UK Sheba fine flakes

[Snuggles and Danny]

Hi,

I've just come across some mentions on here of cats having problems with the new UK version of Sheba fine flakes (in black boxes) - can anyone remember when it first arrived in the shops? Snuggles' blood sugar started rising in June 16 and has not settled down again, and I'm now wondering whether it could have been related to this change.

Thanks,

Amy

 

[Critter Mom]

Hi Amy,

Because of Saoirse's digestive system issues I track food very closely. I just checked her nots and I can confirm that the black boxes of Fine Flakes started appearing in late May 2016.

Mars Pet Foods UK have changed the formulation of macronutrients in the Sheba Fine Flakes pouches (Poultry Collection in Jelly definitely - you'd need to double-check the fish in jelly pouches if you normally feed this). You need to go by the typical analysis on the pouches, not on the Sheba website. The protein content has been reduced, and both the fat and carb content have been increased.

I lost Saoirse to a particularly bad batch of this food. My civvie, Lúnasa, has had digestive issues since the change to the new formulation: soft, sometimes discoloured poops; pooping too often; eating far more than she should need but not gaining weight; vomiting if she doesn't eat every 4 hours. Additionally, I've been trying to switch Lúnasa to different food (gradually) but any attempts to change her food are making her GI issues worse.

Because of the above, if I were in your shoes and Snuggles can eat any other food I would strongly recommend that you don't feed her the new Sheba Fine Flakes food. I firmly believe this food causes GI issues.


Mogs
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[Snuggles and Danny]

Hi Mogs,

Thanks, that's really useful and does match with the time Snuggles started having higher readings. I'm really sorry to hear about Saoirse, that's awful.

I hope Lúnasa will eventually agree to eat something else - we also have a civvie (Danny) who is resistant to change but we're going to try. He has lost a bit of weight and had an audibly rumbly tummy recently so I suspect it doesn't agree with him either. I've started feeding raw food from Purrform for some meals - Snuggles likes it and Danny doesn't hate it so that's a start! I've also ordered some of the new Lily's kitchen trays (not the organic ones) - both have sometimes eaten the big tins in the past but aren't mad keen so maybe they'll like the new ones better.

We may temporarily go back to Felix As Good As it Looks which they used to have until it acquired "various sugars" a few years ago while Danny is transitioning, because I know he will eat that and it's not known to have any issues.

By the way, we also started on Caninsulin and then got Lantus from Danielle Gunn Moore, the lovely Professor of Feline Medecine at the Edinburgh Vet School, who encourages home testing and thinks that Lantus should be the first choice for cats. It was so nice to talk to a vet who knew more about feline diabetes than I do! Our regular vet is also lovely, appreciates the spreadsheet, and is happy to let us do what we want at this point, but isn't an expert.

Thanks again,

Amy

 

[Critter Mom]

By the way, we also started on Caninsulin and then got Lantus from Danielle Gunn Moore, the lovely Professor of Feline Medecine at the Edinburgh Vet School, who encourages home testing and thinks that Lantus should be the first choice for cats. It was so nice to talk to a vet who knew more about feline diabetes than I do!

It makes my heart sing to hear of a specialist vet in the UK who gets the value of treating with Lantus as a first choice. It is my fervent hope that more vets in the UK/EU (while the EU still has influence) who recognise the statistically superior benefits of Lantus so that they might start pushing for Lantus to be approved as a first-line treatment for feline diabetes (espeically because it can so significantly increase the potential for newly-diagnosed cats to achieve remission if they get treated with it as soon as possible after Dx).

I've also ordered some of the new Lily's kitchen trays (not the organic ones)

Be sure to check that they don't have carrageenan as an ingredient; it's an inflammatory agent.

We may temporarily go back to Felix As Good As it Looks which they used to have until it acquired "various sugars" a few years ago while Danny is transitioning, because I know he will eat that and it's not known to have any issues.

I'd be very grateful if you could post info on the variety of Felix As Good as it Looks you havve been able to feed OK; I'm quite desperate to find a food that might agree with Lúnasa.


Mogs
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[Snuggles and Danny]

Be sure to check that they don't have carrageenan as an ingredient; it's an inflammatory agent.

Grrr, cat food is such a minefield! It's not listed in the ingredients but I found it at the bottom of the Nutritional Additives:
Technological Additives (per kg): Carrageenan 5.3mg.

I've already ordered some and I don't know whether it's better to feed that or something with "various sugars" or "derivatives of vegetable origin". We can't feed only raw food because Danny needs regular small meals (if he eats too much at once he throws up) and raw can't be left out because it goes off. Maybe as they eat a variety of foods at the moment it will be ok?

I now can't figure out online which Felix we used to feed as they're always changing the packets and ingredients - I will buy some and test over the next few days and let you know. There is also a Sainsbury's food which looks ok apart from the tapioca starch and arguably the sunflower oil (Sainsbury's Chicken, the Delicious Collection) but it seems as if there isn't too much of either so I wiil give it a try too.

Snuggles was doing really well on the Sheba before they changed it, it's very frustrating.

It makes my heart sing to hear of a specialist vet in the UK who gets the value of treating with Lantus as a first choice.

Yes, she is a Very Good Thing and also really good with cats but sadly she has some health problems and is not always around. Last time we visited the vet school the student who took Snuggles' history gave the distinct impression that she'd never come across a cat before, maybe she was a large animal specialist...

Amy

 

[Critter Mom]

derivatives of vegetable origin".

Very often this is a disguised way of listing soy as an ingredient. Soy is a very common allergen in felines (and it can spike the bejeezus out of BG levels in some cats).


Mogs
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[Critter Mom]

Last time we visited the vet school the student who took Snuggles' history gave the distinct impression that she'd never come across a cat before,

There's only one thing worse: an alleged (domestic) feline specialist who puts textbook learning first and who refuses to take into account actual data and detailed clinical observations for the individual cat.


Mogs
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[Snuggles and Danny]

There's only one thing worse: an alleged (domestic) feline specialist who puts text books first and who refuses to take into account actual data and detailed clinical observations for the individual cat.

Very true. I appreciate that our regular vet trusts the data we provide and acts accordingly. And last year she spotted that Snuggles' teeth were the thing which was causing erratic blood sugar - after he had them cleaned and a few dodgy ones removed everything settled down immediately.

 

[Snuggles and Danny]

I'd be very grateful if you could post info on the variety of Felix As Good as it Looks you havve been able to feed OK; I'm quite desperate to find a food that might agree with Lúnasa.

I couldn't find the old kind of Felix, but I discovered that our civvie Danny loves Whiskas 7+Poultry selection in jelly (2.9 carbs, 72.3 Kcal/100g according to the UK info sheet here) - it has "various sugars" but none of the other bad things listed. He's usually fussy with unfamiliar food so it must either be similar to the Sheba Fine Flakes or so full of flavour enhancers that he can't resist

 

[SweetAngel]

I just saw this thread, I've recently given Angel this along with his other low carb food, can this have brought him out of remission?