New Member - Help on choosing food?

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baltics

baltics

Member Since 2020
Hi! So today we found out that our cat is diabetic. Now, we haven't talked to our vet about insulin treatment yet because we went to another lab to have him tested and the only thing we talked about with her is what food we should go for now.

Our vet recommended wet Royal Canin for diabetics but the problem is that the prices are incredibly high and after some research I came to the conclusion that the quality isn't even that great, compared to other cheaper, less known brands. Now, we did buy him food that will last him for a week or so and we will also give him dry Royal Canin for diabetics (since we did get a bag and later found out that hey, that isn't the greatest idea) - we initially made the decision to feed him a mix because it would just be more affordable. We will change it to something else once it runs out and we better know what to do.

Now, after doing some research I found two brands that seem to be pretty good and at more affordable prices in order er to keep our cat on an exclusively wet diet.

The first one is GranataPet. Even though this one isn't the cheapest (tho definitely an improvement from Royal Canin), it seems to be of the better quality of the two options. The problem though is that it's only available online which is annoying, to say the least.

The second one is Animonda Integra Protect. While still pretty good (from what I've read), it has a higher percentage of crabs in it than GranataPet. But it's like half the price of GranataPet AND it's also available in the petshops in my city. So I'd go with this option.

Any thoughts? Are they good to feed my cat? Is it ok to stop giving him Royal Canin or even Purina, even though I'm sure my vet will recommend it again?

Now of course we'll have to see what option my cat likes, since he's a bit of a fussy eater.

Also - is it safe to give boiled chicken to my cat as part of his diet? Like, maybe substitute one wet meal with chicken? If so, what quantity should I feed him? He's a sucker for it and it pains me to deprive him of his favorite food.
 
Welcome. You must be in the UK or the EU.
Here is a food list for UK members. Some of the brands are available in the EU or can be ordered through zooplus.
Take the bag of Royal Canin dry food back to your vet for a refund. Even if the bag is opened, they should refund your money. It is bankrolled by the company as far as I understand it. Just tell the vet that your cat doesn't like it and won't eat it on a regular basis. In all honesty, there is nothing special about diabetic cat food except the price. There are lower carb and much cheaper options out there. The RC dry food is not even low carb!

Yes, it is safe to give plain, boiled chicken. Maybe a bit with each meal. Chicken on its own is not a balanced diet. And do save some pieces for testing times. A treat at test time makes testing his blood glucose easier.

Glad you found us. This is the best place you never thought you would ever be. We have a number of members from the UK and the EU.
 
Red & Rover (GA) said:
there is nothing special about diabetic cat food except the price.
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Absolutely true!

Welcome to FDMB The very best place to help you help your kitty. We are all family around here and would like to know you and your sweet kitties name. Would you be comfortable share them? It's ok if you are not. Just makes it easier.;)

Theres a wealth of information here with good kind folks to help you decipher it all.

Again welcome to the best darn site to help you help your kitty. ;)
jeanne
 
Red & Rover (GA) said:
Welcome. You must be in the UK or the EU.
Here is a food list for UK members. Some of the brands are available in the EU or can be ordered through zooplus.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the info! Unfortunately I'm from Romania so the variety of cat food avaliable here is not quite as wide as in the UK. I'll be sure to thoroughly look at those links and see what I can find here, though.

Could you help me out and tell me what to look for when considering what food to buy, though? I know it has to be high protein and low carb, but I'm not sure if that indicates the quality of the food.


jt and trouble (GA) said:
Welcome to FDMB The very best place to help you help your kitty. We are all family around here and would like to know you and your sweet kitties name. Would you be comfortable share them? It's ok if you are not. Just makes it easier.;)
jeanne
Click to expand...

My cat is named Dali! He's almost 8 years old and he's a spoiled brat whom I love very much.
 
Red & Rover (GA) said:
Take the bag of Royal Canin dry food back to your vet for a refund. Even if the bag is opened, they should refund your money. It is bankrolled by the company as far as I understand it. Just tell the vet that your cat doesn't like it and won't eat it on a regular basis. In all honesty, there is nothing special about diabetic cat food except the price. There are lower carb and much cheaper options out there. The RC dry food is not even low carb!
Click to expand...

I just wanted to add that unfortunately we can't return it but my family and I decided to use it this week to change his eating schedule. He's used to having food available to him at all times so we're trying to change that this week and he's a huge fan of dry food. Hopefully he won't make a fuss and cooperate. But we are definitely not going to give him dry food after.
 
The Royal Canin products, particularly the dry food, are VERY high in carbohydrates. I would save it in case Dali drops into low numbers but not use as part of your cat's daily diet. Just a note -- Royal Canin guarantees their food. Tell the vet that the cat won't eat it and the vet can get a refund from Royal Canin.

You can contact a manufacturer and see if they will send you a sample of the food. It's a waste if you have to buy a case online and your cat won't eat it.

You can also make your own, raw diet, for your cat. This website on feline nutrition has instructions on how to make your own cat food. (Look in the navigation bar on the right.) You notice in the recipe, there are a variety of supplements that are needed to make a protein nutritionally complete. You really shouldn't substitute just chicken for a meal. You cat could end up being deficient in one or more of those nutrients. Using chicken as a treat, though, is perfect!
 
Hello, also a newb here :) this is a carb calculator for whatever food you can find http://fnae.org/carbcalorie.html (i can't say if its 100% accurate). Stay away from Royal Canin and any dry food, you already know that :) When in doubt, avoid food with grains or vegetables (most crappy food use peas as proteins so pay attention to the ingredients). Purina DM wet in Canada doesn't have the same ingredients than USA...not sure about UK. It's not bad food here but you can prolly find cheaper. You can't replace a meal with boiled chicken...you need a perfect mix of nutrients found in bones, meat, insides of prey..thats why vitamins are added to cat food. Can be ok for a treat.
 
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Lalkabee said:
Hello, also a newb here :) this is a carb calculator for whatever food you can find http://fnae.org/carbcalorie.html (i can't say if its 100% accurate). Stay away from Royal Canin and any dry food, you already know that :) When in doubt, avoid food with grains or vegetables (most crappy food use peas as proteins so pay attention to the ingredients). Purina DM wet in Canada doesn't have the same ingredients than USA...not sure about UK. It's not bad food here but you can prolly find cheaper. You can't replace a meal with boiled chicken...you need a perfect mix of nutrients found in bones, meat, insides of prey..thats why vitamins are added to cat food. Can be ok for a treat.
Click to expand...
*giggling here* you're sounding more like a pro everyday. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.
I love the way you said "a newb" lol;)
 
Wow 3 new Romanians on the forum in the past 2-3 weeks! :woot:I’m glad you found this forum Baltics, it’s the heaven of info and help for diabetic kitties!

It’s not unusual to change the diet only before trying insulin and some cats even go into remission after changing to a low carb diet. Do you know how high Dali’s blood glucose was? And would you be willing to test it at home? Home testing can sound intimidating but I promise for most cats it’s really easy and it can be a massive help!

I know all vets will recommend the good old Royal, Hills or Purina :rolleyes::rolleyes: but you are absolutely right to think there are better, cheaper brands out there. Both Granata and Animoda are good brands and they do have food suitable for a diabetic cat. If Dali doesn’t have any other underlying conditions, a wet food that is low in carbs should be enough. If there are other health issues, you might need to look into % of fat and % of protein.


http://scheyderweb.com/cats/catfood.html This is the online calculator I use to figure out the carbs percentage and I found it to be accurate. I know you are not a fan of ordering Dali’s food online, but it you go on websites such as Zooplus you should find the analytical constituents for each food so you can find out the carbs %. I know Bozita is another affordable food that has low carb options and it can be found in Romania. Applaws has few (very few) low carb options and that should be easy to find in any pet store. I’m Romanian but I’ve been in the UK for few years so I am not really up to date with what’s in the pet stores there anymore (not to mention I didn’t know better back then and I was feeding Perlutz Royal Canin and Hills :facepalm:).

Keep us updated, please! :bighug:
 
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