Feline diabetes can be a scary thing for both furbaby and owner. One minute your pet is fat & sassy and the next minute they have lost half their body weight, have horrible dandruff, drink water constantly and are flooding the litter box. Looking back it's easy to say, Ah! Yes, I did see the feline diabetes signs but at the time I hate to admit I didn't put it all together. A month before I had actually complained to Tidy Cat that their clumping litter must have lost it's clumping action. Had they changed their litter recipe? It wasn't until my Tiger developed neuropathy (nerve damage from high blood glucose levels) that I knew something was wrong. One morning I found 14 year old tiger walking very flat footed and only could take a few steps before resting.
More info on neuropathy and Methyl-B12 treatment:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/weak-back-rear-legs.htm
http://www.laurieulrich.com/jasper/
Once the veterinarian diagnosed Tiger as being a diabetic cat he suggested that we change Tigers diet to a veterinarian sold cat food. ( I just need to add that Tiger hated the veterinarian Feline diabetes canned food and refused to eat it) We tried that for a couple weeks but his levels were so high that we started insulin shots two times a day. I don't care how much they say it's just a tiny prick that doesn't hurt too much - I hated giving him the shots. Still he was perking up a bit after the shots and I started to realize that shots may have to be a necessity for the rest of his life. The neuropathy bothered me though because even though his levels were leveling out, he still wasn't walking very well and I found myself helping him around. I know that many cat owners might consider putting their animal to sleep at this stage but I couldn't. I started surfing the net looking for information. Over the years I've learned that even the greatest veterinarian doesn't know everything. I enjoy reading other cat owners stories that are dealing with feline diabetes and I kept noticing a common thread. Dry cat food isn't a good diet. Feed wet cat food, but not just any wet, something that is low carb and hasn't got wheat gluten in the ingredients.
After much searching we decided to feed Tiger strictly Fancy Feast. Not all Fancy Feast varieties of cat food are diabetic friendly. When in doubt search the ingredients on the cat food can for wheat gluten. It's usually in the gravy forms of cat food rather than the loaf.
Here is a helpful list of Fancy Feast canned cat foods that are good for cats suffering from Feline diabetes.
http://felinediabetes.com/printgluten.htm
Tigers favorites are:
Chopped Grill Feast
Turkey & Giblets Feast
During a feeding he eats about a half a can so I was stuck putting the can in a plastic baggie because I couldn't find any pet can lids to fit the small 3 oz cans. Update!! I found lid covers that fit the smaller Fancy Feast 3 oz cans. Go to your nearest Petco and look for their 'Petco Mini Pet Food Can Covers'. Ironically our local Petco didn't have the covers near the canned foods so you might have to ask someone. You can also find them online here:
http://www.petco.com/product/13554/PETCO-Mini-Pet-Food-Can-Covers.aspx
I'm really pleased with the covers as they are made of a durable, flexible plastic and not the hard brittle stuff that I've used for the larger cans.
After a month of feeding Tiger strictly wet foot I thought Tiger was getting worse. I was so upset but after taking him to get his diabetic curve at the veterinarians we found out that Tiger wasn't needing the insulin. Poor little guy didn't hardly have any blood sugar so he was sluggish. For a few weeks we monitored is blood levels without any insulin shots and it seems he no longer has feline diabetes or at least it is in remission. I really believe this proves that even diet alone can change a diabetic cats future and it doesn't have to be the expensive veterinarian sold diabetic cat food. He is now a happy cat at a healthy weight and doesn't need those horrible shots. :)
Tiger's neuropathy has improved but I'm not sure if his back legs will ever be like a year ago. I have read great things about Methyl-B12, but after a couple weeks we haven't seen the miracles I was hoping for. I'll post more if I have any updates.
Don't give upon your diabetic cat and don't give in to expensive veterinarian cat foods!!! Tiger is another example on how Feline diabetes can be beat.
Here are a few of my favorite websites dealing with Feline diabetes:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/
http://www.laurieulrich.com/jasper/
http://www.sugarpet.net/.
"Feline Diabetes" continues..
Feline Diabetes
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