eat. My other cat Lily has been getting ear infections for the past 2 years. We treat them and then they go away for a while and then come back. I just spend $1000 to have a polyp in her ear removed that the vet thought was maybe causing the ear infections. They sent the polyp to be tested and it came back fine so and her blood work was perfect so now she is telling me that she thinks Lily is allergic to Chicken and that could be what is causing the ear infections. So on my hunt to find a low carb canned food, I am also trying to avoid chicken. (my cats do not eat red meat at all so no beef - they have thrown up any time I have tried to give it to them) Any suggestions?

 

[BJM]

Re: Switching my diabetic cat off of prescription hills w/d

You may need to look for novel proteins in low carb formulas, or make your own. Venison, buffalo, duck and ostrich are a few you could look for.

Sometimes the solution to pollution is dilution - you may add up to 20-25% plain meat or poultry to a food to shift the protein:fat:carb ratios more in favor of the protein. That might be a way to test out some of the alternative protein sources if you cannot find a canned product that will work.

Our thoughts, though, are that when there is another medical condition present, whose treatment may alter glucose levels, you treat that condition and adjust the insulin around that.

 

[nikkicantal]

Re: Switching my diabetic cat off of prescription hills w/d

That's great to know. So once my order for the glucose meter comes in I will start trying some new canned foods. Thank you so much for the advice

 

[Deb & Wink]

Re: Switching my diabetic cat off of prescription hills w/d

Hi Nikki and extra sweet kitty Jenna and welcome to the message board.

My recommendation would be to get a handle on the home testing first, then try the food switch to a lower carb food. Since the lower carb diet can make a dramatic change in the amount of insulin needed, it's safest and highly recommended to be home testing before you make a food switch. We want to help you keep your kitty Jenna safe.

Have you seen some of these home testing tips? It can be tricky at first to get a blood drop which is why we recommend the 26-28 gauge lancets, often labeled "for alternate site testing", to start out with. Those have a bigger "pin" to poke with so they can make it easier to get a blood drop.

Two of the keys to home testing are warming the ear and treats. We highly recommend any type of pure meat treat. My Wink loves, loves, loves the Halo Liv-a-little freeze dried chicken and the Pure Bites Freeze dried chicken too. Now, anytime I open any type of cellophane bag that makes the same crinkly sound as the Pure Bites bag, he comes running and begs for a treat. ohmygod_smile Well, he's still turning his nose up at the candied ginger and the almonds but I usually do sneak him a piece of chicken. :lol: :lol: :lol:

This document by member Kpassa on getting your cat more comfortable with the testing process?

Sure do hope you get the hang of home testing and are able to switch you kitty Jenna to a lower carb food. It made all the difference for my extra sweet diabetic kitty Wink, to switch from the high carb Hill's W/d food to low carb Fancy Feast classic pates. He even went OTJ (off-the-juice, insulin being the juice) and has been diet controlled for the past 17 months. It's not likely that your Jenna will be able to become diet controlled since you've been giving her insulin for 4-5 years, but you never know.

What are Jenna's BG (blood glucose) levels? How amazing are they?

p.s. Don't let your vet convince you to buy the Alphatrak meter. It's outrageously expensive and the test strip costs are 3 times that of the Relion Confirm or Micro and 5-6 times more than the Relion Prime meter.