Dry Food....

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JennC & Diago

JennC & Diago

Member Since 2018
Hi All -
I need some assistance from those that have their sugar kitties on dry food. I know I know wet is better...Quick back story, my 13 yo kitty Diago is now in remission due to changing him to FF after diagnosis. He's retained remission over the last 3 weeks since I've switched him to Young Again Zero. My issue with YAZ is his poop is horrendous, smelly and not as firm as it used to be on FF nor his old 'bad' food. According to the feeding instructions for YAZ, I have done what I was supposed to. We didn't ease him into the YAZ per recommendation, however, now I'm wondering if we should have. He also doesn't overeat, he eats what he needs and leaves a bowl full of food.

I have two other cats who are still eating Science Diet Hairball Control Light, and my hope was to switch everyone so I'm not running around the house like a mad women picking up and putting down food bowls. I can't switch everyone to FF as my one female kitty has a severe allergy to the FF flavors. Also, my other female kitty would eat all of the wet food left out leaving none for my diabetic cat. My sugar kitty still gets 1/2 can of FF at night since he's separated from the other two.

I'm looking at Epigen 90 and Dr. Elsey's clean protein. My questions are for those on any of the three dry foods, how are your cats doing with:
1. Their glucose numbers especially if they are in remission (I understand every cat is different and plan to test if we change to Epigen or Dr. Elsey's)
2. Do they have very smelly poops or diarrhea?
3. Did you slowly transition them to the new lower carb food or just jump right in? (Again, everything I've ever known is to transition but with YAZ it says to just start feeding it and nothing else)

Thanks all in advance!! :)
 
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While an all wet diet is the ideal, the reality is that sometimes it's not totally practical for some of us. I have a sugar cat who's been in remission for 7 months and a civvie with early CKD. My sugar cat had BG over 600 at diagnosis and, like you, I immediately switched both to FF pate and some Weruva varieties with lower phosphorus levels. After several family medical emergency situations, I realized that I needed to leave out some dry food when we left the house because we often never know when we'll be back.

I tried Dr. Elsey's dry (both flavors) and both cats love it. To answer your questions:
1. I test Meeja weekly and her glucose readings have generally ranged from 40-85. Twice in the last 7 months she's had a spike into the blues (130-180) but those higher numbers coincided with periods of constipation.
2. Neither cat has had diarrhea or smelly poops since starting the Dr. Elsey's. From reading comments on this site, the YAZ does have more of a tendency to cause diarrhea. (Maybe I should try some YAZ for Meeja's bouts with constipation. She hates Miralax & other recommended treatments.:))
3. Still feed both cats primarily wet food, so no total transition to dry.
 
I've seen a LOT of people in the Facebook group say the same thing about YA....that although it didn't cause any problems with BG, it seems to cause quite a few problems with stinking poo

The Dr. Elsey's hasn't gotten any negative reviews, so if they like it, I'd go with that.
 
Meeja's Mom said:
While an all wet diet is the ideal, the reality is that sometimes it's not totally practical for some of us. I have a sugar cat who's been in remission for 7 months and a civvie with early CKD. My sugar cat had BG over 600 at diagnosis and, like you, I immediately switched both to FF pate and some Weruva varieties with lower phosphorus levels. After several family medical emergency situations, I realized that I needed to leave out some dry food when we left the house because we often never know when we'll be back.

I tried Dr. Elsey's dry (both flavors) and both cats love it. To answer your questions:
1. I test Meeja weekly and her glucose readings have generally ranged from 40-85. Twice in the last 7 months she's had a spike into the blues (130-180) but those higher numbers coincided with periods of constipation.
2. Neither cat has had diarrhea or smelly poops since starting the Dr. Elsey's. From reading comments on this site, the YAZ does have more of a tendency to cause diarrhea. (Maybe I should try some YAZ for Meeja's bouts with constipation. She hates Miralax & other recommended treatments.:))
3. Still feed both cats primarily wet food, so no total transition to dry.
Click to expand...
You can leave out wet food as well when you are gone as well just as an FYI
 
JennC said:
Hi All -
I need some assistance from those that have their sugar kitties on dry food. I know I know wet is better...Quick back story, my 13 yo kitty Diago is now in remission due to changing him to FF after diagnosis. He's retained remission over the last 3 weeks since I've switched him to Young Again Zero. My issue with YAZ is his poop is horrendous, smelly and not as firm as it used to be on FF nor his old 'bad' food. According to the feeding instructions for YAZ, I have done what I was supposed to. We didn't ease him into the YAZ per recommendation, however, now I'm wondering if we should have. He also doesn't overeat, he eats what he needs and leaves a bowl full of food.

I have two other cats who are still eating Science Diet Hairball Control Light, and my hope was to switch everyone so I'm not running around the house like a mad women picking up and putting down food bowls. I can't switch everyone to FF as my one female kitty has a severe allergy to the FF flavors. My sugar kitty still gets 1/2 can of FF at night since he's separated from the other two.

I'm looking at Epigen 90 and Dr. Elsey's clean protein. My questions are for those on any of the three dry foods, how are your cats doing with:
1. Their glucose numbers especially if they are in remission (I understand every cat is different and plan to test if we change to Epigen or Dr. Elsey's)
2. Do they have very smelly poops or diarrhea?
3. Did you slowly transition them to the new lower carb food or just jump right in? (Again, everything I've ever known is to transition but with YAZ it says to just start feeding it and nothing else)

Thanks all in advance!! :)
Click to expand...
I've found the Yaz Limited Ingredient food doesn't produce as much gas or stinky poop in my cat.
 
Meeja's Mom said:
While an all wet diet is the ideal, the reality is that sometimes it's not totally practical for some of us. I have a sugar cat who's been in remission for 7 months and a civvie with early CKD. My sugar cat had BG over 600 at diagnosis and, like you, I immediately switched both to FF pate and some Weruva varieties with lower phosphorus levels. After several family medical emergency situations, I realized that I needed to leave out some dry food when we left the house because we often never know when we'll be back.

I tried Dr. Elsey's dry (both flavors) and both cats love it. To answer your questions:
1. I test Meeja weekly and her glucose readings have generally ranged from 40-85. Twice in the last 7 months she's had a spike into the blues (130-180) but those higher numbers coincided with periods of constipation.
2. Neither cat has had diarrhea or smelly poops since starting the Dr. Elsey's. From reading comments on this site, the YAZ does have more of a tendency to cause diarrhea. (Maybe I should try some YAZ for Meeja's bouts with constipation. She hates Miralax & other recommended treatments.:))
3. Still feed both cats primarily wet food, so no total transition to dry.
Click to expand...
Thank you very much!! Can I ask how often you go through the dr. Elseys food? I'm noticing the YAZ is lasting about a month for us with just one cat eating it.
 
Chris & China said:
I've seen a LOT of people in the Facebook group say the same thing about YA....that although it didn't cause any problems with BG, it seems to cause quite a few problems with stinking poo

The Dr. Elsey's hasn't gotten any negative reviews, so if they like it, I'd go with that.
Click to expand...
I might see if I can get samples
 
we tried them all including 3 of the YA low carb ones. dr. elsey chicken was the easiest on their tummies, required less time to transition to and the only one not to end up giving them loose disgusting smelly stools all the time as long as they don't over eat it that is, it actually helped all their stools finally get permanently better (except my non-diabetic tortoise 8lb cat that got ruined by YA dry, only hills dry sensitive tummy finally permanently helped her back to normal). i would definetely recommend that one over the others, it has no guam gum ingredient in it like the others that can make some cats get loose smelly stools. my diabetic tux's BG goes up 20-25 points on it on average, the same can be said for some of the FF pates. We have 7 of our 10 cats that eat it and they get 4 tbsps/40 grams each per day (180 calories), one 6.6lb bag lasts us 11-12 days..
 
Sylvie said:
we tried them all including 3 of the YA low carb ones. dr. elsey chicken was the easiest on their tummies, required less time to transition to and the only one not to end up giving them loose disgusting smelly stools all the time as long as they don't over eat it that is, it actually helped all their stools finally get permanently better (except my non-diabetic tortoise 8lb cat that got ruined by YA dry, only hills dry sensitive tummy finally permanently helped her back to normal). i would definetely recommend that one over the others, it has no guam gum ingredient in it like the others that can make some cats get loose smelly stools. my diabetic tux's BG goes up 20-25 points on it on average, the same can be said for some of the FF pates. We have 7 of our 10 cats that eat it and they get 4 tbsps/40 grams each per day (180 calories), one 6.6lb bag lasts us 11-12 days..
Click to expand...
Thank you so much! I've asked them for a sample of the clean protein. I also appreciate you saying how long a 6.6 bag lasts for your kitties. I have 3 so I'm hoping it lasts a bit longer. The one girl eats so little so hoping it lasts longer than a month.
 
I used YA when I added some dry food back for all cats. One kitty kept getting very soft poop and then stuck on her very furry behind.... Once I switched to clean protein, problem solved. Mine only get 1/3 cup at night, a bag for 4 cats last about 1.5 months.
 
JennC said:
Thank you so much! I've asked them for a sample of the clean protein. I also appreciate you saying how long a 6.6 bag lasts for your kitties. I have 3 so I'm hoping it lasts a bit longer. The one girl eats so little so hoping it lasts longer than a month.
Click to expand...

if you feed all 3, 4tbsps/40grams (180 cals worth per days), it will last you 26.4 days.
1 ounce is 3 tbsp-1/4cp (each tbsp is 45 calories) so that should help you figure out how long a bag will last for you if you feed wet too.
 
My cats (1 diabetic, 1 not) love Dr. Elsey's Clean Chicken protein. We were using Young Again Zero but got a bad bag and had a cat poop nightmare all over my house for a week. I feel like the quality control is better with Dr. Elsey's since they are a larger company. I did get a bad bag - soft poop - nothing like the YA nightmare - and Chewy immediately replaced it. I will say that Young Again did refund me (but not the vet visit). We also add probiotic "sprinkles" which they love.
 
Oh my goodness, that sounds terrible!! Overall though is the stool on DR.E better? YAZ did finally give him solid/soft poop, not as solid on just wet but more than when he first started, however the smell was horrific. We're slowly transitioning to DR.E so I can't say how it's affecting his stool yet.
 
JennC said:
Oh my goodness, that sounds terrible!! Overall though is the stool on DR.E better? YAZ did finally give him solid/soft poop, not as solid on just wet but more than when he first started, however the smell was horrific. We're slowly transitioning to DR.E so I can't say how it's affecting his stool yet.
Click to expand...

Yes, the Dr. E. is giving them normal stool, thank goodness. It took a few days. I hope you have the same good experience as I did with it.
 
Pumpkin's Mom said:
My cats (1 diabetic, 1 not) love Dr. Elsey's Clean Chicken protein. We were using Young Again Zero but got a bad bag and had a cat poop nightmare all over my house for a week. I feel like the quality control is better with Dr. Elsey's since they are a larger company. I did get a bad bag - soft poop - nothing like the YA nightmare - and Chewy immediately replaced it. I will say that Young Again did refund me (but not the vet visit). We also add probiotic "sprinkles" which they love.
Click to expand...

curious did your bad YA bag happen to have all golden colored kibbles in it instead of the normal dark brown colored ones. all previous bags i had bought were dark colored, the last bag i bought was so noticeably different that i questioned their quality control and decided not to buy any YA again.
 
I sure hope you're wrong about YA, because I just shelled out the big bucks and purchased a bag of cat food, treats, and their flavor enhancer. I hate hearing the negative comments on here, and I was already aware of the diarrhea nightmare that some of you have had. I gave Jerry a little bit of it twice yesterday, and once today, and he hasn't had a bm so far, so we'll see what happens. I am about to start him on FF canned seafood pate twice a day, and I wanted to leave YA out for him to eat during the day. I don't know what I am going to do, though, because of the previously mentioned worry about insulin, and him eating no or very low carb food all day while I am gone. I guess I won't give it to him....better to be high than too low.
 
I don't agree with whoever said ALL dry food is bad for cats. I have done a bit of research, and as long as it is all animal protein, and low carb, then it should be fine. Animals don't need grains or fruits/vegetables as carbs. YA is all animal protein and apparently zero carbs. I don't see anything wrong with leaving that out for your diabetic cat during the day, as long as they tolerate it. At least they have a money back guarantee, because I will be quick to return it if it screws Jerry's stomach up.
 
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