Better Control with Wellness Cat Food?

Harley usually goes to the University clinic for his checkups, but this time I took him to my primary vet. She said that I would get better control of his diabetes if I switched to wellness cat food. Is that right? Harley, right now, is on FF - he eats about 3-4 cans per day. Can anyone comment on this?

Pattie

 

If you are careful to select low carb flavors of FF using Janet & Binky's charts -- you're probably doing fine.

That said - I did switch to all Wellness canned (chicken & turkey flavors) and have two well-regulated diabetic cats and 3 civilians. One of my civilians needs more calories (she lost too much weight on Wellness alone), so she gets some EVO or Blue Wilderness (dry).

I mainly switched because with 5 cats I got tired of popping a bajillion cans every day. Wellness comes in 12.5 oz cans.

 

Just be aware that not all cats like/will eat Wellness. I have tried and most of mine would not eat any of it.

 

I follow the chart religiously. Usually Harley only gets the FF that is 4 carbs or below. I might try just one of the wellness and see how he does.

Pattie

 

My cats hate Wellness. They will sometimes eat Wellness Core, but at $1.70 per can, we can't afford to feed it to them exclusively!

 

I mix Wellness and FF so they are getting a good dose of high quality protein. With 6 diabetics in the house at the moment, I need to use FF or Friskies as a filler. So, as the vet said, I am kind of a chef for the cats.

I also use some of the Merrick varieties that are low carb and lower in fat. And, some of my guys get a little Evo once in a while. Can't get stuck on one food in my house

Claudia

 

My cats are on Raw & then Wellness when I am at work/out. They love it. Very good quality food. Mine like these flavors: Chicken, Turkey, Turkey/Salmon. There is a Beef/Chicken that is good carb wise, but neither of mine liked it.

 

Mine won't touch it. I like the quality of the protein but I do not like the higher fat content that seems to go with Wellness.

 

One trick that sometimes helps: Wellness is too dense/sticky for some cats. Add a bunch of hot water (my tap water is good, so I use that, straight from the tap) and mix thoroughly into the Wellness, making it soupy. One of my cats really likes that and predictably cleans his bowl of "soupy" Wellness. He is a picky eater usually, but not when I make Wellness soup for him.

Doubtless various cats will like various degrees of soupiness. For mine, I use equal parts of water and Wellness. Mix very thoroughly - if there are watery spots left, the whole concoction evidently isn't nearly as tasty.

 

For what it is worth, not every cat is going to like the same kind of food - even cats that like one type one day might not like it the next. Wellness is a low carb food if you choose the correct flavors. Specifically, any low carb canned or Raw food is going to help control Feline Diabetes in most instances.

 

Problems with regulating Harley

Thanks for all your help. The problem I am having is that Harley's bs are all over the board and I want to try getting him more regulated. I may try some of the Wellness to see if that will help.

Pattie

 

I doubt a food change would make a difference if bgs are fluctuating....

Instead, how about we chat about what insulin you are giving, dosage and whether you are testing at home? Perhaps there is something we can help with.

 

Forgot to add...

bgs fluctuate throughout the day in response to insulin and food....so more information on your cat and test results would help

 

Have not posted a history on Harley yet. Need to transfer from the old board, but Harley has had a long hard trip with diabetes. Has been in ICU last year for 2 weeks with very bad ketones (stick was almost black when I took him to the University). He returned home on 12 units lantus and is now down to 6 units. His bgs are all over the board. At 6 units he runs 300's, if I go to 6.5 he goes low (maybe not) at 50-80. Any help you can give me would be appreciated. I have worked hard to keep my guy with me and want him here for a long time.

Hopefully I won't be asking too many dumb questions but his health is important to me. I also don't remember how to use the forums. It has been a year since I have been on here.

Pattie

 

Its a bit tricky to give advice without having your history...you can access your profile on the old board still if you wish! It will be helpful to know what was going on at the time he developed ketones, and how the heck he ended up on 12 units! Yikes! Even 6 units is a very high dose for lantus. So I'm not saying 6 units isn't needed, but it would be very helpful to know more...

Regarding that dose, going from 300 to 50/80 isn't all that terribly bad...in fact 50-80 is a very good nadir.

So if you are looking for better control, I take it to mean that you are looking for a lower flat curve? In that case, I'd head over to the lantus group via the insulin support group forum and get some personalized help. Still post here as much as you need, but with a history of ketones etc. I think you need some personal help.

Jen

 

I have a lengthy history on Harley but do not see where it goes on my control panel.

 

There is a profile option; I would walk you thru it but I am now on my blackbrry which isn't that web friendly

 

Profile

In the control center, there is a profile set up but I ony see website, location, occupation, interests...nothing that gives me an area for Harley's history. I think I will send out a new post asking for help. I did not see it in the FAQ's.

Pattie

 

Re: Profile

Go to the old board and copy the URL from your profile - come back here to your control center/profile and where it says website, paste it there. It will show up as a small icon button next to the PM button below your name (see mine).

Other than that you can transfer your info into a google doc. The instructions are here in the Tech forum:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=531

Hope that helps.