Question by fifiluvya: Raw food diet for diabetic cat? ?
I just recently took in my grandmothers 7 year old cat who is diabetic. Ive been considering switching my other cat to a raw food diet for some time now and I often give her a small peice as a treat, when im in the kitchen cooking.
My fiance recieves a “meat bonus” twice a year from his job that packs our freezer full. He also bow hunts wild turkey and deer. We dont have to buy meat and we are constantly giving it away or donating to the food bank. So a raw meat diet would actually save us money! Compared to pricey diabetic food…
if anyone feeds thier animals a raw meat diet some tips would be great. like how much to feed and how to make the switch. ive read so many different things. and mixed opinions im a bit confused. And it seems most vets are poorly educated on nutrients to begin with…
Best answer:
Answer by GoldfishPond
I think raw food diets are great, but hard to balance. In nature, your cat would eat the entire mouse. Fur, blood, bones, organs, feet, everything. It would be fresh with all the enzymes and beneficial bacteria still present.
The raw diets we are able to provide are lacking. We give meat that has been processed and frozen, only a few of the many organs in a body, and it is very hard to get a cat to chew bones. Considering that your family hunts, you probably have access to a better supply of fresh ingredients than most of us.
A good way to start is to use an AAFCO certified raw sold in pet stores. I have seen diabetic cats do amazingly well on these foods. It is a good way to start using raw while you do more research to learn how to properly prepare and balance a home made raw food. I would suggest consulting a holistic vet for this. Look into Natures Variety, Primal, and Bravo for some raw options. There are also dehydrated foods that you can add water and meat to. These include Honest Kitchen, Sojos, and Stella & Chewy’s.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
Raw helps a lot, diabetic cats need high protein but low carbs and LOW fat. However muscle meat alone won’t give the cat the full vitamin/nutrition needed, and won’t include taurine unless you’re feeding hearts cut up as well.
Shift the cat to a canned diet (far less carbs in canned food) and add about 1/2 raw to the feeding.
Diabetic food doesn’t need to be pricey. Check the diabetic cat sites for ‘Janet and Binkys Lists’, which have breakdowns for canned and dry food. You can chose low carb/fat foods based on that. I printed the canned and dry lists out when we had a diabetic cat and they helped figure out what to feed him.
If you’re doing a complete raw diet you’ll need the additives (powdered) that brings the total nutrition up to where it needs to be for magnesium, potassium, vitamin mix, etc.
I hope you see this. I am an expert in feline diabetes and you need to contact me to learn how to treat this disease correctly. This cannot be treated by a vet only by you being proactive.
In answer to your question, a raw diet is great for all cats as well as diabetics but needs to be specially prepared. Google barf diets or go to catinfo.org
You can feed as much as they want to eat