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I fed my diabetic cat "all meats," but forgot the brand. Then, changed him to Artemis--chicken and turkey had just "meats"--no grains-- in them. His sugars were lower w/ those versus canned w/ grains in them. It's hard to find canned food without any grains though. That's why I stuck to Artemis and another brand I found at our stock shoppe.
The dry pushed his sugars up a lot. I stopped giving him dry, but the vets never told me. I figured it out myself, along w/ millions of other things. I never found any vet well-versed on diabetic cats. It was trial and error on my own basically. But, having a medical background helped.
I think Evangers had the all meat. There are surprisingly quite a few canned foods now (at specialty stores, and online that are grain-free) - including kibble. We only have fed grain-free kibble. Some cats just can't get away from eating kibble - diabetes or not. Instinct has a great grain-free canned and kibble line, as does many others. It is adviseable not to feed diabetic cats seafoods though. Regular cats should only be fed it in moderation (like once a week max).
The cat is adjusting OK. He seems to be feeling a lot better too. The first day he hid in the guest room and when I would find him and drag him out he as like a limp noodle. He had no interest in checking anything out either. I was a bit worried but figured a lot of it was fear.
Today he has been more active and I took him downstairs to work on getting the mats out of his coat. Afterwards he walked around checking the rooms out with Dazzle my silken windhound. He also rolled over to let me pet his tummy then rubbed on me over and over and was purring which is a huge step as this is a cat I had a hard time even touching as he would hiss and run away to hide.He and I have never been friends. I think it is the Stella and Chewys freeze dried raw duck and goose that I give him as a treat after his insulin shot. He seems to love that and now is seeing me as the lady with the yummy new treat.
He goes to meet the vet on Monday and I will discuss the diabetes more with the vet. I do plan to attempt home glucose monitoring but will wait until the cat feels secure here as I am sure while he does not seem to mind the insulin shot that poking an ear or foot pad for blood may be a different story.
A friend asked why I ended up taking the cat in being I do not want a cat? I think it comes to more of the fact that before my mom died she was worried about the dogs and cat so I promised I would take care of them if my dad no longer could and I would see to it they got good vet care and food and were healthy under my dad's care. So it boils down to we are only as good as our word. I would hate to think that on my death bed someone would promise to care for my dogs when they really planned to put them to sleep or dump them after I died so if I can't put value behind my own words how can I ever trust anyone else?
Just FYI, the book in question, Your Cat, was written by the Veterinarian who discovered the cause of Diabetes Mellitus in felines, along with how to get cats into remissionand keep them there -- Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins.
Culprit/Diabetes Mellitus in cats: The Carbohydrate content in dry food (and even some canned as well.)
And here's what Dr Pierson says: http://www.catinfo.org/?link=felinediabetes
Read those ingredient labels!! There is NO dry food low enough in carbs, due to the process, and ingredients/additives involved to get it to become "kibble."
Wanted to bump this info for any diabetic cat owners -- and for those looking to prevent it in the first place -- as Dr. Hodgkins explains Diabetes Mellitus, along with the other cat maladies, thoroughly in the book.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alley01
Dry foods do not "cause" diabetes in cats. Just because there is a book, doesn't mean that is the underlying factor. If you cannot feed wet food, add water to the dry food. Hydration is key with a diabetic or really any cat. www.catinfo.org has some great information. Canned food is always best because it ensures your cat is getting the correct amount of moisture and this site links to a food chart specifically for diabetic cats. You will find that even the "lowest quality" foods in some people's minds are actually quite sufficient for diabetic cats. Whatever you do, don't let the vet talk you into buying their prescription food. It isn't worth the money and usually is worse than most foods you can buy.
Good Luck!
Last edited by Pamina333; 11-28-2010 at 04:58 PM..
Cats are strict carnivores so have no need for carbs and even lack the enzyme amalyse in their saliva that starts the breakdown of carbs so yes high carb foods are bad for cats and can lead to diatetes as you over load their system with carbs..
Thought I would give you all an update of the cat. He is doing well and has become much more social with me and the dogs. We have had to go up and down on his insulin and I am hoping once our life settles down that he will be more stable. For now I am happy that he is gaining weight and acting like a normal cat. It has been a very sad two months as in October I noticed a swelling in my older dogs eye and after visiting an eye specialist then traveling to get an MRI done, it turned out she had developed a tumor in the zygomatic salivary gland and it was displacing the eye after much soul searching in early Nov I decided at 14.5 yrs to give her that one final act of love and granted her a peaceful death rather then expecting her to deal with a major surgery at her age and with her fear of vets.
Well while all of that was going on in Oct I got a call from my brother saying my dad had become more confused and was not eating and had no energy so I told him to get him into see a doctor as I thought he had a pneumonia or UTI , Before he could do that he found my dad unable to get out of bed with his dog who never slept in the bed up on the bed with him and she would not get off and had to be picked up and moved so the paramedics could get to him. They took him to the hospital and that next day I drove down with the dogs and the cat and he died about 1 hr after I got to the hospital. Turns out he had developed leukemia and was in a leukemic blast crisis. Well that meant not only can the cat never be returned to him if I got it off the insulin but also that the dog would now be coming to live with me. She had started off with me but I gave her to my parents 8 years ago as my oldest one ( the one one mentioned above) picked on her up all the time. I had no problem taking her back. For awhile I had two very depressed animals and I have been going down to clean out his house and take them as well as my dog.The cat walks around crying looking for his dad. Very sad. I think the cat is at the point now where he is more comfortable at my house then he is at his old house and he seems to see me as his new mom and is OK with that too.
In all honesty I would still rather not have a cat but sometimes one just has to make the best at what life hands you. We are given challenges and learn from them but this is a tough one as having a diabetic cat on Insulin is not easy and being a night shift worker how I hate getting up so early on my nights off just to feed him and get him his shot. My life has taken such a huge turn since I first posted about the cat and it all started with the cat!
Dashdog,
I am so very sorry to read of your father's passing. Hugs and more hugs.
These words probably will seem empty, but... you are AWESOME in soooooo many ways.
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I was a bit worried but figured a lot of it was fear. 
There is NO dry food low enough in carbs, due to the process, and ingredients/additives involved to get it to become "kibble." 
My life has taken such a huge turn since I first posted about the cat and it all started with the cat!
