New to Website ... new mom to a diabetic girl

I recently found that my 8 year old, FIV girl is diabetic. Two weeks ago, she had surgery to remove a non-cancerous tumor. That is when we learned she is diabetic (very early stages). Vet has not spoken of insulin, but a diabetic diet. He wants the food to come from PURINA and seems to be holding the prescription "hostage" unless I order from PURINA.

My question is ... other than find another vet, what food can I feed her that does not require a prescription?

 

Foods appropriate for a diabetic cat are lower in carbs, but have sufficient protein to prevent muscle wasting.

We suggest you look for foods that are <= 10% carbs. We have lots of ideas, but first I need to know what country you live in to give you the best ideas. We have food charts for US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, UK (which works for lots of places in Europe).

Most of these foods will be available at your local supermarket or on-line retailers. No prescriptions required.

 

What country are you located in? That will help us to give you some suggestions

There are much better options than the prescription food. If your vet is insisting on the purina DM wet food, it is low enough in carbohydrates for a diabetic cat but it is crazy expensive and the ingredients are not great. One option is to yes, find another vet as you mentioned. Another is to take a few cans of the food so your vet will fork over the prescription (insist on a paper copy), open one at home, and then return the rest and say your cat won’t eat it. The prescription foods should have a full refund policy

 

Thank you for your response. I live in the U.S. - Florida. I have access to Chewy.com and Amazon.com. As for grocery stores ... I have access to Wal-mart, Wal-mart grocery and Publix grocery.

I was (am) in desperate need of a mobile vet, but not at the cost of my Layla's well- being. I am looking into returning to her original vet now.

 

For a quick answer, try the Fancy Feast pate style or Friskies pate style foods. Should be readily available at Publix (great store) or Walmart.

After you find some flavors your kitty will eat, then you might consider ordering on-line.

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Layla's choice of foods is dry food, but I understand that is not the best choice for a diabetic cat.

I adopted her 18 months ago and since that time she has been eating Fancy Feast paté. That seems to be her favorite. However, the current vet has been very discouraging of feeding her anything Fancy Feast.

Thank you for responding.

 

If you mean a prescription for the food, that's no problem...let him keep it! There are all kinds of foods that are better (and cheaper) than the prescription foods anyway. Most of us feed our own diabetic cats Fancy Feast Classics, Friskies pates or 9-Lives ground foods. (There's absolutely nothing in "prescription" food that actually requires a prescription)

If he's holding the insulin script hostage, again, let him keep it ...try the food change first (as long as there aren't any ketones in the picture...your vet would have told you if there were). A lot of cats can be diet controlled and doing the food change first will also give you some time to learn to home test. If you DO end up needing insulin, you'll be ready to keep Layla safe as well as seeing how she's responding to treatment. (as well as having time to find a new vet)

 

As I have stated, Layla is very familiar with Fancy Feast (paté). I have been feeding my cats Fancy Feast for at least 30+ years and they have lived long, happy lives.

I have spoken with a staff person from Chewy.com and was given three suggestions that are not prescription foods. I am looking into those, too.

I appreciate your response and your advice.

 

There aren't many foods that are going to be better for a diabetic than the Fancy Feast (FF) pates you are already feeding. Are you feeding the new Naturals line of FF? The ones in gravy are too high in carbs but the older 'classic' line or 'Naturals' not in gravy are ok for a diabetic.

Would you tell us which of the 'prescription diet' foods your vet is trying to get you to buy from him? We'll look up the carb % for you.

Here are 2 links to US Food Charts. Hasn't been updated since 2017 but it's the most recent info we have, so some newer foods may be missing.

Catinfo food chart

Tanya's CKD food chart for cats with kidney disease or may have CKD along with diabetes. Website says new updates should be on line sometime in mid January 2020. Low phosphorus is important for cats with kidney disease, but you do not need low phosphorus if your cat does not have kidney disease.

 

Which foods from Chewy? Lots of people on the Facebook equivalent of this message board like the Chewy brand Tiny Tiger. Don't think it's any lower in carbs than the Fancy Feast pates though.

Tiki Cat (After Dark line, or Aloha Friends line aren't on the food charts but still ok with carb content) could be good choices too.

 

Thanks for your interest in my situation. Layla likes only the Fancy Feast patés. Particularly, the ones without gravy as she also suffers from Stomatitis and the gravy irritates the open lesions in her mouth and throat.

He recommended PURINA, HILL'S SCIENCE and ROYAL CANIN. However, he is insisting on the PURINA (DM). None of these appear to be "Diabetic" foods, but rather "Dietetic" ... weight control foods.

 

I have spent many years with Chew.com. They are very professional and have great customer support.

I have seen the Tiki Cat foods, but have never considered them ... never tried them. Same with the Tiny Tiger brand.

 

Exactly. Not diabetic food, only weight control or diatetic foods. Purina DM dry is around 12-18% wet is 1-2%; Hills Prescription Diet W/d dry is 37 % carbs and wet is 26%, Royal Canin Glycobalance is 29-32% wet is 4.5-26% (wet matter vs dry matter carbs).

Vet and shelter had Wink on the horrible W/D food when I first took him in to foster. Soon as I was able to get him off the 'junk food' and eating low carb wet, he went into remission.

High protein and low carb is good for diabetic cats. Most all of these vet recommended foods are ok for protein but fall way too high in carb content for a diabetic cat. The Purina DM wet is one to consider.

With the additional medical issue of dealing with the stomatitis your cat has, that makes switching foods a bit riskier, in that it could make the stomatitis flare.

I follow Love and Hisses and she has a FIV cat with stomatitis, Frankie, that was on steroids for a while. They ended up pulling all his teeth, and give Atopica which seems to be taking care of the issue. Don't know if something like that would help your cat. My civie Dancer has stomatitis and very few teeth left and does fine on the Fancy feast pates, Friskies pates, and the Tiki cat as treats. Harder for her to get the shredded forms of food into her mouth, but she manages.

I love chewy. com also. Good service, good selection, ok prices, shipping ok, replace products damaged in shipment (busted open cat food cans). Love having the litter delivered to my door.

Is your cat on steroids for the stomatitis?

 

Thanks for all the information. Only 4 months ago, Layla had a FME. The vet told me then that the problem of Stomatitis had been taken care of with the removal of her teeth. She recovered really well ... eats anything and everything she wants. Also has gained a lot of weight. The Stomatitis has flared up twice. She was receiving steroid and antibiotic injections, but now we are trying Prednisolone - orally. I have been criticized for giving her Delectable Squeeze-Ups and Greenies. I was told they have a lot of calories and are responsible for her weight gain and thus, the beginning of diabetes.

Chewy.com has recommended - FORZA NUTRACEUTIC (wet food #183201). It is a paté for the diabetic cat. I am considering that as well as going back to Fancy Feast paté.

 

So no teeth left with the FME (full mouth extraction). Canines gone too?

Steroid injections could have caused the diabetes. Not a given, but it can be a another risk factor. Depends on the steroid dose, how long your cat was getting the steroid, etc. Cats with multiple medical issues you have to treat all the issues, but one issue may take precedence. It's important that a cat eat (steroids for IBD or stomatitis), or be able to breath (steroid inhaler for asthma) so you probably will not be able to stop the pred.

Many cats with what we call steroid induced diabetes can be helped with a short course of insulin and lower carb food. You were already using lower carb food with the FF pate, so maybe a bit of insulin for a month or 2 would be all that is needed. Not sure about the oral prednisolone and diabetes. Others have used it but I don't remember if it was good or bad.

Feline obesity is another risk factor for diabetes, so if Layla is overweight, getting her down to her ideal weight could help. Portion control is important and slow weight loss is better than trying to get excess weight off quickly. If Layla is constantly begging for food, that may be because her body is not able to use the insulin her pancreas is producing, so she can't process the food to get the proper energy from the food. If she is still gaining weight, that is not likely.

Greenies are a high carb treat. Those Delectable Squeeze Ups have tapioca starch (carbs) in them. So those 2 treats could be contributing to the weight gain and higher BG readings.

Most of us find some sort of pure meat treat, either freeze dried (like Pure Bites, Halo Liv-a-littles for example) or fresh pure meat. Something like a bit of chicken that you cook up at home, cut into small pieces and freeze in small portions. Those make nice treats for a diabetic cat. You said Layla likes everything. Bet she'd really go for the fresh cooked chicken.

I don't see any carb ingredients in that Forza Diabetic Support wet food, except that liver always has some carb content, but on the other hand liver is good to have in a cat's diet. Looks like the carb content based on the guaranteed analysis basis is roughly around 5%. That's about the same as the Fancy Feast pate style food you are currently feeding, which range from 4-6%. Not sure it would make much of a difference, but you could certainly give it a try.

 

You have given me an abundance of information to think about. The steroid injections were given only when there was a Stomatitis flare up ... maybe about 4 times. I agree ... the steroids probably had something to do with the onset of the
diabetes.

I have drastically reduced the "treats" as I was made to feel so guilty for giving them. I think I will try a new food and continue with the Fancy Feast paté.

This is so new to me. Since the plan was to control the diabetes through diet management, insulin is not a part of her treatment - yet. I am definitely going to havet to have a vet by that time should her diabetes not be under control by then.

She likes turkey so I think I will try the "turkey bites" for her new treats. Thanks.