Wet diabetic cat food UK

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Sally Stothard

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Morning; I think I should have joined this group a long time ago. My cat Billy 12 years old - a beautiful mackarel tabby; 4 years in to being diagnosed. He has had a tough old life to date and several injuries along the way so aside from being on Caninsulin 3.5 he’s also on Gaberpentin and Famotidine. What interest me is recommendations for wet food; Billy has been having Royal Canin for 4 years and although mainly stable (he has off times); I hear other people talk of fancy Feast (US) and how good it is for diabetic cats. Is there a UK equivalent or what have other cat parents found works?
 
This is a link to our UK food chart. We consider low carbohydrate as below 10% carb and the foods listed are all low carb. Most of our members feed their cat a food that's in the 5% range. The best food for your cat is a food your cat will eat!

The Royal Canin that you've been feeding Billy is high in carbs. If you plan to make a switch to a lower carb food, please make a slow transition. A food switch could easily drop Billy's blood glucose numbers quite abruptly. I hope you're home testing since that's the best way to know how Billy is responding to a change in diet.

I'm also tagging one of our UK members. She may be more up to date on what foods are available. @Elizabeth and Bertie
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
This is a link to our UK food chart. We consider low carbohydrate as below 10% carb and the foods listed are all low carb. Most of our members feed their cat a food that's in the 5% range. The best food for your cat is a food your cat will eat!

The Royal Canin that you've been feeding Billy is high in carbs. If you plan to make a switch to a lower carb food, please make a slow transition. A food switch could easily drop Billy's blood glucose numbers quite abruptly. I hope you're home testing since that's the best way to know how Billy is responding to a change in diet.

I'm also tagging one of our UK members. She may be more up to date on what foods are available. @Elizabeth and Bertie
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Thank you; I will look at the food chart; we do not home test; Billy has his gloucose at the vets on a regular basis. We do have a test kit; we shall start; originally when we tried Billy objected strenulously. We will persevere.
 
Sally Stothard said:
Morning; I think I should have joined this group a long time ago. My cat Billy 12 years old - a beautiful mackarel tabby; 4 years in to being diagnosed. He has had a tough old life to date and several injuries along the way so aside from being on Caninsulin 3.5 he’s also on Gaberpentin and Famotidine. What interest me is recommendations for wet food; Billy has been having Royal Canin for 4 years and although mainly stable (he has off times); I hear other people talk of fancy Feast (US) and how good it is for diabetic cats. Is there a UK equivalent or what have other cat parents found works?
Click to expand...
Hi Sally, waving from Surrey!
The UK equivalent of Fancy Feast is the Purina Gourmet Gold pates, I think. But many ordinary wet foods are low carb. Sheba fine flakes, for example, is a popular food with UK folks at the moment and is widely available. And if you're willing to buy online then Zooplus has a great selection of cat foods.

However, I second Sienne's advice above re transitioning to lower carb foods.
Reducing the carb content of the food can reduce the blood glucose, and therefore the need for insulin. Many cats need a lower dose of insulin if switched to a lower carb diet. And the caution is needed because too much insulin can cause hypo.

For safety's sake, for cats on insulin it is important to be testing blood glucose at home when transitioning to lower carb diet. That will enable you to monitor the effect of the diet change, and the insulin dose can be adjusted as necessary.
'Most' cats can be tested, and 'most' people can learn to test with a bit of patience and practice. Of course there are exceptions. But, it's well worth trying to learn. It can help to begin in very small steps, maybe just getting the cat used to having his or her ears touched for a few seconds, and rewarding with yummy treats.

An alternative to 'hometesting' that some people now use is the Freestyle Libre device that attaches to the skin. This is made for humans, but is used in cats and dogs too. It does mean that a little patch needs to be shaved for it to be fitted.
The Freestyle Libre can last 'up to' 14 days. It's had mixed reviews, with some people reporting success with it on their kitties, and others not so keen. But, in the absence of hometesting blood glucose, or, while someone is learning to hometest blood glucose, it may give some useful information.

Eliz
 
Thank you for unlocking the mystery of Fancy Feasts!
Will take the advice and start home testing; it makes sense. I guess at the moment we wait for his gloucose to be tested at the vets however that is probably only every 3 months. Will persevere with home testing.
Thank you for all your help. Will update on any progress made!
 
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