What to feed my diabetic kitty?

[LDB]

I'm new here, and am trying to see what foods you all feed your diabetic kitties. The wet food shopping list link in this forum isn't working for me.

My vet has sold me some Hills MD canned, but based on past experiences, I'm not convinced this is the best brand to feed Maui.

Can someone point me to good info on the best foods to feed a diabetic cat? That also includes companies with little/no recall activity.

Thanks!

 

[BJM]

Pop over to Cat Info for info on appropriate diet for all cats, not just diabetic cats. Its all canned or raw, since dry food may accelerate renal problems - failure, stones, blockages, and infections.

The food chart Dr Pierson compiled is here.

I feed Friskies pates, since I'm feeding 14 right now. At my local Walmart, it is $0.78 per 13 oz can.

 

[Deb & Wink]

Ok, most of us feed Fancy Feast classic pate styles, Friskies pate style, or Wellness pates for their lower cost.

I also have a chunky food list if your cat prefers chunkier foods?

Does your cat have kidney issues? We have a shortcut list of low carb foods and low phosphorus foods. Let me know if you need that food list.

If no kidney issues, here is the shortcut list of foods that Rhiannan and Shadow put together.

shortcut food shopping list

If you have a problem getting to that post, let me know, and I can cut and paste the list directly to your post.

Here is the link to the full catinfo.org food chart again, just in case the link was broken.

 

[LDB]

Thanks! I have a lot to read. My kitties were eating Elegant Medleys canned food, the sauce/gravy variety. They do seem to like chunkier foods more than the pate style, so I'd love to see that list. The cat in question does not have kidney issues.

Another question is how much to feed, and how do I switch from self-feeding dry to only canned with more than 1 cat so that they don't engage in "competitive eating"? I'm not home all day to feed throughout the day.

 

[Deb & Wink]

Some chunkier cat foods.

Chunky style foods, low carb we think
1. Fancy Feast chunky turkey, chunky chicken; Fancy Feast flaked style.
2. Nature's Variety is more chunky like the Merrick's or the FF Chunky.
3. Weruva's Paw Lickin' Chicken
4. Avoderm Chicken Chunks in Gravy
5. Stella and Chewys freeze dried dinner
6. Merrick Cowboy Cookout is somewhat chunky and low carb
7. Tiki Cat for the chunks, albeit pricey
8. wellness sells a chunk style brand in chicken and turkey in a minced, cubed and sliced low carb though?
9. Merrick Grammy's Pot Pie is pretty chunky.
10. Pro Plan turkey is a mince, so it has some texture

You can feed mini-meals, several times a day when you are home. I feed my cats 4 times a day. 2 breakfasts, and 2 dinners.

How many cats are we talking about?

 

[LDB]

I have 2 cats - one with diabetes, one without. Do they each get about a can a day? They are sweet and good-natured so I can't tell if they are eating enough or not since they don't complain much.

 

[Deb & Wink]

What are your cats names?

My three cats all get different amounts of food a day.

My little 7 pound Delta gets 4 ounces a day to keep him slim and trim
My sugardude Wink 10.3 pounds eats 7-8 ounces a day to maintain his weight. He needs a bit more than Monet.
My big cat Monet 12.2 pounds eats 6-7 ounces of food a day to maintain his weight. He has been overweight in the past so I keep a close eye on him so he doesn't gain too much weight again. He'd eat all the food he could get his little paws on and balloon up again to 16-17 pounds easy. ohmygod_smile

ECID. Every Cat is Different in how much food they eat and need to be at a good weight.

One formula we use is (your cat's ideal weight x 15 calories per pound) + 70
So a 10 pound cat may need 220 calories to maintain weight. An average 5.5 oz can of Friskies pate style contains about 170-180 calories so that 10 pound cat would need 1 1/4 cans or maybe 1 1/2 cans.

Unregulated diabetic cats can not process their food properly, so may need 50% more calories than a non-diabetic cat or a regulated diabetic cat. You may need to feed your diabetic cat more food for a while. So that 10 pound diabetic cat would need 220 + 50% or 330 calories. That's about 2 5.5 oz cans of that Friskies pate style food I used as an example.

How much does your cat weigh? Is he/she overweight? or underweight? Here is a chart that you can look at to tell. http://vet.osu.edu/vmc/body-condition-scoring-chart Being overweight can contribute to insulin resistance.

For now, it's more important that your diabetic cat gets enough food than to have him/her lose weight. That can come later.

 

[LDB]

My cats are big boys. Maui (the diabetic one) is around 16 lbs, down from around almost 19. My other cat is Bruce Springsteen, and he weighs about 12 lbs. Bruce seems pretty lean, but Maui is still a fatty. Reading this info, it is evident that I am not feeding these boys enough since I switched them over to wet food only. Thanks for the info. I still have a lot to learn.

 

[Deb & Wink]

Keep those questions coming.

How much food do you think you need to feed Maui and Bruce?

Would you be willing to put some info in your signature for us. sort of like a quick snapshot of some basic information. We'd really appreciate it. Here is the how to's.

Would you please provide us with some more information and put this in your user control panel? It helps us to help you better. This will take about 5 minutes of your time.
Think of this as having some very useful information at our finger tips for those that are replying to your posts. One reason we like to see this information in your signature is because if there is ever an emergency situation like a possible hypoglycemic episode, we don’t have to ask a lot of questions like what meter you are using to give you the best advice. Doing this signature update is totally optional, but it does help us to help you better.
If you are willing to do this, would you please do those updates when you get a chance? Thanks.
Go to the upper left corner of your screen and click on the words, User Control Panel
On the next screen, a row of tabs is presented. Select the Profile tab
On the next screen, there are a number of choices along the left hand side. Select Edit Profile.
Go down to the location field and enter your country, state/province, and city if you are willing to share that info.
Click on submit to save this change.

Still in the User Control Panel, Profile tab, this time select Edit Signature from the left hand list of options.
A free form text box appears.
We like to see information like your first name, your cats name age and sex, the diagnosis date for the diabetes like this (DX 4/30/13), what meter you are using for testing, what insulin you are using , what you are feeding (wet or dry, what brands/style of food), any complicating health issues your cat may have, any additional medications your cat is receiving. If you are using a pet specific meter like an Alphatrak or Ipet, please change the font size on that text from Normal to Large (using the drop down arrow list in the middle of the editing commands)

Click on submit to save this information. Now, this will appear at the end of every post you make. You can update the info when you need to.

There is an additional document you can create to provide even more information about your cat. This is also optional to create this google document and link it into your signature. The profile is in addition to the synopsis info in your signature. See this link on the how to's of profile creation. http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=79123

You can see my signature for an example. I even put my civies, Monet and Delta in there. ;-)

 

[RobinCot]

When I took the kibble away from my civvies, they were frantically hungry all of the time. It took some time but now after their raw meal (fed 2x per day) I plop out a can of grain-free, LC food, add water to it to make it mushy and put it down right after their meal. At first they would snark it right up but now they graze on it like they did with the dry food. My sugarfoster also gets a can of food to graze on during the day and again at night after his raw meal. This is a necessity at night - so they don't keep you awake!!! My sugarfoster has gained weight thankfully and my civvies have all lost weight healthily. I also hide a few freeze-dried snacks in places they have to hunt for but always find.

They are adaptable!

 

[dsmithkma]

When I took the kibble away from my civvies, they were frantically hungry all of the time. It took some time but now after their raw meal (fed 2x per day) I plop out a can of grain-free, LC food, add water to it to make it mushy and put it down right after their meal. At first they would snark it right up but now they graze on it like they did with the dry food. My sugarfoster also gets a can of food to graze on during the day and again at night after his raw meal. This is a necessity at night - so they don't keep you awake!!! My sugarfoster has gained weight thankfully and my civvies have all lost weight healthily. I also hide a few freeze-dried snacks in places they have to hunt for but always find.

They are adaptable!

I'm doing raw too, they really love it.

Does adding the water to the canned food keep it from getting dried out? And how long can you leave it out?

 

[RobinCot]

I'm doing raw too, they really love it.

That's great that you are doing the raw - lot of work but I love being in control of what my kitties eat. Are you using Dr. Pierson's recipe?

Does adding the water to the canned food keep it from getting dried out? And how long can you leave it out?

Well, I think it does especially because I have one civvie who likes to lick the gravy so she is getting water and food in her licks. I leave it out all day and another all night. If it is not eaten by the next meal time - then I dispose of it. If your house is air-conditioned than it shouldn't be a problem.

Dr. Pierson tells us that "Cats have a low thirst drive and are designed to get their water needs met by their prey or food bowl" and that "cats on water-rich diets rarely go to the water bowl"

The more you can hydrate the better. Sometimes when they lick to food around the to edges of the plate, I grab the plate, throw on some more water and spoon it back to the center and put it down again.

It really is funny to have clean the dust-laden water out of the water bowls considering that up until five months ago I had to fill empty water bowls twice a day. It makes for a cleaner litterbox as well since the water is ingested with the food which promotes better urinary tract health.

 

[dsmithkma]

I use a product called Better In The Raw by Know Better Pet Food. It's a prepared powdered supplement you add water to to make a slurry then add it to your meat. I use mostly chicken thighs, ground and chunks, and make a small batch of beef for a variety and I make a 2 week supply, freezing it in several containers and thawing them in the fridge as needed. I just warm it up a bit in the microwave, not cooking it, just warming.

I have to say my gosh how silky their coats are now that they're off the dry and they have more energy too, even my post-diabetic, arthritic, 15 yo Kitten. He plays and grooms himself so much more now!

I'll have to give the watered down "method" a shot.

 

[RobinCot]

Oh I know - the difference in their coats and their activity levels, not to mention the difference in the litterbox is really remarkable. My 13-year old civvie is still transitioning slowly but hasn't had a hairball or runny stool in months. She acts like a kitten again - running around and playing.

I warm my raw in a baggie in hot water because the few times I tried to microwave it I cooked it and my civvies turned their noses up at it. I also love how they gather around the bowl as I am cutting up chunks.

Going raw is my new soapbox!! So glad you are doing it too!

 

[LDB]

Thank you for the tip about adding some water to canned in a bowl for overnight. My "civie", Bruce, wakes me up early because (I presume) he's hungry. I'm hoping I can put it down and he and Maui (my DC) can eat as needed throughout the night. They tend to engage in "competition eating" when food is out, so I'm afraid they may just rush to see who can eat it before the other. Will try tonight and see what happens.