New food chart, new numbers

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Annemarie/Tigger(GA)

Annemarie/Tigger(GA)

Member Since 2011
So after reading the new food chart by dr Lisa, I realized that all the friskies diets are now above 6% carbs nailbite_smile what is everyone doing? Still feeding the diets or switching to something else? I'm wondering if the higher carbs are one reason Frazzle isn't dropping in numbers. Any thoughts?

Does anyone feed Natures Variety Raw medallions? I bought a sample bag the other day and Frazzle loved it! Can he eat that all the time? Is there anything I should be concerned with when feeding this food?
Annemarie
 
The NV frozen medallions are 100% complete and can be fed all the time. NV also has kibble-shaped frozen raw called Raw Bites. http://www.instinctpetfood.com/ You may want to do the transition to raw slowly to avoid an upset tummy. The medallions take about a day and a half to completely thaw in the fridge so be sure to always keep some ready to eat thawed medallions as well as frozen medallions in the fridge at all times. The Raw Bites ones thaw quickly in just minutes at room temperature.
 
Still feeding Friskies Pate and Maxwell is still OTJ on it and Autumn is headed that way I think as we are down to .25u bid although her vet just switched her insulin from Lantus to Levemir. But since I have 15 cats I have to have something they can all agree on eating and so far that is Friskies Pate, everything else I have tried with them someone turns their nose up at.

Mel, Maxwell, Autumn & The Fur Gang
 
We use the NV Raw and Tess loves it, If I take it out (eta: of the freezer and into the fridge) the evening before it is usually thawed by morning. You can't microwave it to warm it since it has bones (you can't cook them or they become brittle and dangerous). Instead I heat her bowl and set it in a dish of hot water add a little very warm water to the dish. It warms up in 5 or ten minutes.

NV is 65 kcal/oz more than half again as much as Wellness (40) so you will need to feed less.

Unlike most here, the carbs went down on the NV and I've actually found that it is too low carb. Tess gets really sharp drops after her insulin. I'm trying mixing it w/ a higher LC food to even things out. It's easier to find a good insulin/carbs balance at higher levels of both, not quite so much dropping and bouncing.

Lucky you to be able to get the sample size. I still want to try the Lamb and the Venison, I've found the Beef upsets Tess's tummy, but she loves it. Also if you buy the "chubs" rather than the medallions it is a lot cheaper. By the time I get it home it is softened enough (but still frozen) that I can cut it in 1" slices and then quarter them. (That's just about an ounce.) They aren't thawed at this point and it's perfectly safe to but right back in the freezer, Voila, you own medallions! Using the chubs , it's actually cheaper to feed NV than Wellness!
 
Ann & Tess said:
You can't microwave it to warm it since it has bones (you can't cook them or they become brittle and dangerous).
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This is not a problem with ground up bones. It is only an issue with large bones.

I know that there are many anti-microwave people out there but one has to pick their battles and I use my microwave a gazzilion times a day to heat up cat food - ground bones and all.
 
Thanks, Dr. Lisa, I was being overly cautious. And I'm still paranoid about leaving it sit out too! :? :roll:
 
I am confused- i thought i was looking for 10% or less carbs on the chart. Then another post said 8% and now 6%?
I am switching my dry food eater to wet and also a non diabetic cat to wet.

I bought some frieskies & 9 lives to start.

Misty
 
themewedd said:
I am confused- i thought i was looking for 10% or less carbs on the chart. Then another post said 8% and now 6%?
I am switching my dry food eater to wet and also a non diabetic cat to wet.

I bought some frieskies & 9 lives to start.

Misty
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Every cat is different :smile: Some people find that their diabetic cat does best with lower carb foods, like under 6%. Some even go as low as under 3%. As long as you stick with under 10%, your cat will be fine :smile: Keep in mind that the lower carbs you go, the limited food selection there is and a finicky cat may not be happy.
 
It does depend on your cat- Sneakers was very carb sensitive at the beginning and changing from one % to another really kept her numbers wonky. So I started with the lowest I could by in the store and got her numbers steady and then slowly moved up.

As there are very few out there now that are the 3% (that i can afford) she is now getting 5 to 7% but I don't see the swings I did back in March.
 
Not all carbs are created equal, so it's important to look at the ingredient list along with the carb count. Things that contain grains (like rice) can often effect a cat's BG more than something that doesn't, despite the carb percentage, and these foods are usually 7-10% carbs. Some cats can handle those ingredients in very small amounts, and some can't. But you don't really know that unless you try some different foods and compare. I didn't realize the Friskies was raising Bandit's BG until took it away for a week, and saw his BG lower across the board. That's why I like to steer people towards the generic alternatives to Friskies, like Walmart's Special Kitty or Petsmart's Grreat Choice. Not only are they both lower carb because there's no rice in them, they're cheaper, too.
 
Also, grain-free doesn't always mean low carb. There are grain-fre canned foods out there that are close to 10% carbs or more because they contain starchy carb sources likes potatos and tapioca.
 
Julia & Bandit said:
I didn't realize the Friskies was raising Bandit's BG until took it away for a week, and saw his BG lower across the board.
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Hi Julia,

Can you be specific about which Friskies you were feeding? Any of the Classic Pates on page 9 of the chart?
 
Hi Annemarie-
I think we were lucky beans as we were able to transition Fur Ball from dry kibble to NV Raw chicken pretty quickly. He loves it and that is about all he gets in our house. Every once in awhile we give him a bit of NV canned to add a few more carbs and variety but he has been doing wonderfully well on NV Raw.

We do the same as Ann & Tess. I will take out the medallions the night before and by morning they are thawed. I put them in a bowl of warm water and even add a bit of warm water to give it some additional moisture.

Until Oct 31 there is a couple to get the bite samples for free is you buy $10 in NV product. I know it was posted on the forum but I can't find the link. You can also go to the web site http://www.naturesvariety.com/tryit for a coupon to try it free.

Hope that helps.
Karen
 
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