Read on to learn everything you need to know about how to pick the best food for a cat with diabetes.
Diabetic cat food science diet.
Whether they have type 1 or type 2 diabetes most cats will also require daily or twice daily injections of insulin to lower their blood sugar.
Glucose weight management 57 of the cat population is overweight 1.
When your cat has diabetes it s even more important to feed the right cat food.
It is not impossible but the process does have some complicating factors.
If your cat is on the hefty side your vet may prescribe a therapeutic weight loss food to help your cat shed unhealthy pounds.
A non diabetic cat can very safely handle the tough love 12 18 hours period of time without food that is often necessary to get them to change their diet but this does not apply to a diabetic patient.
As a rule wet food is better for diabetic cats than dry food before it tends to contain more meat and less grains and starches meaning is has higher protein and lower carbs than dry food.
This diet is palatable tasty and contains the appropriate nutrients such as prebiotics and dietary fiber to keep the sugar levels balanced and control glucose spikes and dips.
Over a period of 7 to 10 days mix the dry food with a bit of canned.
Factors contributing to weight gain include age lack of exercise and overfeeding.
Most cases of feline diabetes are similar to what is called type 2 diabetes in people which means that weight management and diet are major factors in the development and control of the disease.
Diabetic cat food should have a few important features.
Every cat is unique and the same diet won t necessarily work for all cats.
Even a little extra weight can lead to serious health problems.
Here s what to consider when selecting a cat food for your diabetic cat.
Losing weight helps the cat s body use insulin which lowers blood sugar.
We typically recommend feeding diabetic cats a measured amount of food twice daily at the time of insulin administration.
How to switch a diabetic cat diet.
Along with frequent physical exercise choosing the right food plays a very important.
Feeding a veterinarian recommended cat food with a consistent nutrient profile one that doesn t vary from batch to batch will help keep your cat s metabolism level stable so she can stay healthy.
Slowly increase the percentage of canned until the dry food is completely replaced.
A special diabetic diet will help your cat trim down and it can actually make the diabetes easier to manage.
Royal canin veterinary diet canned cat food is specially formulated to maintain healthy blood glucose levels in diabetic adult cats.
Cats can be picky eaters.
Extra weight reduces play time impacts mobility and affects the general health of your cat.
If you cat prefers dry food then move them to canned food gradually when moving to a diabetic cat diet.