An herbal supplement for your diabetic cat

A friend of mine asked me to help her find a supplement for her cat who was diagnosed with diabetes. Until then I had no idea that cats and dogs got diabetes just like people. But it makes sense - look at the ingredients on a bag of so-called premium and healthy cat food: crude fat, corn meal, corn gluten meal, soybean meal, rice! Cats are predators and strict carnivores, they're supposed to eat raw mice! The cat food at the store, says all sorts of attractive things on a bag, like "supports immune system", "no artificial flavors", "no preservatives", and, I particularly find it funny, "goodness of whole grains". I'm looking at a bag of Purina Chow 'Naturals' and reading the list of 'natural' ingredients:
Powdered cellulose - wood pulp or cotton, it is used to make paper. The only animals able to digest it are termites and ruminants. A ruminant is a mammal that digests plant-based food in 2 steps: by softening it within the animal's first compartment of the stomach, then regurgitating the semi-digested mass, known as cud, and chewing it again. The process of re-chewing the cud is called "ruminating". Ruminating mammals include cattle, goats, sheep, and llamas. They have a special stomach for the job called Rumen. I suppose you can get away with calling cellulose natural, just like the sand on the beach is natural, and crude oil is natural. But to feed it to a cat! That's just crazy! A cat may nibble on some grass to help it to eliminate hairballs and get some vitamin C, but have you ever seen it chewing tree bark?
Ferrous Sulfate - used as a supplement, but it is a poison, and is known to accelerate aging and create oxidation and free radicals. Here is a quote from an article: "studies of processed animal food had demonstrated that the addition of iron (as the highly reactive form, ferrous sulfate, which happens to be cheap and easy to handle) created disease in animals, by destroying vitamins in the food." You can read the entire article on dangers of iron added to foods here.
Pyridoxine hydrochloride - more commonly known as vitamin B6, is a dietary supplement used to treat pyridoxine deficiencies caused by a poor diet, metabolism problems and drug use. Has your kitty been smoking crack? I don't think so. Taking the supplement without a reason could result in side effects, and anyone planning to start a pyridoxine hydrochloride supplement should consult with their health care professional. Taking it for a prolonged period of time could result in damage to the sensory nerves. And that's in people! Imagine what it can do to your little kitty!

Pet food manufacturers surely will try to calm you by saying that those chemicals are added in very small and safe quantities. People are remarkably strong when it comes to imbibing harmful substances. Nicotine from one cigarette can kill a horse, and a small piece of chocolate can kill a dog. A human is a very tough omnivore and can tolerate chemicals that will kill most animals. Probably even pigs. There really is no 'safe' doze of poison for a pet.

My cat Iris is horrendously fat, and I am worried about her. I got her used. So her dietary habits were already set in stone to eat junk food - that's what I call commercial cat food. Iris turns her head away now from real chicken and real beef! She is obviously addicted to carbohydrates. This is very sad.

Here is a link to an herbal supplement that is supposed to be helpful to a cat or a dog who have already developed sugar imbalance:

PetAlive GlucoEnsure Helps keep blood sugar & insulin levels within normal range