My Diabetic Cat Is Always Hungry

[Rinalynn]

Hello! I have a question. My 13 year old cat has diabetes and we are feeding her Fancy Feast Classic Paté wet food. We feed her 3 cans a day, yeah our vet said only 2 a day, but she's CONSTANTLY begging for food and you can feel her bones. Though She has maintained her weight since we took her in October. I feel so bad and wish I could help but I don't know what to do. We cant really afford the insulin and with her being so old, we just want her to be comfortable and happy for the rest of her days. Is there any other food or anything people would recommend?

 

[cheesycats]

13 is a little over middle aged for a cat. My childhood cat recently died at 20.
Why does your vet want her on the diet? Carbs are what to avoid with a diabetic cat right? The fancy feast pates are ideal as they are pretty low carb. Not sure why you vet would only want 2 cans a day. Fancy feast calls for a can per 3 lbs. so feed whatever she wants for her ideal weight. Maybe just one extra can would keep her happy. You definitely shouldn't be able to feel her spine or hip bones though so I would up her amount of food if that’s what you’re feeling.

 

[Tobermory]

I fed my elderly diabetic boy Fancy Feast Classic Pâtés, too. It’s kind of the “go to” food for diabetic cats for the following reasons: diabetic cats can be picky because they don’t feel good, but they generally like and will eat the FF Classic Pâtés; it’s higher protein/lower carb which is extremely important for diabetic cats; it’s canned instead of the kibble which isn’t good for them; and it’s reasonably priced which is a necessity for some folks.

If your kitty is extremely thin, then I’d feed her what she wants. I had a lot of trouble keeping weight on Max toward the end (he was 20) so I gave him what he wanted.

I also administered insulin to Max, and yes, it’s pricey. Fortunately, my vet wrote me a prescription that I was able to fill at Costco for much less.

Here’s a helpful chart showing the breakdown of protein/fat/carbs of many commercial foods: https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf. It hasn’t been updated for awhile so there are newer choices, but this chart is a good starting point.

Good luck with your girl!

 

[LTS3]

Please ignore the vet and feed your cat more food! A can of fancy Feast is around 80 calories. Two cans a day is not enough, especially not for an unregulated diabetic cat who is not on insulin. Diabetic cats are literally starving so you need to feed lots of food until the blood glucose levels are more normal.

13 is NOT old and no reason at all to not treat the diabetes. Not treating the diabetes is basically a life sentence for the cat and a cruel way to live. There are many complications from unregulated diabetes that can affect a cat, no different than that in Human diabetics. Please join this great feline diabetes message board to get help and advice on managing your cat: Feline Diabetes Message Board - FDMB Managing a diabetic cat does not mean you have to go broke. There are many ways to keep costs low.

Your vet can request a free 5 ml vial of BCP PZI insulin for you from here: Request Your Free Samples - BCP Veterinary Pharmacy You will need U40 insulin syringes. You can buy these online with no prescription as store pharmacies only sell U100 insulin and syringes. U40 is pet specific.

 

[DreamerRose]

As a diabetic myself, I can understand her constant hunger. It's the pits. Since she's a carnivore, protein shouldn't aggravate the diabetes. If she's skin and bones, and you are feeding her Fancy Feast, I agree with the previous posters and say ditch the vet and feed her more Fancy Feast. Three meals a day is not too much.

 

[jen]

A diabetic cat needs insulin, you really cannot ignore that.

 

[jen]

It doesn't have to be permanent, but it needs to regulate and then you can slowly wean off with proper diet (which you are on the right track). She is diabetic likely due to improper diet. She isn't too old to straighten things out.

 

[Kflowers]

There is this, most cats need a very small daily or twice daily dose of insulin, little more than a drop. Your tiny vial should last a month. That will give you time to save for the next one.

GoodRx pets Pet Medications: GoodRx for Pets - GoodRx has several forms of insulin on their listing. This is to help you find where you can get the least expensive insulin. go to their website, scroll down to where the types of insulin are listed under

DIABETES

• Lantus
• Novolin N
• Humulin N
• Prozinc
• Vetsulin

 

[LTS3]

The FDMB message board has more info on each type of insulin that cats can use, both Human medicines and pet specific ones. Each have their pros and cons.

There is this, most cats need a very small daily or twice daily dose of insulin, little more than a drop. Your tiny vial should last a month.

Not Lantus, though. A 10 ml bottle won't last a month. It's better to use the Lantus pens instead. A box of pens is pricier but there's five pens in the box which is basically at least a 5 month supply you have on hand.

 

[Tobermory]

Not Lantus, though. A 10 ml bottle won't last a month. It's better to use the Lantus pens instead. A box of pens is pricier but there's five pens in the box which is basically at least a 5 month supply you have on hand.

Costco—at least my Costco—was willing to break up the box and sell me just one.

 

[LTS3]

Some pharmacies will sell a single Lantus pen at their discretion. That might be useful to those who have a cat quickly achieving remission or just need a token dose daily. Some of the FDMB members buy a box as a group and split the box up between them.

 

[Brandym7]

My cat is 14 and diabetic. I feed her Winco cat food which is the same as FF except 9 G protein. I supplement with salmon and fresh meats anyway, and it’s less expensive and less fat than FF. She eats whatever my dogs eat - I make for them, meat and veggies blended. The vet never put her on insulin because he wanted to do $1200 worth of lab work first which I could not afford.
Now, she’s on a grain-free dry food, also Winco, white fish and salmon and does pretty well. Very active and for her age. Has gotten by with an injury and abcess without untoward side effects. The new doc says she’s in good shape for her age and does not recommend I treat her any different. She went in for a bloody nose and has a polyp in her nose but at her age and its big enough she likely would not survive the surgery and can breath well enough and purr, so we're letting her live out her life ad lib.

 

[mani]

Welcome to TCS Brandym7 .
This thread is five years old, but your comments are welcome.
If you would like to introduce yourself in our New Cats on the Block forum, we'd love to meet you.