Calculating carbs in wet food - UK

[Galaxy (GA)]

hi,

Is anyone using this? Do we know if these calculators give us the real numbers? I googled carb calculator feline diabetes and this was one that came up. I have been experiencing way too high numbers for Galaxy and suspecting carb content.

http://scheyderweb.com/cats/catfood.html

Today's food is catz finefood No 11 lamb and rabbit. I get his main food from zooplus uk. The rest i give him is raw chicken. Selected it off the food chart i found on this forum,

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1J5JpMe6TDXrHq_aTl9hUtHy6Gs9oRBqlz4nPGKxtySA/

Can somebody please tell how uptodate this food chart is?

 

[Veronica & Babu-chiri]

Is anyone using this? Do we know if these calculators give us the real numbers? I googled carb calculator feline diabetes and this was one that came up. I have been experiencing way too high numbers for Galaxy and suspecting carb content.

http://scheyderweb.com/cats/catfood.html

I've used it and having done the math on some myself I think is reasonably ok considering it uses guaranteed analysis instead of as fed it may not be as precise as the other list but it would give you a good idea if the food is high or low carb

 

[Elizabeth and Bertie]

Can somebody please tell how uptodate this food chart is?

Hi, I update the food chart ongoingly (last major update was March 2019) but with over 300 foods on there it can be a slow process, and there will likely always be 'something' that is out of date at any given time. Foods disappear, suppliers disappear, new foods come onto the market, the recipe of a food can change without warning, etc, etc. And sometimes the data on the manufacturer's website is different to the data on the product label... <sigh>

I'll have a look at the foods you mention in your post shortly.

Re the Scheyderweb calculator, it's a useful tool, but it only goes as far as calculating the calories per 100g or ounce. If you want to get the 'percentage of calories' (how foods are most often compared) there's another stage of the calculation to do, but it's not difficult.
There is also another calculator that you can use that does calculate the 'percentage of calories' from carbs as I recall. It was put together by an FDMB member fairly recently, and is easy to use.
You can find a link to that calculator (and also info on how to do the last part of the Scheyderweb calculation) in the 'UK Information' link in my signature at the bottom of this post. (Scroll down the post to carb calculators in the 'Other General Info' section.).

...Just on the point of 'how accurate' calculators are, well, given that pet food labelling probably isn't that accurate in the first place any calculation is going to be, at best, an approximation, a good guesstimate. But so far this seems 'good enough' for our purposes. Ultimately 'the proof of the pudding is in the eating', and if we can hometest we will be able to see the effect of the food on our cat's blood glucose.

Eliz

 

[Elizabeth and Bertie]

Today's food is catz finefood No 11 lamb and rabbit. I get his main food from zooplus uk.

Hi again, the manufacturer's data seems to be the same as on Zooplus (Zooplus data can sometimes be a bit wonky), and the same as has been used in the current calculation on the UK list. So on that basis I make it around 1.6% of calories from carbohydrates.

Do have a look at the can labels that you have though, just to see whether that data differs from this:
Protein 11%
Fat 5.9%
Ash 2.2%
Fibre 0.5%
Moisture 80%

Eliz

 

[Elizabeth and Bertie]

I googled carb calculator feline diabetes and this was one that came up. I have been experiencing way too high numbers for Galaxy and suspecting carb content.

Just looked at your SS and see what you mean about those high numbers...
(I know it's probably not much consolation but since you're using Alphatrak meter those numbers will probably be a bit higher than would be seen on a human meter. The only reason I mention that is that if you're looking at other people's SS's and comparing, just bear in mind that most folks here use human meters. Either way though, high is high, and we need to find a way to get your kitty's numbers down.)

The Catz finefoods are usually a good choice for cats, so it is 'unlikely' that these foods are keeping the numbers high because of carb content. The 'lamb & rabbit' does contain cranberry and carrot, but the amounts are pretty small. And because lamb and rabbit are both 'novel' (less common) proteins in cat food, it's also 'unlikely' to be a food intolerance raising the numbers.

I see from the notes on your SS that you are sometimes feeding snacks of diabetic dry food? Have I understood that correctly? If so, how often are you giving that, and how much are you giving..?

Does your kitty have any other health issues?

 

[Galaxy (GA)]

I see from the notes on your SS that you are sometimes feeding snacks of diabetic dry food? Have I understood that correctly? If so, how often are you giving that, and how much are you giving..?

Hi and thanks for all the input. I am aware of the issue with the vet prescribed diabetic kibble. I have found however that whenever i leave a handful of that in his bowl for the day, he goes through the twelve hours till the pm shot without pestering me for more food during the day. I dont know it might do something to him psychologically, seeing food in his bowl. Sometimes he doesnt even eat it at all. Also when i give it as a snack i literally give him 2-3 pieces, and thats only after a blood test. I know it's not ideal but i want to get to the end of the bag. Then it will be gone. I paid forty quid for it after all.

So, because of his high numbers and because prozinc is slower to bring it down, he's always pestering us for food when we are home. I tried feeding him proper food as and when, like others do with their catz, and that spiked his numbers even more so much so that a whole curve attempt got ruined. So i thought let's do what i used to, leave the kibble out for the day and he's calmer and happier.

Does your kitty have any other health issues?

This is another thing, he is really well, initially he lost at least a kilo and a half, he's a five kilo cat when healthy, and he has beefed up again, not perfect but to an ok 4.30-4.40. He does have neuropathy in the hind legs, ive been trying to find zobaline or uk equivalent - can i give him human B12 tablets? Also he can still Jump up on the kitchen counter He just takes breaks when walking longer distances bless him. But i do want to get zobaline for this.