Cat Food Question

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Joe & Kushi

Joe & Kushi

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Kushi transitioned to wet food with vitually no problem considering the fact she has always been on dry food. I started her off on EVO which she likes, but would like to go to something a little less expensive. I did get her 3 different cans of Friskies (all with gravy). Tried her on the first can and she promptly threw it up. So I have been mixing it with the EVO and that is working. However I just read on a post that the foods with gravy are higher in carbs, so should I avoid those?

I know there are hundreds of food choices and all I want is to get kitty healthy. Is Friskies (non-gravy) an O.K. way to go or should I try some other choices. I have printed out the food charts so I have the basic information.

One of Kushi's (amusing) eating habits is that she doesn't "bite" into her food; she licks to get it into her mouth, so she spends a lot of time pushing the wet food around although she does eventually finish it off. confused_cat
Also I am having a hard time determining how much and when to feed her. She has always been a "grazer", used to eating whenever she pleases. I want to get her on a regular schedule i.e. once in the a.m. and once in the evening (maybe a few small snacks in between?), if possible??

BTW she is 13 pounds and the vet says she should shed about three. I sure don't want to over feed and have her gain weight.

All thoughts and suggestions are appreciated.

Joe
 
Hi Joe,

Yep the Friskies stuff in gravy is too high in carbs for a diabetic kitty, plus what I found with my bunch is that it is also mostly gravy with vey little actual food in it. Now I feed 11 cats only one of which is a diabetic. I feed everyone just good old fashioned pate style Friskies canned food. Since I also have some that are gravy lovers I add about 2 tablespoons of water to each 1/2 can (5.5 oz) this makes it about the same consistancy as applesauce. All 11 love it that way.

I also feed 4 times a day or about every 5 hours. So they are fed at 7am, noon, 5pm and 10pm. Most of mine are in the 8-10lb range which works out to about 1can per cat per day, with the exception my sugarcat Max, who is a very large boy, at 14lbs and still a bit on the thin side, so he gets 1 1/2 cans of food per day. All of mine were use to being free fed dry until we got our first sugarcat, then we switched everyone to canned. I was amazed at even the difference in my non-diabetics with the diet shift, they now have some of the prettiest coats around. At first it was a little difficult to get everyone use to the timed feeding but now they have become use to it, and realize that when the food goes down, its time to eat or go hungry until the next feeding time.

I originally tried to get them on just two feedings a day and that was a complete and epic fail, nothing like 3 hungry siamese screaming their heads off to be fed to make even the stoutest of hearts to give in and feed the little monsters. So now we have settled on 4 times a day with seems to work well for everyone here.

Mel, Max & The Fur Gang
 
Hi Joe, and welcome.
Yes, you want to stay away from the gravy varieties. They are high carb. If you have Janet & Binky's food list, then look for foods that are under 9% carbs. The Friskie's special diet variaties are a good low carb food. Try those. And Turkey & Giblets, Salmon dinner - basically any of the ones without gravy are a good choice.
And for the grazing - there's the ice cube tray trick: freeze some food in the tray and you can pop out a cube for Kushi to eat later. I know many here do put their cats on a feeding schedule and there is nothing wrong with that, they get used to it. Some others can help you with how much to feed and when - I have a grazer too. I know that I feed her 2 little FF cans a day in total, and that seems to be keeping her weight steady. There is information in the health links about how much a cat needs to eat to maintain, lose, or gain weight. - I will see if I can find it.
I have a grazer who licks her food too - It could be dental problems. I know my cat needs a dental and it's on my radar, I just can't afford it right now.
Is Kushi a diabetic? Diet controlled?
 
Thanks Momma!
That is very helpful info. Although Kushi is not a screamer, when she lays in front of her bowl staring at us when we pass by, it is disheartening to say the least. I guess the bottom line is that if we have to change our routine and schedule, she will have to change hers. ;-)
Joe
 
Use Janet's charts ( http://binkyspage.tripod.com/CanFoodNew.html) to watch the carb content. You want to keep the percentage of calories from carbohydrates down (I prefer to keep it below 7%). You can see that the gravy selections are twice the carb count as the pate selections, so they can make quite a difference.

Also, please read Dr. Lisa's article on weight loss in cats : http://www.catinfo.org/?link=felineobesity Slow and steady is the key. Reduce calories slowly - try to avoid drastiuc reduction in quantity of food. Kushi shouldn't even know she is on a diet! Patience and more patience!

Best of luck!
 
Thanks Karen, that'a the link I was looking for.
There's another good one in the health links/diet/nutrition that says 300 cal a day is ideal to maintain weight. http://felinediabetes.com/DietaryRecs_Greco.htm
You probably will find that if you switch to all wet diet Kashi will lose those extra pounds - less carbs - make sense! I read somewhere, that it is because they actually use the calories they consume in wet food instead of eating empty carbs in dry.
Good luck!
 
When my cat was on insulin, i fed him 4 times a day. I used a timer feeder for the days when I was not home. I think that helped him get off the juice by helping his pancreas heal faster. Now he eats only twice a day with a few freezedried high protein chicken treats.

Once your cat eats a high protein diet for a while, she will not eat as much since the protein will fill her up more than the high carb food does. I feed 4 cats two cans of Wellness chicken in the morning and two cans of Wellness turkey in the afternoon. The cans are the 5.5 oz cans. My cats weigh 20, 14, 13, and 10 and they eat a little, walk off and come back around. I make sure everyone has at least 2 passes at the food. The recommended amount to feed by the company is much more than what I feed. Everyone is hanging at about the same weight and no one is really very hungry until it is time for the next meal. I really need my 20 pounder to lose a couple of pounds but that is hard. He is the alpha and wants to eat whenever someone else shows interest in the food.
 
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