Food for Diabetic cats

[SarahT1 [PLLE]]

Hello all

One of my cats has just been diagnosed as diabetic Inevitably the vet immediately loaded us up with RC diabetic food wet and dry. He (Edgar, not the vet) has been tucking into it well so no problems with palatability, but I am already wondering whether it is really the best food for him. I have found one US website which is vituperative in its condemnation of 'prescription' diabetic foods, claiming that they are not particularly low carb and simply part of the cat food conspiracy referred to in another post. They advice that a genuine low carb diet with NO DRY FOOD (their capitals) can sometimes lead to a natural remission of the condition. I'm not expecting miracles but I would like to be better informed about suitable food for diabetic cats when we go back to the vet on Friday to get his insulin sorted out so I wondered what any of you guys with a diabetic cat serve up to them which is appropriate and interesting. Lily's Kitchen suggest on their website that their food is suitable which is good news, and I will be ringing Nature's Menu later. I would like to be able to keep some dry food down as it is the main source of food for one of our other cats who eats very little wet (I know we need to find a solution to this, but that's not top priority at the moment), but I need it to be a dry food which they can all eat so if Edgar does have any of it will pack him full of carbs.

Any ideas gratefully received and I look forward to being able to offer info and advice myself as I get my head around all this over the coming weeks.

Thanks

Sarah

[greenkitty]

Sorry to hear about Edgar The vets seem to always push RC or Hills on you, I'm sure there must be better quality options available.

Canagans dry food might be worth checking in to, it's cereal free but whether it would be low enough in carbs I'm not sure: http://www.canagan.co.uk/products-cat.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Have you looked to see if there's Yahoo group for Diabetic cats? When I first adopted Tig who had Epilepsy I found a group and they were a great source of information.

[SarahT1 [PLLE]]

Thanks Julia for this. Canagans is highly recommended by our local pet store. They deem the wet food the best quality cat food on the market. I will go armed with information about different varieties and push the VN to be honest about what would be good. A life time of RC seems miserable to me. We managed to get Pepsi's gums to virtually 100% normal on cereal free food and Reiki healing - even the Vet acknowledged that her amazing improvement was nothing to do with his intervention! - and I am determined to do the best I can to find a good dietary solution for Edgar whilst appreciating that he will obviously need Insulin for as long as it takes to do this.

Thanks for the suggestion about Yahoo groups. I will have a look later. Mark suggested this about calicivirus previously and I completely forgot about it!

[meriad]

Sarah, no idea at all but just wanted to send a fuss to Edgar. x

[greenkitty]

I think you need to understand what level of carbs he can have so you can investigate the brands and make a decision about what food you can give him. Hector has IBD and was on Purina HA for a couple of years, I was worried about what would happen if he went off it so off my own back decided to try him on various cereal free foods and we now have 3 or 4 which he can eat with no problems. If I left it to the vet he'd still be on the Purina alone.

[SarahT1 [PLLE]]

Exactly. A friend's cat has also recently been diagnosed and they have been eating Hills. Two weeks on and he's already making noises of disgust that nothing else is no the menu! On Friday we return to get further test results and we can be more specific about exactly what level of carbs he can have.
Thank you ladies! Fusses passed on, Ria. x

[Crewella]

Sorry to hear about poor Edgar, give him a fuss from me too. I have no experience of diabetes, but I do feel that feeding some variety of foods is important, for health as well as for a happy cat. Good luck in your search for info. xx

[MarkB]

I remember reading that Butchers Classic is recommended for cats with diabetes.

[SarahT1 [PLLE]]

Thanks again. I have looked at Butchers and it is cereal free but I can't see if it's sugar free. I have emailed to ask. I've had a good conversation with the Nature's Menu advisor who was happy to recommend their pouches for diabetic cats but the Lily's Kitchen advisor was very cautious and said she couldn't recommend anything other than what our vet advised. I guess they have got into trouble before.

I rang the vet and got a VN who I haven't talked to before and she was quite forceful, effectively saying that nothing but RC Diabetic was suitable and it was a human conceit to think that the cats wanted anything else that than etc etc. Blimey! The vet was quite stern with us last Friday when we got the diagnosis, so I'm not expecting much flexibility there, but I will just print off as much useful, but not overwhelming guidance as possible, and take it with me this Friday. I will make sure I have a list of questions.

Thanks so much for your replies. Good wishes to all.

Sarah

[meriad]

Sarah, I'm trying to feed Harry cereal free food and one that he actually quite likes is this one: http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cann ... ches/37434" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

from what I can make out it's sugar free - the starch is rice only so no pasta or wheat. Admittedly I don't know how much sugar is in rice, but I suspect it may be less than in wheat?

also have a look at:

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cann ... sity/61654" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cann ... cans/99035" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

not sure if these would be appreciated by Edgars' taste buds but at least it would be something else to add to his diet

[SarahT1 [PLLE]]

Brilliant, Ria, thanks so much. More grist to the mill!

[MarkB]

Lidl pouches (the premium Coshida ones) in jelly are cereal-free, don't contain any sugars and seem to be very palatable (they even smell ok ) - they do contain a tiny amount of inulin. I googled to see if it was safe for cats (or people) with diabetes and came across this http://www.emaxhealth.com/1275/how-inul ... 2-diabetes" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I doubt if the amount they contain would have much effect, if any, but at least they shouldn't have a negative effect.

[SarahT1 [PLLE]]

Thank you Mark. Edgar has eaten these before and given them the nod but the Lidl we use is closed for refurbishment so we haven't been for a while. A special journey to bulk but at the Croydon branch looks worthwhile. I am collating all this info the talk to our vet in Fridsy to ask why they insist on RC prescription food only.

Love to Laz and Kylie.

[meriad]

I am collating all this info the talk to our vet in Fridsy to ask why they insist on RC prescription food only.

I'd love to know what they reply.... what's the bet they won't be honest and tell you that they probably get a financial kick back from the company / rep that sells it to them

[SarahT1 [PLLE]]

Spot on, Ria!

[Shelly and Dora]

Sarah there's a Lidl practically next door to the PAH in Lowestoft (remember your excitement when we drove past it) and as you know its only a 2 minute journey from home. Would you like me to get some for Edgar and post it to you? I could purchase & post today if needed as I've got to go past there when I pop into work later xx

[SarahT1 [PLLE]]

Oh, Shelly, that's kind. Thank you. Yes, I remember your lovely Lidl. We could get a few in, in case Paul allows him to have it, and if he doesn't then I can give them to Cats in Crisis, or even the girls might have them if they were in the mood. Did you decide what to do with the Sheba? If no one else needs them more, then I know Cats in Crisis will have them. If you were prepared to bag up some Coshida and the Sheba and send them to me at school I can refund you the postage along with the cost of the Coshida. Our Cats in Crisis contact works at my school so he's on the spot to take them home. But not if there's someone else who needs them.

Coshida do trays too, but it's specifically the jelly pouches we would need.

XXX

[Shelly and Dora]

Superb. Cats in Crisis are very welcome to the Sheba so I will post it all today. It makes me feel better knowing that I'm able to physically do something to help you & Edgar! If in the same parcel I can also help the poor little furbabes in rescue too then Dora and I are very happy bunnies today.

Xx

[SarahT1 [PLLE]]

Thank so much, Shelly and Dora!! Edgar says a big Fank You and so will his friends at Cats in Crisis, who we talk about a lot at home. I'll message you my school address now. Let me know how much I owe you! xx

[SarahT1 [PLLE]]

We're trying to get our boy into the Royal Veterinary College Feline Diabetic Remission Clinic study which runs at Potter's Bar. I am awaiting a call from the lady who runs it. She has sent me a lovely positive email and Edgar sounds as if he is the right profile to be part of the study. It is a long term study which would involve several overnight stays for him but the treatment and monitoring sound amazing and it is all free, including a year's free food. Cooperation of our own vet would be needed though, so hopefully there's nothing political there which would stand in the way. Once the lady calls to chat, there will be a month's wait for the first appointment, but that would be worth it. Paws crossed!

[Crewella]

That sounds great, Sarah - everthing crossed that you can get him on it. xx

[greenkitty]

Great idea, paws crossed!

[SarahT1 [PLLE]]

Thank you! I will post as soon as I hear whether we qualify for the first stage.

[SarahT1 [PLLE]]

We have an appointment booked for 24 November. It's a long way off but hopefully it will be worth waiting for. We have been advised to get Edgar straight onto a wet food low carb diet using Purina d/m prescription food and to wean him off dry food. He is not mad keen on dry but Lou Lou likes it, so they suggested we get a micro chip feeder for Lou. Never heard of them, but they sound brilliant. We'll see.

[Diana]

Good that you got an appt.

How is Edgar getting on? Microchip feeders....I have never used them before, but if it helps Edgar stay away from dry then it's certainly worth a shot.

[Eliz+Cats]

We're trying to get our boy into the Royal Veterinary College Feline Diabetic Remission Clinic study which runs at Potter's Bar. I am awaiting a call from the lady who runs it. She has sent me a lovely positive email and Edgar sounds as if he is the right profile to be part of the study.

That's fantastic news, Sarah!!!

I have a friend whose cat has just gone into remission while on the RVC trial. She was incredibly impressed with the care she received from the main vet (Ruth?). (My friend's cat is the lovely ginger boy, Angel, on the RVC's facebook page.)
If Edgar gets onto the trial not only do you get free food and insulin, but the insulin you'll get will be different to the usual one you can get from your vet (Caninsulin). (The RVC are trialling two longer lasting insulins, Lantus/Glargine and Prozinc.) They'll also give you a glucose meter kit and will show you how to test Edgar's blood glucose at home. (It's not compulsory, but makes diabetes management much more effective. And it's way easier than it sounds, honestly! And it doesn't hurt the cat at all.)

Regarding food, FDMB (Feline Diabetes Message Board) has a good list of suitable UK foods for diabetic cats. I'll find the link and post it here shortly.

Eliz

[Eliz+Cats]

Hi Sarah,

Here's the link to the FDMB list of diabetic-friendly foods in the UK (the list also shows where the food can be bought, and the percentage of calories from carbs). There is a lot of choice here, but there may well be some low carb foods out there that aren't on the list yet.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc ... mWmc#gid=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Is Edgar on Insulin yet? If so, reducing the carb content of the diet should be done with some caution. It can reduce the blood glucose level quite a bit.

Keeping fingers and paws crossed that Edgar does make it onto the trial!

Eliz

[SarahT1 [PLLE]]

A quick update. We have got Edgar his appointment with the RVC feline diabetes clinic in November but i the meantime they like the cats to start on their preferred food which is Purina Veterinary diet d/m (diabetes management). It arrived today and Edgar loves it! It is pate formula, rather like Gourmet Gold pate or Meowing Heads pate, but without any jelly at the bottom of the tin. It looks very bland, but it must be yummy as he scoffed it without hesitation. This is nothing special, I suppose, as he loves almost anything as long as it's food, but the test was when I tried it on Pepsi and Lou Lou (we were told it was fine for everyone to have it if that helps prevent Edgar eating the girls' food). They loved it too! Lou Lou hardly ever eats any wet food enthusiastically, but she had what was, for her, a big poriton. Pepsi, who already favours pate type foods, gobbled it up too. I've had a lot of success with Pepsi's diet, however, which I don't particularly want to jeopardise, so I'll keep it as a treat for her, but if Lou goes over to it as well as Edgar, that's all well and good, as he always steals her food!

[Crewella]

That's brilliant - it makes such a difference when they actually like the stuff that's good for them!

I'm so glad you got him a place, well done, and good luck!

[greenkitty]

That's great news, so often we hear of cats not wanting to eat their new prescription food that must have come as a huge relief!

Well done Edgar