# What's the best kind of can cat food to feed a diabetic cat?



## Ziahippoqueen (Feb 14, 2007)

What's the best kind of can cat food to feed a diabetic cat? I also heard fiber is good. Can you add a fiber powder, such as Benefiber, to the cat's food? And I read somewhere that canned pumpkin is good for constipation. Would it be okay for a diabetic cat?

Thanks,
Zia


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## Calla_Dragon (Feb 11, 2007)

The goal with a diabetic cat is to keep as stable of a blood sugar as possible. Grains and other carbs (but especially grains) are hard on a diabetic cat because carbohydrates are what trips the blood sugar to go up and the scramble by the body to secrete insulin to bring the blood sugar levels back down. Protein and fat do not trigger a huge increase in blood sugar nor a catastrophic release of insulin to deal with a skyrocketing blood sugar.


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## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

Welcome to the forum.
I agree with the above. Wellness canned is supposed to be an excellent food for the diabetic cat. 
I'm not sure about the fiber question. If your cat is having some temporary digestive issues, I don't see why benefiber would be a problem. Pumpkin is a great choice ( to help with diarrhea or constipation) for most cats but I would double check whether it's O.K. for a diabetic cat first. I don't see why not. Why do you want to add fiber to your cat's food? 
jennifer2 is quite knowlegable in diabetes so, hopefully, she'll catch this. Or maybe you can pm her.
Good luck!


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## OsnobunnieO (Jun 28, 2004)

I've always been confused about the diabetic issue as well... most everyoen agrees that low carb is best (even vets, the m/d food is the lowest cab they sell) but I've always heard something about fiber... maybe what I'm thinking is something to slow down digestion so the food stays in the body longer? I could be way off about that though.

I think your best bet is canned food. 

Actually, with the right knowledge (you CAN find it with a little time and effort) there have been a lot of cats who have diabetes that is completely diet controlled and no longer require insulin.


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## Ziahippoqueen (Feb 14, 2007)

Why add fiber? I don't know, I heard it's good for diabetic cats.

I also read that canned kitten food is a good choice. Anyone else heard about that?

Thanks a lot for the info!! =D

-Zia


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## Gudewife (Jun 27, 2004)

I'm not terribly familiar with feline diabetes, but IIRC, the high-fiber thing was part of a low-fat/high-carb prescription food (like w/d or r/d) that used to be used in diabetics before they came out with m/d; the fiber slowed down the digestion and processing of the carbohydrates, resulting in a slower curve...someone might want to double-check me on that, though.

I use plain psyllium husk fiber in tiny amounts, it's usually easily available at a health-food store, and not too expensive...just make sure that whatever fiber you use doesn't contain sugar/flavoring. I wouldn't bother if your particular cat doesn't need it, though.

Most of the canned foods like Wellness are "all stage" formulas that are suitable for kittens or cats. Look for canned foods that are low in carbohydrates (and this will take some work, because they don't have to put it on the label). Exactly which food is right will depend on your specific cat and if there are other health issues that need to be considered and worked around.


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## Calla_Dragon (Feb 11, 2007)

Fiber to slow down digestion of carbs isn't necessary if carbs aren't in the diet or are in a very low quantity. Carnivores don't need fiber or carbs - that's not how their digestive tracts work. Their digestive tracts are very different from how ours are as we are not carnivores.


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## jennifer2 (Mar 5, 2005)

I feed mine Wellness. I'm in the process of switching over from EVO dry, which was just too high in calories!
People do use pumpkin in diabetics with digestive issues, pumpkin is a low-glycemic food, so it doesn't cause big spikes in blood sugar.
If your cat doesn't have any digestive issues, you could skip the fiber all together. The purpose of adding fiber to a diabetic cat's diet was to help avoid the big blood sugar swings after eating foods with carbs. Now we know that carbs aren't necessary (and may in fact be bad) for a cat's diet. No carbs= no big bg swing=no fiber neccessary.
That being said. There is a school of thought that diabetic cats with pancreatitis do benefit from fiber in their diets.
My cat has been diabetic for 7yrs (in April). In her early years, she was diet controlled for almost 3 yrs (after needing insulin for about 6 months). She was a strange one though in that she did best on Science Diet Lite Canned cat food. Much better than on a low carb diet, I think in that case it was the fiber that helped, and she probably would have done just as well on a low carb with added fiber diet, since she had a "sputtering" pancreas that could handle maintaining a bg level, but couldn't bring it down.
She's needed insulin for about 4 yrs now, and definatly can't handle any carbs anymore, with or without fiber.
So, long story short, it won't hurt to add pumpkin, but usually isn't needed.


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## Gudewife (Jun 27, 2004)

And _that_ said, I think that despite the current trend to say that chronic pancreatitis cats don't need the same low-fat diet that dogs do, I have seen a whole lot of anecdotal evidence from people with CP cats (me included) that says their cats actually do better with less dietary fat...and this may have something to do with what you said about a more moderate diet with higher fiber in diabetic cats with CP...maybe it's linked to exocrine pancreatic function, and the more moderate, blander diet might be easier on the pancreas. Just musing...cat food is definitely a case-by-case thing with pancreas cats, though, at least IME.


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## jennifer2 (Mar 5, 2005)

Here's the theory about diabetic/pancreatitis needing less fat/more fiber


> what we've been learning lately (or maybe everyone knew all along, and I was just a slow learner ), is that cats with pancreatitis often cannot tolerate high-fat diets, in spite of the common vet wisdom that "there's no evidence" of this. Such cats often feel better on diets with lower fat and higher carbohydrate, and a few actually need less insulin on such a diet. (This is probably because the pancreatitis itself leads to less insulin production or possibly inflammation-related insulin resistance.)


http://www.felinediabetes.com/phorum5/r ... msg-533944

Obviously, if you aren't dealing with a cat with pancreatitis, this won't apply.


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## Gudewife (Jun 27, 2004)

Thanks...that was kind of what I was thinking. I just have to deal with chronic-active pancreatitis at this point...diabetes and/or EPI may or may not be in my future, too soon to tell, but it's fairly likely. Diet and regulation will be an interesting adventure for me, I'm sure.

There's just SO much that converges at that point in cats...pancreas, liver, gall bladder, small intestine...no wonder it's so tricky to work it all out, hard enough just to figure out what you're chasing.


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