Calculating carbs % for Whiskas wet food trays (Canada)

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Aerya

Member Since 2013
Hi guys,

First time posting here. I've read tons of things including I think all spreadsheets listing known nutrition information for different wet food brands and how to calculate the carbs (dry/as fed/k/cal, etc.), but something is confusing me here.

I read multiple times on this forum that one of the OK brands with low carbs (10% or less kcal from carbs) is Whiskas wet food. I checked out their ingredients and they don't look bad (no carbs ingredients listed, other than maybe yam). So I bought some pates: Chicken Dinner, Tender Beef Dinner, Chicken and Liver Dinner, Turkey and Giblets Dinner. They are the ones sold in resealable trays.

I'm located in Ontario, Canada, so I looked up the % info on their website:
http://www.whiskas.ca/en-ca/Products/We ... inner.aspx
http://www.whiskas.ca/en-ca/Products/We ... inner.aspx
http://www.whiskas.ca/en-ca/Products/We ... -Beef.aspx
http://www.whiskas.ca/en-ca/Products/We ... lets-.aspx

I've tried calculating manually with the catinfo.org information, and with an Excel spreadsheet automatic calculator, and it gives me about 25% kcal from carbs! It just doesn't make sense that people would recommend them...

Can anyone please re-calculate and tell me if I miscalculated and they're safe, or if I'm right and I shouldn't feed them to my diabetic cat? Note that I've got plenty of other wet food options already, I just wanted to add some variety to my cat's flavours and brands.

Thanks in advance for your help!
 
Hello, and welcome to FDMB,

Yep, I ran the label values on the first food that you listed through my own calculator and I also got a 'calories from carbs' value of 25%....

In a lot of countries the carb component isn't listed on the 'analysis' and so the percentage of carbs as an ingredient is worked out by adding up everything else in the 'analysis' and deducting that from 100%. But what we need to know - for diabetic cats - is the percentage of calories from carbs, which, as you've realised, takes a bit more working out...

To complicate things even further, it must be told that the 'analysis' may not be a true representation of what is actually in the can... And for the real deal you'll need to contact the manufacturer for the 'as fed' values...

However...many of us do just fine with the 'analysis' values on the can as a ballpark figure of what is actually inside. :smile:

There are quite a few Canadians on the forum and hopefully they'll soon be able to help you out by recommending specific varieties of food.

Again - welcome! We look forward to hearing more about you and your kitty.

Eliz
 
Hmmmm.....my cats like these better than the Fancy Feast pates but I haven't been feediing them lately because I couldn't find them on any of the food lists. The Chicken & Liver is their favorite.

It does have dried yam listed as an ingredient in the Canadian version, but it's way down in the ingredients, there are minerals, like calcium, listed ahead of it.

The US version also lists the dried yam as well as carageenan and guar gums, but no grains or grain starches or flours or other vegetables. There really doesn't seen to be anything in the listed ingredients that would bump up the carbs that much? You could always feed them this exclusively one day, test extensively after meals and see if his blood sugar runs higher than days he gets his other foods.

The Canadian version doesn't list carageenan as an ingredient. There may be problems feeding carageenan to cats, esp those with gastrointestinal sensitivities.

From the wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrageenan

Scientists have raised serious concerns about the safety of carrageenan in food, based on laboratory animal studies showing gastrointestinal inflammation, ulcerations and colitis-like disease in animals given food-grade carrageenan in their drinking water or diet

purpose of Carageenan: Pâtés and processed meats (ham, e.g.): substitute for fat, increase water retention and increase volume, or improve sliceability
 
Thanks! I guess I'll have to contact the company. Do I simply ask for the "as fed" values per can? Anything else?
 
Thanks! Please let us know how it goes. In the meantime I've emailed the company for the as fed values... We'll see how long it takes to get an answer!
 
Yikes, it took them 10 days to reply to my email, just to say to call them with a reference number... Well that's customer service! *sigh*
 
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