If your cat is diabetic, you need to place him on a special diet. While there are commercial diabetic cat foods, homemade diabetic cat food often can do as well. Making homemade diabetic cat food means following a few guidelines that will ensure a healthy, long life for your cat. It will take time for both of you to adjust to the new diet, but it can be done with little effort.
-
Limit Carbohydrates
-
Limit carbohydrates in your cat's diet because they are one of the causes of diabetes in cats. Don't add anything that includes cornmeal because it is high in carbohydrates. Avoid adding other grains, such as rice, which also add carbohydrates.
Increase Proteins
-
Use lots of red meat in homemade diabetic cat food. Chop up roasts, steaks or any other kind of beef to the size of your thumbnail so your cat can chew it. Cook the meat in its own juice and use the juice as a sauce. Using chicken or fish is another good way to increase protein in your cat's diet. You can use raw food, but first you must make sure bacteria has been killed. Cooking meat solves this problem.
Include Fiber
-
Include green vegetables, such as spinach and broccoli, to get fiber into the diet. Ground up the vegetables in a food processor with water to make them digestible for your cat. Add some salt for flavor; cats get lots of salt in commercial brand foods. The fiber in the vegetables will allow for good digestion.
Use Fresh Ingredients
-
Buy and use only fresh ingredients for your homemade diabetic cat food. This gives the food longevity if you freeze batches of it and provides more nutritional value. You also will not need to use the food immediately.
Feeding
-
Feed only one-half cup per cat twice daily. This is all they need to eat. Add more cooked beef if your cat is picky about food. Throw out commercial cat food so you are not tempted to revert to it if your cat doesn't take to the homemade food immediately. Removing carbohydrates from your cat's diet is the goal of using homemade diabetic cat food. You will need to cut back on your own carbohydrate intake as well because your cat will try to eat your food until he gets used to his own.
-