Dry food considerations for my 2 civvies

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Jacspets

Jacspets

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Hi All!

I'm having a bit of a connundrum when consider dry food for my 2 civvies (9 y.o. overweight male American Bobtail and a 6 month old crazy kitten). DH refuses to have them on wet food (he gags at the smell...) and honestly I can't imagine going through 8-10 cans a day for the 3 of them.

I've been feeding 99% Iams Original dry with a few forays into Royal Canin, Science Diet, and maybe one other one for the last 14 years. Since my 13 1/2 yo Jetta was dx'd with FD a month ago, I've learned the evils of carbs. Jetta is now on 100% FF Classics. My concern is for the 2 other cats.

I planned to switch them over to Wellness Core for the low carb count. (or Natura Innova EVO but I can't seem to find it locally) However, I noticed the protein content for the Core is 47% versus 28% on the Iams. I thought too much protein was bad on the kidneys? I don't want to trade one concern (carbs) for another (too much protein).

Here's a complete picture of teh foods I"m considering if it'll help anyone who'd like to offer an opinion.
Protein Fat Carbs
Iams 28 46 26
Wellness Core 47 42 11
Innova EVO 44 47 8

Or if you have other suggestions, I"m open to those too!
 
Hi Jaclyn,

Can't really answer your question on which dry is better but here is where I found the EVO dry....I used it to transistion Zoe from a mostly dry to an all wet diet.....

PetLand

Supposedly Pet Supermarket also sells it, but I never stopped in to see. PetLand will order the food for you if they don't have it in stock.
 
Thanks Sherry! I always forget about PetLand (maybe on purpose given their love of puppy mills.) After more research I found a family owned pet store here in teh Cape that has it too. Nuce to know I'd have a few sources!
 
Cat food has 3 main components: protein, fat, and carbs. If you reduce one (carbs) you have to increase something else. I suspect more protein is better than mire fat. Think about what cats are designed to eat (mice,etc.); they're protein eaters, not carb eaters.

If you mix their old food w/ the new & transition slowly to more new you shouldn't have a problem.
 
High protein food does not cause kidney problems. There have been studies that have shown that a low protein diet is beneficial for cats in late state kidney disease--but I'm assuming that's not the case? You do want to watch the phosphorus content for older cats.

The problem with even the lower carb dry foods is that it doesn't solve the moisture problem. No matter how much your cats drink they never consume enough water to compensate for the lack of moisture in their food, which over time may cause Urinary Tract and Kidney problems. I would urge you to check out Dr. Pierson's feline nutrition page, especially the section on Cystitis: http://catinfo.org/#Cystitis_

If you get food in the big 13 oz cans, it's far more affordable and you don't have to pop open a bunch of the little cans every day like the fancy feast. Walmart Special Kitty, Friskies, and Sophistacat all make low carb foods in big cans that all of your cats can eat, including your diabetic. If you want a premium food, Wellness and EVO also have the big cans, and in the big cans it's about the same price as Fancy Feast.

My boyfriend didn't like the smell of canned food at first, but he got used to it and doesn't mind it at all anymore. Also, if you put it in the fridge before opening it there's practically no smell at all.
 
Are you freefeeding the dry or mealfeeding at the same time you are feeding the diabetic? If it is freefed then you definitely want to limit the carbs the diabetic has access to. I have the Innova Cat and Kitten out because one of my kittens just wouldn't eat enough wet food. I tried mixing the Innova and Wellness Core, but they just pick around the Wellness.

I am actually a bit suprised at how low the Iams number is. Their wet food us usually in the 20%, I'd expect their dry to be in the 30% or 40%.
 
My sugarcat gets only canned but I am transitioning my two civvies to a lower-carb dry. I started them on the EVO (mixed in with Royal Canin) and they both seem to like it. I have increased their canned food intake and now they are eating much less of the dry. I think the canned food has fewer empty calories because they seem to be fuller after eating that. Good luck.

Sherry & Bally (plus two civvies)
 
Everyone who insists on feeding dry food needs to stare at Opie's pictures on my Urinary Tract Health page to see the suffering that feeding a water-depleted diet to cats *often* causes.

Veterinarians deal with blocked cats *very* frequently but on the flip side, vets who push canned food hard in their practices rarely have to deal with these suffering animals.

Feeding cats is far more than just about carbs - we need to pay more attention to their urinary tract health *before* they end up in a life threatening...and incredibly painful.... situation like Opie had to endure.

Note that Opie's vet bill was $4,350.

And...if I had a dime for every time someone said "but my cat drinks a lot of water so I know his urinary tract will ge fine"....I would be rich. Unfortunately, these people are missing the point of dealing with a species with a low thirst drive.
 
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