Managing Diabetes in Cats

19th November 2020

Diabetes affects 1 in 300 pets. How can you help your diabetic cat and manage their diet?

Pet diabetes is more common than most pet owners realise, and a diabetic cat requires significant support  to ensure that they are receiving the correct amount of insulin for its daily energy needs, so its diet should be closely monitored. We have some tips to help you support your pet and avoid diabetes which once diagnosed, can affect your cat for the rest of their lives.

 

Avoid overfeeding and obesity

Obesity is a key factor in cat diabetes.  What’s more, an overweight cat can develop insulin resistance, making treatment ineffective and management very difficult, resulting in them needing a higher dose of insulin. If your cat is overweight, then they will need to lose weight gradually especially as diabetes is more easily managed in animals with ideal body weight.

Monitor your cat’s diet

Try to feed your cat a low-fat, high quality protein diet. If you are changing your cat’s diet, your cat may refuse to eat the new food. Your vet will advise you on what diet to adopt and how much will best suit your pet's needs and will give you tips to help your cat get used to the new diet.

Stick to a routine

In order not to stress your cat with dietary changes, your vet will advise you to stick to their routine. Cats are normally graze eaters and love to snack throughout the day, with small and frequent amounts.

A SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder Connect, when used with the Sure Petcare app, has integrated scales to help you set the right amount of food per meal to within 1 gram of accuracy. The graphs in the app will also help you understand when and how much your cat is eating as well as notice any changes in patterns. The sealed bowl will also help keep food fresher for longer, ideal for graze eating throughout the day. If you have more than one pet, you can programme your cat’s microchip into the Microchip Pet Feeder Connect so it only opens for them, stopping other pets from stealing food from your diabetic cat.