Food for diabetic cats

[Catty1]

A friend of mine just found out his cat is diabetic. The vet advised low-to-no carb food, of course.

The vet brand food is expensive of course; can a diabetic cat use a quality no-grain food? The carbs in these are vegetables and fruit sometimes.

The vet wasn't crazy about my friend using Friskies wet and Iams dry (mixed with tuna, and the protein is ok...the vet was ok with that. The Friskies will be used up and then?)

Thanks for any suggestions!

[jennielynn1970]

Can he do the chicken puree like I do for Honeybun?? That's no carb and has lots of good stuff in it for him. You can put in veggies and stuff and blend it all up. Yummy!!

[mrspunkysmom]

I don't know about how many carbs the cat can have. I do know that BLUE makes a BASICS cat food with limited ingredients. Compare ingredients with the vet's recommended food?

Wishing a long healthy life to your friend's kitty.

[Scooter's Mom]

The thing is, you'd think fruits and veggies would be okay. Having recently been diagnosed diabetic myself, it's amazing how many fruits & veggies have carbs in them.

Good luck to your friend in his quest for healthier food for his kitty.

[Freedom]

Spot's Stew is fine for diabetic cats, and there are other recipes like it in The Whole Pet Diet, by Andi Brown. I make Spot's stew for my crew of 15 quite often.

Also, the grain free foods will be a step in the right direction: Taste of the Wild makes several. Merrick Before Grain, Orijen also are fantastic.

Lots of info on the diabetic pets forum, too.

http://www.yourdiabeticcat.com/forums/

Once a cat is on insulin, you really must monitor how much and when they eat, so you can adjust the insulin accordingly. You can't "just" give the prescribed insulin at the set time -- if the cat decides to skip a meal, you have a huge issue, the cat falls into an insulin coma. This makes your personal schedule rather strict as well -- if you are going to work late, or be out at the time of a shot, you MUST arrange for someone else to take care of the cat. Following the protocols is key to survival and success in managing diabetes - in pets AND humans.

[TommyCat]

Freedom gave you some very good advice on diabetic cats.

Here is also a very good website with lots of good information. You will find a link within this site "Janet & Binky's food chart" - it gives carbs of many brands of wet food.

http://www.felinediabetes.com/