i am sure that i already know the answer to this question, but is wheat gluten still a no no in food? my friend found a canned food that has great ingredients, no by-products, lots of meat, but it had wheat gluten. and, since money is tight at the moment, i would love to be able to find something that is a little cheaper but still healthy to feed my kitties. i am feeding them wellness canned right now and it is $33 for 12 large cans of food, which lasts about 13 days. what do you think?
-
Too many ads? Join our community of cat lovers now to reduce ads by 90%! Click here to join for free!
is wheat gluten still bad?
- Thread starter blueandfrodo
- Start Date
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2005
- Messages
- 27,231
- Purraise
- 38
bad no , great no
No grain is good for your cat. Too many carbs. All these carbs can cause Diabetes. Been there done that. If your cat is not diabetic, 9 lives chicken dinner, Supper supper, chiken & beef dinner, chicken and tuna dinner, turkey dinner, chicken & seafood dinner, liver and bacon dinner, prime grill with beef. Friskies: Supreme supper, mixed grill, country style dinner, poultry platter, turkey and giblets dinner, liver and chicken. Fish should be fed sparingly. Liver can be addictive, so don't feed in large amounts. If your cat is diabetic, there is a totally different food list. Good luck to you!!
AFAIK Gluten is a protein source, not a carb
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #5
so, should i feel guilty if that is what i have to feed the cats due to $ restrictions? i just hate the thought of going to the grocery store and buying cat food...
from: http://www.medi-cal.ca/company/faq/faq_recall.php
excerpt from Your Cat: Simple Secrets to a Longer Life
One thing I have learned is that by-products are really not all bad. In the early days of canned food, beaks, feathers and feet were commonly used in some foods. This practice is not as common today because of the pressure from the public.
IMHO: If your cats can handle the food you found, the go for it. Money is tight for most people, and Wellness is quite an expensive food. (2.99/cn here.....when you can buy the same size of can of Friskies for 1.29 or less). The only things I try to stay away from in a wet food are:
- grains (wet food shouldn't have grains....)
- fish as an ingred in the first 4 or 5 ingreds ( I have a male cat, and would like to avoid UTI issues if I can)
- meat by-products as a first ingreds. ( I like to see identifyable meats as the first ingreds)
NO!!!!!!!!!!! You shouldn't feel bad at all. Honestly, yes Wellness is a good food, but there are others out there that are just as good for half the price.
You are still looking at the ingreds in the foods, and obviously want what is best for your kitties.... nothing to feel guilty about at all.
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2006
- Messages
- 2,435
- Purraise
- 60
Wheat gluten is a protein source for animals with digestive systems that can break it down - as obligate carnivores, cats are not one of those animals. Their digestive systems produce only the enzymes necessary for processing animal-based protein.
That said, any wet (in general) is better than dry food. It is much closer to what nature built the cat to eat.
If you've done your research and you know you're feeding your cats the most nutritious food you can afford, why would you feel guilty?
That said, any wet (in general) is better than dry food. It is much closer to what nature built the cat to eat.
If you've done your research and you know you're feeding your cats the most nutritious food you can afford, why would you feel guilty?
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #9
thanks guys. i may buy a few cans and see how it goes. my guys are super picky and don't normally like food with fish in it anyway so i will have to see. as soon as money is not so tight i will go back to the better foods. i would love to feed nv instinct canned food but it is over $2 for a 5.5 oz can! that is WAY out of my budget right now
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2006
- Messages
- 2,435
- Purraise
- 60
Yeah, isn't it insane? I was feeding the NV Instincts, Evo 95%s, Wellness grain-free's (including Core), and others and the cost was painful with a capital "P". I was spending more to feed the cats than I was to feed myself!Originally Posted by blueandfrodo
... i would love to feed nv instinct canned food but it is over $2 for a 5.5 oz can! that is WAY out of my budget right now
(In fact, the high price of canned was one of the reasons I started looking into raw. To my great relief, I have since cut my cat food bill nearly in half.)
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #11
so, i was just at the store and it turns out that although the food is cheaper, i would actually have to feed the cats almost $2.40 worth of food each a day! it is MUCH cheaper for me to stick with the wellness. i am not sure that i will be able to find anything cheaper because anything else i looked at is at least the price of wellness, or it has by-products or grains or something like that
i would love to feed my cats raw. i feed my dog raw and he is thriving on it! i tried to feed my cats raw but i could never get them to eat it. i tried the pets 4 life pre made raw. i know that frodo likes ground beef but i can't feed just ground beef, especially since it is so expensive! i don't actually know where to start if i were to do raw without the pre made since cats needs more precision than dogs. i feed the prey model to the dog and it is balanced over time, but for the cats i worry that i wouldn't give them enough taurine or something like that. frodo is interested in what the dog eats but i am not sure that he would eat it if that is all that he got. i am not sure that blue would eat any raw at all. blue is 11 and frodo is 7. how do you decide how much cats should be fed if you are feeding raw? frodo is on a strict diet and needs about 220-250 cal/day. for my dog i am feeding him 2 % of his proper adult body weight, can i do the same for the cats? so for frodo, his proper weight is 18 ish lbs should he be getting 0.36 of a lb? and blue is 8 lbs so should get 0.16 lb. what do you feed when you feed raw? i am thinking chicken necks and wings and some kind of heart for the taurine, but i am not sure what else.
i will go take a look to see if there are any stickies on the subject...
i would love to feed my cats raw. i feed my dog raw and he is thriving on it! i tried to feed my cats raw but i could never get them to eat it. i tried the pets 4 life pre made raw. i know that frodo likes ground beef but i can't feed just ground beef, especially since it is so expensive! i don't actually know where to start if i were to do raw without the pre made since cats needs more precision than dogs. i feed the prey model to the dog and it is balanced over time, but for the cats i worry that i wouldn't give them enough taurine or something like that. frodo is interested in what the dog eats but i am not sure that he would eat it if that is all that he got. i am not sure that blue would eat any raw at all. blue is 11 and frodo is 7. how do you decide how much cats should be fed if you are feeding raw? frodo is on a strict diet and needs about 220-250 cal/day. for my dog i am feeding him 2 % of his proper adult body weight, can i do the same for the cats? so for frodo, his proper weight is 18 ish lbs should he be getting 0.36 of a lb? and blue is 8 lbs so should get 0.16 lb. what do you feed when you feed raw? i am thinking chicken necks and wings and some kind of heart for the taurine, but i am not sure what else.
i will go take a look to see if there are any stickies on the subject...
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2006
- Messages
- 2,435
- Purraise
- 60
Trust me - feeding your cat raw is just as easy as feeding your dog!
I just spent the last three weeks transitioning my five cats to raw (it actually only took two). You determine how many ounces to feed each day exactly the same way you do your dog - by multiplying your cat's weight by 2%, 3% or 4%. (I added the weight of all my cats together to get a daily allowance, multiplied that by 3%, then divided the daily total by 3 to determine how many ounces to prepare for each meal.)
That tells you how much. Now take that daily total and multiply it by 7 to get a weekly total (you can do this by the day if you want, but it's easier using weekly numbers). Take the weekly total and multiply it by:
80% = ounces of meat to feed each week
10% = ounces of bone to feed each week
5% = ounces of liver to feed each week
5% = ounces of non-liver organ (spleen, kidneys, etc.) to feed each week
Now, that sounds like a lot of calculations. In fact, just writing all that out makes me want to go find a drink. *grin* But, TRUST ME, after feeding raw for just a very short time, you'll find it really isn't so difficult at all. The numbers absolutely don't have to be exact, they're just guidelines. You don't want to go over too much on the bone (you're cat might become constipated) or on the liver (I forget what happens, but it's not good), but other than that, it's really, really easy.
I know what I wanted most when I first started was examples, so here's what my cats are going to eat for the next week or so (keep in mind that I have five cats and you're going to feed a lot less):
Breakfast: 9ozs to 10ozs of beef round (comes in precut stew pieces) or pork loin chunks I cut and packaged myself.
Lunch: Usually a chicken quarter with the bones removed. The weight on a chicken quarter varies from 8oz to 14oz. If it's closer to 8oz, I'll feed more for dinner, if it's closer to 11oz, I'll feed less.
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, they'll get something with bone in it for lunch - chicken wings, half a quail, a quarter of a Cornish Hen, or half a chicken breast with ribs.
Twice a week, lunch will be 6 ozs of either chicken or beef liver and 5oz of chicken or beef heart. Also twice a week, lunch will be 6ozs of chicken, beef or pork kidneys and 5oz of chicken or beef heart.
Dinner: For this week, most likely a turkey drumstick with the bone removed. These drumsticks range in weight from 11ozs up to 18ozs each. Every now and then, I'll try something different, like bison meat, just for the fun and variety of it.
It really is as easy as that.
I just spent the last three weeks transitioning my five cats to raw (it actually only took two). You determine how many ounces to feed each day exactly the same way you do your dog - by multiplying your cat's weight by 2%, 3% or 4%. (I added the weight of all my cats together to get a daily allowance, multiplied that by 3%, then divided the daily total by 3 to determine how many ounces to prepare for each meal.)
That tells you how much. Now take that daily total and multiply it by 7 to get a weekly total (you can do this by the day if you want, but it's easier using weekly numbers). Take the weekly total and multiply it by:
80% = ounces of meat to feed each week
10% = ounces of bone to feed each week
5% = ounces of liver to feed each week
5% = ounces of non-liver organ (spleen, kidneys, etc.) to feed each week
Now, that sounds like a lot of calculations. In fact, just writing all that out makes me want to go find a drink. *grin* But, TRUST ME, after feeding raw for just a very short time, you'll find it really isn't so difficult at all. The numbers absolutely don't have to be exact, they're just guidelines. You don't want to go over too much on the bone (you're cat might become constipated) or on the liver (I forget what happens, but it's not good), but other than that, it's really, really easy.
I know what I wanted most when I first started was examples, so here's what my cats are going to eat for the next week or so (keep in mind that I have five cats and you're going to feed a lot less):
Breakfast: 9ozs to 10ozs of beef round (comes in precut stew pieces) or pork loin chunks I cut and packaged myself.
Lunch: Usually a chicken quarter with the bones removed. The weight on a chicken quarter varies from 8oz to 14oz. If it's closer to 8oz, I'll feed more for dinner, if it's closer to 11oz, I'll feed less.
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, they'll get something with bone in it for lunch - chicken wings, half a quail, a quarter of a Cornish Hen, or half a chicken breast with ribs.
Twice a week, lunch will be 6 ozs of either chicken or beef liver and 5oz of chicken or beef heart. Also twice a week, lunch will be 6ozs of chicken, beef or pork kidneys and 5oz of chicken or beef heart.
Dinner: For this week, most likely a turkey drumstick with the bone removed. These drumsticks range in weight from 11ozs up to 18ozs each. Every now and then, I'll try something different, like bison meat, just for the fun and variety of it.
It really is as easy as that.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #13
thank you!
i just finished reading your thread about switching your cats to raw. i can only hope that it goes 1/2 as well for me! i know that my big guy is very interested in what the dog is eating. that might just be because he is a jerk to the dog and wants to bother him as much as he can!
what a brat frodo has eaten raw ground beef, small amounts, when i have been cooking it for us or for the dog or whatever. he always eats what i offer. i am worried about my little girly switching to raw though since she is 11 and picky and has sore teeth (waiting to get the money for dental
) so i think that we will have to do ground for her. i think that ground might be best for both of them. i am going to email the lady that has a raw dog food company here that i order from and ask her what is in her ground chicken dinner. if there is bone and organs already then i am set!
i will order a small amount and see where it goes. i hope that they will at least try it!
on a little side, from your post... i have been told that there was a study done that dogs fed ground raw, with the bone ground still have better teeth, they are getting benefit from eating the raw even though they are not gnawing on meat and bone. i think that maybe it has something to do with the fact that there is no bacteria like they would get from kibble. i am hoping that i can get my kitties to try some bone at least, even if they just gnaw on it and don't eat it, since they both need dentals done ($1200 total for both
unfortunately there is no funds for that right now)
anyway, that is enough rambling for tonight!!
thank you all for your help. i hope that i can get the kitties to try some raw soon. i am going to get some chicken tenders from the grocery store soon and give them a try.
i just finished reading your thread about switching your cats to raw. i can only hope that it goes 1/2 as well for me! i know that my big guy is very interested in what the dog is eating. that might just be because he is a jerk to the dog and wants to bother him as much as he can!
frodo has eaten raw ground beef, small amounts, when i have been cooking it for us or for the dog or whatever. he always eats what i offer. i am worried about my little girly switching to raw though since she is 11 and picky and has sore teeth (waiting to get the money for dental
on a little side, from your post... i have been told that there was a study done that dogs fed ground raw, with the bone ground still have better teeth, they are getting benefit from eating the raw even though they are not gnawing on meat and bone. i think that maybe it has something to do with the fact that there is no bacteria like they would get from kibble. i am hoping that i can get my kitties to try some bone at least, even if they just gnaw on it and don't eat it, since they both need dentals done ($1200 total for both
anyway, that is enough rambling for tonight!!
thank you all for your help. i hope that i can get the kitties to try some raw soon. i am going to get some chicken tenders from the grocery store soon and give them a try.
