Transition to Canned

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Hosanna

Hosanna

Member Since 2012
I am in the process of transitioning Martha to an all-wet diet on Fancy Feast primarily, with some Hill's M/D. My question is, how do I do this without sending her into another hypo? Less and less dry food should result in less need of insulin. After her hypo episode this past Monday night, she got no more insulin and all canned food, and yet today her BG was 291. This is such a delicate balancing act, I'm just now sure how to proceed.
And also---she should be eating every 3-4 hours, right?
Thank you so much!
 
I have always been afraid of removing the dry from my cat's diet entirely, but it really does make a huge difference when it comes regulating the blood sugar.

I, too, am in the process of taking away the dry, slowly but surely. Some days, my cat doesn't eat dry the entire day and eats about 4-5 meals of wet (FF Classic). His blood sugar will still somehow end up in the 350-400 range. Granted, he was previously fighting off an infection, and that has much to do with his blood sugar. Now, the infection is almost gone, but he still have those "no dry/400" days on occasion.

Bear in mind, the blood glucose can increase very easily, with food being the biggest contributer. But also any kind of stress, noise, dogs, other cats, infections, or any other ailments are contributing factors.
 
From reading your other posts, I can see that the 291 reading was at the vet, correct? And your vet determined that the new dose should be 2u? Not quite sure how he pulled that number out of a hat. One test number, especially at the vet where the number is likely inflated due to stress, is not how dosage is determined.
I also read that your meter is broken?
Ok, first thing you need to do is get a new meter. You can't cut off all the dry food unless you are able to test before the shots, and someplace around the middle of the 12 hour cycle. You need to know what the numbers are between 5-7 hours after the shot, because that is when the insulin should be most effective, and her BG should be at the low point.

I would suggest continuing to feed the same way you have been for the past couple of days. Get some tests so you know what that 2u dose does. If it is still too high of a dose, then it will need to be lowered before you can completely remove the dry food.

Carl
 
And also---she should be eating every 3-4 hours, right?
Click to expand...
Because every cat reacts to food and insulin differently, there aren't any feeding schedules that are etched in stone. But every three hours is a good place to start for now. Multiple meals work better than just two meals a day for diabetics (cats and people).
If possible, don't let her eat in the two hour period leading up to her next shot. Feeding at +9 (hours after her shot) is okay as long as it isn't a huge meal. You want the test at AMPS and PMPS to not reflect higher BGs that would be due to food raising her levels.
Carl
 
AMPS = AM Pre-Shot.
PMPS = PM Pre-Shot
Those are the two tests that you get just before feeding and giving the AM and PM shots. :smile:

we sort of speak a foreign language here, and it's hard to remember that new folks have never heard it!

Carl
 
Also keep this in mind- your kitty might be carb sensitive and react to the SLIGHTEST change in carb levels.

Case in point- Sneakers used to react to carb differences of even 1-2% change. I was feeding under 5% carbs but all %'s from 0 to 5 and her numbers were as wonky as a deer track in the woods. In desperation I bought a case of just 1 carb- started at 2% and fed her that the whole time through. She got tired of it but after the first week of the SAME carb % her numbers finally leveled off. Slowly I expanded the flavors but not the % to give her a variety of flavors.

Now she can eat between 0 and 5% without much of a hiccup in her numbers but I still try and keep the range within 2%-age so I don't pull my hair out :lol: .

Just something to file away if her numbers aren't steadying and you've run out of ideas.

And Sneakers does get food every 3-4 hours- when she feels like it. Today she refused to eat what was on her plate and in the feeder until I got home, tested, and put cheese on top :o . Then she ate 5 ounces in one setting :shock: And she refuses to go to the LB so I can test her ketones :roll: ...
 
You said:
I was feeding under 5% carbs but all %'s from 0 to 5 and her numbers were as wonky as a deer track in the woods. In desperation I bought a case of just 1 carb- started at 2% and fed her that the whole time through.
What kind of food is this, the 1 card?
 
I want to stress Carl's point--it is dangerous to remove the dry if you're not testing and lowering the dose. Most cats on a low carb, canned diet do not need much more than 1u of insulin.

I wouldn't be too concerned about fine tuning carb levels until you successfully get rid of the dry food. A few cats are extremely carb sensitive but the majority of diabetic cats are fine as long as their canned food is under 8% and there is no dry in the mix. Here's a link to the cat food nutrition charts with carb percentages: http://www.felinediabetes.com/diabetic-cat-diets.htm. There's no point worrying about the 1% vs. 5% carbs until you get rid of the dry, 14% food that's likely causing your steep rises and drops. Even a small amount of dry food raises blood glucose levels and can stay their systems for a day or two.
 
Sorry, haven't been back in a bit. Fancy Feast is what she gets- or the petsmart kind of FF- Sophisticats.
 
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