Vet Prescription Diets

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Princessk

Princessk

Member Since 2015
I live in Australia. We can only buy one Vet Prescription Diet here (HILLS MD) which has the HIGHEST carb percentage 15.7%. I wish I had access to buy Purina DM 4.5% carbs.
Purina is coming to Australia one day but it is taking too long. I am sick to death here from our Australian Vets who claim "I have had wonderful success from using Hills MD". The truth is, we have TOO many diabetic cats in Australia who simply do NOT respond to HILLS MD. And too many diabetic cats are NOT going into remission despite using the best insulin on the planet (glargine). Our Australian Vets here are locked into a "contract" to sell, stock and supply HILLS. Their relationship to HILLS is so strong here that they are willing to PROTECT IT at the cost of my cats life. Meanwhile, my Cat Specialist reminds me that she hears of lots of cases of REMISSION here but ONLY from within our University of Queensland Vet School on Feline Diabetes. This is probably due to our University which is allowed to IMPORT from the USA the lowest carb vet diet: PURINA DM (4.5%). Our University here is NOT for the REAL WORLD because they use the correct TOOLS OF TRADE inside the university system but NEVER seek to transfer these TOOLS to Australian Pet Parents who operate in the real world at home. I dont have time to prepare home cooked meals. I want to buy PURINA DM and feed fresh raw meat (beef and chicken) to my cat. I LOVE the AMERICAN approach: feed your cat the LOWEST carb vet diet and pour LESS insulin in. I DISLIKE the AUSTRALIAN approach: feed your cat the HIGHEST carb vet diet and pour MORE insulin in.
 
Hi,

Most of us here feed ordinary low carb wet food. However, changing to a lower carb diet may lower the cat's blood glucose, so for those cats already on insulin we recommend that the diet is only changed if the caregiver is able to hometest and monitor the cat's blood glucose at home.
(And I know from your other thread that (because of your feelings about blood and needles) you don't think hometesting is going to be possible.)

A few questions;
Is your cat very recently diagnosed?
Do you know how high your cat's blood glucose was at diagnosis?
And does your cat have any history of ketones?

Some people try a low carb diet before trying insulin to see if that is sufficient. And for cats that don't have very high blood glucose to begin with that sometimes can be sufficient. But those cats are in the minority.

I'm going to tag a couple of other Aussies who may be able to advise you about cat food in Oz @Bron and Sheba @Vyktors Mum

Eliz
 
I'm sure one of the Aussies recently posted a list on here of all the low carb wet cat food, you could get in Oz . ( Was it Dweezil's Mum ? )
 
Hi Princessk,
I am sorry you are having a hard time finding a food suitable for your kitty. I am from Australia too and I do not use the prescription diets for my diabetic cat. There are many other canned cat foods you can choose from. You do not have to use the one the vet sells.
I recently posted a list of some of the available cat foods that are suitable for diabetic cats and are available here in Aus. These are low carbohydrate and canned which is what you need to feed your kitty. Scroll down the Feline Health (Main Forum) and you will come across the Australian Food List. It does not have every available food on it, but it will get you started. I have also put a website or contact number for the foods so you can look online and the shops where they can be bought.

Weruva has recently come to Australia and if you look on their website you will see a very comprehensive list of the foods with the protein, fat and carbohydrate content of the food. Their 'cats in the kitchen' cans and pouches and the 'BFF' cans and pouches are great and available at Petbarn, either to go and buy or shop online. Some of their line is not available here.

Do you have a Petbarn near you? They have a good selection of suitable foods to choose from. I make a list of the foods I want to buy before I go shopping, with the carbohydrate percentage next to the name of the food. It is much easier that way otherwise it all gets too confusing.

Can you tell us what insulin and the dose your kitty is on and if you are home testing the blood sugars?
There are many experienced people here on the forum who will be able to help you.
Welcome to the forum.

Bron
 
From the supermarket:
  • The dine varieties without cereals
  • Whiskas LOAF varieties - also the 11+ pouches
  • Ultimates - except the one with rice
  • Fancy Feast Kitten varieties
  • Natures Gift - all varieties
The ultimate food available to us is ZiwiPeak - limited suppliers, check their website. It can be ordered online, my pet warehouse has the best deal with free postage for orders over $50

I believe the Weruva pouches are higher in carbs (but still way lower than the prescription rubbish) so not for your main food. If kitty is underweight weruva won't be the way to go as its very low in calories. Also available at PetBarn and City Farmers is wellness - you can check the carb content of the various flavours against the American list - see Dr Lisa's list in the health links forum. Those stores also have a freeze dried raw product that you reconstitute with water called Feline Natural.

Basically you just want to avoid anything with cereals, thickeners, flours, potatoes and things like that.
 
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