Cat with 800 triglyceride leval

Question
I have an 11 year old overweight male cat (15 lbs.) Newly diagnosed with early cardiomyopathy, high blood pressure, pancreatitis, and 800 triglyceride. No kidney disease, no hyperthyroid, no diabetes. All my vet did was prescribe enalapril, and a low fat diet. I am a biochemist. I immediately took him off the high carb (lo fat) dry food onto organic canned, and started him on Nordic Naturals-Pet omega 3. Am I going the right way? Some vets say low fat, others insist low carb. Also can I give him "extra" fish oil to get that triglyceride down faster. I am really afraid of clots too, and know the oil will help that. I would switch vets but there is only one in my (remote) area. Is there anything else I can do? Thanks Carolynn

Answer
It's not a question of dry vs. wet but fat content in the food Carol.
You need to shoot for a fat level of under 10% and in dry food this is misleading by looking at the labels, because water (moisture) in the wet dilutes the true amount of fat in the food.

I would be very, very careful of giving your cat any fish oil supplements due to the increase in vit. A in those. Excess levels of vitamin A are fatal to cats and people, and cats are more sensitive to it.

http://www.petmd.com/cat/conditions/endocrine/c_ct_hyperlipidemia

Don't give more than 500 mg a day of it and look for a brand made for cats, not humans.

But most of all, look at the food you are feeding and consider switching to a higher quality, low fat food such as Science Diet Light Adult. She will lose weight safely and slowly with this food if fed as directed and then you won't need to supplement her at all. This food provides optimal nutrition for your cat. It comes in wet as well, but count the overall fat content when feeding both.