Thank you everybody, for your replies. I will check into the canned version of
the Sensitive Stomach food.

I am gathering that free-feeding is not a good way to go, since it appears that
I need to know exactly when he is eating and how much. Is that correct?

I think right now, he mainly just nibbles a bit here and there, throughout the
day and night (his feeder is in my computer room, so I know his eating pattern).

I re-read my original post, and laughed out loud when I started off saying he is
still a healthy cat, and then went on to say he now has diabetes, an enlarged
heart, and IBD. LOL The amazing thing is, he really does look and act like
a healthy cat! He is robust and sleek, bright-eyed, and very lively. Go
figure.

Thanks again everyone!

Jennifer

"Phil P." wrote:

"Jennifer Thompson" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

After my noticing increased urination, my 15 year old male
DSH was just diagnosed with diabetes this morning (after
blood and urine tests).

He is still a healthy cat, so I guess he can't have had it
for long. His coat is shiny, he is not underweight, and he
is lively and playful. So, at least I caught it early.

I have an appointment this Friday to start him on PZI
insulin, and to get educated on the disease and how to give
injections, etc. I've learned a lot here, just from reading
the other threads on diabetes. I didn't realize so many
cats got this disease!

I've been reading the information on what is the best diet
and was wondering how good/bad the food I've been feeding
may be for his condition.

I might also mention that this cat also has two other
ailments. The first is an enlarged heart. It was diagnosed
as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy close to 10 years ago and he
was given 1-3 years to live, but the weird thing is that it
has never progressed since the time of diagnosis. All
ultrasounds have shown that his condition has remained
static. While he still has a murmur, he is no longer on
heart meds, as he is doing fine without them, and they were
aggravating his other ailment, which is inflammatory bowel
disease. This was diagnosed through biopsies of his liver,
intestines, and some other places, when he was suffering
chronic projectile diahhrea and constant vomiting starting
at about 2 years of age.

The point to all this is that the ONLY food that this cat
does well on is Science Diet Sensitive Stomach. Anything
else makes the diahhrea and vomiting start up again. I have
tried z/d, w/d (he did marginally okay on the w/d with just
occasional bouts the IBD), natural foods, you name it. At
this point, I'm afraid to change to anything else!

I cannot use steriod treatment to control the IBD because
steroids send him into congestive heart failure, because of
his enlarged heart. So, I'm in a catch 22.

He gets NOTHING to eat except free-fed dry Hill's Sensitive
Stomach. That's it.

Is this a bad diet for a diabetic cat? I'm afraid the vet
is going to tell me to switch, and I'm going to open up a
whole other can of worms. Once his IBD flares up, it takes
a really long time for him to recuperate and get back to
normal, which if he is put on another food, he may never do.

Jennifer,

Considering your cat's concurrent illnesses and the fact you have them under
control with his present diet, I would be very reluctant to make any dietary
changes. I would speak to your vet about the feasibility of tailoring your
cat's insulin therapy to his present diet.

In my experience, the keys to successful diabetic management and regulation
are *consistency* and the least amount of stress as possible. It doesn't
matter how perfectly formulated a diabetic diet (or any other type of diet)
is if the cat won't eat it consistently and in consistent amounts and at
consistent times - since the insulin dose and intervals are established
based on diet and feeding schedule.

The most common causes of regulation failure are 1- failure to perform a
glucose curve to determine how the cat metabolizes insulin, 2- inconsistent
feeding (times and amounts), and 3- different or variation in feeding
protocol at home than during the glucose curve. The latter is the most
common because most cat's are reluctant to eat at the clinic.

After your vet instructs you how to monitor your cat's blood glucose, you
can plot a glucose curve at home - which involves checking blood glucose
every two hours for a day. Home glucose curves are much more accurate than
curves run at the clinic because the cat is not under stress - stress can
significantly affect the curve, and the cat eats normally.

I'll send some information regarding home monitoring and insulin handling
and administration later this evening when I get home.

Good luck.

Phil.