What food?

[Manouk & Billy]

Hello everyone!

I have a question about food. When I first came here a lot of you helped me with the basics (viewtopic.php?f=28&t=37615). I now know we have to give our furry friends a no grain, low carb diet for them to be feeling better, but I am still a little unsure about how to decide what I should buy.

My local pet stores sells EVO no grain which is what I use now, but it's a bit pricey. I found out that the groceries store I go to has Fancy Feast and Friskies. Will any of these cans do the job, or do I have to look for specific flavors or something? I tried looking at the chart, but can't seem to figure out the numbers...

The different Fancy Feast and Friskies cans can be found here http://fancyfeast.com/wet-cat-food/ and there http://www.friskies.com/Wet-Cat-Food/Default.aspx for reference. They all seem to be available at my groceries store, too.

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

Fancy Feast is on the Old Wet food chart: http://binkyspage.tripod.com/CanFoodOld.html Go over to the third column: carbs. You want to pick under 10% carbs and avoid fish more than a couple times a week (too much mercury and phosphorus)

 

[Jenny and Sue]

Here's a list I keep:

The Expensive Side

Merrick BG
Beef*
Chicken*
Turkey*

Wellness
Beef & Chicken*
Chicken*
Turkey*

Merrick
Cowboy Cookout*

Evo
EVO 95% Beef*
EVO 95% Chicken & Turkey*
EVO 95% Duck
EVO 95% Venison*

Nature’s Variety
Raw beef*
Raw Chicken & Turkey*

The Cheaper Side

Fancy Feast Classic only
Chicken
Beef & Liver
Turkey and Giblets
Beef
Beef & Chicken
Chopped Grill

Special Kitty (Walmart)
Mixed Grill
Prime Entrée
Super Supper
Turkey & Giblets

Sophisticat (Petsmart)
Beef & Liver
Beef Stew
Country Style
Elegant Entrée
Mixed Grill
Turkey & Giblets

Sophisticat Adult Supreme (Petsmart)
Supreme Beef & Chicken
Supreme Beef
Supreme Gourmet Chicken
Supreme Turkey & Giblets

Friskie’s Classic Pate
Country Style Dinner*
Liver & Chicken Dinner
Poultry Platter
Supreme Supper
Turkey & Giblets

Friskie’s Special Diet
Beef & Chicken*
Beef & Liver*

* also lower in phosphorous (<250 mg) (important for kitties with chronic kidney disease)

Note that I do not use any fish flavored cat foods. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are flame-retardant industrial chemicals. PBDEs are found in particularly high concentrations in fish that are high up the food chain and, therefore, in sea food flavor cat foods. Could be linked to feline hyperthyroidism.

 

[squeem3]

Any low carb food that your cat likes to eat and you can afford and can find in the stores is just fine :smile: Fancy Feast, Friskies, and other common big name brands found in supermarkets are fine. Here's a list of gluten free low carb Fanc Feast: http://felinediabetes.com/glutenfree.htm The other regular Fancy Feast varieties are on the "old" food chart. Not all are low in carb for a diabetic cat but do keep a few of the higher carb gravy based foods in your kitchen to use in case your cat hypos.

Some people feed mostly inexpensive brands of food and occasionally add a higher quality premium food to the diet.

 

[Manouk & Billy]

Thank you! That's really helpful. ^^


I bought Billy some Friskies cans for tomorrow. Any thoughts on quantity? The can says it can be used for two meals, but Billy is a... manly cat? He weights around 15, 16 lbs, if I remember correctly. So should I feed him more?

 

[Jenny and Sue]

Here is a link to Dr. Pierson's site:
http://catinfo.org/?link=felineobesity

Scroll down to "How much should I feed?"

Good luck!!
Jenny

 

[Hillary & Maui (GA)]

The amount to feed, really depends on your cat. I have three cats and here's what I feed BID:

1 5 ounce can friskies
1/2 5 ounce can of nature's logic
1-2 spoons of homemade raw

I add water to all the above too. Some meals, I find the bowls empty, other meals they aren't touched. I will give more food as needed, but this seems to work for my three.

When I started Maui on canned food, she could eat 1 1/2 can of fancy feast in one sitting. She was that hungry and unregulated.

hope that helps.