Hello from Ruth and Fatso

Hello, I'm Ruth and I have a rag doll named Fatso. He is the sweetest and the most beautiful pet He is 14 years old and had diabetes on and off for a couple of years. I managed to have him off insulin or with very little insulin by eating the Purely Fancy Feast all protein diet ( instead of the Royal Canin prescription diet that the vet wanted him on). That worked great until a couple of months ago when he stopped eating and was dehydrated and was hospitalized for a couple of days. He was diagnosed with kidney disease level 4. The vet wanted him on the Royal Canin renal support D food which I did and that helped him with the kidney disease, which is great, but his diabetes has spiked and is now a big problem again. He lost his regulation and now I will have to pump up the insulin again. I'm not a fan of the Royal Canin prescription food but I don't know what else to feed him to manage both conditions. I would appreciate if anybody on this forum can help me and my beloved Fatso. Thanks a lot!

 

Hi Ruth and Fatso, welcome to FDMB. I suggest you copy your post, start a new thread on the Main Health forum HERE and paste the message. This forum is the welcome mat and more members monitor the Health forum HERE so more eyes could review your question regarding the diet and the Chronic Kidney Disease, and start offering some input.

There are some other members who recently have been asking the same questions: what kind of diet is best for kidney disease with a diabetic kitty, or for a non-diabetic with kidney disease. Some members are researching or considering a raw diet and this might interest you. There are other commercial canned foods that are lower in phosphorus, but high enough in protein to support muscle integrity like the raw diets, and I'm certain we can help you with some suggestions on that issue also.
When you post on the Health forum, be sure to be specific in your title indicating that you are asking about a good diet for a diabetic kitty with CKD.

I feed Idjit a raw diet because I was concerned about high phosphorus in some of the canned foods I was giving him and hoped to prevent kidney disease. I will locate some information for you and be able to provide it when you post in the Health forum if you are interested.

Best wishes going forward

 

Thanks a lot! I just copied into the health forum. I'm new on this and didn't read the instructions as I should. I'm really upset right now because Fatso's diabetes in really high and I hope to get some good advice. I don't think that I want to have him on raw food, he is pretty old, especially for a rag doll, But I need to find a balance, he needs to eat some protein...( I read about egg white being low in phosphorus). He did really good on his last blood test regarding the CKD, as a matter of fact, they told me that he went from level 4 to 2 in a couple of months. I'm also giving him fluids and a potassium supplement and a phosphorus binder. That was too good to be be true because now his diabetes is totally out of control. I don't have kids, he is my baby and I totally adore him and it breaks my heart to see him like this. Thanks Idjit's mom, I could use info on home diets but I, again, I'm nervous about giving him raw food.

 

Oh, we crossed posted. I did respond to your Health forum post and I completely understand your hesitance about raw food. I had thought about it for a long long time and decided finally to see if it would work. To each their own.
Since Fatso is experiencing high BGs maybe we can also help with that aspect, in conjunction with getting him on a better diet.
Would you create a signature and set up a spreadsheet so that we can see more of the whole picture?
1. Setting up your signature (light grey text under a post). Here's how:
click on your name in the upper right corner of this page
click on "signature" in the menu that drops down
type the following in the box that opens: kitty's name/age/date of diabetes diagnosis/insulin you're using and dosage amount /glucose meter you're using/what (s)he eats/any other meds or health issues (s)he has. You can add your name, and a geographic location (sometimes the time zone matters) Be sure to SAVE when you are finished.
2. Spreadsheet
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/understanding-the-spreadsheet-grid.156606/

There are so many knowledgeable and experienced members here who have dealt with these issues before, but they like to see as much information as possible so they can advise effectively.

 

I can't recommend any particular brand of cat food but can advise you to get a prescription from the vet and then bring it to Petco's vets (Bandfield or something like that), so you can get it cheaper than from the vets office because they get a cut of the profits. Dusty had been on the iD formula, for intestinal issues and the price difference was unbelievable! The only issue I have with this is that the vet has to write which brand you can buy, which was upsetting to me because the Purina diabetes came only in a big can, but saw Science Diet in smaller cans. I had to sit at Bandfield's for almost an hour because the vet only wrote for diabetes rx cat food, and I think making you buy a certain brand is bs. Anyway, Dusty hated the canned but is OK with the dry, which I mix with the id (intestinal disease) types and she's doing ok with that. She LOVES Fancy feast and we found a more natural one with thinner gravy, which is better for diabetic kitties due to the thickening agent they use.
I always wanted a Ragdoll and hope that Fatso and you get through this OK.
I'm sorryto read about his kidney disease and wanted to let you know that I tried a "raw" dried cat food that Dusty wouldn't touch, that was made dehydrated and you add water to make a wet cat food.It was Dr. Marty's. Every cat is different and, as I've discovered, some "regular" cat food is good if you know what to look for. I wish pet food had the same nutritional labels that people food had so we could understand what the nutritional values and ingredients were AND to have it in a font larger than a 1!