Something better than Fancy Feast?

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HaileyandTulip

HaileyandTulip

Member Since 2019
Hello wonderful people!

Tulip has successfully transitioned to an all wet food diet, and I have been feeding her one can of Fancy Feast Classics every 12 hours (Chicken Feast, Tender Liver & Chicken Feast, and Turkey & Giblets Feast). She has gained some weight and her BG levels are lower on average (in the 300s) than they were a month ago.

However, I am interested in finding some food for Tulip that is better for her, but doesn't break the bank. She prefers pate over other textures.

I am also not sure if I am feeding Tulip the correct amount of food. She acts very hungry and tries to get me to feed her if it has been more than 2-3 hours since she finished her can of FF. The Food Chart from Dr. Lisa Pierson states that the flavors of FF that I have been feeding her are all about 90 calories per 3oz can. Tulip is about 9 pounds right now. I think I recall the vet saying that her ideal weight is around 10lbs.

Thanks for your help!
 
What are you looking for when you say “better” food?

Feeding Tulip more meals instead of only 2 might help her to feel a little more full. You do need to make sure she has food with her shot for Prozinc, but it is also okay to feed her more often. A good starting estimate for how many calories to feed is 20 calories per ideal pound, so if Tulip should be 10 lbs she should get around 200 calories per day. However if she is not regulated yet, she will probably still be very hungry and may need more food until she’s regulated and her body can properly process food
 
Sarah&Soph said:
What are you looking for when you say “better” food?
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I am looking for something that more closely resembles the ideal food composition of ">50% calories of animal protein, moderate fat (~20-40% calories) and very low carbohydrate (1-2% calories)" from Dr. Pierson's chart. The FF Classics varieties that I have been feeding Tulip are about ~41% animal protein, ~56% fat, and ~2% carbs.
 
I can't help you out with the food but besides the 2 cans you feed her twice a day I would feed her a little more than that. Most of us feed a good meal in the am and pm before giving the insulin. Most of us feed our kitties 3-4 times a day. If she doesn't eat all of her big meals give the rest to her through out the day. If she eats it all I would give her a little bit more in between her big meals. I'm sure you know not to feed any thing 2 hours before testing.
I looked at your spreadsheet and just wondering why you aren't putting her numbers in the squares where they say +2, +4, +6 etc when you are testing her during the cycles. Don't understand what you are writing in the comment sections.
 
Dr. Pierson does actually say on her website that “some of the fancy feast varieties” have good profiles, so they may still be an okay option for you (and definitely one of the cheapest!). Weruva and Soulistic might also be some good ones to look into, but they’re a bit pricier
 
Nature's variety instinct has also some varieties that are ok and they are pate like, I don't know about pricing for those though. You will need to be patient they usually start recovering weight once they start seeing lower numbers (and start being a bit more regulated ) and even then is going to be a slow process
 
Veronica & Babu-chiri said:
Nature's variety instinct has also some varieties that are ok and they are pate like, I don't know about pricing for those though. You will need to be patient they usually start recovering weight once they start seeing lower numbers (and start being a bit more regulated ) and even then is going to be a slow process
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My cat eats this brand because of food intolerances and it is very pricey, over $3 a can. I would go back to FF in a heartbeat if I could!
 
Weruva and TikiCat have some good options (not sure how you feel about the price). I feed my girls Weruva Chicken Frick A Zee but it is more of shreds/pieces than a pate. When I first got my girls on wet food, Fancy Feast chicken pate was one of the first/only things they would eat. Once they got used to eating wet food, I was able to introduce a 'better' food. (I was not happy w/the FF specs either.. including phosphorous..or some of the ingredients. Also, it had started causing poop issues.) They had not been willing to eat the non-pate texture initially, but when I re-introduced it, they did. So, maybe your girl will eventually be more open minded on texture. ;)
 
You could try breaking her two cans up into 3 or 4 meals during the day rather than just 2. Does she get any treats? I give my girls crunched up PureBites chicken on their meals, and they get home-cooked chicken as a treat for testing or any kind of medicine administration, so those calories count toward their total.

I would agree that about 200 calories is probably right for your girl. Maybe a little extra until her glucose is better regulated.
 
I would also urge you to look at calories, not the number of cans. For example, the Tiki Cat chicken is very low in calories so you would need to give more food.

Dr. Lisa's website gives this formula as a way to approximate the number of calories a cat needs on a daily basis:
Required calories per day = [13.6 X optimal lean body weight in pounds] + 70.
 
FurBabiesMama said:
Weruva and TikiCat have some good options (not sure how you feel about the price). I feed my girls Weruva Chicken Frick A Zee but it is more of shreds/pieces than a pate. When I first got my girls on wet food, Fancy Feast chicken pate was one of the first/only things they would eat. Once they got used to eating wet food, I was able to introduce a 'better' food. (I was not happy w/the FF specs either.. including phosphorous..or some of the ingredients. Also, it had started causing poop issues.) They had not been willing to eat the non-pate texture initially, but when I re-introduced it, they did. So, maybe your girl will eventually be more open minded on texture. ;)
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Agreed on the phosphorus levels...I was starting to get frustrated because it seems like it's harder to find great protein percentages and low phosphorus. I read this whole study on the possible correlation with phosphorus and kidney disease and not so much the protein levels in diets so now I'm looking harder...
 
Diane Tyler's Mom said:
I can't help you out with the food but besides the 2 cans you feed her twice a day I would feed her a little more than that. Most of us feed a good meal in the am and pm before giving the insulin. Most of us feed our kitties 3-4 times a day. If she doesn't eat all of her big meals give the rest to her through out the day. If she eats it all I would give her a little bit more in between her big meals. I'm sure you know not to feed any thing 2 hours before testing.
I looked at your spreadsheet and just wondering why you aren't putting her numbers in the squares where they say +2, +4, +6 etc when you are testing her during the cycles. Don't understand what you are writing in the comment sections.
Click to expand...

I have started feeding her more throughout the day in addition to her morning and evening meal (after testing), making sure not to feed her 2 hours before testing.

I am sorry my spreadsheet is confusing. The times in the comments section are just for my personal reference so I can try to keep the timing of everything as accurate as possible from day to day. "AM T/F/S" stands for "morning test/feed/shoot" and I just enter the times that I take her BG, feed her, and then give her shot. Hope that clears up any confusion! I am not able to test during the day on weekdays because I work full-time.
 
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