OPINIONS WANTED ON DIFFERENT TYPES OF WET FOOD

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Patty & Champ

Patty & Champ

Member Since 2011
I've been looking through Janet & Binky's food list to compare the protein/fat/carbs/calories of different wet foods. Right now, I have Champ on Wellness, switching between Chicken, Turkey, Chicken & Herring, and Turkey & Salmon. I picked Wellness over Fancy Feast or Friskies because there are no by-products in Wellness versus the other ones. I notice on the list that Wellness has a pretty high percentage of fat in their food. I really need to get Champ's weight down to about 14 pounds, a loss of three pounds. It's hard not to feed a hungry cat so I'm thinking maybe a low fat, but high protein/low carb food might be just the ticket so I can feed him the same, but he'll hopefully lose weight.

So here's the debate question: Are by-products a good reason NOT to feed a food? Champ only ate food made with by-products for ten years. It's only been since his diabetes diagnosis that I switched him to the expensive stuff. I would love to feed him something less expensive, lower in fat, but still high in protein and low in carbs. Friskies and Fancy Feast would fit that bill.
 
Patty, I put Gus on Classic FF when he was diagnosed. He loves it and eats like a horse because of his high #s. The thing with him is, he lost weight (about 3 lbs.) right before the dx. I have noticed that some of the other kitties in the house have 'filled out' a bit on the FF, so their portions were reduced. I don't know if that helps you or not. BTW, nice #s today! Good boy, Champers. (Good girl, Patty!)
 
A creature does not get fat by eating fat. A creature gets fat by eating more calories than they expend in a day.

I could eat McDonalds everyday for a month and still lose weight if I ate under my daily requirement of calories.
 
Bev, Champ actually lost 6 pounds before he was diagnosed, all in the space of two months. He had weighed over 21 pounds and when weighed at the vet when he was diagnosed, he was 15.5 pounds. He's now back up to 17 pounds and I really want to get him to 14 pounds. I just wonder if the lower fat foods will help him lose weight while eating the same amount. And also if foods made with by-products are really so much worse than foods that have no by-products at all.
 
Hi, I only feed Raw (preferred by me) or better quality foods.. I just can't get past the by products, etc. enough to feel comfortable giving it to my furbabies - I am a health conscious person & work out a lot, so I am from the school of thought.. you are what you eat & feel that is applicable to furbabies too.

With that being said... I notice that cats who eat the lower quality foods.. tend to go OTJ at a faster rate than those who dont or there are just more people who feed lower quality. There is no scientific evidence I have.. I have not compared/contrasted to form an educated exact answer.. but lower quality foods do not stand in the way from going OTJ & many are successful.
We can all agree a low carb, wet/raw diet is best for any furbaby, especially a diabetic furbaby.

To factor in other health issues by feeding various quality foods is definitely another study.... good luck!
 
Food, like FF, does contain by-products. However, the by-products are not the first ingredients. Compare FF with the prescription foods that are primarily by-products. I agree that I wish there were a grain free, human grade cat food that was lower in fat. I was feeding raw that I made myself. I found there was no difference in Gabby's BG when I fed raw vs. Wellness.

My guys weren't thrilled with Wellness Core or EVO.
 
Higher fat foods won't make your cat fat (carbs do that), but many cats don't like higher fat foods or digest them well. My cats thrive on Wellness but don't care for Evo which is higher in fat. If you're on a budget, the Friskies Classic Pate chicken/turkey is a decent choice at 7% carbs and $1 a large can if you buy it by the case.
 
cats need fat in their diets. if you're feeding a food which is higher in calories, chances are you have to reduce the amount you're feeding.

check out dr. lisa's How Much Should I Feed? and Consider Calories and Composition, Not Just Ounces .

also take a look at her Implementing a Safe Weight Loss Program.

my personal feeling is feed as well as your budget allows.

as far as kitties who are being fed lower quality foods going OTJ faster than those who don't...
i've been active on this board for almost 5 years. i can't say i've noticed any correlation between feeding certain foods and a kitty going OTJ faster. what i have seen is these things happen in waves or trends. when alex was first diagnosed, quite a few kitties were going OTJ who were fed FF Tender Beef Feast. well lo and behold, all of a sudden a whole bunch of caregivers started feeding FF Tender Beef Feast (myself included :lol: ). after that, the big trend was Wellness, then raw, and other brands followed. eventually it comes full circle and starts all over again!
 
I started Kushi out on EVO when she was Dx and then switched her to Friskies Special Diet Beef & Chicken Entree (4% carbs); There was a cost factor involved. For now she is doing well and we are completing our 11th day of her OTJ Trial. Bottom line is I haven't a clue what this means but I'm not about to switch her unless I see a good reason to do so. :smile:
 
This is the exact kind of information I'm looking for!! So now I need to make the decision about whether I want to feed Champ by-products. I never even knew what by-products were before he got diabetes and I was researching the best food to feed him. He happily ate by-products all his life up until then so I guess it doesn't matter to him. I wish I had found this board when he was first diagnosed because I doubt I would have spent so much money on the Wellness. He always ate Friskies before (but the gravied up kind) so I probably would have stuck to Friskies and just changed to a low carb kind. I bought a bunch of Wellness online cuz it was cheaper to buy it by the case and I still have a lot left, but I'm going to buy some cans of the Friskies and FF and see if he likes that as much and then I can just vary his meals from day to day.
 
At this point, I've got Willie on BG and Wilderness because he's pretty carb sensitive. BG Turkey is actually pretty low in fat, which I discovered by accident. I had purchased the Chicken/Quail variety, which he loves, but which is VERY high in phosphorus. I was surprised to find that the turkey variety was MUCH lower, and that it was about 2/3 protein to about 1/3 fat (1 or 2% carbs), whereas the other varieties are 2/3 fat to 1/3 protein.

I need to get him back on raw... he does well, he just doesn't always love it.

One thing that is important to remember about "by-products," is that there are good ones (liver and other organ meats) which kitties need, and bad ones, and unfortunately, you can't necessarily distinguish. So, the fact that a cat food manufacturer is using "by-products" does not mean that the food is per-se low quality.

I agree with the idea that you feed the best that you can afford. As Doctor Lisa says, the worst low-carb canned food is miles better than the best quality dry food.

I get Willie's food from Petco, where I can generally get discount gift cards and where I can use competitor coupons to help bring the costs down.

Good luck!
 
I have been feeding Zoe both Fancy Feast low carb and Blue WIlderness. When she went OTJ the first time I fed her strictly low carb FF. I add a little bit of Merrick Before Grain once in a while. I feed her based on what she likes and what I can afford.
 
"By-products" sounds bad, but as I understand it, if a cat eats a mouse, for example, and eats the whole thing (all of the organs, the tail, the feet, whatever) he is consuming "meat by-products" along with the meat. That said, I agree with Sienne that if "by products" are the first thing listed on the label, find a food with the meat listed first. It's the proportion of one to the other that is the important thing.

Ella
 
Good analogy Ella!! I never thought out him eating a mouse and you're exactly right. I printed out the Janet and Binky list to take to the store to see what I can find.
 
make sure you check that link that Sienne gave you on losing weight. i read it a week or so ago and recall that it is important that cats don't lose weight too quickly. slower is safer.
 
Julie, I'm for sure going to read it, but my vet had told me that a couple years ago when we wanted to get Champ to lose some weight. I can guarantee that losing too fast isn't going to be the problem....it's losing anything at all! :lol:
 
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