Wet food for my diabetic cat

Hi! I just found out recently that one of my three cats has diabetes. Apparently it has just recently started. The vet recommended to try a different diet to see if it would help out. She suggested wet food with low carbs, no gravy, and mainly meat. I was doing some research and saw that the Walmart brand Special Kitty doesn't have bad carbs. I've seen many websites with people bashing Special Kitty. I've been giving my three cats Special Kitty wet food for a few days. I don't want them to get sick and am wondering if Special Kitty is okay or if it really will make them sick. Can anyone give me any information about this? Thanks!

 

Special Kitty is fine for your diabetic cat :thumbup The most important thing is that your cat will eat it. Not all of the Special Kitty varieties are low enough in carbs for a diabetic cat. Use the canned food charts to help find out how many carbs are in the food: http://binkyspage.tripod.com/canfood.html Look for foods that have a number 10 or less in the carb column. Special Kitty is on the "new" chart near the bottom: http://binkyspage.tripod.com/CanFoodNew.html

There are other brands of canned food you can try: Fancy Feast, Wellness, Friskies, Innova EVO, etc. Whatever brand(s) your cat likes to eat and you can afford is the best :smile:

Do keep a few cans of gravy-based canned foods in the house. You'll need it in case your diabetic cat becomes hypoglycemic while on insulin. The high carbs in gravy foods will raise blood glucose levels.

 

Take a look at Janet & Binky's food chart: http://binkyspage.tripod.com/CanFoodNew.html.

It looks like they do have a few low-carb varieties, and that's what people focus on the most around here, as that's what's most important in keeping the blood glucose numbers under control in diabetic cats.

Yes, there a lot of better quality foods out there. But if that's what you can feed your cat, that's totally fine. There are a lot of people here who feed Friskies and Fancy Feast, and I know I've read people feeding their cat special kitty. Look, I'm sure you have enough expenses with the diagnosis. What's most important right now is whether it's low in carbohydrates. In other words, I would say, don't worry about it. Feed the Special Kitty--as long as it's low in carbs.

Do you know what your cat's blood glucose level was when they tested at the vet? Did they prescribe insulin? And if so, what kind and at what dose?

 

Our oldest cat was diagnosed with diabetes this summer. After some trial and error we ended up with one of the 'on the list' Special Kitty canned foods to feed to our three cats. I even called the number on the can to verify that the carb % hadn't changed since the 3 or 4 years the item was put on the list - and the number was answered by Del Monte Pet Food Division (as I recall).

They're happy. We're happy. Our budget is happy. Personally I think that humans get grossed out by what pet food makers put in their food because of our own sensibilities... but in real life cats are going to eat that icky stuff.

The 'good' Special Kitty food is often sold out at our local WalMart - suspect we're not the only ones using it!

And Peaches went OTJ within a month of switching his diet.

My two cents worth,
Marilyn