I think a raw diet would be just the ticket for such a cat. You're going to find it difficult getting your vet's approval, and I wouldn't recommend doing without that. So you'll need to do your research and go prepared with answers to every objection. Search the forum on the keyword "raw" and you should find numerous threads on the topic. Google "cat raw barf diet feline diabetes" and you should find plenty online as well. Good luck!! And welcome to the forum.

 

If you're having trouble getting your cat to eat, try the pate style Fancy Feast brands. Do not feed the gravy style ones. FF may be by-producty but they're very low in carbs. Dr Elizabeth Hodgekins who specializes in Feline Diabetis, has feline diabetic cats on FF exclusively and they do well on it. Also you really should get rid of the kibble altogether and avoid cat foods with fruits, veggies and grains which can contribute to the problem.

I used to waste a lot of wet food with my cats when I fed kibble but I was surprised at how well they ate their wet food once I got the dry stuff out of my house and it was no longer available to nibble on. It's amazing what a twice a day feeding routine does to a cat's appetite. No, I don't have diabetic cats but since my cats became overweight, that's one of the health problems associated with being overweight I want to avoid.

For a better quality food free of grains and fruits, raw is the way to go.

Here is a raw diet good for diabetic cats and for the transition you can mix it with Fancy Feast. www.felinespride.com

 

I also reccommend purchasing a book called "Your Cat" by Dr Hodgekins from www.amazon.com. She has much advice to give on the subject of feline diabetis.

 

Agreed. If your cat will not eat any other wet food, FF is a good choice and I would also ditch the kibble altogether. Too many carbs. Even if it is just a little it can hinder getting her levels under control and getting rid of it will also encourage her to eat the wet.
I had a cat that stabilized very well on Wellness so I would recommend giving that a try, if you haven't.

 

Our cat Bosco is diabetic. He's on vet food (W/D or Purina Diabetic)unfortunately as the vet pushed it and the OH isn't so sure that wet is better for cats, despite what I've showed him but I think he's cracking a little. Bosco is also still a tad overweight but nothing like he used to be, he was deathly obese before and was found to have a blood sugar of 26 when we first found out.

He does get his shots twice a day and is very good about it as well as his blood sugar tested often by pricking his ear and is very good about that as well. He was found to be diabetic in November/December and his levels are finally becoming stable and he's lost a ton of weight which is also helping.

We are looking for other food to try with Bosco now so I'll be taking some of the advice as well. So far I do agree with the raw and Fancy Feast. I'm still reading into the raw thing to try and sway the OH. I'm sure it would be a tad cheaper then the vet food and it'll help to get him and your cat away from the dry.

You can also look into this site.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/diabetic-cat-diets.htm

 

Thanks to everyone. You've all been so helpful. You have encouraged me greatly. Since I made the original post, I've been doing some more looking around the site and found the sticky that contained the approved list of FF and Friskies foods. This is also a big help.

I need to do some more research into the raw food route. I'm not opposed to it - I'll do anything to make Lily eat, and eat the right thing of course! I'll remove all of the kibble. Even though she doesn't eat much of it, you're right, it's keeping her from eating all of the moist food she should.

Another question - how much is enough? She may not eat the equivalent of even a 3 oz. can a day, including the chicken or tuna I've been mixing with it. However, yesterday for example, I know she ate more because I got worried and ended up giving her canned chicken, which she ate quite a lot of. I know she's hungry, she's just not getting what she wants, which is usually human chicken meat or tuna. I'm never sure how long I should wait before I give up and try something else. I feed her twice daily, morning and evening.

Cathy

 

The average cat eats 4-6 ounces of wet food a day. Your cat could be holding out for the dry food until she gets used to it not being around anymore. At least she eats something every day, that's a start.

Maybe you could try some freeze dried meat treats or a freeze dried raw diet as a temporary substitute for the missing kibble since some cats panic at first when the dry food buffet is no longer around. Perhaps someone could reccommend something that is very low in carbs.

 

....However, yesterday for example, I know she ate more because I got worried and ended up giving her canned chicken, which she ate quite a lot of. I know she's hungry, she's just not getting what she wants, which is usually human chicken meat or tuna. I'm never sure how long I should wait before I give up and try something else.

I'm reminded of what my vet said to me when Mellie lost weight because she wasn't eating enough of the high-quality food I was putting down for her: "If she won't eat what you give her then give her what she'll eat." It's good advice for the short term if a cat won't eat. You need to make sure she gets enough to eat before you make sure she gets what's good for her. Usually I say that if a cat is maintaining weight, then you're feeding enough, but I'm not familiar with diabetic cats, there's other people here that know more about that and can tell you if that's good advice for them as well.

 

A little late but I second the raw food. Some have cured their kitties with raw. If not cured then most were able to control systems better. Cats are not designed to handle sugar all at ounce. which is usually the case when fed carbohydrates-dry food. Their body is only design to handle a slow release of glucose with comes from proteins being broken down.

Carbs mainly go straight to sugar but proteins have to go through a few steps before sugar needs to be dealt with. These extra few steps allow the animal to have a consistent supply of glucose rather than an all at once deal with carbs.

 

I just posted a link to a feline diabetes page in another thread (a question about carbohydrate content in food), and realized that it might be a useful link here, too: "Binky's Page" has a lot of information that someone put together for her diabetic cat:

http://www.geocities.com/jmpeerson/index.html

I hope it is useful for your Lily... Fran

 

I don't want to swamp you with yet another batch of information.

At the same time, I think that there is a site which will give you what you're looking for. Dr. Lisa Pierson is a well known feline nutrition expert. Part of her website is devoted to feline diabetes and you will find it here.

I have a series of bookmarked links...let me know if you'd like them.

One other point. Many people who find themselves having to deal with a chronic condition like this, get great support and comfort from others who have already been doing this for some time. These people "meet" in online groups where newbies post questions/problems and get answers from experienced members. You could always join the group and just watch the back-and-forths....a test-drive, so to speak. One of these groups can be found here.

 

Once again, thanks to all of you. Everyone is so generous with their time and advice. I've learned a LOT on the various sites you have pointed out to me. They've been invaluable sources of information. What the pet food labels say and what they DON'T say really opened my eyes.

Lily is not on insulin, and her vet seems confident her BG can be controlled by diet. Can anyone out there tell me how long it would be before I notice a change in water consumption and urination frequency after switching to a high protein low carb diet?