Dramatic improvement in glucose levels after switching to raw food, should we be worried?

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MaSha

MaSha

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I haven't posted in a long time and would like to share the latest "episode".

In short:
In a few months our cat's glucose went from over 400 to 386, then from 248 to 124 this morning!
This last drastic change came about since we introduced chicken in his diet.
I'll take him to the vet's and ask for a checkup and advice on how to proceed, if he needs any supplements...

Description:
Our 9 year old neutered male has been diagnosed about 6 months ago. We started administering insulin (Canininsulin) and switched to dry food for diabetics as our vet has advised. His daily doses of insulin reached 4U but he became more sensitive and his glucose curves and fructosamine levels showed improvement. However, his glucose levels stayed elevated and required 4U of insulin.
He went through one hepatic inflammation (treated with antibiotics) but overall he was fine.

A couple of weeks ago we started buying organic, farm, free-range chicken and giving him some as a treat (while paying attention not to boost too much his caloric intake). He reacted well. No GI discomfort. No changes in bowel movements.

Slowly we started giving him chicken for evening meals. This weekend we gave him chicken for both breakfast and dinner (as those are the times when he gets his insulin shots).
When I checked his glucose levels this morning I was shocked to see 124! (normal range is 124-200); I checked several times (didn't make him happy ;). I even tested the glucometer on myself just to make sure that it works.

Now, I have read and reread this site (http://www.catinfo.org/?link=makingcatfood) and would very much appreciate your advice.
I don't want to miss something and endanger his health.
Thank you so much in advance!

I was so happy this morning, I hit the roof :)
 
Did you give him insulin after testing? You should never give insulin when their BG is under 200. If he had his shot, you need to test him every hour or two until his numbers are going up. Watch him for signs of hypoglycemia.
 
Donnalea thank you so much for your reply.
No, I didn't give him insulin. As you said when glucose is bellow 200 its' fine.

I tested his glucose later in the day and it went up. I'll test it before he gets his evening meal and then call the vet to check the dosage if he needs to get insulin shot.
 
I thought a glucose level of 124 is good?? So long as it isn't under 100? just trying to get clarification--what is the level under which you should panic?
 
It depends on the meter, for a pet specific meter anything under 68 needs attention, on a human meter the number is 50. We don't recommend panic but a posting with a 911 prefix and someone will be around to hand hold. Read the sticky postings on hypos and put together a hypo kit now so everything is there should you ever need it. This is different from the 'no shot' number which for new people is around 200. 124 is a good number and we are happy to see this if it is the lowest point in the cycle (and at other times as well).
 
Dear Whiskeymom,
124 is good indeed. But this improvement came about so suddenly I was wandering if we should be worried. He was always above 300 and sometimes even 400. The result of 248 was a one time thing and he went back to 300.

His evening glucose level went to 267 (or rather fell to, since this afternoon's was 270) so I gave him 2U of insulin as the vet had advised.
I'd like to prevent possible deficiencies. It's been only a few days that he's been on meet only diet, so we need to think long-term, supplements/food preparation.
Right now it's only organic free-range chicken and we're looking into other possibilities, like rabbit.
 
Dear Alexi, thank you for your reply!
We will keep a close eye on our furry friend. I'll be able to watch him, since I'll will be mostly working from home.
I had no idea that improvement can come so suddenly.
 
A change of diet, especially the switch from dry to wet or raw can indeed bring such a dramatic improvement in numbers. With raw food you can either make your own, adding appropriate supplements or you can get frozen ready made. There are a few people who feed raw on the board who can give you specific advice if you want to go down the route of making your own.

Are you able to set up a signature and spreadsheet as the dose may need to come down some more once you have him established on the new diet. We can help with that if needed.
 
Changing food can lower glucose levels drastically. Dry food is very high in carbs, yes even the prescription dry food.

You should be adding nutrients to the raw food. You can buy them individually or use a commercial premix. I was using EZ Complete premix for home cooked food. My vet was very impressed with it. You can check it out here. http://www.foodfurlife.com
 
Thank you again Alexi. I'll see about the signature and spreadsheet.
I'll check out the raw board and buy the supplements tomorrow.
 
Thank you Woodyswife for advice and the link!
We live in France, so I'll try to find something similar here.
 
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