? CANADIANS!!! What are you feeding your sugar kitties?

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Sherri

Sherri

Member Since 2015
Hello to all of my fellow Canadian Sugar Kitty Moms and Dads! I'm just wondering what canned food everyone is feeding their sugar kitties? I am feeding Friskies Pates to both my boy in remission and his civvie brother. I have been curious about the food lists and whether they actually represent Canadian values and are up to date enough. Today I started a convo on the Facebook page and a couple carb calculators were sent my way and when I inputted the values for the Friskies pates that I'm feeding my boys all of the values we're over 10% ranging from about 12-15%. Now I'm confused and disheartened as I have hundreds of cans in my garage from the most recent sales at no frills and Walmart. I really want to keep Shamus in remission and be proactive with his brother so just wondered everyone's thoughts on what they're feeding. Is there a better choice or are these values still ok?
 
I'm feeding vegetable fancy feast, she seems to like it better then the friskies. My other civvies ear natures variety, it's costly feeding 11 kitties wet food so veg gets her fancy feast & the rest get her leftovers & some natures variety.

Happy Halloween from the west coast!
 
Hey Sherri,

Friskies Turkey and giblets is definitely 8% and billy eats that as well as PC Extra Meaty Beef, Turkey, and Chicken varieties (all pate). These are all under 10% and under 70 cents a can for the 156g sizes.

@Brashworks made a super handy spreadsheet for this .... she's the best!
 
Hi Sherri and thanks everyone for the tags!

I have received values from the manufacturers on the foods I have on the spreadsheet Here. I have noted Phosphorus values as well - I've been trying to keep Genghis' lower due to her advancing age. I was feeding FF but had some issues with cost, cost, and did I mention cost? And I think the phosphorus level is a little high for my girl.

I am no expert, but you need to be very careful when using the calculators that you are using "As Fed" or Dry Matter Basis values. The "Guaranteed Analysis" you often see on websites or on the can sounds more accurate, but it is only a range of minimums or maximums that has a tendency to throw the final calculation off. You can usually only get As Fed or Dry Matter Basis values directly from the manufacturer (although in my experience, some companies think this is a state secret and refuse to disclose them, but that is another story!).

Do not despair - I think you are just fine feeding Shamus the Friskies you have been, even if you think the values are 12-15% - I know you had a bit of a BG issue earlier, so I understand why you are concerned. That said, I'd want to keep on a good track too, so keep in mind a few things.

  1. Anything can temporarily spike a BG reading, usually stress. Could be "bad" (=vet visit) or "good" (= he might have chased a bug, seen a bird, been startled).
  2. For a healthy cat in good weight, the wet food you are feeding is better than most dry foods. If you still feel less than confident feeding it, you could always mix what you already have with a very low carb food - shredded cooked chicken or turkey, chopped egg whites, or some of the zero carb canned varieties like Tiki Cat, Almo, or Boreal. These foods are likely not complete diets on their own as they don't have added taurine (99% sure about Tiki Cat, positive about Almo and Boreal) but you could supplement the Friskies with it to lower the % of calories from carbs overall.
Keep doing what you are doing - unless Shamus' BG is consistently higher for days, I think you are already on an excellent track.
 
Yes @Brashworks thanks so much for taking the time- Its wonderful!! I can't wait to try some of the PC foods:)

I also feed my cat Weruva- BFF, Truluxe, Cats In The Kitchen- most of theirs are low carb and well sourced- They are on this food list- http://www.felinecrf.org/canned_food_usa.htm So you can check the phosphorus ratios as well.

We have tried some of the Boreal- and he seems to like it as well- we usually mix in some fancy feast with it so that he gets more of the vitamins/minerals he needs:)
 
Thanks Melanie! I have always enjoyed PC products and wondered about their pet food. The prices are also very good. Looks like they are good low carb choices...and no grains or rice?!?! Hmmm something to try perhaps!
 
MrWorfMen's Mom said:
Canadians even if for me it's only a dream to need it!
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Oh Linda, you are welcome. And I know you have tried everything under the sun to convince Miss Menace that wet food isn't "poison". It is my paws, whiskers, feet, legs, arms, toes, fingers and tail (ha) crossed for you that one day she will just mosey over to a bowl and start eating it.
 
Sherri said:
Thanks Melanie! I have always enjoyed PC products and wondered about their pet food. The prices are also very good. Looks like they are good low carb choices...and no grains or rice?!?! Hmmm something to try perhaps!
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You're very welcome Sherri. I wanted the info for myself but figured I might as well share the info - it is my small thanks to this Forum for all I have received.

There are a few varieties that have rice in them - there is a tab with the ingredients on the spreadsheet. I'm not 100% convinced all the values they gave are correct since the formulations are different for the small cans versus the medium and large ones but they all look really low carb except for the duck and rice, the indoor, and the chunky chicken.
 
And you have found the PC brand to be low phosphorous as well compared to Friskies? I don't have a kitty with kidney issues but I'm wondering if switching to low phosphorous (if lower than Friskies) would be a proactive move on my part?
 
Hi Sherri,

From what I understand, phosphorus is critical to a cat's diet to maintain healthy bones and teeth. CKD or chronic kidney disease indicates the need for a lower phosphorus diet - defined on this website as under .5 % DMB. With CKD, the kidneys cannot remove excess phosphorus and the levels rise and this can make the cat feel sick. None of the foods on the chart are THAT low in phosphorus - my wish with Genghis' age is to mediate the levels as I expect her kidney function to slow down due to her advanced age.

In your healthy not geriatric cat, I would not restrict phosphorus. It's a necessary mineral for him. Unless his yearly exam blood panels show increased phosphorus levels, I would think "typical" phosphorus levels would be just fine.
 
Make sure you get the PC brand food & not the no name. I didn't pay close enough attention to the spreadsheet Melanie made so I just assumed no name & PC were the same thing. Veg ate a can of no name chicken pate & her blood sugar jump from 176 to 427 in two hours!

Lesson learned, pay closer attention to things & don't just assume.
 
That's a great point Jennifer! It's hard to see on my spreadsheet but there is an additional tab with the ingredient list from their website and a picture of the can.
 
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