Diet therapy is an important treatment component available for obese cats. In this study, the impact of four commercially available prescription diet regimens (1 for general use and 3 aimed at treating obesity and diabetes mellitus (DM)) on short-term postprandial serum glucose, insulin, triglyceride and nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA) concentrations was investigated with five obese cats. The diet regimens used were as follows: C/D dry (general use: moderate protein, moderate fat, high carbohydrate and low fiber), M/D dry (DM: high protein, high fat, low carbohydrate and high fiber), W/D dry (DM: high protein, low fat, high carbohydrate and high fiber) and Diabetic dry (DM: high protein, low fat, low carbohydrate and high fiber). A significant reduction (10-13%) in postprandial glucose (area under the curve; AUC) was observed with the MID and Diabetic diets, which both contained lower concentrations of carbohydrates than the C/D diet. An accompanying significant reduction (30-36%) in postprandial insulin AUC was also observed with the three DM diets, which all had higher amounts of fiber, as compared with the C/D diet. Lastly, a significant increase (32-65%) in postprandial NEFAAUC was observed with the M/D and Diabetic diets as compared with the C/D diet. Therefore, dietary amounts of carbohydrates and fiber, as opposed to protein content or dietary fat, appear to have a very significant impact on postprandial glycemia and subsequent insulin requirement levels in obese cats. In addition, dietary amounts of carbohydrates may also impact lipid metabolism in obese cats.
