Diabetes affects cats almost as much as it affects humans. Feline diabetes is similar to type 2 diabetes in humans, which means that it can easily be managed and controlled by keeping your cat’s diet and weight in check. You can do this by altering your cat’s diet to suit the condition.

Here are the best foods for cats with diabetes:

Low carbs and high protein

• Eating food rich in carbohydrates can cause your cat’s blood sugar level to spike. This, in turn, increases the body’s demand for insulin, which a diabetic body is bad at creating and maintaining.
• It’s important for cats with diabetes to reduce carbohydrates and sugar intake to avoid such problems.
• Low carbohydrate foods are most suitable for this situation.
• Their strength, energy, and nutrients must come from animal sources of protein.
• Fats are also essential to provide a proper diet. However, fat intake should be monitored as some diabetic cats can be overweight. These cats need to reduce their weight to control symptoms of diabetes. Being overweight can cause other problems as well.
• Look for food items with about 50% of their nutrients coming from protein and 40% from fats.
• If the carbohydrates are less than 10%, you can go ahead and pick that food item for your cat.
• Carbohydrates may sometimes not be listed on the labels of cat food items. Fortunately, you can calculate it by yourself using the following method:
  • Add all the percentages of the ingredients labeled on the bag or can.
  • Subtract that sum from 100
  • This gives you the percentage of carbs in the cat food.

Canned food

• Dry components cannot be properly made without high amounts of carbohydrates.
• Some canned food contains little to no carbohydrates, perfect for a cat with diabetes.

Portion sizes

• Monitoring the quantity of food is just as important as monitoring the nutrients it contains.
• Obese and overweight cats should be given special care to reduce weight.
• Feed your cat with diabetes-friendly food in reduced quantities.

Here are some canned foods that are low in carbs and high in protein:

• Nom Nom
  This is a popular canned food with about 18% protein and is free of grains. It costs about $3 per can and can be fed to cats of all ages with diabetes.
• Tiki cat food
  This canned cat food is grain-free and contains 16% protein. It is delicious as well as healthy for cats with diabetes.
• Best feline friend
  This low carb/ high protein canned food for cats with diabetes is best recommended for older cats. It contains about 12% protein and is quite a popular choice among cat owners.

As cats with diabetes should eat food on time, it is crucial that they love what they eat. They should look forward to mealtimes and not be fussy about eating their food. Fortunately, most canned foods are tasty and healthy. If you cannot find a suitable meal plan, consult a vet, and ask for recommendations.