My Overweight Cat needs help

[snowshoe2]

Just an update on Cocoa.
On his return check up on March 5 he was diagnosed with diabetes. His blood sugar was 520! He was not doing well on the Purina OM and it probably just contributed to raising his blood sugar level due to the high carb content of that food. Why the vet put him on it in the first place knowing his glucose level was elevated is beyond me, but just reinforces everything I have been reading about most vets not knowing or caring much about feline nutrition, other than what the food companies tell them so they will push their products.
I am now giving him insulin twice a day,(this is not fun for him or me ) feeding him grain free canned food and hoping to someday be able to eliminate his need for insulin.
I have sure learned a valuable lesson about feeding cats food with high carb content and the negative effect it can have on them.

[Catlady711]

Sorry to hear Cocoa is a diabetic.

On a more positive note sometimes if the glucose gets stabalized they can go off insulin after a year or two, but not all cats can do this.

You'd said on your previous visit the glucose was elevated, did you vet happen to mention what the result was that time? If it wasn't elevated much then the vet probably saw no other red flags to assume that Cocoa was going to become diabetic, only that the weight could cause him to get that way.

Where I work they tend to go with OM when the weight is the greater problem, and DM when the glucose is the bigger problem. Sometimes neither helps and the wheels of diabetes have already been set in motion before that.

Sad to say there are some vets out there that don't go to seminars, and keep up with the latest research on pet health/nutrition. I hope your vet isn't one of them and simply chose the best choice based on lab results and his experience at the last visit. If you really do feel your vet is the former then maybe look into finding another vet you can have more confidence in?

Either way I really hope the insulin gets Cocoa's glucose stabalized and eventually he could be one of those cats that doesn't have to stay on it permenantly.

Keep us updated, and thank you for posting the updates so far.

[Moesha]

I have a diabetic kitty, Morgan. He started at 8 units of insulin once a day and then went to 5 units twice a day. His food was changed to Purina DM (diabetic management). It took about 7 or 8 months, but gradually he was weaned off of the insulin. He's been off of it for over a year and a half now. I strictly regulate the amount of food he gets. In addition to the dry DM, he also gets a pinch of canned food in the morning and the evening. He always had his morning treat, but the evening was added when he started to get the insulin shots. He didn't mind the shots since he knew he was getting his canned food as well. In fact, he'd come and remind me when it was time. He still does. LOL I know that each cat is different, and Morgan's case isn't the norm, but I just wanted to let you know that diabetes can be managed. In fact, it's easier to do in cats than humans, because we can make sure they don't "cheat". Also, in case you haven't found it yet, here is a link with lots of helpful information about protein vs carbs in all different kinds of cat foods. Keep us posted!

[emily_the_spoiled]

I don't know where you are in IL, but maybe there is a vet college nearby that can provide you with some guidance about weight loss and diet?

[snowshoe2]

Our vet is at a clinic and at the last few visits I made with Cocoa we didn't see our "regular" vet because she was on sick leave. It was one of the other vets on staff that was seeing us. The first time Cocoa's glucose was 280. He said it was on the high side, but not concerned. I stated at that time I would start feeding more canned and a dry with less carbs, but he insisted I feed the OM almost saying that if I didn't Cocoa would be in for numerous health problems which scared me. After all he was the vet and I thought he would know best. So I said I also wanted some OM canned, but even that has a higher carb content than some dry foods.
It wasn't until after this that I started researching feline obesity and how certain foods can contribute to it and diabetes.
On the follow up visit, luckily our original vet was back in and she has a diabetic cat herself. She pretty much confirmed what I have read about feeding a low carb food and said herself that OM was a bad choice for Cocoa. She also didn't push DM when I told her I was going to be feeding him a quality canned food and very limited dry.
Moesha, yes I have read the info at that site and also have been using Janet & Binky's Food Charts to compare different foods.
Cocoa seems to be doing ok, but he surely doesn't like the insulin shots. I'll be taking him back later this week for a re-check on his glucose. I hope it's stabilized.

[Jessika]

Ahha I might be able to help since I just had a test over carbs, protein and fats today.

Carbs and protein both equal the same amount of energy. Fat equals 2.25 more energy than carbs or protein do. Excess fat in the diet gets stored in the muscle and liver and excess carbs gets stored in muscle whereas excess protein just gets flushed out of the system. I would obviously stick to the diet your vet prescribed, but typically you'd want a diet higher in fiber to help weight loss. At least, I hope I got all that right, otherwise I probably didn't do so hot on my test

But not all fat is bad. It is actually an essential nutrient for the body so don't always assume since theres more fat that it means it's unhealthier. Obviously there are exceptions to everything but typically it's more beneficial than not

Good luck getting him back down to a healthy weight!!!

[Sonia59]

I did not have time to read in details all the PTers' comments to your thread, so forgive me if I say something that has been said already.

One thing that could help your kitty not jumping on the food is to have him hunt for it: put some dry food in a ball that has a little hole and kitty will have to play and make the ball roll to get the food. The kibbles will go out one by one so kitty will eat slowly and will be busy "hunting" so he will eat less.
If I understood well you give him both wet and dry food. Cats have a satiety for dry food and a satiety for wet food. So, if you feed your cat with one type he will ask for the other type even if he is not hungry. If you want your kitty to efficiently lose weight you should give him dry food only.

[snowshoe2]

Sonia59 thanks for your suggestion, but I have to disagree on your theory that dry food will help with weight loss. Canned food is much more like a felines natural diet and also provides much needed liquid. It also has fewer carbs. Funny how most people (including me) used to think that can food should only be given as a treat, when in reality it's dry food that should be limited and given only occasionally as a treat, if at all.
Here's an article that will help you understand feline nutrition.
FEEDING YOUR CAT

Cocoa goes to the vet today for his glucose check.

[Jessika]

Sonia59 thanks for your suggestion, but I have to disagree on your theory that dry food will help with weight loss. Canned food is much more like a felines natural diet and also provides much needed liquid. It also has fewer carbs. Funny how most people (including me) used to think that can food should only be given as a treat, when in reality it's dry food that should be limited and given only occasionally as a treat, if at all.
Here's an article that will help you understand feline nutrition.
FEEDING YOUR CAT

Cocoa goes to the vet today for his glucose check.

But with wet food you have to be very careful to pay special attention to their dental care. I will always recommend dry food over wet food for many reasons, the main being dental care. But if your cat is REFUSING to eat dry food, you may want to look into reasons why -- are they in pain? Are their gums tender? Do they have a loose tooth? A broken tooth? Cavities? Those are reasons to feed wet food... also obviously it has more water, but even with dry or wet food kitties don't generally drink a lot of water so I would always recommend feeding dry food over wet food unless there is a medical reason for it, or you are very good at caring for their teeth.