Ghibli tried Merrick LID today and loved it. I also bought a can of Merrick Perfect Bistro beef (it said it was grain free and ingredients looked good to my knowledge). Just curious but it Perfect Bistro not good? I noticed that carageenan was the only difference. Is there serious evidence that carageenan is harmful to cats?
I think you can warm it up a little with warm water, like, put the food in a baggie and let it sit in warm water for a bit.
Everybody has different opinions about this. I think the consensus is, whatever you feel comfortable with. I personally don't worry about it too much since everything is harmful somehow anyways (not sure if this is a great life philosophy). Like, bacon causes cancer and so does the red food dye in hot cheetos.
I think Purrfect Bistro is decent too, my cats just don't really like it. As far as carageenan it just really depends on how you feel about it. i don't actively avoid it, I just happen to feed a lot of high quality foods that don't contain it. There is evidence it's not good for cats, but i think if you feed some foods with it in rotation it's okay.
You sort of have to train them to eat cold food, I think. Your best weapon is to put treats on top to entice her to eat.
I agree!
I don't feed carrageenan, both because of research that indicates it could be harmful and because our cats tend to have some minor digestive sensitivities/issues anyway (apparently Siamese mixes are especially prone to them) so I don't want to make anything worse. Some cats are sensitive to carrageenan: I've noticed that some TCS members say it seems to have caused or irritated IBD in their cats. That said, I do give the cats a very occasional (less than once a month) can of Wellness Core kitten food as a treat. I wouldn't feed it regularly because, personally, I just don't feel comfortable with carrageenan, either for cats or humans. I've cut the carrageenan out of our human diet, too: it's nearly ubiquitous in foods like ice cream and sour cream but there are brands that don't have it. Like Häagen-Dazs!
I think the research points out fairly consistently that it can be harmful for cats. That being said, it's in so many cat foods, and there aren't really any perfect canned cat foods so there will probably be something potentially harmful in anything you feed. One of the huge upsides of feeding a rotation is hopefully we minimize any bad effects of one ingredient/brand.
We're trying to do the same, no more Ben & Jerry's
I've cut the carrageenan out of our human diet, too: it's nearly ubiquitous in foods like ice cream and sour cream but there are brands that don't have it. Like Häagen-Dazs!
The Haagen-Dazs chocolate peanut butter is my favorite, it's so delicious! The Whole Foods store brand ice cream isn't bad. And gelato is also generally carrageenan-free. (And often a little lower in calories than ice cream!)
We're trying to do the same, no more Ben & Jerry's
Will have to find some Haagen-Dazs
Oh my fav HD coffee ice creamWe're trying to do the same, no more Ben & Jerry's
Will have to find some Haagen-Dazs
There are two schools of thought on the Montmorillonite Clay. From what I read the only issue is that some sources of the clay are from areas that have toxins, If the clay is sourced from a toxin-free area, the clay actually helps pull toxins out of the cat's system. I read that the clay used in natures Variety is tested to ensure it is toxin free.
LisaHE, are siamese mixes really especially prone to them? I have always though Ghibli was a Siamese mix but I have no idea. Would you take a look at my pics of him and let me know if you think he is in that category? If so I should probably be more careful. After reading all of these comments today I looked at my rotation food list and some of my favorite brands have carrageenan
I don't feed carrageenan, both because of research that indicates it could be harmful and because our cats tend to have some minor digestive sensitivities/issues anyway (apparently Siamese mixes are especially prone to them) so I don't want to make anything worse. Some cats are sensitive to carrageenan: I've noticed that some TCS members say it seems to have caused or irritated IBD in their cats. That said, I do give the cats a very occasional (less than once a month) can of Wellness Core kitten food as a treat. I wouldn't feed it regularly because, personally, I just don't feel comfortable with carrageenan, either for cats or humans. I've cut the carrageenan out of our human diet, too: it's nearly ubiquitous in foods like ice cream and sour cream but there are brands that don't have it. Like Häagen-Dazs!
Canidae?! Ugh, I even love the smell of Canidae pure. Natural balance is something I have always liked as well because it has such a variety, decent ingredients, and Ghibli loves it.... however carrageenan is the LAST ingredient in some of their pates meaning there is a very small amount of it... I think I will keep feeding Natural Balance. I've been looking on Chewy for some canned foods that don't have carrageenan.... what ones are your favorite? I'm willing to pay decent money for them but nothing over $2.00 for a 5 oz can.
