low carb dry food

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LydetteSimmie (Iceman)

LydetteSimmie (Iceman)

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Hi everyone!

I need a reminder as I am in the middle of putting in a big food order for my Simmie (FD), who now eats only wet 0 carb food (never thought I would get him off his love of dry food), but I do have two other fur babies who are civies and they love their dry food (though I have switched Murphy's wet food to Tiki as well...he just loves some crunchies during the evening and won't eat any wet food during that time - I know, weird, but aren't we all!). I don't have the same pressure to get them off the dry food altogether and it helps me with my semi-feral baby Princess Kitty Kat to have some crunchies.

The question is what low carb dry food is out there that the group likes for their babies (civies). I think I saw EVO mentioned around the board but can someone tell me which variety that was, please?

Thank you!

OH, and if anyone buys Tiki foods for their fur kids Chewy is having a great sale right now with free shipping over a certain $ amount! Amazon occasionally has a sale but this is much better and it will beat out the benefit of having a Prime Amazon Membership in this case!
 
I, too, have heard that Evo is a lower-carb dry food option. I don't know much more than that, though. I'm sure someone will be along to give you more information about it. I've used Young Again zero-carb dry food in the past for my civies. Even though it says it's zero-carb, it does still have some carbs (maybe 5 to 6%). It's expensive, and I think you can only buy it online right now. My civies sometimes act like they like it; other times, they refuse it and hold out for the canned food. ohmygod_smile Picky, picky cats!

Hope that helps!
Shelly
 
The EVO is the cat & kitten formula and it is 12% carbs, then theres Young again Zero carb which is 5% carbs, and then Stella & Chewys freeze dried which I believe is 1% carbs.

EVO you can find in some pet stores although I wasnt able to find it at any of mine, young again is strictly on line and only on their site-they also guarantee it and will also send you a free sample if you email them it seems pricey but they eat less, and Stella & Chewys I know you can find online Im not certain about pet stores though.


ECID......My cats didnt do good on EVO, it seemed to upset their stomach but love the young again. Ive seen posts on here that others are opposite.....why cant they make it easy for us lol
 
:lol: I agree with both of you! They make it so hard to take good care of our fur babies but these pet food companies must be beginning to get some heat from more knowledgeable pet owners finally! We used to be like lemmings to the sea, just buying stuff haphazardly until responsible 'parents' ran into a serious physical issue with our beloveds! Of course, then came companies like Hill's with vet recommended 'prescriptions which sometimes solve a particular problem. Or not. :razz:

I LOVE this board. The tone, the information, the kindness, the support, everything. I am really stunned sometimes at how truly professional it is without losing any humanity. I keep telling people that I have rarely, if ever, seen something that is almost perfect like this on the net. And I was in high tech for 30 years, until just recently. It's a beautiful thing! :-D :-D

I'm going to look for the Young Again food and try a sample with my two civies. THANK YOU!!!!!
 
Oh, sorry, one more question. The Young Again, is it a pretty small kibble size? My poor Murphy (civie) has only 2 back molars left (he is in Simmie's profile) as his other teeth had to be removed over time (or fell out) because he was feral when we found him at 1 y/o, suffered from numerous illness, including FIV and malnutrition. You would think he would love to live on a wet food only diet, which we would be happy to give him, but at times he will go on a hunger strike unless we give him his crunchies in a little water (we insist on adding a little water as him gumming his dry food makes me a bit crazy...we can't even believe he can eat it at all!).

Thanks folks.
 
LydetteSimmie (Iceman) said:
Oh, sorry, one more question. The Young Again, is it a pretty small kibble size? My poor Murphy (civie) has only 2 back molars left (he is in Simmie's profile) as his other teeth had to be removed over time (or fell out) because he was feral when we found him at 1 y/o, suffered from numerous illness, including FIV and malnutrition. You would think he would love to live on a wet food only diet, which we would be happy to give him, but at times he will go on a hunger strike unless we give him his crunchies in a little water (we insist on adding a little water as him gumming his dry food makes me a bit crazy...we can't even believe he can eat it at all!).

Thanks folks.
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Yes its smaller kibble, also softer than normal kibble since it doesnt have as many carbs. I understand your concern though.....Hidey has 3 back teeth out and his upper canines as well :cry: He still manages to eat it. Of course he tilts his head a bit to get it to the right spot to chew but it is definitely softer than other kibble. I even have it in a sealed container to keep the consistency, and seal in the flavor.
 
Hi there DirtyBirdSoaps and Rhiannon,

Thanks for the info on toothless felines and the Young Again kibble!

I'll order some Young Again for Murphy - I appreciate the info on its texture and size! Also, it is kind of funny to watch the Murphy 'chew' on his dried food. It makes perfect sense that he uses the ridge in his upper jaw to break it down! Quite a survival technique! I was always terrified that he would choke to death so its good to know how he is managing this trick.

Thanks for everything everyone!!!!!
 
Cats really do not chew kibble, they just swallow it whole. I have had toothless cats just swallow the the relatively large Evo kibble.
 
I bought a bag of Evo when first trying to switch my Tink over to wet. He was having appetite issues at the time anyway, so trying to get him to eat wet food was not going well. He liked the Evo. However, it's still too high carb for him as he's super carb sensitive. But my other cats seem to like it too. Since it's the price of gold, even though I hardly used any, I'm hanging onto what's left. My civvies get it once in awhile if I feel someone needs some extra calories - or if I need to catch Tarzan the crazy kitten so he can go sleep in the room he's supposed to (he thinks it's a fun game to RUN from me - only at bedtime). Kibbles shaking in a dish get him every time. :)

I couldn't get it locally - ordered it from amazon. On the bright side, it's expensive enough that you can get free shipping without having to order anything else. :) Talk about silver lining. HAHA.

They did also like the Stella & Chewy's... but only dry - and you're really supposed to let it rehydrate before feeding it. They didn't like it rehydrated. And it's CRAZY expensive (I think it was $33 for a 4lb bag, though it probably lasts awhile).

And FYI... for those of you who have multiple cats and go through a truckload of food each month... Amazon's subscription program is saving me a TON. The downside is you have to have 5 subscriptions each month to save the 15%. But I need 6 cases/month for my 4 furkids... so I just put each case in a separate order and voila. I'm paying I think $1.65/can for the 12.5oz cans of Wellness. It's over $3/can locally. I dont know if it's that much savings on other brands, but it's GREAT if you're feeding Wellness. And I dont even have to remember to order it.
 
JenM said:
And FYI... for those of you who have multiple cats and go through a truckload of food each month... Amazon's subscription program is saving me a TON. The downside is you have to have 5 subscriptions each month to save the 15%. But I need 6 cases/month for my 4 furkids... so I just put each case in a separate order and voila. I'm paying I think $1.65/can for the 12.5oz cans of Wellness. It's over $3/can locally. I dont know if it's that much savings on other brands, but it's GREAT if you're feeding Wellness. And I dont even have to remember to order it.
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I was looking into this, but based on a lot of the negative reviews, I am reticent to try the wellness, on all of the varieties there are complaints of receiving dented cans with oddly soupy food that the cats won't touch, and it sounds as if the company is AWARE of the inconsistency. I would assume you haven't personally experienced these issues, have you been purchasing this food thru amazon for a long time? The price is right, for sure, it would cost me less than fancy feast if I could get the bigger cans like that, BUT I am worried to buy it from amazon
 
I've been getting it from Amazon for around 6mo. I do get a dented can here and there, but so far they've all been usable. I smell them carefully if dented, and listen for hissing, etc when opening dented cans, but thus far I've been able to use them all and my cats haven't cared in the least. I order 6 cases per month and I would say 1-2 cans is usually dented each month. IMO, a small price to pay. Even if I DIDNT use those cans, I'd still save a ton of money.

I did also get one order of soupy cans (2 cases of turkey flavor). 3 of my 4 cats didn't care, but one of my civvies wouldn't eat it. I called the company who promptly refunded my money without requiring me to return the cans - they suggested I donate them and assured me there was nothing wrong with them (but acknowledged some cats dont care for the soupy texture). According to the rep at WellPet, the soupy cans were an issue with a particular manufacturing plant in New Mexico that they had stopped using about 2 months before my call. They contain "MW" or maybe WM? in the lot #. I have only run into this problem one time and I was happy with how it was handled.
 
Hiya!

Depending on pricing I have to say the best food I have ever given my kids is the Tiki stuff (though my semi-feral Princess Kitty Kat still has yet to go off the dry food addiction). I was hesitant to buy it because of the cost so it is not for the feint of heart but if one doesn't have too many fur kids to feed and you want a 0 carb food with low fat and high protein, this is the one for you. I was joking with my vet, who I have many issues with right now, that she could use it on top of her green salad at lunch if she wanted some nice chicken to go with it.

I know we are very lucky that we can afford it but actually it is no more than what we were paying for YEARS for Hill's science diet and it seems so much better for our babies. Simmie not only seems to be doing well on it but so does Murphy who has pancreatitis. They seem to have returned to a more kitten like demeanor.

One of the other small problems besides the cost is our doggie, Bud. Bud LOVES the Tiki and even though we give him high quality Blue Buffalo wet food he gets all excited when he hears that I am feeding the kitties! I have to put him in the backyard when I feed them because it is his absolute favorite food.

I do have to find sales for the Tiki. So I search around and buy multiple cases when I see a good deal. The fish flavors are quite a bit less expensive than the chix and beef varieties but I don't like giving the kitties much seafood because of the mercury. It would be nice to see some type of study that would tell me what fish varieties of Tiki are less harmful...that would help our food bill. We actually cut back on many things just so we can buy the Tiki for our fur kitties.

Just another FYI!

I am assuming, as a newbie, that I am posting properly. When I have general topics like this to get opinions or advice on, I come here but for managing my little Simmie's diabetes I go to the Lantus TR group. Hope that is ok!

Love to all,
Lydette and the gang
 
Hi!!!

Thanks for the post! I'll go and take a look for my doggie.

Your poor kitty! I have to say though that my Murphy, who only has two decrepit back molars still loves the shredded chicken! He's an anomaly anyway!

Thank you again! And thanks for all your help over the past few weeks!
Lydette
 
Nature's Variety Instinct Chicken flavor (raw coated) is 12.5% carbs (verified by calling the center) and has tiny kibble. Make sure you do NOT get the raw boost kind. It's about 19.99 to 22.99 for a 6lb bag, and 39.99 at Petsmart for a 12.1 lb bag. My cats do better on Nature's Variety than they did on the Evo (less stinky poop and strangely better insulin numbers).
 
A finagle: you could always take a canned, low carb food and bake it dry, then gradually make batches less and less dry.
 
I recommend Wysong Epigen as a no carb dry food alternative to Young Again. It's easier to buy since more places carry it, and it comes in 3 difference flavors.
 
Erinia said:
Re: low carb dry food
by Erinia » Sat Aug 09, 2014 6:02 pm
Nature's Variety Instinct Chicken flavor (raw coated) is 12.5% carbs (verified by calling the center) and has tiny kibble. Make sure you do NOT get the raw boost kind. It's about 19.99 to 22.99 for a 6lb bag, and 39.99 at Petsmart for a 12.1 lb bag. My cats do better on Nature's Variety than they did on the Evo (less stinky poop and strangely better insulin numbers).
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Oy, I should have checked this post again as the food I got for Murph to try is the following:

Instinct Raw Boost Grain-Free Duck Meal and Turkey Meal Formula Dry Cat Food by Nature's Variety, 5.1-Pound Bag

Do you avoid it because of the price or for some other reason? I tried to get the Young Again but their website is terrible and though I placed an order, they never acknowledged it or could find it...so I went looking for something else, hence the Raw Boost.

Hugs
Lydette and the Kids
 
Not sure what the carb content is of the Wysong Epigen that member zzyzzx recommended, but with that potato as the 4th ingredient and all those additional fruits and vegetables, it's very unlikely this is no carb or even low enough carb for a diabetic cat.

Using the rough calculation of protein %(60) + fat% (15) + fiber% (4)+ moisture % (10) subtracted from 100 gives roughly 11% carb content for this food.

That is certainly higher than 0 carbs that zzyzzx claims for this food.

I'd certainly not want to feed it to my diabetic cat.
 
The Nature's Variety foods with the RAW BOOST bits have much higher carbs than the plain chicken kibble with the freeze dried raw coating.

Evo now has about 12% carbs in it for the chicken and turkey dry food. They changed the formula.
 
Deb & Wink said:
Not sure what the carb content is of the Wysong Epigen that member zzyzzx recommended, but with that potato as the 4th ingredient and all those additional fruits and vegetables, it's very unlikely this is no carb or even low enough carb for a diabetic cat.

Using the rough calculation of protein %(60) + fat% (15) + fiber% (4)+ moisture % (10) subtracted from 100 gives roughly 11% carb content for this food.

That is certainly higher than 0 carbs that zzyzzx claims for this food.

I'd certainly not want to feed it to my diabetic cat.
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I'm hoping they meant the epigen 90. Calculating it you get about 8% carbs. I actually looked into them a while ago but when I sent an email all I basically got was look at their website. Customer service is a BIG thing to me and theirs was not up to par so I will definitely stick with young again as a "small appetizer" to their canned food lol
 
Well, Simmie got into some of Murphys Instinct with Raw boost and LOVED it...of course, because it was Food! Simmie has never met a food product (or bug or tiny human food embedded in the rug) that he didn't like! Of course Murphy, who I bought the food for, HATES it. Sigh. Murph is a civie but he has been gaining weight as he is getting older and I wanted a healthier food for him. He is the one with no teeth but let me tell ya, if he even smells the dry Fancy Feast I give to Princess Kitty Kat to entice her to stay indoors, he goes insane. Sigh. Getting all these guys the right food for their unique situations is always challenging. When we had 7 indoor kitties years ago (the last one of that group went over the bridge at 20 years of age) we fed all of them canned Friskies and no one complained! That actually might be my answer for Murph....the lower carb Friskies instead of all these high end products I am trying to feed him. I know this board is for discussions of FD but I noticed some other folks have toothless kids with pancreatitis. Does anyone think Friskies would be ok for Murph? I know Simmie would love it since he loves everything and Princess well, she only seems to like dry food.

Say, maybe this is all too convoluted :-D and I should look for the simplest answer but one that is no simpler.
 
The Friskies pates are mainly low carb except for mixed grill.
The Friskies Special Diet pates are even lower carb.
 
here's the friskies.... that are 8% or less.... the number at the end is the phosphorus ... for ckd , you want 250 or lower.....
if you can get all of them to like those lower ones.... all the better ....

8% - Friskies flaked with tuna and egg 415
9% - Friskies Poultry platter – 438
5% - Friskies Special diet Beef and Liver entree 241
5% - Friskies Special diet Turkey and Giblets dinner pate 189
5% - Friskies Special diet Beef and Chicken Entree pate 242
4% - Friskies Special Diet Whitefish dinner 351
7% - Friskies Special Diet with Salmon 228
7% - Friskies Salmon dinner classic pate 499
8% - Friskies Turkey and Giblets dinner 338
8% - Friskies Supreme Supper 416
6% - Friskies Mariner's Catch 393
Click to expand...
 
Deb & Wink said:
Not sure what the carb content is of the Wysong Epigen that member zzyzzx recommended, but with that potato as the 4th ingredient and all those additional fruits and vegetables, it's very unlikely this is no carb or even low enough carb for a diabetic cat. And this if for a cat whose initial tested blood sugar was 600.

Using the rough calculation of protein %(60) + fat% (15) + fiber% (4)+ moisture % (10) subtracted from 100 gives roughly 11% carb content for this food.

That is certainly higher than 0 carbs that zzyzzx claims for this food.

I'd certainly not want to feed it to my diabetic cat.
Click to expand...


After about 2 weeks of feeding my cat Wysong Epigen, he's OTJ. Their email to me said no carbs. They don't advertise it as no carb, but it is. Other people report OTJ using Wysong Epigen, usually in around the same time frame.

My first email from them (I was asking for carbs in their Nurture stuff):
Good Day,
Thank you for your recent e-mail.
The Nurture™ is 23.3% carbohydrate.
If you are looking for a low/no carb diet, we would recommend Epigen™. Other than meat and organ glycogen and plant fibers, there is no carbohydrate in Epigen™. There are no starch ingredients as in all other dry diets.
Other no carbohydrate Wysong choices include Archetype™, Archetype Burgers™, Au Jus™ canned, Dream Treats™, and the UnCanny™.


My 2nd email to them:
What's the %carbs in each flavor of this Epigen (Chicken/90/Fish/Venisen)?

Their response:
Good Afternoon,
Thank you for your reply. As noted, Other than meat and organ glycogen and plant fibers, there is no carbohydrate in Epigen™ (all varieties). For all practical purposes you can consider them to be 0.
If you have any further questions please let me know.
Wishing you and yours the best of health,
Jenni
 
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