More canned food questions

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andrya

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l'm switching over to a more raw-heavy diet for my kitties.

But l want to keep up their rotation of canned foods so they don't miss out on anything.

Anyway, l always thought that the Carbs in canned foods was the "bad" stuff - the fruits, veggies, grains, flours etc.

So l try to buy canned foods that have very few of those ingredients, and avoid the ones that sound more like human nutrition.

Eg,

Weruva PLC (l buy 4 different Weruvas):

 Chicken (Boneless, Skinless, White Breast), Water Sufficient For Processing, Potato Starch, Sunflower Seed Oil, Dicalcium Phosphate, Xanthan Gum, Choline Chloride, Taurine, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Nicotinic Acid (Vitamin B3), Ferrous Sulfate, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Potassium Iodide, Manganese Sulfate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Copper Sulfate, Riboflavin Supplement (Vitamin B2), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Folic Acid, Vitamin B12 Supplement.

Sounds like meat, a starch, vitamins.

Then there's Merrick's Cowboy Cookout which l've avoided because it sounds like an omnivorous feast:

Beef, Beef Broth, Beef Liver, Fresh Sweet Potato, Fresh Carrots, Fresh Snow Peas, Fresh Whole Granny Smith Apples, Potato Starch-modified, Dried Egg, Dried Blueberry, Dried Cranberry, Olive Oil, Flax Seed Oil (For Omega -3), Cassia Gum, Carrageenan, Potassium Chloride, Tricalcium Phosphate, Choline Chloride, Natural Carmel color, Salt, Taurine, Mixed Tocopherols, Vitamin E Supplement, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Copper Amino Acid Complex, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Acetate, Niacin, Lecithin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Folic Acid, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Cobalt Glucoheptanate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Sodium Selenite.

So here's my question: How much weight, or priority do l put on low carbs per dry matter when comparing foods?

l was shocked to see some of the results, following the above example:

           Dry matter %          Protein      Fat      Carbs     Phosphorus   Calories per 5.5oz

Weruva PawLickinChicken      57          8          31            0.67                108

Cowboy Cookout Cat              62         21          6             0.84                162

l got this data from here: http://www.catinfo.org/docs/Food Chart Public 9-22-12.pdf   (thanks Facebook 
 ).

And, is there a hard list of priorities to follow, given that no food is perfect?
 
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sugarcatmom

sugarcatmom

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Ya, most Weruva flavours have a shockingly high carb content, given that the manufactures have made claims in the past that they're only around 2%. They must be putting a lot of potato starch in their formula. I do still feed it to my cats in rotation with a ton of other foods, but I think it's too high carb for being the only food source. Folks on the feline diabetes message board have long been suspicious of the carb content in Weruva because they found it had a pretty profound affect on many of their cats' blood sugar levels. Whereas the Cowboy Cookout appears to have a minimal amount of plant matter despite the long ingredient list. No doubt Merrick lists those items to appeal to the human buying the product when in actuality, there's only a few molecules of each. So the lesson here would be that it's important to consider a food not only with the ingredients in mind, but the nutritional composition as well (which can also change from batch to batch). Bit of a minefield, no? 
 
kittylover23

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Andrya said:
l'm switching over to a more raw-heavy diet for my kitties.

But l want to keep up their rotation of canned foods so they don't miss out on anything.

Anyway, l always thought that the Carbs in canned foods was the "bad" stuff - the fruits, veggies, grains, flours etc.

So l try to buy canned foods that have very few of those ingredients, and avoid the ones that sound more like human nutrition.

Eg,

Weruva PLC (l buy 4 different Weruvas):

 Chicken (Boneless, Skinless, White Breast), Water Sufficient For Processing, Potato Starch, Sunflower Seed Oil, Dicalcium Phosphate, Xanthan Gum, Choline Chloride, Taurine, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Nicotinic Acid (Vitamin B3), Ferrous Sulfate, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Potassium Iodide, Manganese Sulfate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Copper Sulfate, Riboflavin Supplement (Vitamin B2), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Folic Acid, Vitamin B12 Supplement.

Sounds like meat, a starch, vitamins.

Then there's Merrick's Cowboy Cookout which l've avoided because it sounds like an omnivorous feast:

Beef, Beef Broth, Beef Liver, Fresh Sweet Potato, Fresh Carrots, Fresh Snow Peas, Fresh Whole Granny Smith Apples, Potato Starch-modified, Dried Egg, Dried Blueberry, Dried Cranberry, Olive Oil, Flax Seed Oil (For Omega -3), Cassia Gum, Carrageenan, Potassium Chloride, Tricalcium Phosphate, Choline Chloride, Natural Carmel color, Salt, Taurine, Mixed Tocopherols, Vitamin E Supplement, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Copper Amino Acid Complex, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Acetate, Niacin, Lecithin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Folic Acid, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Cobalt Glucoheptanate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Sodium Selenite.

So here's my question: How much weight, or priority do l put on low carbs per dry matter when comparing foods?

l was shocked to see some of the results, following the above example:

           Dry matter %          Protein      Fat      Carbs     Phosphorus   Calories per 5.5oz

Weruva PawLickinChicken      57          8          31            0.67                108

Cowboy Cookout Cat              62         21          6             0.84                162

l got this data from here: http://www.catinfo.org/docs/Food Chart Public 9-22-12.pdf   (thanks Facebook 
 ).

And, is there a hard list of priorities to follow, given that no food is perfect?
Click to expand...
You are most definitely right, no cat food is perfect! I'm not sure why Weruva has more carbs, actually...all I could think of is that maybe the potato starch?

Good luck!
 
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andrya

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Definitely a minefield! lt seems each time l go out to get the months supply of cat food, l come back and end up smacking my forehead that l bought the wrong things, yet again. l guess that's why a huge rotation and raw feeding is really necessary.

Thanks for the Diabetes message board info too, l wasn't aware of any such suspicions.

 
 
kittylover23

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Weruva is usually a good food (one of the best on the market) BUT I agree that it should only be fed in rotation with something a bit lower carb. Too many carbs would definitely do no good!
 
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andrya

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 Agreed, but l think l'm going to lean a little less heavily on them in our current rotation, and add more of the two Tiki Cat chicken flavours. The boys aren't thrilled about the stuff, but they'll have to make do.

Puka Puka Luau  82       12        0           1.19     182cal / 6oz can

Koolina Luau       88         6        0           1.52      136cal / 6oz can
 
kittylover23

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Yep, gooooo Tiki Cat!
Those two chicken flavors look pretty good to me. Question: I know this is a little off topic but where do you buy Tiki Cat in Ontario? I'm in Toronto and I can't seem to find it anywhere! I've ordered it online before but it's too expensive to do that for my ferals now that Cookie and Cuddles are eating raw.
 
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andrya

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l don't remember if it was Global or Pet Valu. l'm leaning towards Global. Not all our franchises carry the same stuff either. l tend to shop in the ritzier neighbourhoods where they're more likely to carry the good stuff. 

Edit:

lt's expensive here too!! l think l paid 2.69 + tax, but it's a 6oz can.
 
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kittylover23

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Ahh, I see. I don't live near a Global, and I'm always at Pet Valu so I will ask around. I think, THINK, Petsmart may have it...I'm going there next weekend so will let you know!
 
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andrya

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We have 2 huge Petsmarts here and they don't carry it. There are small independents who would probably order it for you.
 
kittylover23

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OHH, yeah then it probably is not at my Petsmart! I will also check out PJ's and maybe go look for a Global in the area. The ferals love Tiki Cat as a treat! Especially Tiny
it seems to be her favorite!
 
smitten4kittens

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I am in shock that weruva has so many carbs! Thanks for the info. I'm glad to see that cowboy cookout and tiki cat are so low as I feed these too.
 
ldg

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Andrya said:
           Dry matter %          Protein      Fat      Carbs     Phosphorus   Calories per 5.5oz
Weruva PawLickinChicken      57          8          31            0.67                108
Cowboy Cookout Cat              62         21          6             0.84                162

l got this data from here: http://www.catinfo.org/docs/Food Chart Public 9-22-12.pdf  (thanks Facebook :)  ).

And, is there a hard list of priorities to follow, given that no food is perfect?
Click to expand...

Dr. Pierson notes that " 3) Except where noted for Purina products (Friskies, Fancy Feast, FF Elegant Medleys, ProPlan, and Purina One), the data contained in this chart are from typical nutrient analyses - not ‘guaranteed analyses’ which are only minimum and maximum values making them inaccurate by definition. However, even the values below are not etched in stone so do not take them too literally since there can be substantial variation from batch-to-batch. For example, a higher fat content of the meat ingredients will decrease the protein and carbohydrate fractions, as well as decrease the phosphorus content and increase the caloric density."

When looking at Weruva's Paw Lickin' Chicken from the guaranteed analysis - which is what is provided by MOST companies on their websites (most do not provide a nutrient analysis - P&G does (EVO, Innova and others), it looks VERY different. Now - that's not surprising, given minimums and maximums are used. But I'm surprised at the HUGE difference.....

On a DMB basis, from the guaranteed analysis, Weruva's Paw Lickin' Chicken looks like this:

Protein 66.7%
Fat 9.3%
Fiber 3.3%
Ash 8.0%
Carbs 12.7%

And Weruva DOES provide the average analysis - which is what Dr. Pierson bases her information on.

I had no idea the foods could vary so much from the profile of the mins and maxes.

Really scary, actually.

Makes me doubly thankful I make my own. I always thought Weruva was a low-carb food. :eek:
 
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