Wanting a healthier diet for both my diabetic & non diabetic babies

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Jaxson

Jaxson

Member Since 2016
Greetings!
My name is Tracey & I have 2 cats. Jaxson is 10.5 & was diagnosed with diabetes almost 18 mos ago. Clarice is 10 and has no issues. Jaxson is on 2.5 units of Prozinc twice a day. Both cats are on dry Purina DM. I test Jax's blood glucose at home every few months, as he is stable and healthy. I have a friend who makes his own dog food, so it made me wonder about making my own food for my cats. The expenses for keeping Jaxson healthy are getting to be more than I can manage, so another reason I am thinking about a diet switch. I don't even know where to start! We do have a holistic vet in town. I took Jaxson there for acupuncture & methylcobolomin injections because he had neuropathy & was barely able to walk. Both cats are happy, healthy, & play every day.

How/where do I begin to get my babies on the healthiest diet possible?

Thank you, in advance!
Tracey
 
Jaxson said:
Both cats are on dry Purina DM. I test Jax's blood glucose at home every few months, as he is stable and healthy.
Click to expand...
Hello Tracey, :bighug:

Many people here just feed their cats ordinary low carb canned/wet cat food (which is infinitely better than dry food). And some folks here do feed their cats raw food: Some use ready made raw food, and some make their own. I'm going to tag one of our members, Bron, who has experience of making raw cat food to see if she can help you, @Bron and Sheba

However, for a cat on insulin, switching to a lower carb diet has to be done with great care. We recommend that it is only attempted if the caregiver is hometesting and is able to monitor the effect of the diet change on the cat's blood glucose. That is because lowering the carb content of the diet lowers the blood glucose, and the insulin dose may need to be reduced accordingly in order to avoid hypoglycemia.

I see that you are able to hometest, though are only testing intermittently at the moment. In order to keep Jaxson safe during the diet change I'd recommend that you change his food gradually, and test his blood glucose every day.
It's generally advisable to test before each insulin shot (to ensure that the cat's blood glucose is high enough for him to receive that insulin dose); and also to test at least once (but ideally more than that) during each insulin cycle; because you'll need to know how low his blood glucose is dropping on the lower carb food.
Some cats cease to need insulin after they've switched to lower carb food. Quite a few cats here go into remission (ie. become diet-controlled).

Even without a diet change, the insulin needs of cats can change over time. My cat has been on insulin for 9 years and his insulin needs have varied a lot in that time...;)


Welcome to FDMB, Tracey!:bighug::bighug::bighug:

Eliz
 
Last edited:
Hi Tracey,
You have been given some good information already about home preparing your cat's food.
The site Larry gave you is very good.
Making home prepared food is not hard or complicated at all. Once you know the basics and have the ingredients it is easy.
First work out how many calories your cat is having at the moment and if that is how many you want to use..... Just transfer that to the number of calories in the meat
I use kangaroo meat
Beef,
Chicken...which I cook but it can be raw.
Chicken hearts
Chicken liver....not too much
But you could use plenty of others meats

Have a look at this thread......it is one for CRD kitties so dont use this one.....just scroll done the thread until you come to the photos I posted of the food I use. You would not use the egg white...that is for CRD cats....just the correct amount of meat.
You will need to add a supplement to the meat for the necessary vitamins etc....the is VERY important. It must be added to make it a complete meal/ food.
Here is a site which has a very good supplement. You should be able to order it online in the US
http://tcfeline.com/tcfeline-canada/
If you get the one with liver, you don't give liver as a meat, but if you get the one without liver...you need to feed some liver to your cat...not too much though.
I would read all the sites then trial making some food and see if your cat will eat it.
It is a fabulous way to feed your cat and I know my cat is much better on the home prepared food.
If there is any more you want to know just ask.

Here is another good site
http://www.catnutrition.org/foodmaking.html
 
Elizabeth and Bertie said:
Hello Tracey, :bighug:

Many people here just feed their cats ordinary low carb canned/wet cat food (which is infinitely better than dry food). And some folks here do feed their cats raw food: Some use ready made raw food, and some make their own. I'm going to tag one of our members, Bron, who has experience of making raw cat food to see if she can help you, @Bron and Sheba

However, for a cat on insulin, switching to a lower carb diet has to be done with great care. We recommend that it is only attempted if the caregiver is hometesting and is able to monitor the effect of the diet change on the cat's blood glucose. That is because lowering the carb content of the diet lowers the blood glucose, and the insulin dose may need to be reduced accordingly in order to avoid hypoglycemia.

I see that you are able to hometest, though are only testing intermittently at the moment. In order to keep Jaxson safe during the diet change I'd recommend that you change his food gradually, and test his blood glucose every day.
It's generally advisable to test before each insulin shot (to ensure that the cat's blood glucose is high enough for him to receive that insulin dose); and also to test at least once (but ideally more than that) during each insulin cycle; because you'll need to know how low his blood glucose is dropping on the lower carb food.
Some cats cease to need insulin after they've switched to lower carb food. Quite a few cats here go into remission (ie. become diet-controlled).

Even without a diet change, the insulin needs of cats can change over time. My cat has been on insulin for 9 years and his insulin needs have varied a lot in that time...;)


Welcome to FDMB, Tracey!:bighug::bighug::bighug:

Eliz
Click to expand...
 
Thank you for the info. Is there a sliding insulin scale that I would go by? I have a lot of research to do and psych myself up for daily testing before making any changes.
 
Thank you! I will check out the info!

Bron and Sheba said:
Hi Tracey,
You have been given some good information already about home preparing your cat's food.
The site Larry gave you is very good.
Making home prepared food is not hard or complicated at all. Once you know the basics and have the ingredients it is easy.
First work out how many calories your cat is having at the moment and if that is how many you want to use..... Just transfer that to the number of calories in the meat
I use kangaroo meat
Beef,
Chicken...which I cook but it can be raw.
Chicken hearts
Chicken liver....not too much
But you could use plenty of others meats

Have a look at this thread......it is one for CRD kitties so dont use this one.....just scroll done the thread until you come to the photos I posted of the food I use. You would not use the egg white...that is for CRD cats....just the correct amount of meat.
You will need to add a supplement to the meat for the necessary vitamins etc....the is VERY important. It must be added to make it a complete meal/ food.
Here is a site which has a very good supplement. You should be able to order it online in the US
http://tcfeline.com/tcfeline-canada/
If you get the one with liver, you don't give liver as a meat, but if you get the one without liver...you need to feed some liver to your cat...not too much though.
I would read all the sites then trial making some food and see if your cat will eat it.
It is a fabulous way to feed your cat and I know my cat is much better on the home prepared food.
If there is any more you want to know just ask.

Here is another good site
http://www.catnutrition.org/foodmaking.html
Click to expand...
 
Hello!

I changed their diet to stricktly Fancy Feast Classic. It has been about 3 months since the change. I checked Jaxson's sugar daily, adjusting his dosage based on a "scale" my vet and I developed. 3 mos later, I am down to checking Jax's blood glucose every other day! He runs around 100 each time. He hasn't needed insulin for a few weeks now except when he had an ear infection (I checked him daily during that period). He had a vet check at my request and his vet was very happy with his health, activity level, & insulin/glucose diary! AND...my other cat puked at least 5 times a week due to a "sensitive system." She does not puke unless she eats too fast, which is rare!!

I want to thank ya'll for the recommendations and info. My baby doesn't need 2 insulin shots every day anymore!! And my pocketbook is so happy to not fork out the money for supplies! Who knew that the DM recommended diet was the culprit keeping his glycemic index elevated!

Love and cat kisses-
Tracey, Jaxson, & Clarice


Jaxson said:
Thank you! I will check out the info!
Click to expand...
Elizabeth and Bertie said:
Hello Tracey, :bighug:

Many people here just feed their cats ordinary low carb canned/wet cat food (which is infinitely better than dry food). And some folks here do feed their cats raw food: Some use ready made raw food, and some make their own. I'm going to tag one of our members, Bron, who has experience of making raw cat food to see if she can help you, @Bron and Sheba

However, for a cat on insulin, switching to a lower carb diet has to be done with great care. We recommend that it is only attempted if the caregiver is hometesting and is able to monitor the effect of the diet change on the cat's blood glucose. That is because lowering the carb content of the diet lowers the blood glucose, and the insulin dose may need to be reduced accordingly in order to avoid hypoglycemia.

I see that you are able to hometest, though are only testing intermittently at the moment. In order to keep Jaxson safe during the diet change I'd recommend that you change his food gradually, and test his blood glucose every day.
It's generally advisable to test before each insulin shot (to ensure that the cat's blood glucose is high enough for him to receive that insulin dose); and also to test at least once (but ideally more than that) during each insulin cycle; because you'll need to know how low his blood glucose is dropping on the lower carb food.
Some cats cease to need insulin after they've switched to lower carb food. Quite a few cats here go into remission (ie. become diet-controlled).

Even without a diet change, the insulin needs of cats can change over time. My cat has been on insulin for 9 years and his insulin needs have varied a lot in that time...;)


Welcome to FDMB, Tracey!:bighug::bighug::bighug:

Eliz
Click to expand...
 
Got a couple questions for you:
What insulin are/were you using? Some don't do well on a sliding scale (Lantus & Levemir). None last a full 24 hours.
Do you test before a shot to see if it is safe to give?
Do you test at the likely lowest time post-shot, the nadir, to see how low the glucose is going?
 
Hi,

We use ProZinc. I always test in the morning before he eats. Just within this last week have I gone to eod. If he goes back up I will monitor more closely & test daily. During his transition I was testing 6 hours after injections & sometimes even if he did not get an injection that morning, just to be safe. Have every reading and insulin dose he receives written in a log, and I am in frequent contact with our vet. I have the time to invest in doing this, but not everyone does.

Hope this helps!


BJM said:
Got a couple questions for you:
What insulin are/were you using? Some don't do well on a sliding scale (Lantus & Levemir). None last a full 24 hours.
Do you test before a shot to see if it is safe to give?
Do you test at the likely lowest time post-shot, the nadir, to see how low the glucose is going?
Click to expand...
 
If you snag a test about 2 hours after feeding, you should see that the glucose has risen some. Then, in another couple of hours, the glucose should come down again.
The nadir for ProZinc can be earlier than +6 hours after the shot. It would be a good idea to check this whenever you give any insulin. It should remain above 50 mg/dL on a human meter and above 68 mg/dL on a pet meter.
 
Hi Tracey,

I'm delighted to hear your good news about how well Jax is doing. :D

Jaxson said:
She does not puke unless she eats too fast, which is rare!!
Click to expand...
Psycho Fatboy III, one of my first two babies was a divil for bolting his food like that! :rolleyes: Try spreading Clarice's food out on a large plate to slow her down a bit. :)


Mogs
.
 
Jaxson said:
Hello!

I changed their diet to stricktly Fancy Feast Classic. It has been about 3 months since the change. I checked Jaxson's sugar daily, adjusting his dosage based on a "scale" my vet and I developed. 3 mos later, I am down to checking Jax's blood glucose every other day! He runs around 100 each time. He hasn't needed insulin for a few weeks now except when he had an ear infection (I checked him daily during that period). He had a vet check at my request and his vet was very happy with his health, activity level, & insulin/glucose diary! AND...my other cat puked at least 5 times a week due to a "sensitive system." She does not puke unless she eats too fast, which is rare!!

I want to thank ya'll for the recommendations and info. My baby doesn't need 2 insulin shots every day anymore!! And my pocketbook is so happy to not fork out the money for supplies! Who knew that the DM recommended diet was the culprit keeping his glycemic index elevated!

Love and cat kisses-
Tracey, Jaxson, & Clarice
Click to expand...
Hi Tracey! Would you be able share the "scale" that you and your vet developed after you changed the diet? - I just started the low carb diet today ( I am feeding the Fancy Feast classics too) and am pretty nervous about what dosage I should be giving. Prior to the diet switch, my cat (Snowball) was on 4 units twice per day! That's a lot! So this morning was the first day of Fancy Feast - I did not give any insulin this morning. So how do you determine the dosage to begin with? I was thinking of going 3 days with no insulin while checking the BS levels and then starting at a low dose again...BUT don't want to hurt him by having high levels while we make the switch. I am using an Arkray meter and this morning prior to eating it read 365 and this afternoon's mid day check was 482.
 
Momof4Cats4321 said:
Hi Tracey! Would you be able share the "scale" that you and your vet developed after you changed the diet? - I just started the low carb diet today ( I am feeding the Fancy Feast classics too) and am pretty nervous about what dosage I should be giving. Prior to the diet switch, my cat (Snowball) was on 4 units twice per day! That's a lot! So this morning was the first day of Fancy Feast - I did not give any insulin this morning. So how do you determine the dosage to begin with? I was thinking of going 3 days with no insulin while checking the BS levels and then starting at a low dose again...BUT don't want to hurt him by having high levels while we make the switch. I am using an Arkray meter and this morning prior to eating it read 365 and this afternoon's mid day check was 482.
Click to expand...
I'm sorry, I'm just confused...the arkray is a meter for people, I use both arkray and the AlphaTrak2 for cats, I get very different readings...the difference is ranging from 57% to 70%, with the arkray giving the much lower incorrect reading.....so, if your numbers on arkray are 365 and 482 then doesn't that mean your cats true number is somewhere between 50-70% higher than that?? Like I said, I'm so confused and new to this.
 
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