"DM" DIETETIC MANAGEMENT PROPLAN VETERINARY DIET - INPUT?

My beautiful cat was diagnosed with diabetes in May 2015 (after first suffering repeated Pancreatitis attacks due, likely, to the undiagnosed diabetes). The vet has been testing his blood sugar, and has gradually been increasing his insulin. He is now on 2 1/2 units morning, 2 1/2 units evening, and he seems to be starting to feel better as the insulin was gradually increased.

My question is diet. Is there a consensus on what type of food is the very best for a diabetic cat? I took all dry food away when he was diagnosed, to eliminate as much carbohydrates as possible, and I began feeding what the Vet sells: "DM Dietetic Management Purina ProPlan" canned food. The first ingredients on the label are: "Liver, Poultry By-products, Meat By-products", and this is the fat, protein, etc., breakdown from the label:

Protein: 11.5%
Fat: 4.5%
Fiber: 2%
​

In looking at some other canned store bought cat foods, I am seeing fat at lower levels than the "DM" veterinary canned food prescribed by my vet. Should a cat that suffered Pancreatitis, and now Diabetes, be on a canned food with lower fat than what the "DM" has? The protein level looks good in this food, but I am concerned about the fat being too high. (I supplement Kuma's diet with boiled chicken with no skin on, and one other store bought canned food: "Weruva Paw Lickin' Chicken: Chicken Recipe in Gravy" - which has lower fat:

Protein of 10%.
Fat: 1.4%
Fiber: 0.5% ​

Should Diabetic (and Pancreatitis) cats stay away from higher fat levels? Is the fat level of 4.5% on the veterinary prescribed "DM" too high?

 

For a diabetic cat, you need to be concerned with carbs. You'll want to focus on a canned/wet/raw food low carb diet under 10%. You don't need to shell out extra money for an expensive vet prescription diet. You were wise to take away the dry food. That is already a good step in the right direction.

Good info on diets can be found at http://catinfo.org/

See this link for cat food nutritional info: http://www.catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf

 

My vet tried very hard to get me to hand over the big bucks for the prescription food... But I've found that my cat loves Weruva's paw licken chicken and some of their other very low carb foods. If you go to their website www.weruva.com they provide very transparent information about what's in their food. My cat also eats Fancy Feast classic varieties that have very low carbs. You've taken the first important step by taking all the high carb dry food away.

 

The DM canned is not that bad but is unnecessary. I would go for a commercial canned food with less than 8% of calories from carbs. Here is a list of those
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/shortcut-shopping-list-all-8-or-less-updated.117688/

 

I agree with what's already been said.....if you look, you'll see that much cheaper foods like Friskie's pates and Fancy Feast classics are comparable in ingredients and a lot cheaper!!

The other big problem with the DM is most cats get tired of it quickly and refuse to continue eating it. It does have a guarantee so you can take it back, say your cat stopped eating it and get your money back!

Use the money for something a lot more useful than "prescription" food...a glucometer and strips so you can learn to home test your kitty's blood glucose numbers at home to keep him safe and get him under the best control possible!

 

Why don't the canned cat foods list the "Carbohydrate" level? They list Protein, Fat, and Fiber, but I don't think I've seen Carbohydrates listed ever. Are they including carbohydrates under the "Fiber" category, so if I look for a low "Fiber" level, that would mean a low carbohydrate level for my diabetic cat?

 

The charts we gave you above list the carbs. I don't know why the manufacturers don't list them on the labels.

 

I used the D/M canned (3% carbs) for a long time - but yes, very expensive! (The D/M dry is way too high in carbs, btw: 31%. Yikes.) We have been transitioning to FF Classics turkey/giblets canned (4% carbs) - Bat-Bat LOVES it! And 2 cases of FF 3-oz. cans costs about half what 1 case of DM 5.5-oz. cans costs. (Bonus: Her poop doesn't stink nearly as much as it did on the DM. Man, that was a real stench-maker!)

 

Maybe because they intuit that carb-wise cat people wouldn't buy it!

 

Because labeling is covered by the AAFCO standard. What is listed on the labels is specified by them
http://petfood.aafco.org/labelinglabelingrequirements.aspx

 

AAFCO is working on adding cars to labeling. Here is a summary of last weeks AAFCO meeting.
http://catcentric.org/2015/08/10/followup-on-aafcos-2015-annual-meeting/

Also, despite the opposition, seeing carbohydrate statements on pet food labels moved a step nearer. All that’s needed is verification of the carb content testing protocols that were recently developed. Once that is completed, AAFCO should be able to vote a carb content labeling requirement into their guidelines.