Best Grain Free, Pea, potato and gluten free limited ingredient dry foods?

[SpicyKittenSupreme]

Currently feeding my cat Acana Grasslands. The food is pretty much the best of the best in terms of being free from garbage. There is one thing I’d like to get rid of however, and that’s the beans. Are there ANY dry foods that offer cranberry and possibly pumpkin, without all the added vegetable and legume fillers? Thanks in advance! Also… I’m new here, so sorry if this is a redundant question… have an image of Sir Charles—damn handsome meow meow.

I guess I still need to learn how to forum… LOL Here’s Sir Charles!

 

[Alldara]

I think you'll need to look for wet food or freeze dried raw. Dry kibbles need a binder (like potatoes or beans etc). Food does still need a certain fiber content as well.

Stella and Chewys and Instinct with the freeze dried peices come to mind but you'll have to see if you feel they are appropriate.

Just a word of caution to watch out for: some male cats do not tolerate dry foods with 80% and higher protein content over time. I don't know about female cats but I know at least two male cats who became ill from the excessive protein in Arcana over time. It's not all cats, as each cat is different and ours did not have this issue. We had to stop feeding it due to allergies. If they begin refusal to eat, do a bloodwork and have the vet advise if the protein content in the food is suitable for your cat.

 

[lisahe]

Dr. Elsey's Clean Protein chicken doesn't have any fillers, though it also doesn't have cranberry or pumpkin. It's easy to add pumpkin into a cat's wet food, though. Dr. E's is very good food and the tiny pieces make good treats. Sir Charles might well approve.

https://www.drelseys.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/chicken-recipe-nutrition-feeding-32322.pdf

 

[SpicyKittenSupreme]

Dr. Elsey's Clean Protein chicken doesn't have any fillers, though it also doesn't have cranberry or pumpkin. It's easy to add pumpkin into a cat's wet food, though. Dr. E's is very good food and the tiny pieces make good treats. Sir Charles might well approve.

http://[URL]https://www.drelseys.co...03/chicken-recipe-nutrition-feeding-32322.pdf

[/URL]

We appreciate your recommendation! I’ll go ahead and check it out and see if it would be a good fit for kitty. I was considering going to wet food, but it typically gives my cats diarrhea. Is this something that stops eventually?

 

[SpicyKittenSupreme]

I think you'll need to look for wet food or freeze dried raw. Dry kibbles need a binder (like potatoes or beans etc). Food does still need a certain fiber content as well.

Stella and Chewys and Instinct with the freeze dried peices come to mind but you'll have to see if you feel they are appropriate.

Just a word of caution to watch out for: some male cats do not tolerate dry foods with 80% and higher protein content over time. I don't know about female cats but I know at least two male cats who became ill from the excessive protein in Arcana over time. It's not all cats, as each cat is different and ours did not have this issue. We had to stop feeding it due to allergies. If they begin refusal to eat, do a bloodwork and have the vet advise if the protein content in the food is suitable for your cat.

What is getting me to change the food for him is that I think he gets bloated. He is a bit chunky, but he’s fairly slim. and this is TMI, but usually after a certain poop, it’s VERY terrible smelling and his abdominal swelling goes down some. I think or rather, my intuition tells me it’s the beans and I need to stop feeding him the food. If what you say is true, the only avenue I see is wet food.

Now… when doing wet food... I’ve seen lots of diarrhea… is that something that stops when they get used to the food’s composition?

 

[daftcat75]

Just like dry food has a bunch of garbage ingredients, wet food can too. You will get some diarrhea as his system is probably not used to it. The best way to avoid or minimize this is to stage in the wet food slowly. One or two spoonful once a day for the first few days. Add more if his stools get better--another spoon or two for another couple of days. Or look for a different wet food if it doesn't. Do this on a limited "guest star" basis to start. If it doesn't work out and you have to remove that wet food meal, he's still got his usual dry food to fall back on. As he is still a kitten, he should probably have access to dry food until he stops growing. Otherwise, you'll be in for a lot of wet food feedings. But as a kitten, you can get him used to eating wet food. If you find some he likes, you can shift the balance to more wet as long as his stools are the better for it--and he keeps growing. After he stops growing, you can wean him off dry food. An all wet diet will be better for him in the long run.

For specific wet foods, you literally have the rest of his life to find the perfect one. For now, find something he enjoys that won't blow up the box. Start with Fancy Feast Classic pates or Sheba Perfect Portions. These are pretty close to filler-free foods that also tend to be very popular with cats. They aren't high quality. But they aren't full of a lot of problematic junk either. If Sir Charles enjoys Tiki Cat After Dark, that's a higher quality wet food. When looking for a wet food, look for meat, moisture, organs, and supplements; preferably in that order. Organs may be listed as "meat by-products or poultry by-products." Cats eat the whole animal. There are no by-products as far as cats are concerned. It's only called that because they are the by-products of the meat industry. There are regulations about what can be sold. This is organ meat. It's not lips and buttholes (as my brother used to describe the contents of hot dogs.) It's more important to look for quality animal protein sources and as few plant-based fillers as you can find: no grains or legumes, limited fruits and vegetables. Pumpkin and cranberry may be the only ones that do something for cats while the rest are just misguided additions by folks who don't understand feline physiology and nutrition. Sweet potatoes, for one, are wasted on cats as they can't convert beta carotene to vitamin A.

As gums and binders go, I recommend avoiding carrageenan and agar agar. The others aren't as problematic. Though xanthan gum that makes smooth foods smooth can also make poops smooth (loose) for cats (and people) who are sensitive to it. If you give him a mousse-like food and you get a mousse-like poop the next day, you might suspect the xanthan gum. The other gums you'll just have to trial and error.

One last point: avoid fish flavors. Cats love them but they aren't ideal and can be pro-inflammatory. Save the fish flavors for getting a sick cat to eat again. Exceptional times require exceptional measures. But if you let him have fish all the time, you lose that nuclear option.

 

[SpicyKittenSupreme]

Just like dry food has a bunch of garbage ingredients, wet food can too. You will get some diarrhea as his system is probably not used to it. The best way to avoid or minimize this is to stage in the wet food slowly. One or two spoonful once a day for the first few days. Add more if his stools get better--another spoon or two for another couple of days. Or look for a different wet food if it doesn't. Do this on a limited "guest star" basis to start. If it doesn't work out and you have to remove that wet food meal, he's still got his usual dry food to fall back on. As he is still a kitten, he should probably have access to dry food until he stops growing. Otherwise, you'll be in for a lot of wet food feedings. But as a kitten, you can get him used to eating wet food. If you find some he likes, you can shift the balance to more wet as long as his stools are the better for it--and he keeps growing. After he stops growing, you can wean him off dry food. An all wet diet will be better for him in the long run.

For specific wet foods, you literally have the rest of his life to find the perfect one. For now, find something he enjoys that won't blow up the box. Start with Fancy Feast Classic pates or Sheba Perfect Portions. These are pretty close to filler-free foods that also tend to be very popular with cats. They aren't high quality. But they aren't full of a lot of problematic junk either. If Sir Charles enjoys Tiki Cat After Dark, that's a higher quality wet food. When looking for a wet food, look for meat, moisture, organs, and supplements; preferably in that order. Organs may be listed as "meat by-products or poultry by-products." Cats eat the whole animal. There are no by-products as far as cats are concerned. It's only called that because they are the by-products of the meat industry. There are regulations about what can be sold. This is organ meat. It's not lips and buttholes (as my brother used to describe the contents of hot dogs.) It's more important to look for quality animal protein sources and as few plant-based fillers as you can find: no grains or legumes, limited fruits and vegetables. Pumpkin and cranberry may be the only ones that do something for cats while the rest are just misguided additions by folks who don't understand feline physiology and nutrition. Sweet potatoes, for one, are wasted on cats as they can't convert beta carotene to vitamin A.

As gums and binders go, I recommend avoiding carrageenan and agar agar. The others aren't as problematic. Though xanthan gum that makes smooth foods smooth can also make poops smooth (loose) for cats (and people) who are sensitive to it. If you give him a mousse-like food and you get a mousse-like poop the next day, you might suspect the xanthan gum. The other gums you'll just have to trial and error.

One last point: avoid fish flavors. Cats love them but they aren't ideal and can be pro-inflammatory. Save the fish flavors for getting a sick cat to eat again. Exceptional times require exceptional measures. But if you let him have fish all the time, you lose that nuclear option.

Oh trust me, I know to avoid gums. If it doesn’t sound like something I’d eat, I refuse to feed it to my animals. They’re very important to me and deserve the very best. I’m surprised even that Fancy feast and Purina can even stay in business with how disgusting their ingredients are—and apologies I know you recommend Fancy Feast, but there is no way. He loves the limited ingredients of Acana wet, and it might just be I switch to that. I’ll need to recheck the pet store and pick a wet food. I was lucky to have a friend who was pretty smart with pet foods, and worked at an amazing local pet store. She taught me what was good for cats and dogs, and I’ve always been a snob with food ever since I was 13.

I’m Paleo and Keto if that helps to understand where my mindset is on food, and why I carry these opinions. I like clean, fresh and healthy Ingredients for my and my cat’s bodies.

 

[Alldara]

What is getting me to change the food for him is that I think he gets bloated. He is a bit chunky, but he’s fairly slim. and this is TMI, but usually after a certain poop, it’s VERY terrible smelling and his abdominal swelling goes down some. I think or rather, my intuition tells me it’s the beans and I need to stop feeding him the food. If what you say is true, the only avenue I see is wet food.

Now… when doing wet food... I’ve seen lots of diarrhea… is that something that stops when they get used to the food’s composition?

Some cats have smellier poops than others.

I think abdominal swelling is common with constipation, he can still be constipated when going every day. Foods with less fibre can cause this (like Arcana). Yes wet food and any diet change can cause liquid poops for a bit. It's recommended to go slowly.

I find people are fussy about various things in their cat foods depending on what they perceive to be healthy.

The basic facts are this: 1. cats are the ONLY domestic animal that we have more than doubled the lifespan of. We are doing something right commercial pet food wise.

2. However, with that increase of lifespan, we've now noticed that certain things are harder on certain organs.

So that being said, whatever diet is not causing allergies and is allowing your pet to urinate and poo at healthy frequencies and the poo should be long peices without segments, and soft is the correct diet for your cat.

In going to make a few suggestions that's going to be "controversial".

1. Purina Prime Plus: wet cat food with an ACTUAL longitudinal study proven to extend life
2. Instinct: the wet is good and you can get LIDs
3. Merrick: same as 2.
4. Stella and Chewys: rehydratable
5. My cats have settled on Purina Perfect Portions after a tummy upset. It's fairly limited in ingredients and most are single protein
6. Most kitten diets are limited in ingredients but you'll have to watch the calories

Lastly, just watch the calories with whatever dry or wet you end up going for. Some wet is better than no wet if budget does not allow for fully wet diet. It helps with hydration.

I would recommend giving a bit of baked plain sweet potato or pumpkin every other day (about 1/4 tsp make sure no added sugar). It can help out of sorts digestive systems. It's frequently used when switching kittens to new food in rescues here.

 

[maggie101]

Some cats have smellier poops than others.

I think abdominal swelling is common with constipation, he can still be constipated when going every day. Foods with less fibre can cause this (like Arcana). Yes wet food and any diet change can cause liquid poops for a bit. It's recommended to go slowly.

I find people are fussy about various things in their cat foods depending on what they perceive to be healthy.

The basic facts are this: 1. cats are the ONLY domestic animal that we have more than doubled the lifespan of. We are doing something right commercial pet food wise.

2. However, with that increase of lifespan, we've now noticed that certain things are harder on certain organs.

So that being said, whatever diet is not causing allergies and is allowing your pet to urinate and poo at healthy frequencies and the poo should be long peices without segments, and soft is the correct diet for your cat.

In going to make a few suggestions that's going to be "controversial".

1. Purina Prime Plus: wet cat food with an ACTUAL longitudinal study proven to extend life
2. Instinct: the wet is good and you can get LIDs
3. Merrick: same as 2.
4. Stella and Chewys: rehydratable
5. My cats have settled on Purina Perfect Portions after a tummy upset. It's fairly limited in ingredients and most are single protein
6. Most kitten diets are limited in ingredients but you'll have to watch the calories

Lastly, just watch the calories with whatever dry or wet you end up going for. Some wet is better than no wet if budget does not allow for fully wet diet. It helps with hydration.

I would recommend giving a bit of baked plain sweet potato or pumpkin every other day (about 1/4 tsp make sure no added sugar). It can help out of sorts digestive systems. It's frequently used when switching kittens to new food in rescues here.

Do you mean sheba or nutro pp? I have never heard of purina pp

 

[Alldara]

Do you mean sheba or nutro pp? I have never heard of purina pp

No. Sorry I meant Iams Perfect Portions, they're made by Purina.

My elderly cat had a bad reaction to Nutro when we tried it. I haven't heard of Sheba before.

 

[Astragal14]

Sir Charles is just adorable!

Instinct Ultimate Protein is the only dry food I'm aware of without any of the ingredients you mentioned. I'm always looking for a similar nutritional profile, so I know what a tall order this is! They offer duck and chicken options. They don't include cranberry or pumpkin, it has pumpkin seeds near the bottom of the ingredients but that probably doesn't have the digestive effect you may want.

https://www.chewy.com/instinct-ultimate-protein-grain-free/dp/146298
https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petco...e-protein-grain-free-cage-free-chicken-recipe

One option you may want to consider is Rawz dry food. They're a fantastic company that makes some of the best and healthiest canned food available. Their dry food does have peas and pea starch, but the first 7 ingredients are all protein sources.
Dehydrated Chicken, Turkey & Chicken Cat Food Recipe | RAWZ

Good luck! Let us know if you find anything that works!