Light Cat Food?

I have some questions about light cat food.

When I took Henry to the vet the other day, the vet told me that he was 10% overweight and should be switched to a light catfood. Henry is the SMALLEST of my cats, all the others are even chubbier, so if he's overweight, they are, too. However, he seemed very anti-'natural' food, said there was nothing wrong with foods where the main ingredients are byproducts, and pushed the brand of food they sell there at the vet's (which IMO is not a great one) pretty hard, so I'm not sure how much I trust him.

Today, I went to the pet food store and bought a bag of Innova Light - usually they eat California Natural, but that doesn't come in light - but the sales girl totally tried to talk me out of it! She said that light food is mostly just filler such as corn or rice, she doesn't recommend it, and that I should just stick with the California Natural and just feed them less. That's not an option I really want to take, though, as Meeko suffers from strong anxiety when he doesn't have food available at all times.

So now I'm worried - is there something wrong with feeding light food? Is it really just filler? I've heard before that meats should be the most part of the ingredients, since that's what's really essential for cats and grains don't do much for them - am I not going to get this with a light food?

Help!

Oh for heavens sakes...I hate hearing that a vet would say by-products are fine (it's NOT the same as all the little organs of a fresh caught mouse, we are talking rendering, discarded body parts unsuitable for human consumption..we are NOT talking healthy heart, liver, kidneys etc..)

The store clerk...are they unaware that California Natural Chicken and Rice is made by the same company (Natura) that makes Innova and Innova light?

Here is the difference between the two: fewer ingredients in the California Natural, a higher protein and fat content ( Protein: 36.5%, Fat 16.6%) and lower fiber = 3.2%

The Innova lite has excellent quality ingredients, but it's a much longer list:Turkey Chicken,Ground Barley,Ground Brown Rice,Chicken Meal,Potatoes,
Rice,Herring, Pea Fiber,Natural Flavors,Chicken Fat,Apples,Whole Raw Carrots
Whole Pasteurized Milk, Fish Oil,Sunflower Oil,Alfalfa Sprouts,Egg,Cranberries,
Viable Naturally Occurring Microorganisms,Taurine,Chicory Root Extract
Vitamins/Minerals The different ingredients contribute to it's higher fiber content of 6.2%, and this food has a lower protein and fat per centage (26% protein, 9.1% fat). This is how the weight loss is aided...higher fiber, lower fat...for an adult or senior kitty, or a kitty with kidney issues (depending on the phosphorus content of this) the Innova lite is a good deal due to this lower protein.

There are quality lite foods out there, and there are yucky ones that use such useless ingredients as peanut hulls, by-products, icky preservatives....Innova Lite is a *quality* lite food. I think you can feed it in good conscience!

Imo

That was exaxctly the analogy he used! That a cat, upon catching a mouse, eats the organs as well, so there's nothing wrong with cat foods that contain these parts.

So Innova Light *isn't* full of grain fillers, like the girl in the food store said? Is there some way to find out what proportion of the food is meats, and what proportion is grains and other things?

Thank you for your advice!

Innova lite may not be as digestable due to increased grains but it may help your "chubbie" kidsby helping them feel full with less.. IMHO... I tried it with my Kidney girl she just didnt dig the shape

Originally Posted by Juniper

That was exaxctly the analogy he used! That a cat, upon catching a mouse, eats the organs as well, so there's nothing wrong with cat foods that contain these parts.

So Innova Light *isn't* full of grain fillers, like the girl in the food store said? Is there some way to find out what proportion of the food is meats, and what proportion is grains and other things?

Thank you for your advice!

Click to expand...

With all cat food labels, the first listed ingredient is the one that is present in the highest per centage, other than that, I do not know how to tell the exact amount. So...looking at the ingredients list I posted for the Innova Lite you see that the first two ingredients are turkey and chicken, then two grains - barley and brown rice, then chicken meal, next potatoes and rice, then a kind of fish, herring and so on.

Sigh re your vet's comment..that's my whole point, it's not fresh, it's not wholesome, it's discarded, chemically rendered, sometimes from diseased portions of animals...bleagh! No comparison, imo, to a mouse!

Re what the gal had to say, yes, there are more grains but for what it's worth, look at what is in california natural: chicken, chicken meal, ground brown rice, chicken fat, sunflower oil, flaxseed, vitamins and minerals, taurine.

The third highest per centage ingredient is rice The grains are providing the increased fiber in the Innova Lite.

If you really want to take a different take, switch your kitty over to a premium canned food and really reduce the grains...more meat/protein, fewer carbs (the catkins diet).

I agree with everything Pat said. Also, try the canned Innova Lite formula. IMO, that has better results than the dry formula. Sort of like a low-carb diet for cats.

Sierra eats Innova Lite canned. I'm glad you have chosen to go with Innova Lite. Sierra has eaten Innova for years, and I fully support and recommend Natura products! I agree with Pat, that you may see better results by switching to the canned. Set schedule meal times and feed measured quantities in separate dishes for each of your kitties. Please keep us updated how this is working out! Congratulations for taking the initiative to keep your babies in the best possible health!