Which One To Trust?

[zoocat]

I have a 12 yr old cat that is borderline diabetic (no need for insulin yet) and I’m trying to prevent it with high protein and low carb food. I feed him numerous brands (Tiki, Nutro Natural Choice, Fancy Feast Classic, Sheba, Against the Grain Chicken & Cheese and a couple of Weruva Cats in the Kitchen). I saw a fairly new Weruva—BFF Play pate with chicken based and no fish. I was trying to make sure the carb level was okay ( I try for under 7% on the calorie basis as Dr Pierson recommends). These aren’t in her data base. I also use the CatfoodDB site. That site shows the chicken checkmate with 36.3% P, 37.8% F and 25.9% C which is horrible! But the Weruva website is great and actually gives the detailed nutritional information three ways—on calorie basis, as fed, and dry basis. They show the calorie basis as 31% P, 64% F and 5% C which is totally good except for higher fat than I like. They show dry breakdown as 47.7/40/7.7 whereas CatfoodDB shows 44/19/31. So I wonder if I should trust the Weruva website information rather than the CatfoodDB. I want to trust the Weruva data, but want to be cautious. Any help would be appreciated .

 

[KarenKat]

I’d trust Weruva. Some people here have noticed that their carb levels are often inaccurate. They estimate the carbs.

You can also try contacted Weruva and ask them. Many companies will provide more detail or confirm published information.

 

[lisahe]

I'd trust Weruva, too -- those figures on CatFoodDB look a bit off to me. I feed these BFF foods to our cats and certainly hope the Weruva numbers are right, particularly because the cats love the food!

If it were me and I had a borderline diabetic cat, I'd contact both CatFoodDB and Weruva to see if I could figure out what went on with those numbers. But that's just me! Carbs from gums can add up -- another Cat Site member contacted Nutro and found some of their Natural Choice foods, including our cats' beloved minced chicken, are actually pretty high in carbs (I think it was a little over 20%, dry matter) and Nutro said it was because of the gums. I was, needless to say, very surprised!

 

[mizzely]

I would trust Weruva. I've had a couple of times that Catfooddb wasn't 100% accurate

 

[Kieka]

I'd trust Weruva. CatFoodDB is a great tool but they can't keep up with every formula change. Especially since sometimes the formula changes aren't publicized and those will impact the nutrition percentages.

 

[zoocat]

Thank you for the feedback.
Since Dr Pierson’s charts agree with Weruva’s site almost 100% on every Weruva or BFF product listed on her chart, I’m trusting the same would be true for the newer Play line of Pate’s. Also, almost all of Weruva’s products contain the same three gums that are in the Play foods and there’s nothing else that should be elevating the carb percentage. I’ve looked at the feline diabetes forum and see that Weruva is a favorite for diabetic cats, so I feel better about feeding it. I won’t use it often, just want him to have a little more variety.

 

[lisahe]

I think you're probably okay using the Weruva data, zoocat !

FWIW, I took a look at another food that we use that's on CatFoodDB. That one looks way out of whack, too: Feline Natural lamb/chicken, which they claim is 37% carbs (an estimated figure, based, I suspect, on guaranteed analysis figures that don't match up with the numbers of the food's web page -- the protein is so far off that I just don't see how this could be an update issue).

Personally, I don't use CatFoodDB at all, even as any sort of reference, because (beyond the dubious data) I find their conclusions strange, too. On that same Feline Natural food, they list the lamb ingredients as "potential allergens" but not chicken, which is also a potential allergen. All proteins -- and lots of other cat food ingredients -- are potential allergens or problems! So why pick on the lamb, which is a novel protein for many cats!?

I guess what I'm saying is that I don't see the logic to how they're reaching these conclusions. And I'm very, very suspicious of their data, which is particularly sad for a site that describes itself as "the perfect research tool."

Sorry! Rant over!

 

[zoocat]

I had noticed the same thing with the Feline Natural Lamb/chicken....and decided not to feed him that one as a result. But now I think I’ll reevaluate that since it’s a good food with good ingredients.
I agree that CatFoodDB is frequently inconsistent and lacking in logic in their rating and comments.
Good rant

 

[jen]

I know it takes a lot of effort but I wish Dr Pierson would update the list. I would love to see some of the newer ones on there. It is so hard to get some of that information. So hopefully someday... I am sure she is a busy lady.

 

[lisahe]

I had noticed the same thing with the Feline Natural Lamb/chicken....and decided not to feed him that one as a result. But now I think I’ll reevaluate that since it’s a good food with good ingredients.
I agree that CatFoodDB is frequently inconsistent and lacking in logic in their rating and comments.
Good rant

Thank you, zoocat ! Our cats love the Feline Natural, both canned and freeze-dried raw, which is a nearly identical recipe. I noticed on their site, when I was checking data for the rant (), that they also have some new single-protein foods.

There is so much more I could say about CFDB but I am calm and I am moving on to happier thoughts!

And yes, jen , to what you say about Dr. Pierson's list! Maybe she'd take some of us on as interns!?

 

[m3rma1d]

Cat food DB hasn't updated their Weruva or BFF listings in months. I'd contact Weruva directly, they're cool. I contacted them via their Facebook page on a Saturday afternoon once and they replied right away.

 

[lisahe]

Cat food DB hasn't updated their Weruva or BFF listings in months. I'd contact Weruva directly, they're cool. I contacted them via their Facebook page on a Saturday afternoon once and they replied right away.

And there's the other thing: the companies are usually very responsive and friendly! And Facebook often is the best way to get a quick answer. When I wrote to Northwest Naturals to ask about their new proteins (soon to be revealed), they answered almost as soon as their office opened.

 

[4theloveofcats]

After Weruva was implicated in many cats dying in 2017, I quit that brand.
Low thiamine suspected in cat illnesses linked to BFF food
There are also new issues with fancy feast.
Amazon reviews filtered by recent show a lot of issues with both brands currently.
Tiki and Sheba pass muster so far.