Non-diabetic cat is acting strange

Since George has been diagnosed with Diabetes, my female cat, Lucy, who is not diabetic, is acting very strange. Not eating right, she'll take a bite of food and run towards the litter boxes in the basement. She's out of sight quite a bit. I've had a lot of cats, but this just seems so strange. I have 3 total cats, only 1 diabetic. Also, can Type 1 diabetes be reversed with diet? High protein, low carb ? This is Lucy.

 

Diabetes can be reversed by diet providing there hasn't been damage to the beta cells in the pancreas. Depending on what you are currently feeding George, you will need to transition to a low carbohydrate, canned food diet. There is a post at the top of the forum that has a link to Dr. Lisa's food chart. You will want to select foods that are under 10% carbohydrate.

Some kitties get jealous of the amount of attention we pay to a diabetic cat. See if your other cat comes around if you give her more attention.

 

How would I know if the Beta Cells are damaged? George loves soft food. All 3 of my cats do. I bought some really expensive hard food.........called Fromm

 

Diabetes is caused by damage to the pancreatic beta cells. This article from the Health Links discussed what diabetes is and the relationship between insulin and diabetes.

Well, I hate to tell you that the really high price dry food is way high in carbohydrates - approximately 35% carbs. If you look at the ingredients, the dry stuff contains barley, rice, potatoes, peas, carrots, etc. All of these have a very high glycemic index, hence the high carbs. You want to be feeding your cat low carb (i.e., 10% or lower) food.

 

Yours and Lucy's life just got turned upside down, what's happening is not unusual. We've had nine cats and a dog who all got along, now we have four and there's a daily squabble over who is the Alpha that sometimes gets physical. Some private time and ear rubs calms every one down, give it some time.

 

How would I know if the Beta Cells are damaged? George loves soft food. All 3 of my cats do. I bought some really expensive hard food.........called Fromm- fairly high in protein, and I'm waiting for an email about the carbs.

 

What about Tiki food... Velvet Moose? It's like a pate and high in protein and .017 in carbs.?????

 

Have you found Dr. Lisa's food chart? I know for sure it lists the Tiki products I'm not familiar with Velvet Moose but it may be on there. The foods are sorted by manufacturer. The list only includes canned cat foods. Dr. Lisa is not a fan of kibble!

The chart will give you a large selection of foods from which to choose. We consider low carb to be below 10%. However, many people here give their cats food that is around 4 - 6%.

 

It sounds like you're on information overload Sylvia, we've all been there.
Take this one step at a time and almost all your questions will be answered. You can dig up a lot on your own right here.
Health Links / FAQs about Feline Diabetes
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/index-health-links-faqs.194624/
sorry, making dinner.