I would be interested to know....

LTS3

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I have. I was feeding him the calories of a 17 lb cat when he was 18 lb. Too much of a calorie decrease and they will have liver problems. He's on 15 units of Lantus a day some days a little less some days based on his b/g levels.
15 units of Lantus twice a day??? Has your cat ever been tested for Acromegaly or Cushings or insulin antibodies? These conditions can occur in diabetic cats and result in a huge amount of insulin needed to maintain the blood glucose levels at a somewhat decent level. Here is info: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=375
 He was on a canned diet. I'm not fond of prescriptions but I am desperate. I don't want his life shortened. I'm so scared especially after reading about your Grey. I can't do raw and he won't eat cooked. What or where nexted???
Not all canned foods are suiatable for diabetic cats. Low carb (under 10%) canned foods are best. This limits you to mostly pate type foods. Gravy/sauce foods are too high in carbs. if you search the FelineDiabetes.com forum, you'll find  sugestions for low carb cannnd food brands from inexpensive Fancy Feast to price premium brands like Nature's Variety Instinct. Feed whateve your cat likes to eat and you can afford.
 
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chromium blues

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My cat Montgomery could never digest anything well. KMR came out looking like cottage cheese. We weaned him onto Royal Canin, and it would pour out of him, too. We tried z/d, which almost killed him, Natural Balance Duck and Pea, which helped a bit but nowhere near enough, raw (wouldn't touch it), home-made (wouldn't touch it), and finally, Royal Canin Spayed/Neutered Kitten at about eight months of age. I think that saved his life. He was on that for months until it was clear the fibre was actually too high for him, at which point, his (WONDERFUL!!!) veterinarian put him on w/d, and he's been on that for a little over a year now. All that trial and error taught us that he can't digest fat very well at all. As long as he stays on the w/d (wet and dry) he's happy, healthy, and playful. He has a shiny coat (he's fully-furred), bright eyes, and is a healthy weight for his size.
 

peaches08

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He was on Blue Buffalo and Friskies Pate mixed. I had to do it that way or he wouldn't touch the Blue!! I rescued him as a stray. He was a healthy 12lbs. I got him neutered and 5 months later he was 18 lbs and 3 months after that diabetic. He was on Friskies dry and just when I read about nutrition and changed his diet to can he became diabetic.
He's on Hill's prescription.
What about just going back to the Friskies pate?  Many are low carb and inexpensive enough.  I used to watch for sales at PetSmart and bought cat food then.  Which Hill's prescription is he on?
 
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bonepicker

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A significant number of our previous cats died of kidney failure. We thought we were feeding good-quality dry food (Prescription Diet C/D then W/D). We tried the canned versions, but the cats refused it. Our vets indicated two had to be on prescription food and it wouldn't hurt the others. One cat was significantly overweight and was always hungry on W/D; he ended up dying of heart failure.

With our current cats, we selected a good-quality grain-free dry food. The male cat, Tim, had frequent hairballs and was on Laxatone. He vomited and had diarrhea occasionally. When Tim was less than two years old, he had his first episode of constipation and obstipation, which resulted in a visit to the emergency vet and an enema. The vet said he appeared to be dehydrated and suggested a water fountain to encourage more drinking. Two years later, despite Tim practically living at the water fountain and him throwing his kibble in the water bowl before he fished it out and ate it, he became backed up again, and this time it was worse. The vet put him on cisapride and warned of megacolon.

We decided to transition the cats to mostly canned food, as I was terrified of the possibility of megacolon. We fed a premium brand of canned food, but Tim still had frequent hairballs; frequency might have even increased. He still had diarrhea. He still vomited on occasion. He developed urinary struvite crystals (you read that right; he did not have crystals on dry but got them on canned). He developed mild asthma. It was after a weekend of constant vomiting and our vets not having any answers for us except more drugs, each of which caused a new problem, and strongly suggesting prescription food for urinary crystals, that I changed foods again. This time I avoided chicken, only because that was in every food he vomited, then a few days later, carrageenan, because that was also in every food he vomited.

Today, Tim is a healthy cat that eats ~60% commercial raw and ~40% canned. We give him a Tbsp of kibble a few times a week as a treat. He has not had a hairball since May; before that, he hadn't had one since February, shortly after I changed his food. No diarrhea or vomiting since May. No crystals. No asthma. Tim is off all medications and we are tapering some of the supplements we used to help wean him off cisapride. Tim may still have a sensitive stomach, but I think even that is improving; he gorged on canned food that I accidentally left out on Saturday with no ill effects.

So, yeah, I do believe Tim's health issues were a direct result of what I was feeding him. While he actually had more problems on canned, it may have been cumulative. I don't intend to go back to dry to find out, however, because we can't risk another severe constipation/obstipation episode.
What canned do you feed him now?
 

jodiethierry64

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15 units of Lantus twice a day??? Has your cat ever been tested for Acromegaly or Cushings or insulin antibodies? These conditions can occur in diabetic cats and result in a huge amount of insulin needed to maintain the blood glucose levels at a somewhat decent level. Here is info: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=375




Not all canned foods are suiatable for diabetic cats. Low carb (under 10%) canned foods are best. This limits you to mostly pate type foods. Gravy/sauce foods are too high in carbs. if you search the FelineDiabetes.com forum, you'll find  sugestions for low carb cannnd food brands from inexpensive Fancy Feast to price premium brands like Nature's Variety Instinct. Feed whateve your cat likes to eat and you can afford.
Thank You, I will research these other conditions. I just had him in for a check up and why a professional wouldn't think of thses (vet). I'm tired of doing their job!! He's on 15 units a day. Sometimes more or less but mostly 7 in am and 8 at pm.
 

jodiethierry64

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What about just going back to the Friskies pate?  Many are low carb and inexpensive enough.  I used to watch for sales at PetSmart and bought cat food then.  Which Hill's prescription is he on?
He's on Hill's. M/D. He hates the can. I do mix it with friskies pate. I like how I asked the vet about my 3 other felines eating the prescription and she said it won't hurt them. Hmmm!! I thought it was a
" prescription". Well when I got home and read the ingredients I about cried. Peaches you're a nurse you know human diabetics can't even eat that!!! 47 dollars for 8 oz's of poo!!
 

LTS3

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He's on Hill's. M/D. He hates the can. I do mix it with friskies pate. I like how I asked the vet about my 3 other felines eating the prescription and she said it won't hurt them. Hmmm!! I thought it was a
" prescription". Well when I got home and read the ingredients I about cried. Peaches you're a nurse you know human diabetics can't even eat that!!! 47 dollars for 8 oz's of poo!!
You don't need prescription food at all. There's nothing in prescription food that will help a diabetic cat. Dr. Lisa of Catinfo.org doesn't even recommend it at all and she is the one who helped come up with the first MD formula. Apparently Hills drastically changed the formula over the years since then and it's basically full of poor quality ingrediens.

You can feed only the Friskies pate to all the cats, regardless of what the vet may say. Remember, it's your cat, not the vet's cat. The vet may make suggestions on food but can't control what you feed.

I think your food questions would be better posted in the Cat Nutrition fourm
 

jodiethierry64

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You don't need prescription food at all. There's nothing in prescription food that will help a diabetic cat. Dr. Lisa of Catinfo.org doesn't even recommend it at all and she is the one who helped come up with the first MD formula. Apparently Hills drastically changed the formula over the years since then and it's basically full of poor quality ingrediens.

You can feed only the Friskies pate to all the cats, regardless of what the vet may say. Remember, it's your cat, not the vet's cat. The vet may make suggestions on food but can't control what you feed.

I think your food questions would be better posted in the Cat Nutrition fourm :)
Thank You!!!
 

peaches08

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He's on Hill's. M/D. He hates the can. I do mix it with friskies pate. I like how I asked the vet about my 3 other felines eating the prescription and she said it won't hurt them. Hmmm!! I thought it was a
" prescription". Well when I got home and read the ingredients I about cried. Peaches you're a nurse you know human diabetics can't even eat that!!! 47 dollars for 8 oz's of poo!!
The prescription foods don't contain a medication, so yes, for the most part they can be "safe" for other cats...obviously I don't mean the thyroid formula in which a normal cat could suffer from eating it over a long period of time (no iodine and it's needed for normal cats).  However I admit to not really liking the ingredient lists of most prescription foods, and I really don't like this one for a diabetic cat.  Before beating yourself up, you know how hard it is to feed healthy humans!  Between the hormones in meat, pesticides...it's a nightmare trying to make wise decisions.  However, as I mentioned earlier the feline diabetes board is full of experienced members that can help you figure this out.  There's even members experienced with specific insulins.  I HIGHLY advise AGAINST just dropping the Hill's and continuing with Lantus without expert help.  Lantus is a long-acting and fantastic insulin choice, but cats are terrible about telling us when they are in a crisis.  So I'd much prefer you have a board full of help in that.  Obviously include your vet or another one in this as well.
 

jodiethierry64

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The prescription foods don't contain a medication, so yes, for the most part they can be "safe" for other cats...obviously I don't mean the thyroid formula in which a normal cat could suffer from eating it over a long period of time (no iodine and it's needed for normal cats).  However I admit to not really liking the ingredient lists of most prescription foods, and I really don't like this one for a diabetic cat.  Before beating yourself up, you know how hard it is to feed healthy humans!  Between the hormones in meat, pesticides...it's a nightmare trying to make wise decisions.  However, as I mentioned earlier the feline diabetes board is full of experienced members that can help you figure this out.  There's even members experienced with specific insulins.  I HIGHLY advise AGAINST just dropping the Hill's and continuing with Lantus without expert help.  Lantus is a long-acting and fantastic insulin choice, but cats are terrible about telling us when they are in a crisis.  So I'd much prefer you have a board full of help in that.  Obviously include your vet or another one in this as well.
Thank You!! I Love Buster Brown and I don't want to lose him because I failed him!! I couldn't live with myself!!
 

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What canned do you feed him now?
Tim eats Nature's Variety Instinct rabbit and some Nature's Variety Instinct LID turkey. He also eats some Lotus Just Juicy pork stew and turkey stew. Abby eats the same, plus she also eats some Pure Vita turkey stew and ZiwiPeak rabbit and lamb. Tim sneaks a few bites of those when he has the chance.
 

helsic

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I have a cat 2 years old, when he was a kitten I didn't  know about cat's nutrition and I gave him a crappy brand when he was a kitten and as a result he has weak immune system and gets sick so easily.
 
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bonepicker

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Tim eats Nature's Variety Instinct rabbit and some Nature's Variety Instinct LID turkey. He also eats some Lotus Just Juicy pork stew and turkey stew. Abby eats the same, plus she also eats some Pure Vita turkey stew and ZiwiPeak rabbit and lamb. Tim sneaks a few bites of those when he has the chance.
I do not know lotus, is that raw?
 

LTS3

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.  I HIGHLY advise AGAINST just dropping the Hill's and continuing with Lantus without expert help.  Lantus is a long-acting and fantastic insulin choice, but cats are terrible about telling us when they are in a crisis.  So I'd much prefer you have a board full of help in that.  Obviously include your vet or another one in this as well.
I agree - Do not change the food and still give 15 units of Lantus twice a day
You will most likely send your cat into s serious hypoglycemia episode which may be fatal even with immediate vet treatment. A diet change from a high carb food to low carb food has a huge impact on blood glucose levels and insulin need. Only change the diet (slowly!) if you are closely monitoring blood glucose levels daily and are keeping in contact with the vet for advice and have the experienced advice of other users from the Lantus board at FelineDiabetes.com It may be best to give 1 unit of insulin while you are doing the food change.

I think it would be best to start a new thread to discuss your cat's diabetes. We kind of hijacked this one and gone off topic.
 
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chromium blues

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Nutram makes a low glycemic grain-free dry food. Its new to the market and there doesn't seem to be anything out there like it. It was one of the foods I tried on my picky foster kittens. They wouldn't eat it, but everyone else in the house thought it was marvelous!
 
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