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Nic529 -- dry kibble is addictive and your your cats have probably been eating it long enough that they don't recognize canned or raw as "food". There's some wonderful tips for transitioning your cats to canned from kibble on CatInfo.org. It takes a little patience and a lot of determination, but most cats will transition fully within a few weeks.
According to Janet and Binky's Food Charts, Sheba's Tender Beef and Salmon Gourmet Dinner are both pretty good - although the phosphorus content isn't listed. They do use tapioca in some of the their recipes, but of all the grains out there, tapioca affects blood sugar in cats the least. HOWEVER, most of the Sheba cuisines are NOT nutritionally balanced, so they aren't meant to to be the only food your cat is eating.
If the cost and availability of quality cat food is a concern, there are several brand on Binky's chart that are available from most grocery stores. You're just looking for one that has fewer than 10% carbs and doesn't contain grains. If your kitty ihas CRF, you also want to look for one with less than 200 mcg of phosphorus per 100 kcal.... but if your cat is healthy, they should be able to handle the phos. in most cat foods just fine.
If I may ask, the ingredients that I have found on the labels are just tuna, prawns, chicken, fish, potassium cloride, carrageenean, carob gum. What's so bad about that? I don't know LIttle Casear.
According to Janet and Binky's Food Charts, Sheba's Tender Beef and Salmon Gourmet Dinner are both pretty good - although the phosphorus content isn't listed. They do use tapioca in some of the their recipes, but of all the grains out there, tapioca affects blood sugar in cats the least. HOWEVER, most of the Sheba cuisines are NOT nutritionally balanced, so they aren't meant to to be the only food your cat is eating.
If the cost and availability of quality cat food is a concern, there are several brand on Binky's chart that are available from most grocery stores. You're just looking for one that has fewer than 10% carbs and doesn't contain grains. If your kitty ihas CRF, you also want to look for one with less than 200 mcg of phosphorus per 100 kcal.... but if your cat is healthy, they should be able to handle the phos. in most cat foods just fine.
Ok, thanks. I knew about the lack of vitamins in Sheba, but I was curious about it other than that factor. I don't see why I couldn't put my own vitamins into the mix...I'll look at the link. Thanks!
I may have it wrong, I said I thought it was Sheba. It is the pate' style food. Same company owns both (Mars).
The sheba premium cuts LOOK decent - but I personally haven't researched that product.
Besides, how many wild cats do you know ocean fish and dive for shrimp (cats won't eat what they can't SMELL, so food manufacturers know fish products will help with this).
On the chart, you're looking for a food that has roughly the same protein% & fat% (between 35 & 45) and less than 12% carbs (10% if your cat has diabetes). Next, you need a food with phosphorus less than 200 on the chart if your cat has renal disease. Once you identify the foods you want to try, look at the ingredients list on the label at the store... ignore any food that contains wheat, gluten, corn, or potato. If you can't find one that is 100% grain-free, tapioca and brown rice are the only "decent" grains for cats as long as the carbs are still under 10-12%.
You'll probably end up buying a few different brands or flavors in order to find one your cat will like, and it's fine to rotate between brands for some variety as long as it's not a drastic change that could upset your kitty's stomach and cause diarrhea. I rotate between homemade, Wellness, Wysong, and Nature's Variety Instinct on a daily basis for my cats, and sometimes mix flavors and brands together to get the perfect combination for my cats.
Be very careful adding vitamins to a substandard cat food... they have to be properly balanced or else you could end up with a deficiency in one and an overabundance of another which causes all sorts of health problems for cats. For example, calcium and phosphorus need to be a perfect ratio, but you also need vitamin to utilize the calcium properly... it's a delicate balance. Also, human potency vitamins can very easily become toxic for cats since they are formulated for an adult human roughly 170 lbs, and cats don't weigh nearly that much! There are some cat vitamins out there, but those aren't perfect balanced either. If you are interested in making your own cat food, either from raw meat or a meat-only canned food, always use an established recipe designed for cats.
On the chart, you're looking for a food that has roughly the same protein% & fat% (between 35 & 45) and less than 12% carbs (10% if your cat has diabetes). Next, you need a food with phosphorus less than 200 on the chart if your cat has renal disease. Once you identify the foods you want to try, look at the ingredients list on the label at the store... ignore any food that contains wheat, gluten, corn, or potato. If you can't find one that is 100% grain-free, tapioca and brown rice are the only "decent" grains for cats as long as the carbs are still under 10-12%.
You'll probably end up buying a few different brands or flavors in order to find one your cat will like, and it's fine to rotate between brands for some variety as long as it's not a drastic change that could upset your kitty's stomach and cause diarrhea. I rotate between homemade, Wellness, Wysong, and Nature's Variety Instinct on a daily basis for my cats, and sometimes mix flavors and brands together to get the perfect combination for my cats.
Be very careful adding vitamins to a substandard cat food... they have to be properly balanced or else you could end up with a deficiency in one and an overabundance of another which causes all sorts of health problems for cats. For example, calcium and phosphorus need to be a perfect ratio, but you also need vitamin to utilize the calcium properly... it's a delicate balance. Also, human potency vitamins can very easily become toxic for cats since they are formulated for an adult human roughly 170 lbs, and cats don't weigh nearly that much! There are some cat vitamins out there, but those aren't perfect balanced either. If you are interested in making your own cat food, either from raw meat or a meat-only canned food, always use an established recipe designed for cats.
Thank makes a little bit more sense. Thanks very much!
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