Your Diabetic Cat -- Three Tips For Managing Feline Diabetes

Let's face it, if you have a diabetic cat, life will be more complicated for you. Feline diabetes is a complex disease, and you can't understand it all at once. Try to focus on these three areas, and life for you and your kitty will be easier.

Diet Is Important For Managing Diabetes In Cats

Do you know the best diet for a feline diabetic? Surprisingly enough, the dry prescription food your vet sells may not be the answer. Dry pet foods are primarily made from grain, which is high in carbohydrates.  

So what's the problem with grains? Kitties are obligate carnivores, which means they need to get their protein from meat, not grains. Feeding your kitty a grain-based diet will more than likely lead to obesity. An obese cat has a much higher risk of developing feline diabetes.

It's suggested to switch your pet over to a high-quality canned food. You'll need to move slowly when doing this with a diabetic kitty, as it's very important that they eat on a regular basis. If your pet walks away from his food, it can lead to serious problems in regulating glucose levels in his blood.

You'll also be feeding your pet three or four times a day. This prevents large amounts of glucose being released into his blood stream at once, which leads to spikes in blood glucose levels. It also prevents the glucose levels from dropping to dangerous levels several hours later.

Home Testing Is Essential For Managing A Diabetic Cat

If you're not testing your kitty's glucose levels at home, you're flying blind in regards to managing his diabetes. You have no idea when to feed him, when to give him insulin, or how much to give him.  

This is not difficult to learn. Your vet can show you how to do it. Once you've done it a few times, you and your kitty will be relaxed about it, and home testing will become routine.

Natural Remedies For Cats May Be Helpful In Managing Your Feline Diabetic

Many human diabetics have had great success in using natural remedies to manage their disease. It's only natural that people owned by kitties would wonder if these natural remedies are effective for managing diabetes in cats as well. The answer is yes.

You'll want to look for a remedy that contains fenugreek, astragalus, and goat's rue, as well as chromium. Research has shown that these remedies are very effective in regulating the amount of glucose in your kitty's blood. Fenugreek has the added benefit of promoting urinary tract health, which helps to prevent the feline bladder infections that are common among diabetic cats.

Many cat owners have been successful in reducing the amount of insulin their pet needs, or even eliminating it completely, by using natural remedies for cats. Always check your vet before making any changes in your pet's treatment plan. Most vets are very open to natural remedies, and will be happy to work with you.

Pay close attention to diet and home testing, and learn more about herbal pet remedies, and you'll find that managing cat diabetes will become much easier.