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Cat Forum / General Topics / November 2007What is worse: Carbs, Wheat gluten, Rice, Corn, Mercury, Phosphorous?
While researching commercially available canned foods, I am discovering that it is almost impossible to find a brand that avoids all things touted in the nutrition literature as bad: 1. High % of calories from carbs. (E.g., Science Diet, good otherwise) 2. Presence of wheat gluten 3. Presence of rice 4. Presence of corn 5. Mercury (mainly seafood, which would be low in carbs otherwise) 6. Phosphorous. OK, so here is a question for the truly informed: If I can't avoid all of the above-listed baddies, and it seems I can't, then which ones are most harmful and must be avoided, while others can be tolerated? Needless to say, if you know of affordable commercial brands that meet all criteria, please do name them! Mercury avoid tuna except as a treat and avoid seafood varieties of the food. > While researching commercially available canned foods, I am discovering > that it is almost impossible to find a brand that avoids all things [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > Needless to say, if you know of affordable commercial brands that meet > all criteria, please do name them! : Mercury avoid tuna except as a treat and avoid seafood varieties of the : food. Thanks. Are mercury values for various brands and formulas available somewhere (like Phosphorous values are)? Or, is assuming that all seafood has mercury the only recourse? > : Mercury avoid tuna except as a treat and avoid seafood varieties of the > : food. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Or, is assuming that all seafood has mercury the only recourse? yes > While researching commercially available canned foods, I am discovering > that it is almost impossible to find a brand that avoids all things > touted in the nutrition literature as bad: Will you please stop this obsessive stuff? Give your cat canned food that has meat as a first ingredient. Meat, not fish. Supplement with a bit of dry if you want. You have healthy cats, with no diagnosed problems, right? Don't make problems for yourself. Believe me, they will come. : Will you please stop this obsessive stuff?... : You have healthy cats, with no diagnosed problems, right? : Don't make problems for yourself. Believe me, they will come. I appreciate the thought. I guess I am "obsessive" about nutrition, but only as long as I feel I don't understand the lay of the land. Some of the problems caused by wrong nutrition can take years to develop. Has happened to *people* in my family. Nothing wrong if this doesn't interest you. That's cool. We'll meet in other threads that we both fond interesting. Fortunately, participation in any thread *is* voluntary. :-) > : Will you please stop this obsessive stuff?... > : You have healthy cats, with no diagnosed problems, right? [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > other threads that we both fond interesting. Fortunately, participation > in any thread *is* voluntary. :-) Of course it is, but I keep seeing you belaboring minutia. In behavior and nutrition. It is taxing. Give your cats a chance to be young healthy cats if they are so lucky. High quality protein in canned food so they get more water, lots of play, regular vet care, window seats so they can enjoy the wildlife safely, and love. Later, when and if they have any significant problems, please come share your concerns. You are an intelligent enough man to know that many of the problems we and our pets encounter are unavoidable. And you already know what to do to avoid endangering your animals. : You are an intelligent enough man to know that many of the : problems we and our pets encounter are unavoidable. And you : already know what to do to avoid endangering your animals. I think you are giving me too much credit. Just because I know that "many" problems are avoidable does not mean I know which ones can be easily avoided and how. Similarly, what I "already know" as being good is *not* possible: avoid all of (1) High % of carbs, (2) wheat gluten, (3) rice, (4) corn, (5) mercury, (6) high phosphorous. I don't already know which of these are greater concern than others. Of course, I know that good meat is good, but... I don't know which can has meat from diseased animals---yes, manufacturers are allowed to do that, and no they are not required to disclose that they did that. So I assume, rightly or not, time will tell, that higher price means better meat. Next, I don't know how to choose among meat with wheat gluten, meat with corn, and meat with phosphorous. If I did, I wouldn't have asked. If you do believe that I am an intelligent person---and I have a PhD to justify that assumption, although not in feline nutrition :( ---then you must also trust that I know which questions are interesting to me and why. And I don't demand that you must share that interest. I accept that you and I are different persons, with different interests and experiences. "RPSinha" <rpsinha@null.void> wrote in message > I think you are giving me too much credit. Just because I know that > "many" problems are avoidable does not mean I know which ones can be > easily avoided and how. In reality, you are belabouring minutia as has been suggested. When you take your cat to the vet, indicate what you're feeding your cat and get an opinion. After that, it's mostly choosing a brand of food that your cat likes and not getting unduly upset at the minor differences between brands. Anything else is just going to irritate that stress caused gastric ulcer that you're in the process of constructing. : Anything else is just going to irritate that stress caused gastric ulcer : that you're in the process of constructing. My thinking, reading, and Usenet conversations put no stress on her, gastronomic or otherwise. :) Her food is stable and any changes will be gradual. Understandably, not everyone has useful information to share, and not everyone may find the subject interesting. However, the participation in any thread *is* voluntary. The nature of newsgroups prevents us from targeting posts only at people who would be interested. We can provide an accurate honest subject line, which I did, and then it is up to each of us to decide if it is interesting enough to read/respond. If not, move on. IMHO that works better than personal attacks. BTW, do you really have enough information to state that nutritional differences between all brands are "minor" or was that just a rhetorical way to express your lack of interest in the subject? "RPSinha" <rpsinha@null.void> wrote in message > : Anything else is just going to irritate that stress caused gastric ulcer > : that you're in the process of constructing. > > My thinking, reading, and Usenet conversations put no stress on her, > gastronomic or otherwise. :) I'm talking about YOUR gastric ulcer in the making. This IS your first cat isn't it? > BTW, do you really have enough information to state that nutritional > differences between all brands are "minor" or was that just a > rhetorical way to express your lack of interest in the subject? So now you're trolling? While there are certainly some differences between popular brands, as far as I'm concerned there aren't enough differences for you to obsess over them as much as you are. I believe the biggest problems most people have with their cats after the topic of litterbox usage is dealt with is getting their cat to eat a proper quantity of sufficiently health cat food. : I'm talking about YOUR gastric ulcer in the making... : So now you're trolling? While there are certainly some differences : between popular brands, as far as I'm concerned there aren't : enough differences for you to obsess over them as much as you are. Funny, now I think it is you who is trolling. As clearly as English language allows, the subject of this thread is comparison of named nutrients, not my gastric health or what should I obsess over, etc. The differences among brands are close to 500% for phosphorous, close to 1000% for calories from carbs. Some brands have *zero* wheat gluten, rice or corn, some may have a lot. If these differences don't seem "enough" to you, maybe you shouldn't obsess with this thread? I don't mean to be unfriendly or disrespectful, but again, as clearly as English language allows, I did ask a precise question and would like straight answers from those who have some scientific knowledge of the nutritional issues involved. > I don't know which can has meat from diseased animals---yes, > manufacturers are allowed to do that, and no they are not required to > disclose that they did that. So I assume, rightly or not, time will > tell, that higher price means better meat. -------- Certain brands are canned in factories which also can human food and/or are considered human grade. These brands do not contain meat from diseased animals. One brand which fits this description is "Wellness." Wellness does not contain any wheat gluten either, but it does contain carbs in the form of rice and potatoes. Another brand which fits this description is "Pet Promise." Again, no wheat gluten, no byproducts, no diseased animals, but again, it does contain some carbohydrate from rice and potatoes. Both of these brands are available from Pet Food Direct, which, when purchased by the case (and using a 20% off coupon) will cost you the same as Fancy Feast at the supermarket (assuming you buy the 5.5 oz can and not the 3 oz can). I have actually bought Pet Promise at my local supermarket for about the same price as Fancy Feast. In either situation, do not spring for a whole case without first buying a single or can or two and making sure your kitties like the food. Best regards, ---Cindy S. > While researching commercially available canned foods, I am discovering > that it is almost impossible to find a brand that avoids all things [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > Needless to say, if you know of affordable commercial brands that meet > all criteria, please do name them! This does not specifically answer your question, but I use several varieties of Wellness canned food (and I avoid the fish varieties). Wellness does not use grains in their products. This statement might interest you: "Human Grade Meats: USDA inspected, deboned meat, is a cat's best source of protein and our most plentiful ingredient." Go to www.petfooddirect.com if you want to check the nutritional analysis. Select one of the Wellness brands (not the variety packs) and click on "details." That will give you a list of ingredients and a nutritional analysis. Incidentally, I do order Wellness from this site because the nearest location where I could drive is 75 miles away. If interested, add your name to their mailing list and watch your email for discounts. The best ones are 20% off and 22% off. I wait for them, and that essentially pays the cost of shipping. I don't know if this would meet your criterion for "affordable," but I have found that it really doesn't cost much more than some of the cheaper brands because my cats need much less quantity. I give each cat 1/3 can (5.5 oz. size) twice a day, fed on 12-hour intervals or as close to that as possible. One cat weighs 9 lb. and the other is a little more than 8 lb. They have been thriving on this diet, and their weight has stayed completely stable. MaryL Photos of Duffy and Holly: >'o'< Duffy: http://tinyurl.com/cslwf Holly: http://tinyurl.com/9t68o Duffy and Holly together: http://tinyurl.com/8b47e I wish I had read your post before posting mine. I wrote exactly the same thing :-) FTR, my cats like the Beef and Chicken flavor of Wellness. Best regards, ---Cindy S. >> While researching commercially available canned foods, I am discovering >> that it is almost impossible to find a brand that avoids all things [quoted text clipped - 40 lines] > Holly: http://tinyurl.com/9t68o > Duffy and Holly together: http://tinyurl.com/8b47e >I wish I had read your post before posting mine. I wrote exactly the same >thing :-) FTR, my cats like the Beef and Chicken flavor of Wellness. > Best regards, > ---Cindy S. No problem! I do that frequently (respond to someone without checking all the replies, then find that I duplicated information). Actually, I think it is sometimes helpful to get similar information from more than one person. MaryL |
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