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
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To use the Carb Calculation tool, it must first be downloaded to your desktop. The file will be "locked" which is typical with files downloaded from the internet. After saving the file to your desktop, click on "enable editing" to use the Carb Calculator tool.
Carb Calculator Tool for iPhones
Carb Calculator Tool for Android
It's very likely, as it's been for most of us; it wasn't until your cat was diagnosed FD and you started to do some research on the web that you started to suspect the dry kibble and/or canned foods with gravies might not be such a good thing to be feeding to cats. It's possible your vet has encouraged the feeding of prescription diets and without being too knowledgeable yet, they might actually be causing health issues for your obligate carnivore. Rest assured, you're not alone.
It doesn't help at all that even AAFCO whose mandate is to establish nutritional standards for US pet foods, freely admits it doesn't regulate, test, approve or certify the pet food industry in any way. Rather, this is left up to the PFC's themselves. Talk about foxes guarding the hen house!
The single best way to be sure you are feeding species appropriate food is to learn to properly read pet food labels so you're not lulled in to a false sense of security and making choices based on pet food company (PFC) propaganda. No doubt you've seen advertisements professing that X company's food is life stage appropriate; or seen the fruits and veggies floating around in a swirl in TV commercials but the truth is, these claims are for the most part actually gimmicks - specifically designed to create desire in YOU to buy the product. If the individual ingredients in most of these foods were laid out in front of our felines without the flavor enhancers the PFCs need to use, our cats wouldn't even bother to eat the food!
In 2007 after the great pet food scandal involving wheat gluten tainted with melamine imported from China; the production company Yap Films in Toronto, Ontario produced a documentary for CBC's Doc Zone called A Dog's Breakfast, an expose about less than stellar tactics and claims PFCs use when making what they advertise is food suitable for our cats. The truths revealed in this documentary resulted in it being pulled off scheduled television network programing in the US! No one will admit to it, but the truth of the matter is money talks very loudly and the PFCs have huge advertising budgets. If you have 30 minutes, TR's very own Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins was one of two vets featured in A Dog's Breakfast, which has been prevented from disappearing through the cracks by a very determined (not to mention brave) woman at Poisoned Pets.
Learning how to decipher labels on pet foods is key when it comes to knowing exactly what you're feeding. What is most important is knowing whether or not the analysis on the label is Guaranteed Analysis or Nutritional Analysis (more about that below!) - most PFCs will not reveal their nutritional analysis for fear a competitor might steal their recipes. The difference between the two types of analysis can be significant - don't just trust the label!
Dr. Hodgkins' controversial book, Your Cat, contains a wealth of information on species appropriate diet, and debunks the myths about "life stage" pet food as well as the myths the vet community at large holds (propagated by the PFCs) when it comes to illness specific diets such as the need for lowered protein for cats with kidney issues. We consider her book THE owner’s manual for cats and strongly recommend you purchase a copy so you too can understand just how misinformed the pet food and veterinary communities are.
Many are prescribed Purina Dietetics Management (Purina DM) wet and dry food formulas at the time of diagnosis. We're frequently double checking the DMC content for both the dry and wet formulas (the wet formula in particular seems to change frequently). The dry version calculates at 21% DMC and the wet version at just under 9.0% DMC; fwiw the Purina Savory Select wet prescription food weighs in at 17.4% DMC. The Select brand is too high in carbs for tight regulation. It's interesting to note, Dr. H holds the inventor's patent on Purina DM - so if your vet tells you they don't know who she is, indirectly - if they're selling Purina DM wet - they do!
Let's take a look at the label for this very popular prescription food:
Liver, poultry by-products, meat by-products, water sufficient for processing, chicken, salmon, oat fiber, salmon meal, artificial and natural flavors, guar gum, calcium phosphate, potassium chloride, carrageenan, salt, Vitamin E supplement, taurine, thiamine mononitrate, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, niacin, calcium pantothenate, copper sulfate, Vitamin A supplement, manganese sulfate, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, biotin, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, potassium iodide.
To understand further about ingredients in pet food, using the above list and knowing the FDA requires the ingredients with the most content to be listed first; what the label above tells us is that liver is the main ingredient (in the event you're not aware, Liver contains Vitamin A which in excess can be toxic to cats, however, the amount in this food is not to excess). The second and third ingredients are by-products. Animal by-products can be made up of parts of animals which are not fit for consumption, such things as ground beaks, feet, entrails, perhaps even feathers. Oat fiber is a carb (who knew cats eat porridge?); fillers and questionable ingredients such as carrageen and menadione have also been added. This is not an ideal species-appropriate food considering all the ingredients, however it is THE most suitable prescription formula available for diabetic cats and is low enough in dry matter carbs for TR.
Because cats are obligate carnivores their systems are not able to break down carbohydrates easily, likely due to the fact their digestive tracts process food much more quickly than other mammals. It's advised to avoid all dry foods, and to stay away from any wet foods containing grains (including rice and soy), vegetables, fruits, gravy, starches made from corn, tapioca, potatoes, as well as corn syrup, and especially corn or wheat glutens whenever possible.
Calculating Carbs on a Dry Matter Basis
When it comes to determining the
actual DMC in cat food, it's important whenever possible to
use the Nutritional Analysis (NA) versus Guaranteed Analysis
(GA). NA provides the real values when it comes to
ingredients where the GA values listed on most labels provide
only the average minimums guaranteed to be in the food (see
that little PFC gimmick?). We unsuspecting pet owners
believe because the label states Guaranteed Analysis, the
ingredients are in fact guaranteed when the opposite is
true. Don't believe what you read on pet food
labels! Most companies will not disclose their
Nutritional Analysis for fear that a competitor will steal
their recipes, however, it never hurts to call the PFC to see
if they'll share that information because you're feeding a
diabetic cat.
In most cases you'll be forced to use the Guaranteed Analysis (GA) printed on the label. To calculate DMC, add up the values for protein, moisture, fat, fiber, and ash (if listed - sometimes it is not). Then subtract those values from 100 - the difference is the wet matter carbs. As an example, if we have a food with 78% moisture, 11% protein, 5% fat, 2% fiber and 1.5% Ash, the calculation would look like this:
78.00 + 11.00 + 5.00 + 2.00 + 1.50 = 97.50 Subtract that from 100, and the result of 2.50% is the WET matter carbs.
This is where the myth about good food selection comes into play; when comparing the carbohydrate content of any food, it must be done on a dry matter basis; this holds true for dry kibbles as well since they contain a small amount of moisture.
Looking at the Guaranteed Analysis on the label, once the moisture content is subtracted from 100 - in this case, the difference is 22. Divide the wet matter carbs (2.50) by 22. = the result is 11% carbs on a dry matter basis, not the 5% carbs the PFCs would like you to believe from the label!
Most of us don't have time to be out in the pet food aisles in the supermarket with our calculators figuring out DMC for pet foods; for your convenience we've created a carb calculator tool in Excel which can be downloaded and saved on your own computer for future use, or there's an app available for Android and iPhones.
When it comes to selecting the best possible
foods for your cats (diabetic or not), it's important to keep
in mind ingredients are just as important as carb
content. Select foods with no grains (including rice
and soy), no veggies or fruits, cornstarch, tapioca, or
glutens. Foods in broth are okay as long as they're not
thickened with starches.
Many low carb canned foods contain fish, beef or meat of unknown origin but can be very helpful when transitioning cats from dry to canned but may be inappropriate for diabetic cats, or cats with food allergies or gastrointestinal disorders. Fish should be fed sparingly (it's hard on the kidneys), but can serve as an excellent tool for transitioning cats to wet food. Likewise, liver varieties can be addictive and contain Vitamin A which in excess can be toxic to cats. As with everything in life, moderation is key.
It's important not to get complacent when it comes to pet food selections; the PFCs continuously change their recipes for pet food without making it known to the general public. As a result, even though the food lists in the Info stickies for various countries contain foods that were low in carbs at the time of compiling the lists, we urge you continue to periodically verify the dry matter carb content for the cat foods you buy.
Note:
Please consult your vet if your cat refuses to eat for more than a day. An appetite stimulant such as Cyproheptadine may be needed, as well as syringe feeding, or even a feeding tube. An anorexic cat that goes too long without eating is at risk of developing Hepatic Lipidosis, a life threatening condition. Try to aim for approximately 6 ounces of food per day if you need to syringe feed your cat.
If you have any questions about dry matter carbs or about what to feed your cat, members on forum will be more than happy to answer them. To help get you started on TR as quickly as possible, please visit DCC's College of TR Knowledge for country specific starter lists of low carb wet foods acceptable for diabetic cats.
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