Azmira food and CRF diet

Here is a photo of Beau.

I just learned today, after spending hours on the internet looking up information and researching CRF, that garlic is not good for cats. And then I went and read the Azmira label and it has garlic in it! Now, Beau has been on this food (canned only) for about two months, and his fur quality has improved markedly, his weight is good, he likes the food, and he seems in general to be doing great on it. I figured that the food was great for him until I read about the garlic. Other than the garlic it seems like a great food.....really good ingredients. I am reading that there is a lot of controversy about low protein diets or not for CRF cats, and am not sure what to do. If all the low-protein diet foods have meat by-products in them (as so far all I have seen do) I cannot see giving this to Beau. I know what "meat by-products" means! It is all the diseased, parts of the animal, even cancerous growths, things unfit for human consumption. This cannot be a good thing to give any animal let alone one with compromised health. Yet, if garlic is bad, I must find another natural food that doesn't have that in it.

Has anyone else fed Azmira, and what comments do any of you have on this issue?

Thanks
D'Elle and the Magnificent Beau

Beau is so beautiful, D'Elle! Others may have more feed back on Azmira food. It seems the lowest of their canned foods in Protein and Phosphorous is their Lamb and Barley which is Protein 42.57, Phos 1.13, Sodium .36, and Fat 39.20. Sierra eats and I recommend Innova Lite canned, which is Protein 38.46, Phos 0.54, Sodium 0.42, and Fat 15.38. Pat may have already given you this link, but you can find the nutritional facts of many canned foods here . Hope this helps a bit.

Hi D'Elle -
I haven't fed Azmira to my cats, though I have heard of it. I do feed PetGuard and Wellness. All my cats, including my oldest with kidney problems, are on this food.

Wellness does contain a trace amount of garlic - it's the 15th item listed out of about 17. I was also concerned and spoke to both my vets about garlic and Heinz Body Anemia. Neither one feels that this tiny amount is any cause for concern. They both say that onions are definitely to be avoided, but that a trace amount of garlic used for a hint of flavoring is nothing to worry about. My cats have all had recent bloodwork - the girl with kidney trouble has blood done frequently. She and the other cats have been on Wellness for over two years. All three have normal blood cell counts and show absolutely no sign of anemia.

I know some people avoid garlic like poison. I understand the concern - I'm particular about what I feed my little ones, especially my CRF kitty. But after 2 years of observing 3 cats of various ages with different degrees of health never showing any signs of problems, I no longer worry about it. Wellness has been manufacturing their food for years - if numerous cats were developing anemia, either the formula would have been changed or they'd be out of business.

I agree with you that by-products should be avoided at all costs. If Beau is doing well on Azmira, and his blood counts come back normal, IMO there's no reason to discontinue it.

There's a wealth of information on the internet, but unfortunately, not all of it's accurate. You'll be better off speaking with your vet about your concerns regarding garlic.

Thanks for posting Beau's pictures - he IS magnificent!!!

Originally Posted by dawnofsierra

Sierra eats and I recommend Innova Lite canned, which is Protein 38.46, Phos 0.54, Sodium 0.42, and Fat 15.38. Pat may have already given you this link, but you can find the nutritional facts of many canned foods here . Hope this helps a bit.

Click to expand...

I agree Beau is beautiful!

Is the Innova light o.k. for crf cats that need to gain or maintain their weight? My boy loves the dry kidney diet but I'm trying to get him to eat more canned.

This may be a question for your Vet, but I would definately recommend a wet food diet over a dry one, most especially for a kidney kitty. I think you have just the right idea.

Hi,

I would use all the links just supplied in the past 2 days on the crf support list...there is, imo, plenty of accurate information re garlic and cats

Please do check over the katkarma lists, they include premium - no byproducts foods - giving you all the stats you need to ask your vet if the food would be suitable given how they want you to manage Beau's diet.

If you missed those messages on garlic, just do a search on the archives of the support list using "garlic, dangerous" as the keywords.

Fwiw, my approach (also taking into consideration that Patrick's BUN and CR have remained very stable for the past 2 years) has been to concentrate more on the per centage of phosphorus in a food, then it's protein content, though I'd shoot for the lowest protein levels in those foods he'll eat.

Thank you all for responding. I think I will try to find Beau an all-natural high quality but lower protein food. Although the protein thing has me confused, because the literature on Azmira says it is 30% protein, however the can itself says "crude protein (min) 10%". I do not know how to interpret this. I know I should not go under 20% protein for a cat. I am concerned about the garlic, although it is the 11th ingredient listed, so cannot be a lot.
Anyway, thanks

PS Beau says thank you all for the compliments! (we agree that he is beautiful!)

Originally Posted by D'Elle and Beau

Thank you all for responding. I think I will try to find Beau an all-natural high quality but lower protein food. Although the protein thing has me confused, because the literature on Azmira says it is 30% protein, however the can itself says "crude protein (min) 10%". I do not know how to interpret this. I know I should not go under 20% protein for a cat. I am concerned about the garlic, although it is the 11th ingredient listed, so cannot be a lot.
Anyway, thanks

Click to expand...

Here is a link that will show you how to determine the "dry matter analysis" of the protein content in foods: formula
The cans label gives you the as-fed per centage of protein per serving of the food, you want to know the dry-matter analysis per centage of protein.
Re the garlic, I think the answer on the support list this am answers your question...it is not a question of how much garlic is present, but that it is present at all, that each cat responds differently, so you can not predict "how much" it will take to cause Heinz Body anemia.

From the Katkarma lists that have been mentioned a couple of times, foods to consider (these are premium, no by-products):

Innova Lite: 38.46% protein, .54% phosphorus
PetGuard Venison and Rice: 25% Protein, .57% Phos
PetGuard Rabbit and Rice: 25% Protein, .70% Phos
Nature's Recipe Rabbit and Rice:41.93% Protein, .78% Phos
Felidae Chicken and Rice:34.76% Protein, .94% phos
Felidae Turkey, Lamb and Ocean Fish: 43.40% Protein, .94% Phos

hth, wishing your Beau all the best,