Binky Food List... Old Values, ok to use?

[Amy & Revson]

I too am looking for food my mouser will eat. He licks the FF pate choices but isn't eating enough. I've tried all sorts of tricks - you should see my fridge!! - but with limited results.

The Binky list says the old values should not be used because they are out of date.
Can they be safely used anyway? Is there a more updated list?

Thanks.
Amy

 

[KarenRamboConan]

There is an updated list, but it doesn't necessarily contain all the same foods (http://binkyspage.tripod.com/canfood.html )

Nonetheless, even the old list is perfectly good to use as a guideline. Formulations may have changed, but the basics should still be good enough to follow.

And if you find foods that are not in Janet's list, the next best thing is to label read- avoid obvious grains (wheat, rice, corn) and other carbs (potatoes, peas), gravies, and something called "food starch"... which I assume is cornstarch, but the "starch" part says "stay away" to a sugarcat.

Have you tried warming the foods? It can increase the scent, which is appetizing to many cats.

Best of luck!

 

[Julia & Bandit (GA)]

It's unlikely the carb content has changed much in the old list because the ingredients haven't drastically changed for most of the foods, so I would say it's pretty safe to use in terms of carbs. However, if your cat is a senior (over 12), you might want to also consider the phosphorus levels in foods. Those values can and do change more frequently than the carb content and there's no indication in ingredients like there is for carbs. For example, the phosphorus content for EVO 95% venison are within acceptable levels for a senior cat on Binky's chart, but are now completely unacceptable. Phosphorus levels are important to watch in senior cats because low phosphorus foods are easier on the kidneys.

I wrote Purina a couple weeks ago asking for the as-fed values for a couple Fancy Feast flavors, and I have yet to hear back from them.

Here's a link to an updated chart for some premium foods where the manufacturers were forthcoming with their as-fed values: https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B8...MzhkYTkxOGM4NThk&sort=name&layout=list&num=50 (There is one mistake--the protein and fat percentage are switched around in Merrick's Before Grain Turkey).