Diet and Food recommendations (Pancreatitis)

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Artemisthecat

Artemisthecat

Member Since 2020
Let me preface this by saying that if I could, I would buy my kitties Tiki Cat or something like that, But I really just can't afford it, it's not realistic for me to maintain a cost like that. I'm looking for high protein, low fat, low carb, preferably not pate and not seafood.

Before diagnosed, my kitties had just switched to Solid Gold dry food and ate the beef, chicken and turkey feast gravy lovers FF. They were enjoying this diet for approximately four months before diagnosed. Before that, they both ate Friskies dry/canned (different living situation) pretty much their entire lives. This past month and a half I have slowly transitioned them first off of dry, to a canned only diet with the gravy lovers, then to FF pate/flaked canned only. Honestly, it's been trial and error and they haven't really been eating what I give them. The only food they consistently will eat is the fish and shrimp feast flaked FF but I was reading that you shouldn't give cats seafood every single day, so I want to find something else to additionally feed. They are NOT pate lovers, they have always eaten chunks or grilled, we have tried a whole mess of FF pate/flaked flavors and even recently Aldi "Heart to Tail" pate. The food remains in the bowl for all of it.

The thing that really complicates the situation is that my sugar baby has pancreatitis as well, the vet's recommendation has been to try and find food that is lower in fat. Aside from this, the poor thing is nauseous and throwing up semi-often, so I need something that he WANTS to eat and will be gentle on his stomach. Using an online carb calculator, it appears that the FF Gravy lovers only has 2.5% carbs? Can someone please tell me if I'm reading this food chart wrong? They are not very low in fat, but might be nice t have if low carb and he is refusing to eat. I think I'm going to also try the (1)naturals again, he tried those when first diagnosed and didn't like them then, but he was also hardly eating then. Has anyone tried the other fancy feast(2) naturals? Don't think it's listed in the dr's food chart. links below:

(1) I think this is the one referred to in the chart
https://www.chewy.com/fancy-feast-p...OSbfB9nMJPMIIgbEuRbqor3F72O_jk3MaAnNSEALw_wcB

(2) https://www.purina.com/fancy-feast/wet-cat-food/gourmet-naturals-chicken-gravy

I would really love any advice or recommendations. I've included some resources at the bottom if anyone could help me understand why the carb amount listed in the chart differs from the calculator? or if I'm looking at the wrong numbers? Anyone in a similar situation who has found that magic, economical, perfect food?? Please help! TIA!

https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

http://fnae.org/carbcalorie.html

Flaked Fish & Shrimp Feast:CRUDE PROTEIN 17.5%, min CRUDE FAT 2.0% min, CRUDE FIBER 1.5% max, MOISTURE 78.0% max, ASH 3.0% max, TAURINE 0.05% min.

Gravy Lovers Turkey Feast: Crude Protein 9.0%, Crude Fat (Min)......2.0%, Crude Fiber (Max)...1.5%, Moisture (Max)...82.0%, Ash (Max)...3.0%, Taurine (Min)...0.05%.

Gravy Lovers Chicken Feast: Crude Protein (Min)...9.0%, Crude Fat (Min)...2.0%, Crude Fiber (Max)...1.5%, Moisture (Max)...82.0%, Ash (Max)...3.0%, Taurine (Min)...0.05%.

Gravy Lovers Beef Feast: Crude Protein (Min)...9.0%, Crude Fat (Min)...2.0%, Crude Fiber (Max)...1.5%, Moisture (Max)...82.0%, Ash (Max)...3.0%, Taurine (Min)...0.05%.
 
Also, has anyone tried probiotics? I was reading that it can help with overall health but he already is always constipated so I worry that probiotics make back him up more?
 
I think (?) the low-fat recommendations for pancreatitis is something that came from canine pancreatitis, and my understanding is that it doesn't seem to have much effect in cats. You are correct that, when dealing with the low-carb requirements of diabetes, plus a picky eater, trying to also add in more diet restrictions doesn't leave you with much.

For figuring out carb % on common foods like Fancy Feast, your best bet is usually Dr. Pierson's food chart. I don't think the carb calculator you're using is giving the correct answers for the Gravy Lovers food, it's too low (maybe something to do with how they handle moisture content?). Dr. Pierson has the Gravy Lover's Turkey Feast at 15%, for example.

I don't know if anyone's given you this link yet, but it's got tons of info on managing pancreatitis in kitties, highly recommended (and apologies if someone has already given it): A Primer On Pancreatitis
 
Thank you!! Yeah, I searched through before posting and actually found that link :) I was thinking it was probably an error, for the carb % but now I'm just confused about it I guess lol. I'm going to Walmart tonight to get an assortment of new foods to try out, so hopefully, something sticks, managing all of this is exhausting.
 
Nan & Amber (GA) said:
I think (?) the low-fat recommendations for pancreatitis is something that came from canine pancreatitis, and my understanding is that it doesn't seem to have much effect in cats.
Click to expand...
This corresponds with what my vet advised me. That said, some pancreatitis kitties may be more fat-sensitive than others. (We had one here a few years ago.)

There can be a lot of trial and error involved in finding what food will agree with a pancreatitis kitty. I wish you every success in finding foods that Artemis can eat comfortably very quickly indeed.


Mogs
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What is phosphorous percentage, sodium and carbs?
There is 0.25% phosphorus, 1.4% carbohydrates on an as fed basis, and 0.18% sodium on an as fed basis.

By on Feb 27, 2019 Report

This is what it says about the carb content on the chewy site about the

ANCY FEAST® WET CAT FOOD
Fancy Feast® Gourmet Naturals White Meat Chicken Wet Cat Food in Gravy with Added Vitamins, Minerals and Nutrients
 
What is the carbohydrate content of this food?
The Carbohydrate content for this food is approximately 0.33%.

By on Jun 19, 2018 Report
This is from the chewy site also


Fancy Feast Purely White Meat Chicken Wet Cat Food, 2-oz tray, case of 10
By Fancy Feast
rating-4_5.svg
201 Reviews
7 Answered Questions
 
So, I guess from looking at the ingredients, what's happening is that the "gravy" is created by carrageenan rather than something starchy, so this isn't very high in carbs? "Wheat gluten" is the third ingredient, and that might be thickening things too, but it's pretty much protein, right?

I think this really needs to get nailed down, as we often suggest using gravy foods in general for a quick high-carb boost, if we have to comb through ingredient lists during a crisis, that's... frustrating.
 
We had an appointment with a specialist at Cornell today and he recommended a high protein diet for my cat as well. The guidelines for the food was less than 2.6 percent fat and more than 13 percent protein based upon the can label. Tiki falls in that range and I will splurge and pick up a few cans to see if it helps. Meanwhile I’ll be searching the internet for other cans that come close. We have a few soulistic/weruva cans in the house that are pretty close. Soulistic is made by weruva for Petco so it’s slightly less expensive but still more pricey than friskies.
 
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