Written by Manxcat, FDMB.
It seems as though almost everyone I've spoken to recently about a diabetic cat insists that their cat is very carb sensitive. To the extent that they feel that changing the carb % of the food by as little as 1% is going to make a huge difference in the numbers the cat gets. And, although I do recognize that there are some cats that are genuinely more carb sensitive than others and may need their carb intake to be restricted lower than the usual 10%, it appears only to be a minority of cats that are in reality carb sensitive to that extent. It is starting to feel as though 'carb sensitive' is the new, latest buzz-phrase to be applied to diabetic cats.
When we use Dr. Lisa's information to choose food for our cats, a very important point seems to be forgotten by many. That all carbohydrate values are based on calculated numbers and either Guaranteed or Typical analysis of the food. Without testing the exact can of food we are about to give our cats, all of these numbers are necessarily subject to change. Dr. Lisa herself says this about it on her website:
"I often hear people get far too fixated on a chart’s numbers – comparing a food that is 3% versus 8% of calories from carbohydrates without realizing that the food marked “3%” today could be 8% with the next batch…..and the food marked “8%” could be 3% on the next batch."
And yet, even though Dr. Lisa, who many of us consider to be our go-to person for food information for our diabetics, states that the difference between one food and another is not what we might think it is, I am seeing so many people getting hung up on the idea that there will be a huge difference in their cat's numbers if they feed a 4% carb food instead of a 2% carb food. I am convinced that any difference that is seen in the numbers for the vast majority of these cats is simply down to the way they vary in their insulin use from day to day rather than any insane level of carb sensitivity. The differences in numbers are not big enough, and are not repeatable accurately enough, to support the idea that a tiny (and not necessarily even an accurate) difference in the carb level of the food is even slightly responsible. In a number of cases, it seems that the only link is actually in the owner's mind - they are convinced that it must make a difference, so they believe that it does...yet for anyone not invested in the idea looking at the cat's spreadsheet, the evidence is simply not there. Yes, we all want to think that OUR cat is a special, precious, sensitive individual. And they are. But in most cases, this doesn't follow through to needing to pin their diet down to such a degree.
It is possible to get an idea of a cat's actual carb sensitivity level. But that can't be done by trying to pin down an exact carb % in food and whether or not it changed the numbers by a tiny amount in a day. Not unless you're going to analyze every single can of food you open before you feed it. A more accurate way to tell whether or not a cat is overly sensitive to carbs is to see what their reaction is to being given a food that we know is high in carbs...a situation that arises for all of us sooner or later when kitty drops a little too low. If you are able to get those numbers back up safely and effectively every time with very few carbs, or even by giving a regular low carb food, then kitty is likely more carb sensitive. If you find you are having to give large amounts of high carb food, or even high carb food + simple sugars every single time, then kitty is actually not all that carb sensitive at all.
I do feel that people are getting so hung up on an exact carb % that other trends and patterns in a cat's numbers are being missed. Not only that, but the decision over whether to feed 2% or 4% food only adds unnecessary stress to the day - and usually for no good reason. To reiterate, as I know that some cats truly are more carb sensitive than others, this isn't to take away from anyone who has discovered that there really is a demonstrable, repeatable effect of feeding, say, a 7% carb instead of a 0% carb food to their cat. If the patterns are really there, then they're really there. But in the majority of cases, those patterns simply don't exist when you look at the whole spreadsheet and realize that your 3% food and your 5% food may actually very easily contain exactly the same amount of carbs this week.
Sources:
Manxcat419. “Carb Sensitivity – Thoughts.” Feline Diabetes Message Board, 1 May 2017, https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/carb-sensitivity-thoughts.177243/
It seems as though almost everyone I've spoken to recently about a diabetic cat insists that their cat is very carb sensitive. To the extent that they feel that changing the carb % of the food by as little as 1% is going to make a huge difference in the numbers the cat gets. And, although I do recognize that there are some cats that are genuinely more carb sensitive than others and may need their carb intake to be restricted lower than the usual 10%, it appears only to be a minority of cats that are in reality carb sensitive to that extent. It is starting to feel as though 'carb sensitive' is the new, latest buzz-phrase to be applied to diabetic cats.
When we use Dr. Lisa's information to choose food for our cats, a very important point seems to be forgotten by many. That all carbohydrate values are based on calculated numbers and either Guaranteed or Typical analysis of the food. Without testing the exact can of food we are about to give our cats, all of these numbers are necessarily subject to change. Dr. Lisa herself says this about it on her website:
"I often hear people get far too fixated on a chart’s numbers – comparing a food that is 3% versus 8% of calories from carbohydrates without realizing that the food marked “3%” today could be 8% with the next batch…..and the food marked “8%” could be 3% on the next batch."
And yet, even though Dr. Lisa, who many of us consider to be our go-to person for food information for our diabetics, states that the difference between one food and another is not what we might think it is, I am seeing so many people getting hung up on the idea that there will be a huge difference in their cat's numbers if they feed a 4% carb food instead of a 2% carb food. I am convinced that any difference that is seen in the numbers for the vast majority of these cats is simply down to the way they vary in their insulin use from day to day rather than any insane level of carb sensitivity. The differences in numbers are not big enough, and are not repeatable accurately enough, to support the idea that a tiny (and not necessarily even an accurate) difference in the carb level of the food is even slightly responsible. In a number of cases, it seems that the only link is actually in the owner's mind - they are convinced that it must make a difference, so they believe that it does...yet for anyone not invested in the idea looking at the cat's spreadsheet, the evidence is simply not there. Yes, we all want to think that OUR cat is a special, precious, sensitive individual. And they are. But in most cases, this doesn't follow through to needing to pin their diet down to such a degree.
It is possible to get an idea of a cat's actual carb sensitivity level. But that can't be done by trying to pin down an exact carb % in food and whether or not it changed the numbers by a tiny amount in a day. Not unless you're going to analyze every single can of food you open before you feed it. A more accurate way to tell whether or not a cat is overly sensitive to carbs is to see what their reaction is to being given a food that we know is high in carbs...a situation that arises for all of us sooner or later when kitty drops a little too low. If you are able to get those numbers back up safely and effectively every time with very few carbs, or even by giving a regular low carb food, then kitty is likely more carb sensitive. If you find you are having to give large amounts of high carb food, or even high carb food + simple sugars every single time, then kitty is actually not all that carb sensitive at all.
I do feel that people are getting so hung up on an exact carb % that other trends and patterns in a cat's numbers are being missed. Not only that, but the decision over whether to feed 2% or 4% food only adds unnecessary stress to the day - and usually for no good reason. To reiterate, as I know that some cats truly are more carb sensitive than others, this isn't to take away from anyone who has discovered that there really is a demonstrable, repeatable effect of feeding, say, a 7% carb instead of a 0% carb food to their cat. If the patterns are really there, then they're really there. But in the majority of cases, those patterns simply don't exist when you look at the whole spreadsheet and realize that your 3% food and your 5% food may actually very easily contain exactly the same amount of carbs this week.
Sources:
Manxcat419. “Carb Sensitivity – Thoughts.” Feline Diabetes Message Board, 1 May 2017, https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/carb-sensitivity-thoughts.177243/