A High Carbohydrate Diet Can Lead To Cat Diabetes

It is becoming more and more obvious that a high carbohydrate diet can lead to cat diabetes. However if your cat is on insulin and you start to reduce carbohydrate intake without lowering insulin you could be putting your cat at risk. This is well explained by Lisa A. Pierson on her web site where she talks about carbohydrates and the various professional diets.

“Diabetes is one of the most common feline endocrine diseases and, while we do  not know all of the causes of this complex disease, we do know that many diabetic cats cease needing insulin or have their insulin needs significantly decrease once their dietary carbohydrate level is decreased to a more species-appropriate level than that found in many commercial foods.

Feeding a diabetic cat a high carbohydrate diet is analogous to pouring gasoline on a fire and wondering why you can’t put the fire out.  While some cats are more sensitive to the detrimental effects of carbohydrates than others, the bottom line is that cats are obligate carnivores and are not designed by nature to consume a high carbohydrate diet or one that is water-depleted (dry kibble). “

She goes on to say.

Many cats that are in a diabetic state no longer need any insulin when they are finally fed an appropriate low-carbohydrate diet.

Others will always need some insulin but the amount necessary to maintain proper blood glucose levels is nearly always significantly reduced once the patient is on a low carbohydrate diet.”

If you change your diabetic cat’s diet to one with lower carbohydrates, he will, in all probability, IMMEDIATELY (not days or weeks later) require a reduction in his insulin dosage.  He may also immediately go into ‘remission’ and not need any insulin at all. “

The above three paragraphs are extremely important and should not be taken lightly. If you do ignore them you could end up with a cat in hypoglycemic shock, which can lead to brain damage and death. Many cats do regularly die of insulin overdose and it appears that some veterinarians are oblivious to this fact.

Lisa has written a brilliant article and I urge you all to read it fully and understand it. I have said many times before that I firmly believe that cat diabetes, like human diabetes, is very much a life style and diet disease. How much more evidence do people need to believe that a high carbohydrate diet can lead to cat diabetes.