Canned cat food for EUROPEANS and INTERNATIONAL buyers

Status
Not open for further replies.
Hi all,
I am from italy i have a diabetic cat in a difficult situation as, after a first remission fron diabetes, she has it again after more then a year but this time she doesn't react to insulin. She is followed by a normal vet and a diabetologist and they are both very puzzled. She already changed two insulins, but nothing. She has done all the exams to see if she has an illness underneath but nothing. It is a mess. From when her diabetes showed up she eats farmina dry for diabetes. She hates all other diabetic foods.
My vets think the problem can't be the food, or at least not the real problem but at this point i will try everything. On the site everyone says to switch to wet food but i don't understand what could be the right wet food for a diabetic cat, that is not diabetic specific, that i can find in italy. Can someone help me please, please, please?
 
Hi Marta,

I am in the UK, but I have been searching for what you can buy in Italy.
To be honest, any canned wet food is going to be better than the dry 'diabetic' food you are giving her at the moment. If I am correct in understanding that you are feeding her this: http://www.farmina.com/?q=content/product/farmina-vet-life-diabetic, then about 27.5% of her calories are coming from carbohydrates. For a diabetic cat it is recommended that they get fewer than 10% of their daily calories from carbohydrates.
This Farmina 'diabetic' has oats, barley & corn listed amongst the ingredients as "source of carbohydrate" & this is unsuitable for any cat.

Many of the brands that I feed my own diabetic cat (in remission) are available in Italy. I order Bozita, Grau, Smilla & GranatPet from Zooplus & other websites. They are also available on the Italian version of the site: http://www.zooplus.it/shop/gatti/cibo_gatti_scatolette

If you are not able to order food via the internet, then it is worth calculating the carbohydrate content of tinned brands available to you locally.

There are many carbohydrate calculators available. Have a look here: http://www.scheyderweb.com/cats/catfood.html & here: http://fnae.org/carbcalorie.html.

What insulins are you trying on her?

Juliet
 
I am on humulin now. It was the insulin that worked the firts time. For some reason, that i guess is medical sperimentation, the vets when the diabetes came back tried to change it to lantus. It didn't work at all. Even if right now even humulin seems to have no results at all. At some point we will try to switch to caninsulin as what is happening is that it is as if i am giving her water. It is a really bad situation.

When your cat was not in remission which wet food did you give her. I will try to order some and try to change completely diet. It is my last chance. So if you indicate me a brand that is right for a cat that is not in remission it could really save me and her
Thanks so much
Marta
 
Hi Marta.

We don't really recommend changing all at one time from a high carb dry food to a low carb wet food, without home testing, as her numbers could drop dramatically. Are you home testing? If not, I would do the transition gradually.
 
I home test. So i can monitor what is happening.
And it would be a dream if her numbers got down dramatically as she is nearly 500 and if things don't change fast the situation is very very bad.
I will change gradually and i will be followed by my vet but i need to have a brand of cat food that is right for her situation and try. Will you give me a name and the type of food that i can order in itlay?
I really hope her numbers change as it is our last chance.
 
Marta,
I've given you the names of brands of canned food available from Zooplus Italia that will help your cat lower her blood glucose.
Try Bozita, Smilla, Grau or GranataPet?
They helped my cat go into remission.
 
But of the brands you indicated me there are many types of food which is the right type for a diabetic cat?
Thankyou again for all your patience
Marta
 
All the Grau food is good apart from the Grau 'light'.
All the Bozita varieties are fine.
All the GranataPet is fine.
With the Smilla, just avoid the varieties 'with vegetables'.

Good luck!

Juliet
 
Hello!
I live in Lithuania (Europe). It's difficult to find a suitable low carb food for my Cupcake here. Sadly, none of the above listed e-shops send to my country. I feed him "Catz Finefood No. 3" now but we will finish it soon (we even went to Poland to buy it).
I've read the link regarding carbs in lots of commercial canned food and have found that "Royal Canin Recovery" is pretty low in carbs. What do You think about this one?

I've read the A-Z list too. The only complete food available here is Animonda Carny (I'm worried about its high offal content) and Bozita (tetrapaks in gravy, Cupcake often has diarrhoea when I feed him Bozita).

Any advice would be very helpful, thanks!
 
Cupcake said:
Hello!
I live in Lithuania (Europe). It's difficult to find a suitable low carb food for my Cupcake here. Sadly, none of the above listed e-shops send to my country.
Click to expand...

Hello,

I'm pretty sure that Zooplus do ship to Lithuania (Edited later to add: No they don't... :sad: ). They have many e-stores all over Europe including Germany (the main store, I think), Poland and the Czech Republic. If you go to any Zooplus e-store you will find a list of other Zooplus stores (I'll try to post a link later). Zooplus stock many good foods for diabetics including Catz Finefoods and Grau grain-free.

Edited to add: If you look down to the bottom right of this page you'll find links to other Zooplus e-stores:
http://www.zooplus.co.uk/?gclid=CLmXjeT ... tAodNDIAJA :smile:

Elizabeth
 
Would you consider making your own food? Cat Info has a recipe.

Cat Info also states you may replace 1/4th of a canned food with plain meat or poultry, which will lower the carb and fat content some, also.
 
Elisabeth, hi! It is sad, but no Zooplus e-shop sends to Lithuania. Sometimes I feel like I live in the Third World! :(

Dear BJM, I don't think I'm prepared for home-made food making atm. Cupcake has his bowl full of Catz Finefood all the time and I give him raw (beef, chicken or turkey) once or twice a day.
Animonda's Carny, Bozita and Royal Canin Recovery are available in my country. We don't even have PurinaDM :( Almo Nature is also available, however the latter is complementary.
 
Cupcake said:
Elisabeth, hi! It is sad, but no Zooplus e-shop sends to Lithuania. Sometimes I feel like I live in the Third World! :(

Dear BJM, I don't think I'm prepared for home-made food making atm. Cupcake has his bowl full of Catz Finefood all the time and I give him raw (beef, chicken or turkey) once or twice a day.
Animonda's Carny, Bozita and Royal Canin Recovery are available in my country. We don't even have PurinaDM :( Almo Nature is also available, however the latter is complementary.
Click to expand...

Oh, I'm so sorry that Zooplus won't deliver there (and I did email them to check this and they've confirmed this to be the case... :sad: )

Quite a few people with diabetic cats do feed Bozita. So if you can get hold of that it may well be sufficient.
Also, you may find this little online carb calculator useful:
https://secure.balanceit.com/tools/_gaconverter/
If a cat food label has an 'analysis' on it that lists protein, fat, ash, moisture and fibre, you just have to enter those percentages into the online calculator and the little turquoise box on the bottom right of the page will show the amount of calories from carbs.

Sorry not to be more help...
 
Elizabeth, thank You, I've already seen this carb calculator. Well, I think I'm under the necessity to go to Poland again :)
Donna, thanks for Your help. Yes, we have Whiskas and Sheba in Lithuania. However, I do doubt this food is worth buying. Low-carb composition is very important but I think this is not the only factor that matters. This food is not the one I want to feed my fluffy. Will try to go to Poland for Catz Finefoood asap and will feed him Leonardo and / or Animonda's Carny for a couple of days.
 
The Whiska Pates (in the tray) should be a low carb food. They are no worse than the Fancy Feast we feed here in the states. Same goes for Sheba. You want something with no gravy or sauces. It at least gives you an option to use. Anything low carb is best for a diabetic because it will keep numbers down and allow the insulin to do its work.

Good Luck! :-D
 
Per Dr Pierson, you may replace 1/4 of the canned food with plain poultry or meat. This will lower the carb and fat content and increase the protein content.
 
Marta, I dont know if you're going to read this... but if your cat is still in the 500s please check for ketones and give your cat a low carb food, or atleast Purina DM CANNED food if you cant find the other brands listed in the first post of this thread. But of course you'll have to test before giving a shot of insulin since your cat's BG levels are going to drop with a low carb canned food.
 
Just wanted to thank you guys for the info. I just moved to England and was having trouble finding low carb food. The only brand I even RECOGNISED was Whiskas and that's not very good. I heard Butchers Select was decent but I accidentally bought the kind that is "in jelly" rather than paté. Does anyone know whether it is too high in carbs?

Meanwhile I've ordered some trial packs of Bonita and Grau and a couple others to see if the fusspots can settle on something they both like. :)

If you go to this link and scroll down to the zooplus ad, and click on it, you get 5% off your zooplus order and help Diabetic Cat Care... http://www.diabeticcatcare.com/DCCCOK/UK.htm

-Lor
 
Hello everyone,

I'm not sure this is the right topic for me, but I was hoping someone could help. I've been trying to help a friend with a recently diagnosed sugarkitty named Tigrou (I'm not too sure he's going to post on here, as his mother tongue isn't English). He works at a petstore that carry these products:

http://www.faimmuseau.com/en/for-cats.php

Anyone has any insights about these?
I've heard that raw food is great, but I'm not sure about these recipes because they do seem to contain quite a bit of fruits. As for the raw, if a kitty eats some raw meat, should it always stick to raw? Would alterning between raw food and wet food be a problem?
His store can order some Go! with low carbs so that's probably going to be what Tigrou will eat most of the time.

Thank you!
 
Hi manouk & Billy,

Good for you for helping a friend out!

Manouk & Billy said:
http://www.faimmuseau.com/en/for-cats.php

Anyone has any insights about these?
Click to expand...

The list of analysis does not include ash content, but when I put the other elements into the calculator (assuming 0% ash), then the % carb by calories is fine for the Rabbit & Cranberry, but a little high for the Duck & Apple, so stick with the rabbit. I agree with you, the fruit content does seem a bit too much for a kitty.

Manouk & Billy said:
As for the raw, if a kitty eats some raw meat, should it always stick to raw? Would alterning between raw food and wet food be a problem?
Click to expand...

I alternate my cats between tinned wet & raw food. They don't seem to object! I find that I have to vary their diet quite a bit because they get bored of the same flavours. They do love the raw stuff, though. Especially when it leaks blood everywhere....(bleeearghhh!).

cat_pet_icon
 
Dog food typically has more vegetables and fruits in it, which a cat doesn't need. It may lack sufficient taurine, too, which can cause severe problems and death.
 
Hi Anouk,

I dont know if you live in Montreal, if so, you should go to Brandys : http://www.brandys.ca/
If you live in Quebec, you need to call Profil Canin (you usually have to leave a message and they'll call you back) : http://www.profilcanin.com/

I think both of them sell Nature's Variety Instinct raw medallions that is one of the best brand you can offer a diabetic kitty (especially an old kitty since the phosphorus content is low, which is good prevention for kidney disease).

You can base your choice on the numbers found in this document : http://www.catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPh ... -22-12.pdf
If you look at page 24 (near the end of the page) and 25 you have a list of raw food brands with their carb content. The column "C" (for Carbohydrates), is the one you want as close to 0 as possible. But then, make sure the food doesn't contain too much (or doesn't contain at all would be even better) fruits/vegetables.

I am from Montreal and I have a friend with a diabetic kitty in Quebec that I am helping on a daily basis. If you have any question, feel free to ask!

Oh and here's the other list (still from catin.org), but listed in alphabetical order instead of phosphorus order... The raw food is near the end of the document since it starts with all canned food : http://www.catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf

Kim
:)
 
Hi all,

I was doing a search regarding bozita and found this thread. Can anyone tell me if the canned bozita is fine to feed a diabetic cat or are the tetrapaks more suitable?

Thanks in advance :smile:
 
FreddyMad said:
Hi all,

I was doing a search regarding bozita and found this thread. Can anyone tell me if the canned bozita is fine to feed a diabetic cat or are the tetrapaks more suitable?

Thanks in advance :smile:
Click to expand...

Hello and welcome!

Bozita - cans and tetrapacks - are fine for diabetics.
They have slightly different textures. The cans are quite dense and meaty, the tetrapacks are 'chunks in jelly' (I think!).
One of our members has drawn up a list of UK foods that you may find helpful, and I'm pretty sure Bozita is on there (but the page won't load for me right now so I can't check it... :roll: ):
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc ... mWmc#gid=0

We recommend feeding diabetic cats wet/canned foods with less than 10% calories from carbohydrates.
However, if you are currently feeding a higher carb food we'd only suggest switching to lower carb if you have learned to test your cat's blood glucose at home (nowhere near as hard as it sounds, honestly!) That's because lowering the carb content of the diet will probably lower the cat's blood glucose, and the insulin dose may need to be lowered accordingly.
What are you feeding your cat at the moment?

Do consider starting a 'new topic' and telling us about Freddy there, if you'd like to.

Eliz
 
Hi Eliz,

Thank you for getting back to me.

When Freddys' senior check showed pre-diabetes I changed him over to Bozita (in cans) after a trial with M/D. Unfortunately, I wasn't overly strict though and I still gave him Whiskas milk and treats. Freddy seemed to be doing well until he began drinking a lot and then the vet found ketones in his urine. Now that he is on insulin I wanted to make sure I was definitely getting his diet right. He won't be getting anymore of the milk or cat treats that I had been giving him. I will start a thread. Thank you again for your advice.
 
Can you please calculate the percentages for the various varieties of Smilla and Carny, and add these to your list in the first post? Thank you very much.

My cat Charlie passed in Sept, and I am now helping another European friend with her newly diagnosed diabetic cat. I'd like to know how those 2 brands stack up for future reference (also for my 2 new kitties, who are eating only wet food and starting out right).

Thanks,
Jill
 
If you look in the post from Dr. Schroedinger (aka Juliet), she has some of the Smilla foods listed in the link she has in her signature =Useful Uk food list for Brits. Just click on that link to see some of the values.

She also references 2 different carb calculators. You could use those to calculate the carb % for the other foods you are looking at. Once you've calculated the carb percent, you could PM Dr. Schroedinger with the values your calculated, and ask if she would be willing to put the values into the food spreadsheet she has.
 
Hi Jill,

Is your friend in the Netherlands?
There's a Zooplus there which sells all sorts of fab foods online that are below 10% calories from carbohydrates. These include:
Bozita
Catz Finefood (but not the one with rabbit in).
Grau grain-free
Granatapet (often very low carb)
They also sell Smilla and Animonda Carny (but the latter, as I recall, is too high in carbs to be ideal for a diabetic (although might come in handy if a medium/higher carb food is ever needed)).
Many of the above should be on Juliet's list (to which Deb gave the link).

Here's another very nifty carb calculator. You just pop in the %'s from the 'analysis' on the can label, click 'calculate' and the percentage of calories from carbs comes up in the turquoise box on the lower right:
https://secure.balanceit.com/tools/_gac ... /index.php

Eliz
 
Hi :)

In Norway there's a high cost (import taxes and customs) for bying food online from abroad making it economically difficult to go that route. :-|
At present my newly diagnosed diabetic cat Largo (neutered tom, 13 years old) is on RC Diabetic dry and wet food and is getting Vetsulin twice a day.

I'm trying to research other suitable types of food - mainly wet food - online that are available from Norway, and have found a brand that sounds promising:

Nature's Peak Feline Beef & Chicken http://animail.no/nature-s-peak-feline-beef-chicken-400g.html
Meat and organ meat (40% (Beef), 30% (Chicken)), Cartilage 28,9%, Minerals 1,0%, Taurin 0,1%. (Grain free, no conservatives)

Nature's Peak Feline Poultry Mix http://animail.no/nature-s-peak-feline- ... x400g.html
Meat and organ meat(40% (Chicken) 20% (Duck) 10% (Turkey)), Cartilage 28,9%, Minerals 1,0%, Taurin 0,1%. (Grain free, no conservatives)

If someone else has tips to brands that are available in Norway - other than the regular commercial ones (or if any of those are suitable?) - I'd be very grateful!

(i haven't been able to find anything from Table 1: Premium food with very high quality here, sadly :(
 
Hi again :)

Doing more research, I find that I can get this food online in Norway:
http://www.renskenaturalpetfood.eu/inde ... urimi.html
Does anyone have any experience with this company that claims human grade ingredients, no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives?


It seems I can also get some varieties of ZiwiPeak :)

Cheers,
 

Attachments

  • renska.jpg
    renska.jpg
    24 KB · Views: 4,139
It is OK to add 20-25% plain cooked meat|poultry|fish to the canned food which will improve the protein : fat : carbohydrate ratios. Baby food, plain meat, nothing else, can work for this.

And if you cannot get the 'as fed' or 'dry matter basis' values for protein, fat, and carbohydrate from the manufacturer, just pick 1 food and keep it consistent, then work around it. Note that in your signature so folks understand the issue.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top