My cat has just been diagnosed with diabetes, can diet alone control it?

Question

The reason I ask is that it will be VERY difficult to give insulin injections twice every day at the same times as members of the family are always coming and going and having someone at home at the right times will not always be possible.

Could it be possible to switch to a more regulated diet and keep things in check? By the sounds of things once insulin injections are begun it must be continued.

Also I've read alot about the dry vs wet food, but our vet has assigned us dry food again, which the cat has been eating 90% of the time for the past 5 years. Should we keep with the vets advice or would a low-carb wet food diet be better?

Answer 1

Hi
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Someone sent tme this link cause they know that I can help you. I hope it's not too late and youj receive this answer,
ISome cats can be controlled by diet but many need insulin to give the pancreas a jumpstart. You don't want to feed the dry food that the vet gave you. Dry food is most likely the reason your cat got diabetes in the first place
You want to feed canned foods under 10% carbs (not all fish) This list gives the breakdown
http://www.geocities.com/jmpeerson/canfood.html
The 12 hour rule between shots ios not writiten in stone and you may be aboe to work around that. You should start insulin even if it is 1 shot a day. if you are willing to learn, I will teach you how to hometest so you may be able to give the shots at odd hours while protecting your cat. Insulin wears off so there is no you have to continue. Please email me as you don't allow email to you
mail

Answer 2

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Answer 3

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Answer 4

We tried the food thing, which worked for a while but his numbers started climbing again.

High protein, low carb. We were using Royal Canin Siamese 38 (38% protein) and 9-Lives Super Supper (6 carbs per can) for the most part. Purina DM is good too. We did try EVO which is 50% protein, but he got diarhea from it.

The insulin is very easy to give. Can you do a schedule sheet on the refrigerator broken down into day and night injections,and then whoever gives the injection MAKE SURE to mark it off on the sheet? That way you don't have miscommunication and overdose or missed doses. You usually have a half hour to hour you can give it in, not right on the button every day.

If these help, take a look--it's a site with comparisons of cat foods for diabetic cats.

Answer 5

I've only seen one cat that was controlled by diet alone, and he was fed a high protein food, Hills m/d. It is more important to have regular feeding times rather than worry about what food is fed. Many vets will opt for a high fiber diet, as they can help regulate glucose levels more evenly. Most of the time cats need one and sometimes two insulin injections per day, plus regular blood monitoring in the beginning in order to get him regulated. Though it is nice to give the insulin injections around the same time every day, our view is that people have lives to lead, and you just need to do the best you can. Having a diabetic cat doesn't mean you can never go out to dinner because "his shot will be late". Just get it as close to every 12 hours as your schedule will allow, and don't over worry. Cats usually tolerate these injections very well.

Answer 6

My cat was diabetic. She lived to be 19 years old. We gave her insulin shots once a day. It was really no big deal. Just changing her diet would not have made a difference. Her insulin levels were too far off to be effected by diet alone. Talk to your vet again and see if insulin once a day is enough. When we were out of town, a friend gave the shots. It was very easy. The cat thought she was getting petted.

Answer 7

Check out this website

http://www.yourdiabeticcat.com


I have learned a lot from this website!
Get your cat on Bovine Insulin PZI (pure Beef insulin)
http://www.bcpvetpharm.com
Click on products click on Bovine Insulin Maybe your veterinarian can order you a sample bottle.


Feed cat only canned food no dry food not even Hill Prescription these foods are hidden with high carbs.Human insulins don't work as well on cats because it doesn't match a cat's insulin.Beef Insulin is the best and closest to a cat's insulin.
That goes for pills too like Glipizde.


I have a diabetic cat and he is on Bovine Insulin
eating only canned food now because with the dry food my cats glucose levels were high and not dropping.
Now that I have him on canned food only he is doing better at one shot of insulin a day at 2.5 units.
I have had to monitor his blood with a glucose meter.Also a cat can be off of insulin once the pancreas begins to produce it's own insulin and the diabeties is controlled by diet.
I have a veterinarian who is not well informed on diabetes.I had to turn to the internet to educate myself.That doesn't mean that once you begin a
regimine you shouldn't share your it with the veterinarian.I think veterinarians are caught up in what they have been told is good but it isn't.You have to do what is best for your cat and learn as much as you can!
As I have found out the hard way my vet led me astray.Once I found the forum /website listed above did I start seeing results.
It has been a long hard stuggle not to mention stressful situation dealing with my cat's diabetes but I am learning and each day is getting better as I learn more.
Good luck and I hope the info I passed onto you will help you!

Answer 8

It is very, very important that you do exactly what the vet has told you to do. If it were a child of yours that needed insulin shots, you would not hesitate to give them. If people are coming and going at your house all day- everyone will have to learn how to do the injections so that your cat always has the injections at the same time. Do not second-guess your vet. If you want another opinion, take your cat to another vet- but don't just disregard the advice of your vet because it seems like a lot of trouble. This is a very serious disease, and your cat could end up with renal (kidney) failure and die.

Answer 9

Diabetes is usually treated through a combination of diet (low sugar), exercise and medications/insulin. Read here https://tr.im/rUtHb
Milder cases can be controlled with just diet an/or exercise while more severe cases require meds or insulin as well.

Answer 10

Your cat can be managed for a period of time on a special diet. I have posted a link that may give you additional information. I can understand your concern about insulin shots, and the hardest part is generally setting the initial dosage.

It apparently is not true that once on insulin, always on insulin. Some cats, with insulin, have a regeneration in their pancreas, and can then do without insulin.