? What wet food do you use?

Hi all. I'm new here and fairly new to feline diabetes. My 12 y/o Tommy was diagnosed in December and the vet put him on Vetsulin (now at 1 unit every 12 hours). She also suggested the Hill's m/d prescription diet, which has been very costly the past month and a half (he mostly eats the wet food). I am looking into switching brands and talking with her about it at his appointment next week (they are also checking his fructosamine levels then). Which brands do you all use? I know there is a list around but am wondering what has worked best for your cats.
Also - I'm sorry if this question has been asked before!

 

Most of us feed fancy feast classic or Friskies pate foods. Prescription food is a rip off and not any better.

 

Good to know. Thank you!

 

I do a mix of the Purina DM and FF. I find that he has his days of what he wants but I can consistently get one or the other into him. We did bounce around a bit, but FF seems the hands on favorite for him. I am currently looking at doing homemade food as Jonesy is also IBD.

 

Initially I was given m/d. I didn't quite make it through the first case before I learned it was too high carb. I used Tikicat and Purely Fancy Feast for a short while after that. I now feed a home prepared diet.

 

My Frannie was just diagnosed on 1/9 and am in the process of finishing off the dry food she has and have gotten the FF Classic variety packs in both the seafood and chicken and beef ones. I'm also looking at what others are out there that are low carb and am wanting to try something else as well for more variety. The vet that saw her for a urinary issue when she got diagnosed gave me a list of food that shows which are low carbs, but it doesn't list all out foods though. But will try and get something off of what I've seen from the list and go from there as well.

 

Vetsulin is normally dosed at 12 hour intervals twice a day. I'm curious how your kitty is doing since the vetsulin didn't last my cat anywhere near 12 hours.

 

Yeah I give him a dose every 12 hours, but haven't home tested him yet since we have a vet appointment next week. Is your kitty still on Vetsulin and how often do you give him/her a dose?

 

Cool, FF seems to be popular. I think I'm going with that one. Thank you!

 

Smoky was on vetsulin for two and a half months but it didn't agree with him. His BG wld nosedive and then he wld bounce into very high numbers and stay there.

I switched him to prozinc on11/23/16 and around mid Dec he started getting better blood sugar numbers. I feed him Fancy Feast classic pates,a few of the flaked and chunky varieties; some Friskies and Nine Lives.

 

For my Frannie, she seems to do well on only the one 2 unit dose a day. She has an appointment on the 15th to see how things are going.

 

Keep us updated on her progress please.
Some kitties do quite well on vetsulin. I know @JanetNJ had her kitty go into remission fairly soon and she used vetsulin.

 

Will do! I understand with what have read that it looks like most everyone is on 1 unit twice a day and feel a bit odd being at doing the 2 units once a day in the am only. We're changing her diet now as well since have fed the last bit of dry food and then going to 3 cans a day split in 1-1/2 for the am and pm feedings as it's a 3oz can. Need to get that weight down now, hopefully as well. Especially considering she's on an oral steroid for her asthma. Her weight was at 14.15 pounds the last visit and that was an increase in weight! :'(

 

Heather have you considered inhaled steroids for the asthma? Oral steroids can raise BG and make it more difficult to get the diabetes regulated. For most cats, inhaled steroids don't have the same effects as oral steroids. My Eve is diabetic and has asthma and stayed in remission with the inhaled steroids.

 

It's way to expensive. The one that's on their website is $284.09 and I can't afford that. There's another that's about $75. I haven't discussed that with them in a while and will have to remember to ask about that next Wednesday the 15th. I want to say that there was another one that was mentioned and it was quite a bit more than the $284. And I don't have pet insurance on her either. And if I got some on her now, both the asthma and diabetes would be preexisting and neither would be covered. I understand what you're saying and I think that they had mentioned that as well about it being higher with the steroid. But when I had taken her in to be observed, it was still high, but he was happy with what the two readings were. Unfortunately I can't remember what they were offhand now. She's done well with the oral for helping her asthma.

 

Yes, you're right - no pet insurance company covers pre-existing conditions.

As you said, Flovent (inhaled steroid) is very expensive. But many people use In House pharmacy and it is much more affordable.

With inhaled steroids you might be able to get her diabetes into remission. Our Eve has had to go on on Pred several times for different conditions and every time I wean her off of Pred her diabetes goes into remission.

Are you on Facebook? There are several feline asthma groups that might be helpful. Let me know if you would like the links.

Here is the link to In House pharmacy. https://www.inhousepharmacy.vu/

I don't use them because thankfully Eve is insured, but a lot of people in my FB asthma groups use them.

 

I will need to make some notes of what you have mentioned and maybe see what her vet might recommend to do and what he might think of doing that. A bit of history on her with her asthma, she had started hacking the day or two after she came to us in a trial period before I officially adopted her. The rescue suggested trying pumpkin puree and mineral oil because they thought it was hairball issue Kept going on and on. they took her to their vet and they said it was a bronchial infection. They gave her the depo shot and that helped until after I officially adopted her on July 12, 2015. Well about a little over a month later, it started all over again. I took her to the vet I had taken my previous kitty to (she got away from me in May of 2015 and I haven't been able to find her). Had rounds with him and he kept saying it was a bronchial infection. I kept thinking and questioning that how can a bronchial infection keep returning like that? What about asthma ... oh no it's not asthma. I switched to the vets office am taking her to now and yes it was asthma and my questions and concerns fell on deaf ears at the previous vets office. Oral medications have been what I've been giving her (other than the depo shot for quite a few months and that's why we switched to oral medication because of the high prices for inhalers).

Yes, am on Facebook and I've tried to look for something like that, but I had been unsuccessful unless I just didn't do a search well enough.

 

The lowest carb canned food the budget can manage--9 Lives pates (Chicken, Liver/Bacon, and Turkey/Giblets). He went into remission pretty quickly, but I'm wondering if his BG is too low. His BG was still way, way too high on the (unaffordable) prescription food.

 

I also thought it was a hairball with Eve, and after a week I took her to her internist. He said right away, "I think it's asthma" and the x-ray confirmed it. I"m glad you changed vets.

Here are the links to the Facebook Feline Asthma groups that I belong to:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/283845538444293/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/127031124048343/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/56138133800/

 

Glad yours was on top of it. It pissed me off that it took to the 3rd vet and from end of June to about end of October or into November to get it figured out and the second vet didn't seem to look into it. Didn't even go over the xrays with me! That's what I LOVE about where I'm going now! Goes over EVERYTHING with me and explains things amazingly and will say I'm doing a great job with her! They'll even personally call to make sure things are going ok, especially after something big happens and will go over things. I'm glad I switched as well, and just wish I would have done it sooner!

Thanks for those groups! I'll look into them!

 

Have sent a request to the groups and waiting to be accepted.

 

Frannie was to have a tech visit yesterday, but had changed it today so I could also speak with the vet. Upon getting checked in and back into the room, talked with the tech to give some info as well as she got weighed ... unfortunately, she's GAINED weight again from 14.15 (approx) to 14.5#. :'( Vet came in after a bit and talked and he didn't feel to concerned at this point to switch to an inhaler and is fine with how things have been going for her while on the oral medication for her asthma. the tech also noticed that she (Frannie) seemed a bit off and not as perky, by her eyes. Took her back and checked and she had a low reading of 69. We discussed about maybe doing home readings, but he also feels that if she's going this low on the 2 units once a day in the am, he's wanting to see how things will go with cutting back to her getting 1 unit a day and going back next week on Friday and getting checked. There have also been times that she had seemed a bit off and would give some kind of treat and she would seem to be back to how she normally would be. We also talked about what moist food and he said that if she's not picky (which she isn't) that if there are the kinds that are in a sauce or stew type and the carbs are under 10%, then he has no problems with her having them. Also, she's done with her dry kibble and am wanting to switch from FF (the variety packs of seafood and also the chicken and beef variety pack). But are there others out there that give their babies Nutro moist food? She likes the FF, but am also wanting to do something a bit better, but that isn't to bad. I'm looking at ordering from Chewy.com. She has liked what I've gotten her of Merrick and Wellness, but they're both a bit higher than what I would really like to pay, even on chewy.