| It is now generally accepted that human diabetes is | | | | particular diabetic cat food. Many, perhaps most, |
| an immune disorder. There seems no reason to | | | | commercial cat food manufacturers use sugar as a |
| suppose that feline diabetes is any different. This | | | | filler. It bulks out the meat and is cheap, with a world |
| particular immune disorder has the form of failure of | | | | glut. |
| the pancreas to produce insulin. | | | | 5. No cat food should not contain large amounts of |
| An immune system brakes down because of the | | | | carbohydrates, which are a manistay part of almost |
| burden put upon it, mostly a chemical burden. When | | | | all processed cat foods, including those for diabetic |
| you consider all the chemicals most pets are subject | | | | cats. |
| to, there is little wonder their immune systems go on | | | | 6. The mineral chromium assists the body in utilising |
| strike. Drugs, vaccinations, pesticides in the garden, | | | | the insulin more efficiently, so the addition of half to |
| harsh cleaners in the house, but perhaps worse of all | | | | one teaspoon of brewers yeast to the diabetic cat |
| by virtue of it’s frequent ingestion, are the | | | | food will help your cat. Chromium is also in liver, beef |
| preservatives in their daily diet. | | | | and spirulina. |
| A typical cat food is processed and comes in a box, | | | | 7. Including vitamin E in the diabetic cat food reduces |
| packet or can. The dried cat food must contain high | | | | the amount of insulin required. Vitamin E occurs |
| levels of preservative to keep it at room | | | | naturally in raw meat fat and spirulina. Vitamin E is |
| temperature, indefinitely, despite what the packet | | | | also in eggs and wheat germ oil, but diabetic cat food |
| may say. Believe me, there’s no other way to | | | | should be low in oil and fat, so while these are |
| have such a long shelf life. | | | | recommended, they should be in small quantities. You |
| Cats are particularly sensitive to chemicals, so readily | | | | can also supplement it in the d alpha tocopheral (the |
| succumb to them. A stay in a cattery may well | | | | natural form). Try to avoid the synthetic form, which |
| overload them, as most catteries fastidiously clean | | | | is more commonly used. Synthetic vitamins are not |
| their pens with strong disinfectants or bleach, to | | | | as well utilised by the cat. Dose 30 IU per day until |
| ensure there’s no cross contamination. | | | | you see improvement. |
| There are several things you can do immediately, to | | | | 8. And play with your cat, so she gets some |
| help your cat overcome this serious disease, even if | | | | exercise. Exercise tends to decrease the need for |
| they have had it a while. You never know how much | | | | insulin. |
| good you can do until you try. | | | | A good diabetic cat food, like any good cat food, is |
| 1. The first thing that’s really important to | | | | as close to that of a wild cats food as possible. Cats |
| address is their diet. Start giving your cat a good | | | | have evolved to efficiently use raw food. They |
| quality, raw, diabetic cat food. Human grade raw | | | | can’t use processed and cooked food in the |
| meat, from a butcher, will generally not contain any | | | | same way, as they lack the nutrients destroyed by |
| preservatives or colour as most countries have laws | | | | cooking. |
| against that. | | | | Once you have your cat regularly eating good quality |
| 2. It’s better to feed a diabetic cat 3 or 4 small | | | | raw food, she may need less insulin. And if it isn’t |
| meals a day, rather than 1 or 2 larger meals. | | | | too far advanced, there’s no reason why she |
| 3. Diabetic cat food differs slightly from a normal | | | | shouldn’t recover completely. Recovery from |
| healthy cat food by the fat content. The food must | | | | serious disease is not uncommon when the cause is |
| be low fat (but not no fat), as the pancreas is | | | | addressed. Ensuring your cat only eats a healthy, high |
| responsible for the production of enzymes which help | | | | quality, raw, diet, at the very least will reduce her |
| break down fat. | | | | need for insulin. |
| 4. No healthy cat food should contain any sugar, in | | | | |