My 8 year old cat had bladder stones a year ago. The vet put him in the Urinary SO food. It worked and the stones broke apart. At his 1 year check up they are telling me that he is now a diabetic. Can the food they said he needed to eat have given him diabetes? He has been on both dry and wet. I have 2 other cats also that I am now worried about. Anyone know of any food I can give him to try and correct the diabetes?
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Can A Cat Become Diabetic From Food
- Thread starter LisabWalk
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- Nov 13, 2017
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Dry food with lots of carbs is linked to diabetes, yes, but the main factor seems to be their weight.
My cat went into remission after throwing out the kibble and giving him low carb wet food only. He did need insulin for 2 months though.
My cat went into remission after throwing out the kibble and giving him low carb wet food only. He did need insulin for 2 months though.
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- #3
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- #4
Yes, dry food can cause diabetes in many cats. It's the high carbs that causes the pancreas to "burn out" and causes obesity which makes it harder for insulin to work well. There is more detailed info here about this Feline Diabetes- treatment and prevention in cats
Royal Canin SO dry is about 30% carbs, far too much for a cat. There are alternatives to feeding it: Alternatives to Royal Canin SO
All of the cats would benefit from a preferably canned food only diet. For the diabetic cat, you need to feed canned foods that are 10% or less in carbs. Here is a chart to use: http://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf To make it easier, just feed all the cats the same low carb foods. It's ok to give the non-diabetics the occasional gravy or sauce based higher carb foods but keep the diabetic cat away from it. The only time it is ok to give a diabetic cat a high carb food is to raise blood glucose levels during a mild hypoglycemic episode.
Diet alone doesn't always work so your diabetic cat may need insulin as well. Start the low carb diet now while your cat isn't on insulin. If you do it later, the reduction in carbs will have an impact on the insulin and dose and your cat may become hypoglycemic. The sooner the cat goes on the right low carb diet and insulin, the greater the chances of remission are. Some cats only need a short time on insulin before they become diet controlled. Diabetes is never cured, just well managed. Stress or illness can cause a diabetic cat to come out of remission but it can be temporary.
Royal Canin SO dry is about 30% carbs, far too much for a cat. There are alternatives to feeding it: Alternatives to Royal Canin SO
All of the cats would benefit from a preferably canned food only diet. For the diabetic cat, you need to feed canned foods that are 10% or less in carbs. Here is a chart to use: http://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf To make it easier, just feed all the cats the same low carb foods. It's ok to give the non-diabetics the occasional gravy or sauce based higher carb foods but keep the diabetic cat away from it. The only time it is ok to give a diabetic cat a high carb food is to raise blood glucose levels during a mild hypoglycemic episode.
Diet alone doesn't always work so your diabetic cat may need insulin as well. Start the low carb diet now while your cat isn't on insulin. If you do it later, the reduction in carbs will have an impact on the insulin and dose and your cat may become hypoglycemic. The sooner the cat goes on the right low carb diet and insulin, the greater the chances of remission are. Some cats only need a short time on insulin before they become diet controlled. Diabetes is never cured, just well managed. Stress or illness can cause a diabetic cat to come out of remission but it can be temporary.
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- #6
Thank you so much. We went to the vet yesterday and got rid of all of the SO food both wet and dry and got canned low carb for all. We are ordering the insulin today so we are getting a head start on the new wet food. The vet has been extremely helpful but I feel as if they should have taken him off of the SO months ago so as to possibly avoid the diabetes all together. The vet said we found it early (as he didnt have any symptoms) so hopefully the diet will make the difference.
Again thank you!
Again thank you!
A great web site to learn more about diabetes in cats is Feline Diabetes —Diabetes in Cats — Treatment and Diabetic Cat Info — FDMB There's a message board there, too.
Did the vet diagnose the diabetes with a fructosamine test? The blood glucose test included with regular blood work isn't helpful. All it tells is what the cat's level was at the time of the blood draw. Most cats are super stressed out being at the vet's office and that results in a super high blood glucose level.
Did the vet diagnose the diabetes with a fructosamine test? The blood glucose test included with regular blood work isn't helpful. All it tells is what the cat's level was at the time of the blood draw. Most cats are super stressed out being at the vet's office and that results in a super high blood glucose level.
