Diet help please?

[Daphne#5 GA]

I read everything I could on this board, but I'm still having some trouble with what to feed. I know there is no perfect store bought food, (I just can't do the raw, for many reasons), so I'm looking for the best alternative. I'm not as concerned with price, since I think compared to what I was spending on the Purina DM, the others are not all that much more. I thought I found the right food, until I read one of the links here, and now see that this food that I just got has carrots listed as the 7th ingredient. Its EVO Turkey and Chicken Formula, Protein-rich. Ultra-low carbs. No grain. It has 12% Protein, 8% Fat, 0.5 Fiber, 78% moisture, 3% ash, and Vit. E 100IU. So even though it has carrots and eggs, it still adds up to 100% when I add all the above, so that means there is no room for carbs in this calculation??
So I guess that's my question. Am I doing this right. I tried calling the company but they were gone for the day, probably the weekend. There are other brands that I see listed here, one is Fancy Feast Elegant Medleys, Shredded Lean Turkey Fare w/Grd Grn, w/ 57% protein, 34% fat, 9%carbs. I guess the problem here is that if I read the rules for this board correctly, no one can tell me a specific name of a food thats best, so does that mean I'm on my own to figure this out?
If anyone can help me pick a good food for Daphne I would really appreciate it. She is healthy otherwise, had all the blood work, no problems… just high BG. And her numbers are pretty good, with just a bad day because I lowered her insulin by .25 yesterday, so I won't do that again. I just think if I can get the food right, everything else will get better too. I want her off this Purina DM ASAP, as most people here already know about.
Thanks for any help!
Barb and Daphne

 

[mybuddybinks]

Actually, Barb...the Evo variety you mention is an excellent choice!

If you havent seen the Janet & Binky food charts...here's the link...
Evo is under "Nature/Innova"
(they're alphabetical)

the carb values are in the third numeric column...

http://binkyspage.tripod.com/CanFoodNew.html

Binks LOVES Evo...but he likes Wellness Turkey even more...
and he also digs the LC Friskies pate varieties

celi

 

[Marje and Gracie]

HI Barb:

As I suggested last night, Wellness chicken, turkey, and beef/chicken are all great foods that many of us feed and they are approximately 4% calories from carbs.

If you are reading the guaranteed values off the can, you can't use those to determine the % calories from carbs. You have to get the "as-fed" values, plunk them into a calculator, and get the more accurate number.
The EVO 95% turkey and chicken has 2% calories from carbs based on the "as-fed" info I got from the manufacturer, plugged into the calculator, and came up with.

If you open the "New to the Group" sticky...scroll down and you will find several food charts. The first one has analyses for the EVO 95% foods. Here is the link to the sticky: New to the Group.

And remember the great point that Serryn made, as you reduce the % carbs, you will need to keep a very close eye on numbers as they may come down. You'll have to be prepared to do additional testing. You might want to start out by mixing in the DM and the EVO, monitor her BGs closely as you slowly decrease the DM and increase the EVO (or whatever food you decide to feed).

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Barb:

The food issue can be a bit confusing. Like EVO, Wellness contains some ingredients that are carbs (e.g, carrot, sweet potato). However, given the overall amount of carbs in the food, the quantity of these veggies is pretty small. I feed my guys Wellness -- either the chicken or the turkey flavor -- each is 4% carb. EVO does have a 2% variety of food -- the 95% Chicken and Turkey. Merrick Before the Grain ranges between 1 - 2% carb on all of the flavors.

Low carb food is considered below 10%. Most of us feed less than 10%. The Pet Food Nutritional Values link is the most recent of the food lists. As Celi mentioned, there are other links for food choices in the New to the Group sticky.

There isn't one best food. The best food depends on what your cat will eat and how carb sensitive your cat is. Jill's cat, Alex, for example, can get a 30 point bump in her numbers from munching on a piece of freeze dried chicken. Her cat is very carb sensitive.

 

[squeem3]

I read everything I could on this board, but I'm still having some trouble with what to feed. I know there is no perfect store bought food, (I just can't do the raw, for many reasons), so I'm looking for the best alternative.

You can buy raw pet food at non-chain/specialty pet stores. Not sure if you were thinking more along the lines of making homemade raw from scratch and spending time grinding up meat, etc.

I guess the problem here is that if I read the rules for this board correctly, no one can tell me a specific name of a food thats best, so does that mean I'm on my own to figure this out?

Just use the food charts :smile: You've already been given the links to Binky's chart and the nweer food chart. Try different low carb foods to see what your cat likes and doesn't like and maybe just stick to one or two brands your cat likes best.

EVO is a good low carb brand. It's a bit high in fat which isn't a problem unless your cat is prone to pancreatitis. Some people stick with Fancy Feast, which are on Binky's old chart http://binkyspage.tripod.com/canfood.html Most of the Elegant Medley ones are just a bit too high in carbs to be fed.

 

[Daphne#5 GA]

Thank you all! I read everything again, and I think I got it. I read some things in the beginning when I got on the board in November, but my attention was just on getting Daphne's numbers down, and of course thought I could trust the Vet about the diet. Its sad too because I had another cat that probably could have lived a good 5 or 6 years longer then she did if I found this board and if I found that the food was so bad for her. At that time I was feeding dry Purina DM and was feeding that to Daphne because she liked it, so when my little Mandy cat died about two years ago, I just kept Daphne on the same diet. Then the strange thing, (well, not strange now that I know), she ended up being diabetic also. So, I hope Daphne will have a better time now, even though she is 17,… thats sad too because maybe the damage is already done, but I'm still willing to do it right now, even at this late stage of her little life. Oh, and yes, I will be very careful with the BG checks, when I change her food to the less carbs.

Thanks again!
Barb and Daphne

 

[Ann & Tess GA]

((((((((((Barb and Daphne)))))))))) Most of us have felt the same thing, If only we had know earlier. The important thing to remember is that even though many of our cats don't go OTJ, their quality of life is vastly improved by diet change and insulin therapy. We may mot bea able to totally heal them, but it is a joy to watch as they become healthier and return to old habits that we though we would never see again.

As for the food, we can't tell you what to feed because we don't know what Daphne will decide she will eat. You've been given the links to two good food lists, here is a little more reading. Dr. Lisa Pierson is an expert on feline nutrition and Max's House is another great site to learn about nutrition.

 

[julie & punkin (ga)]

a lot of people also feed the friskies pate or fancy feast classics also. you actually have many choices that all are fine.

just wanted to say that i felt the same way when i learned about the canned food. i fed my cats dry food because it was easier and i thought it was good for their teeth. punkin had recurrent bladder infections before - and hello, it makes all kind of sense that he needed more water in his food. all you can say is "oh well" and do it differently in the future. you do the best you can with what you know.

you must be doing something right to have Daphne be 17! that's great!

 

[Daphne#5 GA]

Thanks for the links and advice. Yes, I should be happy that I see such a great improvement in her body and activity. She likes catnip a lot and will play with that. I miss her upstairs next to our bed, but her legs I guess are not strong enough yet to walk upstairs. I was just in our local health food store today to find the special Vit. B12, (I have the kind and brand name, just can't remember it right now), to make her legs stronger.

Thanks again… I need to learn how to put a picture up for her. She is long hair too. At one point we had 5 cats and I loved all of them and miss them so much. Daphne is the oldest cat we ever had. One of these days, I'll get a profile up.
Barb and Daphne

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Please make sure you've gotten methyl-B12. Also, make sure there's no sugar or flavoring. Zobaline is specially formulated for diabetic cats.

 

[Angela & Blackie & 3 Others]

If it's any consolation, I feed my diabetic, and my UTI cats Evo 95% Chicken & Turkey. The diabetic (Blackie) gets 0.80 oz. 6x/day, and 0.40 oz. raw turkey cutlet (unbreaded) 2x/day. I've never had an issue with the food yet, and I'm pleased with how she is with it.