Merrick Turducken

[Julie & Orange]

If you haven't seen my other posts - I have a newbie thats a dry food addict that I am trying to convert.

Today we found a winner! The fourth flavor of cat food I opened today (and probably about the 20th one I tried - my table looks like I opened a kitty buffet). I opened a can of Merrick Turducken and he devoured almost the whole can. Thats after not even wanting to touch the other 3 - even with FortiFlora, treats, and dry food on top. I wasn't too hopeful of this flavor because he wouldn't touch the Grammy's Pot Pie or Surf and Turf and he only was slightly interested in the Cowboy cookout, but he likes this one!

So now I'm reading the label and ingredients and am a little worried. Good things: Its on the cat food lists as 9% carbs, top ingredients are meat. Things that I am worried about: sweet potatoes and potato starch in the ingredients (those are supposed to be bad, right?), and the word "gravy" on the can.

Does anyone feed this flavor? Should I be concerned with the potato and gravy or not?

If this one is good for a diabetic, I'm going to start switching him to this now.

If its not great for him which would be preferrable - feeding him this for the time being to get him used to wet food? Or keeping him on his current track of dry EVO on top of wet food - he's eating about 20% wet that way and 80% dry, but the wet percentage has been increasing slowly.

 

[Blue]

so glad you found a winner!
I think I would switch to that wet flavor and it will be easier to try other wet flavors/brands when the dry is out of the picture.
If nothing else, he is getting used to the texture of a wet food, so that may help to ease him over to other wet foods.

 

[Julie & Orange]

Thanks! I'll stick with this for now. And his numbers are looking a lot better today

 

[Dragonfly229]

I've been feeding almost exclusively Merrick foods since January. Linus was like that, too, a dry food addict, and we had to try one flavor at a time until we found the ones he would eat. At the beginning he wouldn't touch Cowboy Cookout, but would eat Turducken and Pot Pie. Now he is eating almost every flavor (doesn't seem to love the real fishy ones), and I am increasing the Cowboy Cookout and Surf and Turf, and decreasing the Turducken, for carb reasons, although I think Turducken is a whole lot better than some other things he could be eating. We are also adding the Before Grain flavors, and he likes the Chicken and Quail, although these are more pate style, and he didn't like that at first.

Go with what he'll eat, and as he gets more used to wet food he will begin to try other types. Also, some cats like the food warmed just a little, some like water in it, and Linus likes it cold out of the refrigerator. Go figure. ECID, right?

 

[Grayson & Lu]

I agree w/ Sue - get him started eating one he likes... it's gotta be a hard transition to canned food. Think of trading up cruncy potato chips for applesauce...!

Grayson ate dry kibble for nearly 7 years. He was NOT fond of canned initially either, and he demonstrated how much by sneaking into the others' food, and opening a box in the cupboard. He even opened a Tupperware cannister one time... he was DETERMINED! But after a week or two, he decided that this isn't so bad. He'd still give his right paw for a place at the plate w/ dry kibble, but he's fed separately, and the food is taken up after everyone has eaten. No residual for Grayson to find. It's just much easier on him and me to do this, as I'd go broke buying canned for everyone in the household.

Once he's acclimated to the texture, you can change up w/ some other varieties. in the meantime (I've never tried this - but it couldn't hurt), I'd freeze all those open cans from the buffet. Maybe he'll eat them in a week or two. Just bring them out and let them thaw first. Now that I think of it, some people have said they use ice cube trays to freeze food in for snacks... or for an automatic feeder... so I guess the freezing might be a good option! You wouldn't want 20 cans to go to waste!

Good luck,
Lu-Ann

 

[Julie & Orange]

I went out and bought a weeks supply of the Turducken today. I'll try some other flavors when that runs out, but based on your responses, some reading around, and his numbers so far I am very happy with the Turducken for now. Freezing is a good idea! My other kitty is easier so she's getting the reject flavors right now, but I think I do have too many open to keep in the fridge long enough for her to finish it all.

Thanks!

 

[Julia & Bandit (GA)]

I get the Turducken for Bandit sometimes--it does not raise his BG at all. It's funny, because Friskies at 7% carbs will raise his BG, while the Grammy's Pot Pie and Turducken at 8% and 9% will be fine. I think it's the rice in the Friskies--even though the Turducken and Grammy's Pot Pie are slightly higher in carbs, there's no grain in them. The gravy is made with potato starch instead of corn starch, so it's not real high in carbs.

Did you try the Grammy's Pot Pie? It has a texture very similar to the Turducken. And if he likes those, he'll probably also like Weruva cat food. It's not on Binky's list, but they're all gonna be about the same in carbs as the Turducken and Grammy's Pot Pie. They also have a fish based brand called BFF that is lower in carbs but you don't want to feed for every meal because of the fish, but it'd be ok a few times a week (the aspic ones are low carb). I would also give Nature's Variety instinct a shot--when Gabby's stomach cancer got worse, she would often eat the Instinct Rabbit and Lamb formulas, the Merricks flavors and the BFF when she'd refuse all other foods. Just don't feed the Instinct Venison--it's crazy high in phosphorus.

 

[squeem3]

. And if he likes those, he'll probably also like Weruva cat food. It's not on Binky's list, but they're all gonna be about the same in carbs as the Turducken and Grammy's Pot Pie. They also have a fish based brand called BFF that is lower in carbs but you don't want to feed for every meal because of the fish, but it'd be ok a few times a week (the aspic ones are low carb).

Weruva canned, not the Weruva Cats In The Kitchen pouches :smile: I don't think it's on the Pet Food Nutritional Values chart either. The Weruva web site does have a PDF file of the guaranteed values, including carbs, so it gives you a rough idea how how many carbs are in the food. In the Weruva FAQ section there is a question specifically asking if the food is suitable for diabetics and the anwswer is yes. However, people on this board have found that some of the Weruva varieties do raise bgs.

Weruva also makes Soulistic canned food which is sold at Petco. The gelee (jelly) ones look ok for diabetics but they are seafood based so not good to feed all the time.

Nature's Variety Instinct is a good choice.

Hope you can find other foods your cat will eat :smile: Have you tried the usual tricks of getting a cat to eat canned food? Sprinkling crushed up treats on top of canned food? A little tuna juice? Forti Flora?