How Are We Just Hearing About This
The short answer is, we arent. This is one of those things hat has been under discussion in the veterinary community for a while. In June 2017, a letter went out from UC Davis about many golden retrievers being diagnosed with taurine-deficient dilated cardiomyopathy .
This June, an article was published by Tufts Clinical Nutrition Service blaming heart disease in dogs on grain-free diets and exotic ingredients. While much of the article was informative, the advice in the article, to stop reading the ingredients list and to feed dogs a made by a well-known reputable company and containing standard ingredients made some pet owners uncomfortable, especially those who knew that Purina and Hills were donors to Tufts Veterinary School.
So these warnings stayed primarily within the veterinary community until the FDA put out a statement in July that they were investigating a potential connection between diet and cases of canine heart disease. Suddenly, the media took notice, and everything from major newspapers to hometown TV news reporters took were talking about dogs and grain-free diets.
Can Cats With Kidney Disease Eat Chicken
Yes. It is not about the specific ingredients in their food but the overall phosphorus, sodium, and protein amounts. Many suitable foods may be including chicken as the primary protein but are formulated to keep protein levels low. You should not feed your cat cooked or raw chicken, though. Chicken is just made of protein, which is the last thing a cat with kidney disease needs extra of.
Whats The Best Grain Free Food For Cats
Grain allergies are some of the most common and easy to address when you look for grain-free foods to feed your cat. Wellnesss Kittles Crunchy Natural Treats is one of the best options that is grain-free and still tasty at the same time. This option is also one of the only cat treats that includes real fruit flavors into the mix.
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What Rice Can My Cat Eat
Rice is generally rich in calories and carbohydrates. Some even offer tiny amounts of vitamin B, manganese and iron. It is highly valued as it is easily stored, affordable and compatible with other food items.
If your cat accidentally gulps down some rice, there will be no harm to it. However, depending on your cats age, body, health condition and how often it is eating it, rice is still a grain crop and too much of anything is not healthy.
Keep in mind that cats have sensitive stomachs by default and each one of them is unique.
Chances are, your kitty is already eating a little bit of rice. In the world of cat food, rice is known as a filler. Therefore feeding rice to your feline friend is normal, but not necessary.
Photo by Suzy Hazelwood from Pexels
The different types of rice can bring different benefits to our cat such as:-
Grain Free Cat Food Research Update: Is It Beneficial To Cats
Grain-free diets are one of the largest search terms regarding alternative cat food diets. There is limited information on the benefits and reasoning behind grain-free cat food compared with other more traditional cat food diets. In this article we will discuss some of the reasons pet owners are looking into grain-free cat food and whether it might be a good choice for your cat.
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The Best Grain Free Cat Food In 2021
Like humans, some cats suffer allergic reactions to certain foods, among which are grains, such as wheat, rice and corn. Maybe your pet has been diagnosed as having such a condition, or perhaps you are interested in controlling your cats diet so that it more naturally resembles what he or she would eat in the wild. For many devoted pet owners, the ability to identify good quality alternatives to the traditional ranges of cat foods can be made more difficult by the huge choice offered by manufacturers. Here to help, then, is our top selection of grain free cat foods on the market.
Thk: Can Issues With Grains Be Confused With Issues Caused By Other Food Ingredients
LA: Most definitely! Food allergies generally are more likely to develop against a protein source rather than to a carbohydrate source. Again, remember also that food allergies are pretty rare in cats. I will say that some pretty exotic ingredients can show up in grain-free diets that could be problematic since they are so unusual and never something a cat would normally eatlike celery, watercress, blackberry, avocado, artichoke, apricot.
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What About Diy Designer Pet Food
If you choose to prepare your cats food, make sure the recipe meets your cats nutritional needs. Follow directions carefully for preparation and storage. Home-made cat food doesnt contain preservatives and needs to be stored safely.
There are nutritional resources with sophisticated computer programs to help calculate the amounts of protein, fat, minerals, and vitamins in a recipe. Some programs take into account a cats age, health status, and activity level in formulating an appropriate diet. But it can still be tricky verifying that your DIY pet food is nutritionally balanced, i.e., the bioavailability and metabolism of taurine is different in a lamb vs chicken. Also, the absorption of nutrients may vary with the amount and type of fiber in the diet.
What Is True Grain
A true grain-free cat food contains zero carbs, other than whats naturally present in meat, and wont contain any sugar or junk ingredients. Raw, natural diets are made up of ingredients that mirror what cats eat in the wild, including raw meat, organs and bones.
Whats good about Vital Essentials is whats not there. Dr. Patton
When youre shopping for cat food, look for products made from pure protein sources with no artificial ingredients or added hormones or antibiotics. Look for food thats 100% USA-sourced, made and packaged.
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Let Your Veterinarian Help Determine The Best Food For Your Cat
The fact that so many owners care about what their cats are eating is great! But, please make sure you speak with your veterinarian about what diet is appropriate for your cat. Please be careful about advice from the internet or from employees at pet stores. There is no one size fits all diet. Every cat is different, and what works for one may not work for others. Lastly, the biggest recommendation from our doctors is to feed a largely canned food diet and strictly limit dry food.
At A Cat Clinic, as cat veterinarians, we discuss nutrition at every exam because we feel this is so vital to your cats health and well-being. If youre looking for a cat veterinarian in Germantown, Rockville, Gaithersburg, Clarksville or surrounding areas, contact us to set up an exam for your cat and well be happy to discuss diet options. The years of education and experience our doctors have been through help us guide you in the best direction for your individual cat. Like all of you, we want your cats to be happy and healthy!
Look For Grain Free Recipes
Cats are obligate carnivores . In fact, research has shown that cats have minimal ability to digest and make use of carbohydrates in their diet, as they dont produce salivary amylase .Cats dont eat grains such as rice or wheat as part of their natural diet, which may be an old survival mechanism to prevent them from consuming plants that would be poisonous to them.
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Is Grain Free Food Bad For Cats & Dogs
Most cats are better off without grains. Cats are designed to acquire the protein and amino acids needed in their diet from meat. They do need some fiber in their diet since their lifestyle is not what it would be in the wild, but a small amount of steamed or ground vegetables is a good way to add fiber.
While grain-free diets are reminiscent of the Atkins diet for humans, they may not be the best choice for every overweight animal. Some less active animals have gained weight on the grain-free kibbles. Keep in mind that if the animal is getting what it needs from less food, then you can cut down on the amount you feed. In other wordsFluffy may have needed ½ cup of cat food that contained rice or oats as a large part of its content. With a grain-free food that is as much as 50% meat, she will not need as much food to obtain the same amount of nutrition1/3 to ¼ cup may be all she needs now. Every animal is differentyou will need to be the judge of how much to feed, not the label on the bag.
Very active working and sporting dogs may lose weight on a completely grain-free diet. Rotating a grain-free food with other foods may be a better option for more active dogs.
Puppies and kittens as well as pregnant and nursing mothers can use the extra protein and nutrients from a grain-free food. Remember to feed extra for these high-need individuals three meals a day until they are 4-6 months old, and for pregnant and nursing moms, too.
Ready to give it a try?
Lily’s Kitchen Grain Free Recipes
Here at Lilys Kitchen all our recipes for cats are grain free. Our nutritionally complete dishes are all high in protein and low in carbohydrates, so the source of energy in our food comes from protein and good fats which most closely reflects a cats natural diet and is much better for your feline friend.We pack our delicious, wholesome recipes with proper meat and nutritious offal, plus all the vitamins and minerals your cat needs to stay fit and healthy, just as nature intended.
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The Problem With Grain Free Cat Food
Some veterinarians argue grain free cat food is more problematic than conventional cat food. They point out that grain free food has become more of a designer cat food diet than anything. Pet food companies aggressively market grain free cat food with tactics like overpromising unregulated health benefits, banking on pet parents believing grains are all bad.
I And Love And You Super Food Surf N Chick Grain
Our Top Pick for the Best Dry Cat Food for Diabetic Cats: If you simply prefer to feed your cat dry food, one of the best options is this I and Love and You Super Food Surf n Chick Grain-Free Dry Food. This formula is designed to be high in protein and low-glycemic, making it a great option for your diabetic cat. It features premium animal proteins like white fish, chicken, and turkey with minimal carbohydrate from digestible superfoods like chickpeas, sweet potatoes, and flaxseeds. This formula contains 45% protein by weight and 18% fat with 4% fiber and 10% moisture. The ash content is not listed on the guaranteed analysis, so we couldnt calculate the exact carbohydrate content, but assuming its at least 3%, that puts this dry food at a maximum carb content around 20% which isnt bad. This recipe also contains beneficial supplements like dietary fiber, digestive enzymes, vitamins, chelated minerals, and probiotics.
- Pros: High-protein formula, low-glycemic, several sources of animal protein, contains digestible superfood carbohydrates, supplemented with digestive enzymes and probiotics, made in the USA
- Cons: Higher in carb content than wet food, expensive to feed as a staple diet
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What Cats Need Designer Diets
Whether home-cooked or store-bought, all cats need food with proper amounts of protein, carbohydrates, and nutrients. But proper amounts vary with age and health status. For example, young growing kittens have different nutritional needs than adult cats. Cats with urinary problems eat different formulations than cats with heart conditions. Cats with sensitive skin have a different menu than cats with sensitive stomachs. So, some cats need designer diets.
Tips For Managing Your Cats Diabetes
Once your cats condition has been diagnosed, you and your vet will work together to come up with a cat diabetes treatment plan. The goal of treatment for feline diabetes is to restore normal blood glucose levels, to restore the cat to a healthy body weight , and to normalize the cats appetite and water consumption.
When it comes to diabetes in cats, treatment options can be broken down into two categories:
Insulin therapy involves injecting insulin into your cats body to help prevent sudden spikes or drops in blood sugar. At first, your veterinarian may recommend a 12-to-24-hour glucose curve a period of time during which insulin is administered intermittently while measuring the cats blood glucose levels. This test is designed to determine the type of insulin the cat needs and the dosing frequency to best control his blood sugar.
Supplemental insulin will help your cats body utilize the glucose he gets from his diet, but there are certain dietary changes you should make to help keep your cats blood sugar stable. Restricting your cats intake of dietary carbohydrates is a good idea, and you may need to increase his protein and fat intake if he needs to gain weight.
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Myths About Grain Free Cat Food
If you buy into any of these myths, we dont blame you! Grain free = healthier has been hammered into the collective consciousness of cat parents to the point where it feels like its been right all along.
But heres the thing. Decades before grain free cat food became a buzzword, our cats were living healthy lives that included grains.
So lets bust those grain free is healthier myths.
What To Look For In Grain
If youre looking for good quality, nutritious grain-free food, you should examine their content labels very carefully to check for these:
- Fiber: Is there enough fiber to make up for the missing grains? There should be between 3-5% fiber in your cats food on a dry matter basis.
- Carbohydrates: If you are switching to grain-free because you want lower carbs in your cats food, then make sure that the food you choose is in fact low-carb. Opt for options that have no more than 30% carbohydrate on a dry matter basis.
- Protein: Grain-free or not, always check the protein amount and source. Dont go for less than 35% protein on a dry matter basis. Also, besides animal-sourced protein, are there any plant-based sources of digestible protein?
- Replacements: Which foods have been used to replace grains and are these good for your cat? Do these replacements make up for the fiber, protein, and minerals that would otherwise have come from grains?
Fortunately, Ive considered all these points mentioned above and gathered some top-quality grain-free cat food options for you to choose from.
Ive done the math* and compared the contents of a variety of top-rated grain-free dry foods on a dry matter basis. Ive compared their amounts of protein, fat, fiber, and carbs and taken into account the other ingredients that are listed on their labels.
So, here are the top 5 grain-free dry cat foods that are actually high-protein, low-carb, and have a nutritious, well-balanced content.
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Rachael Ray Nutrish Grain
- A nutrient-dense food recipe contains US farm-raised chicken as the number one ingredient that helps to build lean muscles and healthy overall energy levels.
- Moreover, it helps to aid the healthy muscles and organs of your cat with delicious trout and natural protein sources.
- In addition to making your felines coat shiny and skin healthy, it contains salmon and fish meat, a source of omega 3 and 6 fatty acids.
- This food is safely cooked in US kitchens with high-quality ingredients selected through proper testing and contains no Chinese ingredients.
- Last but not the least, it supports in healthy digestion of your cat with carbohydrates and fibers source from sweet potatoes and peas.
What Are The Advantages Of Grain
I often get some questions like Is grain-free cat food good for cats? Grain-free cat food generally consists of a high proportion of meat, poultry, organ meats, or fish. They also contain fruits and vegetables. Hard-to-digest carbohydrates such as wheat, oats, rye, barley, millet, corn, and rice are not found in these foods. They are, therefore, more easily digestible for cats while providing them with all the nutrients and minerals necessary for cell growth and the health of muscles, skin, coat, and claws.
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Grain Free Cat Food Benefits
Cat food is made of several carefully selected components to provide optimum nutrients to your pet. There are several different types of cat food. The common types are wet cat food and dry cat food. This classification also is whether the meal is grain-free or not.
Each of these classifications is designed with a unique set of advantages for your cat. It is important to feed the cat with all these different meals. A healthy cat consumes all these food types. In this article, we shall discuss the nutritional benefits that accrue to the cat by consuming it. It will be a good source of information for you when feeding the cat. Read on to find out more.
Contents
So Is Grain Free Cat Food Bad For Cats
No one diet is suitable for all cats or bad for all cats. Grain free cat food is no exception. Although successful marketing makes it seem as though grains cause a host of problems in our feline friends, science begs to differ.
Unlike what many grain free companies would have you believe, grains are nutritious. Veterinarian Lynn Buzhardt, DVM, says, grains are more than just fillers. Grains are a good source of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids. Some grains also provide easily digestible protein.
The most common grains in cat food like oats and rice, are a good source of fiber, zinc, and Vitamins B and E, among other nutrients.
Buzhardt continues, Even though cats are historically carnivores, their digestive tracts are pretty efficient at processing carbohydrates from grain.
Ultimately, Buzhardt puts it this way, There is no conclusive evidence that whole grains are harmful to the general cat population.
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