Is it possible to feed too few carbs?

Is it possible to feed a diabetic cat too few carbs?

The cat was diagnosed 3 days ago and giving insulin, etc. is going fine. His BG at diagnosis was 450. He had suddenly lost a lot of weight (eating kibble since 2008) and his fur was looking faded, and the vet recommended switching to canned just to get some weight back on him. In the day and a half before his vet appointment, 1 can of Lotus Turkey, 1 can of ProPlan Grain Free Turkey, and 1 can of (nonprescription) Hill’s Science Diet had already made a noticeable difference in weight and appearance.

At the appointment, my vet recommended Hill’s canned M/D twice a day, along with 2 units of N insulin twice a day.

However, I simply can’t afford all this, plus the cat only eats about half the can and obviously is unhappy with the food. After he is done eating, I pick up what is left. A few hours before he is due to eat again, he asks for food again, but I was told to feed and shoot insulin while or after he is eating (after he has had at least 2 tablespoons) and not feed in between scheduled meals/insulin.

I know there are a lot of other choices for food, and I am hoping to get rid of the need for insulin, or at least minimize it. I’ve been doing some reading and found Dr. Pierson very informative http://www.catinfo.org/?link=felinediabetes She recommends under 10% carbs. I’ve been looking at the wet cat food table at http://biggervet.com/cat/lowcarb/Wet Cat Food - Diabetic - Low Carb.pdf and am wondering if I feed the cat 9 Lives Turkey and Giblets (55% protein 27% fat 2% carbs 1.64 phosphorus 163 kcal per 5.5 oz) and/or other 2-3% carb foods all the time if there will be too few carbs? The budget is extremely limited, so feeding canned food itself (plus the insulin/syringes) will impact the family finances and necessitate some adjustments. I can get the insulin and syringes at a very reasonable price using the Walgreen’s prescription savings plan, so the next issue to tackle is the price of food. BTW Fish and seafood varieties are not an option, and home-made is not feasible at this time.

I’m going to Walmart today to get the Relion Prime meter, so I can see what is going on, at least until we get him stabilized (strips and lancets hissssssssssssssssssssssssss)

So… back to the original question, is it possible to feed too few carbs?

Thank you.

Better info obtained since post: Insulin and syringes are much more expensive at Walgreen's, even with the prescription plan, than they are at Walmart :-(

 

Some cats are more carb sensitive than others. There are cats that can't eat anything over 3% carbs without it causing their BG to rise, and there are others that have better results feeding 7-8% carbs. So it really depends on the individual cat, but ideally anything under 10% carbs is considered appropriate for a diabetic cat.

 

Erica & Carter--

Thank you.

 

Hi @HereKittyKittyKitty,

In the wild a cat would only get a very small amount of carbs in its diet. That would come from any carbs (ie. grains, seeds etc) in the digestive tract of its prey, and from organ meats, especially the liver. So, cats who are fed a commercial diet have no need for additional carbs.

As Erica says above, some cats are more 'carb sensitive' than others. Some cats do just fine on 'x' amount of carb in the diet, but that same amount may be too much for other cats. It's a very individual thing.
Conversely, there are also some cats who actually don't like the carb content of their diet to be too low, and who will respond to that by having higher blood glucose numbers.
There's a link to a discussion on that in the linked post below (it may be more info than you want; if so, feel free to ignore, ha-ha! ):
Feeding Lowest/Zero Carb vs Lower Carb Foods

Eliz

 

Eliz--

Thank you.

 

You're very welcome!
.