Vet Visit Results
Ambush does not like his cat carrier: the second he hears it rattling around he hides. He knows what’s coming next. He no longer gives me a lot of trouble getting into it, luckily. He whines. Poor kitty.
Ambush lost over a pound since his last visit. The once 18-pound marshmellow is now an almost 12 pound kitty. Since he has been diagnosed with diabetes, he has lost a full third of his body weight. He used to weigh three times what Stella weighs; now he is only twice her weight.
His blood glucose levels were taken again — they were over 400. The urinalysis showed no ketones (sp?) in his urine, which is a Good Thing. The weight loss is not, though.
His does has been upped to three units twice per day instead of two. I will also be monitoring his progress in my day planner. It’s pretty easy to tell when he is on a good dose: a 14-pound jug of litter lasts three weeks. The vet gave me some packets to use in the litter box after a week. The packet contents will show if the urine has high sugar levels. I’ll report back what I find to the vet.
We also reviewed the cat food that the kitties have been on: California Naturals. It’s excellent cat food. While the bag label doesn’t say it, the web site for the brand says that the carbohydrate level is about 30+%. Diabetic cats are supposed to be on low carb food… so I have to resume searching for a new food. It’s just as well any way — Stella has decided that she doesn’t like the dry food any more any way.
So the search begins again for a different cat food that meets two opposing criteria: low protein and low carbohydrate content. The resources I used last time are:
- The Feline Diabetes web site is a great resource for learning more about the latest treatments and feeding suggestions.
- Janet and Binky’s Food Charts for dry food and canned food are a great resource.
- Cat Nutrition web site is focused on one thing: cat nutrition.
The vet suggested starting the kitties on a mostly canned diet as well. The kitties have always liked the Wellness brand wet food. The vet gave me a sample can of the Purina diabetic prescription wet food. I have never sen the cats go so crazy over wet food! Normally Stella prefers that her wet food be warm (she turns her nose up if the canned food isn’t fresh). She ate as much of this stuff as I gave her and then asked for more. (A very Good Thing since she has been losing weight and not eating the dry food.)
After reading through the sites listed above, I may try Precise Plus Feline Hairball formula. Hairball remedy can’t hurt. The carbs are at 22% and the protein is at 30%. I’ll just have to see if anyone around here carries it.
Another option is Felidae cat food. According to Janet and Binky’s list, Felidae has 23% carbs and 31% protein.
The vet also recommended going to a local pet store, Phydeaux, and seeing what they carry. My other good friend has also recommended visiting the store too. I might call her and see if she would like to do a road trip this weekend.