Dry Food Policy, Diabetic Cat Care

The information contained in this sticky is provided for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace veterinary advice. The intention of this sticky is to open doors to understanding about the specific medical condition or topic, allowing for educated and on-going discussion with your vet.

Diabetic Cat Care

Dry Food Policy

Many members tell us when they arrive at DCC looking for help for their feline diabetics, their cats have always eaten dry food. Most of us can say that very thing. It wasn't until we started to learn more about how to help our cats that we learned the dry food might actually be what caused the diabetes in the first place! Most of us have been there and now that we know better - we can do better. Many folks don't believe their cats will eat wet food, let alone raw meat - there are many tips and tricks on how to transition your cat to an all wet low carb diet. Maybe your cat will take to it right away - as if to say "finally! Real food!"

There are only two non-negotiable rules when it comes to TR at DCC; the first is to always test BG just before giving a shot and the second is NO dry food. There are many reasons why not to feed dry kibble, the primary one in relation to TR (tight regulation) being to keep your diabetic cat safe from clinical hypo. Many DCC members have found our forum because their cat keeps having hypos and they know something's not right. Their vets aren't able to explain why clinical hypos keep happening because for the most part, they haven't put two and two together when it comes to how the constant onslaught of high carbs puts the liver to sleep. This is very dangerous when cats on insulin are added into the mix. To keep your cat safe from clinical hypo when removing dry food from the diet, before making any changes please read about the Detox Process to identify which form is best to keep your diabetic cat safe from clinical hypo.

Dr. Hodgkins makes her opinion about dry food very clear in the Protocol documentation;

"No feline diabetic should eat any type or brand of dry food. This includes all of the dry formulas labeled as “for the management of diabetes.” Allowable foods include low-fiber canned foods designated “for the management of diabetes,” and a number of other brands of canned or pouched foods with low carbohydrate content. Raw meat can also make an excellent diet for cats, diabetic and non-diabetic alike.

Not only will a low carbohydrate canned food reduce the wide blood glucose swings seen in feline diabetics, it will also reduce the pathologic overeating seen in cats consuming dry foods that provide little or no sense of appetite satisfaction.”

While Dr. Hodgkins made that statement many years ago at the time TR was being invented, the basis for the Non-negotiable rule of NO dry food still carries weight today. Over and above the fact that dry food puts the liver to sleep which can result in clinical hypo; cats are desert animals, they are not water drinkers – there is not enough moisture within a dry food diet to meet their daily needs. Due to the potentiality of bacteria in dry food (it's the most recalled pet food on the market), as well as the lack of moisture, dry food can cause kidney issues, gastro-intestinal issues, and perpetuate what is no less than addiction to dry kibble based primarily on the flavor enhancers that are used to make the food palatable to cats. Without the flavor enhancers the pet food companies MUST spray on dry kibble – our cats wouldn’t even eat it!

Many times the statement has been made that "dry food causes FD in cats"; while there is not yet any scientific proof of that statement, what is known is that diabetes - whether human or feline - is a result of genetics. If the diabetes gene is predisposed to develop the disease, then a high carb, "sugar" laden diet has more of a chance of being turned on if the diet contains what is essentially no less than unnecessary carbohydrates; especially when it comes to our Obligate Carnivores.

Within recent years, PFC’s (pet food companies) have attempted to respond to the growing number of educated pet owners who are demanding low carb foods; as a result, both wet and dry formulas are now being created. The truth is most pet owners want convenience when it comes to feeding their cats and in a lot of cases, let us know “dry food is cheaper. Our response to that is “cheaper than your vet bills”?

While a very small number of PFC’s are claiming dry food formulas are now available in “zero” or “low” carb formulas; the fact is these are still dry food products and therefore are not suitable for TR; forget the fact that when based on Dry Matter Carbs, there are in fact more carbohydrates than what are listed on the labels. For example, one brand which claims ZERO carbs actually works out to be 7.8% carbs based on dry matter! Even though it's technically "low carb" it's still nothing more than kitty crack to a cat.

In December of 2014, Dr. Lisa Pierson, Feline and Nutrition Guru who runs the informative website CatINFO.org was interviewed by Dr. Karen Becker of the Mercola Healthy Pets website about her thoughts as to why dry food of any kind - even the new low carb kibble - is NOT something she can recommend for cats. The interview is available here .

The reality of the situation when it comes to dry food is it's the most recalled of all pet food products as reported on Truth About Pet Food. The PFCs (pet food companies) haven’t remotely “got it right” - even low carb dry kibble includes ingredients which are typically used as “preservatives” to lengthen the shelf life, and also less than stellar ingredients which do not survive the manufacturing process. For example;

Rosemary Extract: A natural herb which can cause seizures in cats and small dogs. Unfortunately the vet community at large will assume seizures are caused by epilepsy, then put cats on medication for seizures when it is the rosemary extract added to dry kibble that causes neurological issues or other health issues such as anemia (rosemary affects how iron is absorbed); rosemary can interfere with other supplements and medications as well.

Fructooligosaccharides: Aka FOS. This product is a prebiotic used to aid digestion. FOS works very well in human diabetics however, numerous FD cats on forum receiving products containing even small amounts of FOS have suffered severe gastro-intestinal issues lasting a week or longer, accompanied with high blood sugar.

Probiotic products: Unless carefully selected, most probiotic products either contain soy which can affect the thyroid or whey which can cause allergies in cats. Unfortunately probiotics are not able to withstand the heat needed for the extrusion process required to make dry kibble meaning that probiotics and other supplements which are listed on the packaging are in fact usually rendered totally ineffective due to heat used when manufactured.

Beet Pulp – a sugar filled fiber filler which can lead to diabetes in some pets, and can result in a “sugar rush/addiction”.

For a more complete list of what are pretty much “gimmick” ingredients used in the manufacture of dry kibble and other highly processed pet foods, please visit Pet Food Ingredients Revealed when looking for new foods for your cat.

Again, there are good reasons why DCC has a very firm, non-negotiable rule when it comes to feeding dry kibble for our FD cats on TR. Our goal is to help you navigate your FD cat into diet controlled diabetic remission, while keeping your cat safe from clinical hypo, and getting them back to better health as quickly as possible. While it may seem that we are being somewhat “fanatical” about this non-negotiable rule, remember – safely transitioning your cat to a species-appropriate diet and getting your cat back to much better health as quickly as is humanly possible is just as important to us as it is to you.

Please see the Information stickies in the TR College of Knowledge for starter lists of low carb wet foods available in your specific country. When choosing a low carb wet food, try to aim for dry matter carbs in the 3% to 5% range - any foods over 10% carbs based on dry matter are too high for TR.