Diabetes mellitus is a fairly common disease of older domestic cats, requiring special care and close attention from the owners to the choice of the diet and composition of the pet food.
Instructions
Step 1
Before deciding on a diet for a sick cat, it is necessary to consult a veterinarian who will clarify the type of diabetes detected and give advice on the choice of food. If a cat or cat has been eating natural products throughout its life, and not specialized feed, it is best to analyze and minimize the amount of carbohydrates ingested (there should be no more than 5%). In particular, this means that bread products, rice and corn cereals, and soy additives should not be included in the feed. Natural nutrition for animals with diabetes should be as close as possible to the diet of a wild cat: from 50% of all incoming food should be proteins (raw beef, pork, chicken, offal), 20-25% fats (fermented milk products, especially cottage cheese and sour cream) and vegetable carbohydrates (raw vegetables and fruits). It is worth feeding cats with diabetes in small portions 2-3 times a day, with insulin-dependent diabetes, combining the feeding time with the time of the insulin injection.
Step 2
When feeding a pet with dry food, you should carefully study the proposed range. Feeds containing boiled beer rice, cornmeal or corn porridge, barley and soy protein should be eliminated from the diet immediately. A good dry food suitable for diabetic cats should include exclusively meat flour (pork, chicken, beef, fish), ground cellulose (as a valuable source of dietary fiber for diabetics), natural flavors and fats. If the cat is psychologically able to switch to canned food, it is better to feed her canned food.
Step 3
Canned foods used to feed diabetic cats are similar in composition to dry foods. They must contain animal protein, fat, fiber. You should not feed the cat with food, in which the percentage of carbohydrates is more than 10. The canned food regime also involves feeding in small portions 2-3 times a day, no more.
Step 4
It is strictly forbidden to feed cats with diabetes of any type with tasty, but very harmful chips, sausages and other food that animals like to beg from their owners. This can lead to an exacerbation of the disease, and improper nutrition increases the weight of the animal. With diabetes mellitus, it is necessary to keep the pet's weight under tight control: do not overeat fat cats and, on the contrary, feed thin cats to normal weight (normal for the breed, size and age of the cat). More accurate information on each specific animal must be given by the attending veterinarian.
