Starch is likely the biggest nutritional hurdle for our cats. Although starch has the same amount of calories as protein, it definitely
digests faster than protein. You cat’s metabolism runs at the same rate that animal
protein and fat will digest. The energy/glucose derived from digestion of
protein and fat will enter the blood stream of your cat at the same rate that
your cat uses that glucose to fuel the needs of their body. It is a zero sum
game, no deficit or gain of net energy; everything remains synchronized and
your cat’s weight remains constant. For balance to occur a ratio of 2 parts
protein to 1 part fat is necessary.
Now let’s throw starch into the diet of your cat, something
your cat is unprepared to handle on a long term basis. Starch digests several
times faster than protein and therefore dumps more glucose into the cat’s blood
stream than they can use to fuel their metabolism at any given time. If the cat
is unable to remove that excess glucose from the blood, they are considered
diabetic and will need insulin injections in order to live. However, it usually
takes many years of starch abuse before the pancreas is damaged severely enough
for the cat to become diabetic.
By feeding excess starch, you are forcing your cat to over
produce insulin in order to remove the excess glucose from his blood. Since the
cat has no way to excrete the excess glucose, his only choice is to produce
excess insulin to store the high glucose and turn it into fat. This process
continues day after day and year after year as your cat steadily gains weight,
but the excess weight is not the only thing that is happening to your kitty.
Because the pancreas is working overtime to remove the
excess glucose from the blood, it becomes damaged. At some point, the pancreas
can no longer keep up with the glucose load and your cat becomes diabetic.
Unfortunately, most of us do not notice the condition until excessive weight
loss and excessive urination is occurring. Now you have a problem that needs
immediate attention.
What can you do for your newly diagnosed diabetic cat?
Basically, you have two options. The first is to put your
cat on insulin and try to control the diabetes. Often times, the vet will give
you one of the prescription diets, but they still contain starch and that will
guarantee that the insulin becomes a necessity.
The second option is to immediately place the cat on a diet
that contains less than one percent starch, like one of our ZERO foods. Newly diagnosed diabetic cats have a high
remission rate on our ZERO formulas. Within two to six weeks, with only a diet change, they can be insulin free. Think of it this way;
your cat’s pancreas has been compromised, but the question is by how much.
Maybe your cat cannot handle a diet containing twenty percent starch, but they
likely can still handle a diet containing less than one percent starch. It just
depends on how damaged the pancreas and receptors have become.
If the cat’s glucose numbers have not significantly reduced
within the first two weeks, it may be time to consider insulin. One caveat, if
your cat has ketones, neuropathy or other severe secondary symptoms or the
blood glucose readings are greater than 550 when diagnosed, it is usually best
to start with both insulin and a diet change. Cats are very good at handling
higher than normal glucose levels so most of the time insulin is not an urgent
necessity. Your vet will be able to help you with this decision.
Our Zero cat foods all contain less than 1% digestible
starch and are a great choice for diabetic or obese cats. We recommend free
choice feeding because the cat will consume six to eight small meals a day when
fed free choice. Free feeding also works well with insulin since the insulin is
time released and the many small meals act in the same time released manner.
There is no need to make sure the cat has eaten prior to an injection with this
type of dry kibble. The high protein level of this diet will allow the cat’s
liver to produce and adjust the cat’s blood glucose levels as needed.
On a
properly balanced diet, your cat will only eat the next meal when their blood
glucose level drops. The only reason to feed only twice a day when injecting
insulin is if you feed a food with more than one percent starch or if you feed
wet food. When you feed wet food twice a day, you are forcing the cat to
consume 12 hours of food at one time; this is hardly time released. It is
better to feed the canned food more often than twice a day to spread the
calories out. The longer a cat is diabetic, still consuming starch and still
receiving insulin, the less likely they are to go into remission. Since remission on a less than 1% starch diet
is likely, you must check blood glucose levels before each insulin injection
and adjust the insulin dose accordingly.
Prevention is the best course of action. Cats are not programmed by nature to be obese and only become obese
because we feed them incorrectly.
Click here for detailed information on diabetes in cats.
