To feed or not to feed-Tiki Cat-Cholcalciferol, xantham gum?

i am having a very didficultt time finding a new food. I have one cat with possible IBD. On top of that, both cats have suddenly become very finicky. Tiki cat gourmet contains cholcalciferol. This is supposed to be a high end food. Is this ingredient something to stay away from altogether? If so, I'm out of food options. I want to stay away from gums and carrageenan and my female doesn't tolerate fish. The orher Tiki varieties contain tuna oil.
There is a new Tiki Cat Mousse. It contains xantham gum, though.

It's almost impossible to find a cat food that doesn't have some kind of thickener,isn't it?  Thus the "gums" or carrageenan.  And I know those aren't good for IBD   As far as the cholcalciferol, I can't find anything as to whether or not that's good or bad for cats.  Tiki  IS supposed to be a good brand, as far as canned food goes, so I'm guessing it's not BAD for cats, for is it bad for IBD cats?  That could be another story.  

As far as the tuna oil, I've heard that the fish oils are different than actual fish in cat food.  

If you're out of options, have you considered making your own food?  Or have you tried something like the commercial raw foods?  They come in both frozen or freeze dried and might be a viable option.  Here's a resource thread on thet topic:  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/263955/helpful-resources-raw-home-cooked-cat-food-forum

Cholecalciferol is vitamin D3, a much better alternative than seeing vit D2 listed, the latter not as easy to absorb.

Vit D is a required nutrient, I wld not worry about it. I feed Tiki Cat GC to my two cats as part of their diet. I like that it's gum free and zero carbs.

Just wondering why you think it might be bad for IBD cats? Gums and starchy, carby foods would be among ingredients to avoid.

Fish oils used in foods usually are the fatty acids of the fish, not the protein, if you're concerned about fish allergies. Regardless, you may want to contact TC to inquire if the tuna oil in their Succulent Chicken and chicken & eggs consists of fatty acids or the protein.

I'm not concerned with cholcalciferol being a problem for IBD. I am concerned because I have seen some posts on the forum, suggesting that it is an undesirable ingredient. I was wondering why that was the case.

I, too, had never heard of any concerns about cholecalciferol. I Googled it and found information on, among other sites, The Conscious Cat, a cat blog that I thoroughly trust: there's a post with comments that address the ingredient. The link is here. There's also a page about Vitamin D on 2ndchance.com, another site I like. It's here.

Our cats have sensitive stomachs so I limit a lot of ingredients in their diet -- gums are among the ingredients that I've scaled back on so I'm not going to try the new Tiki Velvet foods -- but cholecalciferol is in the "least of my worries" category. Tiki's Gourmet Carnivore and Hawaii-theme foods are big favorites in the canned part of our cats' diet.

Two other canned brands without carrageenan and gums are Feline Natural and Rawz. Both are new and our cats, who tend to prefer shreds, loved them immediately even though they're pates.

LisaHE said:

 
Two other canned brands without carrageenan and gums are Feline Naturals and Rawz. Both are new and our cats, who tend to prefer shreds, loved them immediately even though they're pates.

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@lisaHE, I keep seeing you talk about Feline Naturals as a CANNED food.  Is this the same as Feline Natural that makes the dehydrated raw?  I'm always on the lookout for something new, and my boys currently "snack" (for treats only) on the  Feline Natural dehydrated raw, so wonder how they might go for it in canned, if it's even the same.  When I google Feline NaturalS (with the S at the end) I don't actually get any hits. 

Also, that Rawz looks great!  Too bad my guys aren't really fond of liver taste.  Every time i buy anything that has liver in the name, they tend to balk at it

mrsgreenjeens said:

 
@lisaHE, I keep seeing you talk about Feline Naturals as a CANNED food.  Is this the same as Feline Natural that makes the dehydrated raw?  I'm always on the lookout for something new, and my boys currently "snack" (for treats only) on the  Feline Natural dehydrated raw, so wonder how they might go for it in canned, if it's even the same.  When I google Feline NaturalS (with the S at the end) I don't actually get any hits. 

Also, that Rawz looks great!  Too bad my guys aren't really fond of liver taste.  Every time i buy anything that has liver in the name, they tend to balk at it

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Yes, it's the same company and I'm a total numskull for always adding the "s" at the end of the "Natural"! Sorry about that. Our cats love the Feline Natural freeze-dried food so I figured the canned would work for them, too... and it does. I only feed them the chicken/lamb, not the chicken/venison.

And yes, they really took to the Rawz right away. I think they tend to like liver (their favorite Tiki Gourmet Carnivore is probably the beef liver and chicken), though. Ireland did circle it a few times, as she does with any new food, but then she wouldn't budge from her dish even after Edwina finished her meal and came over to "observe."

LisaHE said:

 
Yes, it's the same company and I'm a total numskull for always adding the "s" at the end of the "Natural"! Sorry about that. Our cats love the Feline Natural freeze-dried food so I figured the canned would work for them, too... and it does. I only feed them the chicken/lamb, not the chicken/venison.

And yes, they really took to the Rawz right away. I think they tend to like liver (their favorite Tiki Gourmet Carnivore is probably the beef liver and chicken), though. Ireland did circle it a few times, as she does with any new food, but then she wouldn't budge from her dish even after Edwina finished her meal and came over to "observe."

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I as almost hoping it was a DIFFERENT company .  (just so my guys could have something totally new....I think they might actually be getting tired of the freeze dried Feline Natural Chicken and Lamb, but they never liked the Chicken and Venison, and at the prices I saw on Chewy.com, I'm not willing to waste $50 to see if they like it in the canned version.  I'm going to see if I can find a local store that possibly sells it.  I DID manage to just now find one that sells the Rawz 

BTW, I just LOVE your girls' names

mrsgreenjeens said:

 
I as almost hoping it was a DIFFERENT company

.  (just so my guys could have something totally new....I think they might actually be getting tired of the freeze dried Feline Natural Chicken and Lamb, but they never liked the Chicken and Venison, and at the prices I saw on Chewy.com, I'm not willing to waste $50 to see if they like it in the canned version.  I'm going to see if I can find a local store that possibly sells it.  I DID manage to just now find one that sells the Rawz 

BTW, I just LOVE your girls' names

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I'm glad you were able to find a store that sells Rawz... and hope your cats like it! One of our independent stores ordered the Feline Natural for me: I call that place my cat food concierge because they'll order up everything I need for two or three months and even have it ready for me to pick up. They're great about ordering anything I want, be it frozen raw, freeze-dried raw, or canned. (So far the cats have liked the new canned foods they've ordered for me: they've said it would be okay if they didn't like something and I didn't want more, but I'd still feel a bit guilty if I didn't buy more!)

As for the cats' names, I wish I could take credit for them! The names were assigned at the shelter where we adopted them and the cats had only been there a a few days so hadn't gotten used to them. But the names fit them so well that there was no way we would change them!

Anyway, good luck with the new foods!

I can't seem to find Feline Ntaural canned food anywhere. 

wannahelp said:

 
I can't seem to find Feline Ntaural canned food anywhere. 

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Chewy.com sells it (chicken/lamb is here) but I order it through a local independent store: at the price, I don't want to have more than I need, in case the cats decide they don't like it!