Do I need to be a food guru?

There's so much information on carb counts and counting calories and calculations... :?
I was just planning to feed Friskies Pate, since that's one of the recommended foods around here, and call it good.
Then I started looking into what others here do in more detail and my head is spinning again.

Chester loves milk. I know that's going to be out because of the lactose... I need to find some kitty treats that he likes that are OK for him to eat. So far, he's not a fan of the chicken jerky. Did you know that some of the jerky recipes include sugar? At least I'm a decent ingredient reader...He really likes Friskies Crispies (kitty-crack), but in addition to the grains (bad), those have sugar, too. Are plain meat treats the only thing safe for him? Are there any other suggestions?

How do you ever turn them down when they give you the big, big eyes and they actually meow "Please"?
I suppose some day I'll have to grab the idea that "good enough" will be OK. I just want to do it all perfectly and that's just not likely to happen.

 

Here is an entire list of good treats for diabetic kitties. http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=9172.

And boy do I know what you mean when they turn those big big eyes on you...Not so much from my diabetics as they were both adopted as diabetics where I don't think they had a lot of spoiling so they don't tend to turn those big eyes on me, plus I lucked out with my two since above food as a treat, a good brushing is their favorite thing in life. Perhaps because they both had to be shaved when I adopted them because they were so matted.

Sometimes when my civies start the "Please Mom..give me a bite" I start a game with them, I find their favorite toys and we have a nice interactive play session..sometimes even taking them and the toy into a seperate room so they get some just one on one time with Mom. That usually makes them forget that mom just ate a tuna sandwich in front of them.

I will confess that even with my diabetics I do ocassionally give them a tiny treat that isn't exactly good for them.. Like I will let them lick the still ice cream coated spoon after I'm done or sneak them a teeny tiny piece of tuna salad etc. But it is few and far between, but hey everyone cheats on a diet once and awhile. I do, however, try to note that they got something they weren't suppose to have on their spreadsheets so I know it if caused a big spike or if it had no effect on their BGs whatsoever.
Every Cat is Different, some can have a little 'junk' food with no harm no foul and others can't. Just like as humans we can be on a very strict diet to lose weight and sneak a piece of candy without any harm, but a complete diet of the same candy would have us the size of a house...lol

Mel, Maxwell, Autumn & The Fur Gang

 

Is there a Petsmart near you? I get these treats for Bandit, both the Salmon and the Chicken: http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2751598&f=PAD/psNotAvailInUS/No. They're in the cat treat section (although they may have a different looking container than in that link--I noticed the Salmon are in a brown container now that says Nature's One on it). As a treat every so often (usually when he looks at me with those big eyes and meows :roll: ) He gets a Fancy Feast appetizer, all of which are diabetic safe. Or you can search "Freeze Dried Treats" on Amazon, and order some. Anything that is 100% meat is safe to feed. Just some advice, a lot of cats don't like or soon get sick of the straight up liver ones, so I would shoot for something that's not liver. I would try out a few different things and see what he likes. The good thing about having 6 cats is that I'm sure you'll find takers for the treats he doesn't eat until you find something he loves.

As for the food, you can feed any food under 10% carbs, preferably under 8%. There's several food charts floating around here that have different foods on them, which can be confusing. To make things simple: if you read the ingredient label, and the canned food does not contain any wheat, corn, soy, rice, or a vegetable as one of the top ingredients, the food will be diabetic safe.

Many people feed Friskie's and it comes in big, 13 oz cans which makes it good food to feed a lot of cats. Just a word of warning though--there is a small amount of rice in the recipe, and a few cats (not all, but a few) will have spikes in their blood sugar because of it. Bandit's one of these. If you suspect this after feeding the Friskie's for a bit, Walmart and Petsmart both have their own versions of Friskies (Special Kitty and Grreat Choice pates) that are the exact same thing but without the rice, so they are lower carb. They are also cheaper and come in large 13 oz cans. Any of those foods would be a good place for you to start.

Oh, and you want to limit Fishy foods to once or twice a week (if at all), because of the mercury and phosphorus levels in those foods. A lot of cats get addicted to them, too.

I think what you're seeing and confused about is that some people here like to feed premium foods without byproducts because they have a cat with an intolerance to some type of protein and need to be clear about what exact meats are in the food, or want the the higher quality protein and low phosphorus levels (this is important for the renal health of senior kitties, but not such a concern for young or middle-aged cats), and there are some options that are affordable to feed in bulk (mainly Wellness and EVO). These foods are also higher in fat and calories though, so not so good for obese or IBD kitties. There is a balancing act with food that many people here do because their cat has some other issue other than the diabetes that might also affect their diet. What is good and works for one cat may not work for another. But the only way you'll figure that out is to just jump in and try things out, and the low carb, grocery store pate foods are a good place to start.

I understand the desire to do everything perfect! But you're still at information overload point, and in a bit when you start to absorb, things will be clearer. At that point, when you feel more comfortable with things, you can always change the food if you choose. Good enough is just fine right now. :smile:

 

Thank you. More great information. I really appreciate all the help!

 

PetSmart...DOG TREAT section...shelf just above eye level...'Simply Nourish' Freeze dried CHICKEN dog treats! There's several kinds, be sure to get the 'Freeze Dried Chicken' and not the ones with Sweet Potato. Only difference in cat and dog is the size of the bite, just break it up a bit! LOTS cheaper! I get 2 weeks treats for $9, it would last longer if I didn't have a whole lineup of fuzzy feetz that come to 'help' me test KT....as in: Hey, I want treats too....

BIG HUGS!!!

 

Ruby won't eat the jerky treats but loves the freeze dried. It must be a texture thing or something. The Simply Nourish chicken are good and if I'm feeling splurgy, I get the white fish in this brand http://thrillpetfoods.com/. Those are her absolute favorites but they're hard to find and not cheap. Before she was OTJ she would get the chicken with tests and the fish with injections.