What food do you feed?

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Stephanie Montgomery

Stephanie Montgomery

Member Since 2016
My cats aren't really into Tiki cat anymore. They're just leaving the bulk of it in the bowls and it's just dried up chicken after an hour. I have 1 FD and 3 non- FD cats. Want to also help one of my non FD cats who now has a UTI from switching foods I assume. I had them all on dry blue buffalo before the news broke of Tobey having FD.

So trying to get opinions...What food do you feed and why?
 
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I feed the best/lowest carb food they will eat. Luckily my diabetes scarf up Friskies and Fancy Feast. I have two civies who eat little canned so I have to feed them what they will eat. Sometimes they will eat EVO cat and kitten dry but requenlty I have to gradually go to "worse" dry foods and not infrequently I have to resort to Fancy Feast dry.
Some cats I had I had to syringe feed them. Some for over a year.
 
Hi Stephanie and sweet Tobey and siblings. Your question is a good one and the most basic answer I've found in the last year is that the low carb wet foods my kitty will eat consistently is what we buy. Radar was a dry food grazer for most of his life but when he learned that meat could be in his dish, he never looked back at kibble again. It has been quite the process at our house and I've thrown a TON of cat food away in the last year. I never had to think so hard about giving him kibble... just pour and walk away.....but the wet food options are so voluminous... it's overwhelming. :eek: I'm happy to say that after extensive experimentation we now have a decent rotation that I'm satisfied is providing the proper nutrition for the FD situation AND, more importantly, meets the requirements of the fuzzy one.:cat:

Here's a few tips to consider as you move forward with trying to find out what your crew likes and doesn't like...
1. Consider the consistency of the food - Radar prefers pate style foods rather than chunks of meat. It must be easier to lick up and swallow... :confused:
2. Once you figure out something about what the cat likes to eat, know that the preferences can and do change... sometimes several times a day. It goes something like this - Radar will eat Tiki Cat - except when he doesn't want it. He really really really loves rabbit and will eat it always - except when he is tired of it. He really enjoys fish - except for those days when he doesn't want to eat it.
3. Sometimes Radar needs a little encouragement to get started -warming the food to a nice "warm mouse" temperature - a few seconds in the microwave - can really help.
4. Sometimes what Radar wants is to have something amazing sprinkled on top of his food - try Bonito Flakes or Pure Bites freeze dried chicken pulverized into chicken dust.... very popular additions at our house.

Good luck figuring out what they like and try not to drive yourself crazy while experimenting...
 
Hi Stephanie,

We feed Fancy Feast and Friskies pates, although we're currently making a switch to homemade. We tried some of the more expensive brands, Tiki included, but the cats couldn't all agree on them. (We have 6 cats.) Fortunately, they all like Fancy Feast and Friskies. We do try to rotate flavors to keep them from getting bored.
 
Jan Radar said:
Hi Stephanie and sweet Tobey and siblings. Your question is a good one and the most basic answer I've found in the last year is that the low carb wet foods my kitty will eat consistently is what we buy. Radar was a dry food grazer for most of his life but when he learned that meat could be in his dish, he never looked back at kibble again. It has been quite the process at our house and I've thrown a TON of cat food away in the last year. I never had to think so hard about giving him kibble... just pour and walk away.....but the wet food options are so voluminous... it's overwhelming. :eek: I'm happy to say that after extensive experimentation we now have a decent rotation that I'm satisfied is providing the proper nutrition for the FD situation AND, more importantly, meets the requirements of the fuzzy one.:cat:

Here's a few tips to consider as you move forward with trying to find out what your crew likes and doesn't like...
1. Consider the consistency of the food - Radar prefers pate style foods rather than chunks of meat. It must be easier to lick up and swallow... :confused:
2. Once you figure out something about what the cat likes to eat, know that the preferences can and do change... sometimes several times a day. It goes something like this - Radar will eat Tiki Cat - except when he doesn't want it. He really really really loves rabbit and will eat it always - except when he is tired of it. He really enjoys fish - except for those days when he doesn't want to eat it.
3. Sometimes Radar needs a little encouragement to get started -warming the food to a nice "warm mouse" temperature - a few seconds in the microwave - can really help.
4. Sometimes what Radar wants is to have something amazing sprinkled on top of his food - try Bonito Flakes or Pure Bites freeze dried chicken pulverized into chicken dust.... very popular additions at our house.

Good luck figuring out what they like and try not to drive yourself crazy while experimenting...
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Very interesting and thanks so much!
 
I started off feeding Tiki Cat/BFF as well but it got to be too expensive for 3 cats. I switched to FF classics and they enjoyed them but 2/3 of my cats are older and I was getting concerned about the Phosphorus levels and how it could affect their kidneys. My oldest civie is also in the upper level of the normal range regarding some of his renal values...

I switched them back to BFF and now I'm doing a mixture of premade raw food with the BFF, until the BFF runs out and they will be fully on raw. Brands still up in the air for raw, as I'm testing the waters and seeing what flavours they like the best. My civie grazer is loving the raw food and he's never been one to be a big eater by any means, and my other civie and my sugar kitty are loving it too so far.
 
Stephanie Montgomery said:
What's examples of raw food brands? Is it cheaper than tiki or weruva? Forgot to mention mine are on weruva too.
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I really haven't done a price breakdown yet since I'm still experimenting with brands, but I know with raw cats tend to eat a less since there is so much nutrition packed into the food. I've been feeding Primal so far, but Darwin's is another brand and they have a great trial off - 10 pounds of raw (duck/chicken/turkey) for $14.95. I just ordered that and it should be arriving tomorrow so I will be trying that as well. Stella & Chewys looks promising but I can't find anywhere close to me that sells it to try it out. Rad Cat had a recall recently so I'm hesitant to try them, but they are pretty expensive anyways.
 
Stephanie Montgomery said:
Are there carbs? Is it good for them?
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There are carbs but all of the raw food I've researched has been low carb. Depending on the brand, the ingredients etc the carb content can very. For example, the Primal Chicken & Salmon I'm feeding right now is around 6% carbs which is on the higher end of the ones I've looked up, the other proteins I tried were around 2-4% carbs. Many people make their own raw as well, as it can be cheaper than the premade options.

I'm transitioning with the Weruva but some cats can take a little more convincing.

Raw food is extremely healthy for cats especially as they are obligate carnivores, and their metabolisms functions best on a diet primarily filled with meat protein. I wish I had switched sooner.

I've fairly new to the raw world but I'll take a couple people that may have more insight. @Wendy&Neko @Madrona and Leda
 
Stephanie Montgomery said:
How do I need to transition to this? It seems easier to feed raw food. Kind of like dry but not messy like canned.
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If you have started insulin it is best to do the transition gradually, I transitioned over a week, gradually adding the new food to the old until by the end of the week she was just eating the new food. Be prepared to monitor blood glucose throughout the transition period as you may find you need to reduce the dose of insulin. When you have a moment can you add a signature as it makes it easier to give advice. Can you also start a spreadsheet to record your readings, etc. Instructions are here http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/
 
I'm not going to make my own. I'll buy it. Ifor it's easier to lay food down for my cats when I am going to work I will wanna try it. Maybe go get a bag tonight at natural pawz.
 
Alexi said:
If you have started insulin it is best to do the transition gradually, I transitioned over a week, gradually adding the new food to the old until by the end of the week she was just eating the new food. Be prepared to monitor blood glucose throughout the transition period as you may find you need to reduce the dose of insulin. When you have a moment can you add a signature as it makes it easier to give advice. Can you also start a spreadsheet to record your readings, etc. Instructions are here http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/
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Yes I need to do that signature
...but I also haven't started insulin yet.
 
Stephanie Montgomery said:
I saw that ingredients have fruits and veggies in them which I have been told is not good. Can you confirm the ingredients?
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Fruits and vegetable ingredients are not necessary for cats because they are obligate carnivores, however, Primal is still considered low carb so it's diabetic safe. Darwin's, the other raw I purchased, is just meat and bone. It really just depends on the brand.
 
Stephanie Montgomery said:
So it's safe but still has the fruits and veggies in it? I'll get it if it's considered diabetic safe
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Correct. My cat is in remission and I wouldn't risk using it if it wasn't low carb. The amount of fruits/vegetables in it is not significant however I will probably be switching to Darwin's if my cats approve because of cost and the fact that cats don't need all of that extra stuff.

Take a read through this thread from last month. An experienced member named Marj contacted Primal and got their carb percentages (and their phosphorus numbers) and all of them are 6.5% or below. :)
 
Primal comes in both raw and freeze dried raw. The raw is better for cats than the freeze dried. Cats need water and the raw has it in it. Some raw food will have a couple % fruits and veggies, trying to simulate what is in the stomach of the prey animal and provide extra vitamins. I'd stay away from ones that have the starchy veggies such as potato or sweet potato.

Here's one of many web sites that talks about how to switch your cat to raw. Start with chicken, they seem to find it easier to digest.
 
Going to petsmart today and buying some good quality canned food because I'm done with fancy feast. It's making my cats throwhen up. Any recommended brands that are low quality? Going with chicken or turkey. Not any fish. They don't like tiki cat or weruva. Thanks!
 
Sharon14 said:
Natures Variety Instinct is a good wet food as is Wellness and Wellness Core.
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I just tried these two brands this week, replacing some of the FF the cats were getting. To my surprise, the glucose numbers dropped two readings in a row (160's). If the reading is low tonight too, that will be 3 in a row, and I'll be buying more of these two brands tomorrow. Both my cats liked the flavors, and both brands were pate.
 
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Bummer. Third round of Wellness resulted in my guy going back up to his usual high numbers. I think the two sets of low numbers were a fluke, or it hadn't been a full 2 hrs since eating when I tested him. But both cats LOVED the food!
 
Your spreadsheet isn't updated, but remember....you skipped two doses a few days ago so that's going to have some impact too

You're not getting any mid-cycle numbers.....it's possible you're missing some low numbers that are causing Hootie to bounce
 
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