Calculating Carbohydrates

[greenvillegal]

Hi... I am coming to the realization that my cats need to be on a high natural protein wet food diet to get their weight down. I found a couple healthy links on TCS and was just astounded! I thought I was doing better by feeding them dry rather than wet! Boy was I wrong!

Anyway, I have now switched to wet and I will never feed them dry again! But, I also read that carbohydrates should be kept to a minimum. The ingredients only list the protein, fat, fiber, moisture, ash, and taurine. How can I know how many carbs are in my new Meow Mix? And for the record.... what are ash and taurine?

Thanks to anyone who can help!

 

[sharky]

FISH based foods are HIGHER in ASH than non fish based ... You will need to call meow mix

with a wet food you multiple the fat and protein by 4-5( not perfect but it ball parks )

ie
9 % protein is really 36 -45
5% fat is really 20-25

so on the low end 56 % is fat and protein
then find the fiber say 2%
58 total then the ash say 1.5
58+6=64

so roughly I say ROUGHLY
100-64=36 % carbs

 

[mom of 4]

I found this ink on the feline diabetes website. I found it very helpful, especially in light of the fact that 15-25 cal/pound are considered a normal intake - the lower number for the less active cats, the higher for the highly active cats. We are trying to get some weight on my son's cat - slowly and in a healthy way. I was tying to find out how many calories we were actually giving her - turns out it wasn't even enough to maintain her low weight.

http://www.geocities.com/jmpeerson/canfood.html

If I'm breaking a rule by linking this, please delete it and forgive me.

 

[jean44]

Ash is the inorganic portion of a food sample remaining after the sample has been burned for 2 hours at 600° C. Ash includes calcium, phosphorus, sodium, magnesium, potassium, manganese and trace minerals. Magnesium is the mineral to be aware of in preventing the formation of struvite urinary crystals. As sharky said, fish based foods are higher in ash and thus in magnesium. Taurine is an amino acid that cats need for eye and heart health.

Here's the link to another cat food nutrition chart. I use both this one and the one Mom of 4 provided. This one is aimed at cats with CRF (chronic renal failure).
http://webpages.charter.net/katkarma/canned.htm

Congratulations on switching your cats to an all wet diet.

I'm a firm believer in canned food for the health of our cats. I'm currently feeding my cats grain and fish free flavors of Natural Balance and Wellness foods. Good luck in finding a healthy food your cats will enjoy.

 

[greenvillegal]

Gosh why can't they just print the nutritional information just like they do on human food containers?! I think this helps a little... I basically need to get canned food that has single digits of carbohydrates if possible... any suggestions?

 

[beandip]

Originally Posted by greenvillegal

Gosh why can't they just print the nutritional information just like they do on human food containers?! I think this helps a little... I basically need to get canned food that has single digits of carbohydrates if possible... any suggestions?

If they printed it on the food, we would see the truth. They don't want that. That's a sad but true fact.

Off the top of my head, the Wellness grain free varieties (there are 6 flavors) are very low in carbs.

I haven't done the calculations, but By Nature Organics (cans) should be very, very low. I get it at Petsmart. It's grain-free and veggie-free....very simple.

 

[jean44]

Originally Posted by greenvillegal

Gosh why can't they just print the nutritional information just like they do on human food containers?! I think this helps a little... I basically need to get canned food that has single digits of carbohydrates if possible... any suggestions?

When you calculate percentage of carbohydrates you need to be aware of the difference between a Dry Matter calculation that sharky described and simply subtracting the figures in the guaranteed analysis from 100. The Dry Matter (DM) calculation allows dry and wet food to be compared for nutritional content. You'll get very different figures in the two calculations. For example, using Wellness Beef and Chicken formula a rough DM calculation shows 36% carbs but simply subtracting figures in the guaranteed analysis including moisture from 100 shows 6%. If you want to know the technical way to do a DM calculation here's a link to an explanation.
http://www.thepetcenter.com/imtop/dm.html

Because you mentioned foods with carbohydrates in the single digits I'm guessing you may have seen this site. There is an explanation of different methods of calculating carbohydrates and some suggestions for canned foods.
http://www.catinfo.org/commercialcan...Carbohydrates:
I've tried many of the foods on this list. The only ones my cats will consistently eat are Wellness and Natural Balance. Picky cats.

I hope your cats have a different opinion.

 

[sharky]

Originally Posted by Jean44

When you calculate percentage of carbohydrates you need to be aware of the difference between a Dry Matter calculation that sharky described and simply subtracting the figures in the guaranteed analysis from 100. The Dry Matter (DM) calculation allows dry and wet food to be compared for nutritional content. You'll get very different figures in the two calculations. For example, using Wellness Beef and Chicken formula a rough DM calculation shows 36% carbs but simply subtracting figures in the guaranteed analysis including moisture from 100 shows 6%. If you want to know the technical way to do a DM calculation here's a link to an explanation.
http://www.thepetcenter.com/imtop/dm.html

Because you mentioned foods with carbohydrates in the single digits I'm guessing you may have seen this site. There is an explanation of different methods of calculating carbohydrates and some suggestions for canned foods.
http://www.catinfo.org/commercialcan...Carbohydrates:
I've tried many of the foods on this list. The only ones my cats will consistently eat are Wellness and Natural Balance. Picky cats.

I hope your cats have a different opinion.

THank you for the links ... one day I will get it PRECISE

 

[catitudes]

Originally Posted by greenvillegal

I basically need to get canned food that has single digits of carbohydrates if possible... any suggestions?

Know that you are on the right track. My kitty was overweight, so I switched him from free-feeding dry to scheduled & measured amounts for meal times with canned, beginning this time last year. He has gradually (thus safely) shed his extra pounds. I looked for foods that were quality high-protein (no by-products) and very low in carbs, no different than what you attempt now. Stick with it. It works.

Here's some information I have, which was collected by emailing/calling manufacturer's. This list is organized by caloric content, from lowest to highest;

Foods without Fish:

Natural Balance Venison/Pea 5.1% Carb 26 kcal per oz.

Merrick Turducken 8% Carb 29 kcal per oz.

Natural Life Lamaderm 16.7% Carb 31 kcal per oz.

Eagle Pack Turkey/Barley 2.98% Carb 32 kcal per oz.

Natural Life Chicken & Veggie 14.87% Carb 33 kcal per oz.

Eagle Pack Chicken/Lamb 1.91%\tCarb\t35 kcal per oz.

Innova 2.97% Carb 38 kcal per oz.

Evo 1.06%\t Carb\t 39 kcal per oz.


Foods with Fish:

California Natural Deep Water Fish Formula 3.5% Carb\t25 kcal per oz.

Nutro Maxcat Chicken & Lamb Lite 7.6% Carb 25.5 kcal per oz.

Nutro Maxcat Gourmet Classics 7.4% Carb 25.6 kcal per oz.

Nutro Maxcat Turkey & Chicken Lite 7.2% Carb 26 kcal per oz.

Authority Lite Chicken/Rice 5.6%\t Carb\t 26.5 kcal per oz.

Chicken Soup Lite 6.7% Carb 27\tkcal per oz.

Californa Natural Chicken & Brown Rice 3.5% Carb 27 kcal per oz.

Merrick Surf & Turf 8% Carb 29 kcal per oz.

Eagle Pack Salmon & Shrimp 2%\t Carb 32 kcal per oz.

Chicken Soup Adult 3.6% Carb 34 kcal per oz.

I have misplaced the information for the Wellness foods. They are certainly worth looking into. Being grain-free, the carb levels for the following flavors were anywhere from 1-3%;

Chicken Formula
Turkey Formula
Beef and Chicken Formula

I eventually settled on California Natural, when I first began switching my kitty from free-fed dry to scheduled wet. I settled on the CN because it was low calorie, but also very low in carbs.

Since reaching what is most likely the optimal weight for my cat, he now gets the above mentioned Wellness flavors, with the occasional can of Evo. These foods are much higher in calories, but at this point, I am more concerned with limiting the carbs. Amazingly enough, he has gotten a wee bit skinnier since I switched him to higher calorie but lowest carb foods like Wellness and Evo, with the switch occurring about a month ago.

Keep in mind, some of the information quoted in this post was collected well over a year ago. I do not guarantee any of this information, since formulations could well have changed since then. If you are in doubt, contact the manufacturer. Most are pleased to provide statistics on their foods to the public.

Originally Posted by greenvillegal

I will never feed them dry again!

My kitty was a dry food addict and still is. Even though he is down to two meals of wet per day now, I do give him just a wee bit of dry at bedtime, which he considers to be a treat. Innova Evo dry is 7% carb, while Nature's Variety Raw Instinct dry is 6% carb. If you do the Evo dry, keep plenty of water around, as it makes the animal ravenously thirsty (which cause some to worry of health consequences of a food with such a side effect). I presently use the Raw Instinct for the bedtime treat, which doesn't seem to have that problem. Feed VERY small amounts of either of these foods, as they are both RIDICULOUSLY high in calories (which is why we shouldn't let the price of such foods scare us. We feed so much less when the caloric content is so high).

I personally believe wet is better for kitties, since it more closely mimics their diet in nature. However, a wee bit of high quality, low-carb dry, seems to be much appreciated by my kitty.

 

[sharky]

Here are the WELLNESS carbs

thank you Welcat
Canned Cat Foods

Kitten 1.9% Carbs

Chicken 1.7% Carbs

Chicken & Herring 2.1% Carbs

Beef & Chicken 1.4% Carbs

Turkey 1.6% Carbs

Turkey & Salmon 1.7% Carbs

Sardine Shrimp & Crab 4.3% Carbs

Salmon & Trout 2.8% Carbs

Chicken & Lobster 3.8% Carbs

Kitten 1.9% Carbs



and the Pouches( these are new ) ... I encourage all looking for pouches to look into them... www.oldmotherhubbard.com ... I was very impressed Sharky

Salmon & Chicken 2.9% Carbs

Chicken, Crab & Herring 2.3% Carbs

Turkey & Duck 2.3% Carbs

Chicken, Duck & Shrimp 2.9% Carbs

 

[welcat]

Sorry

I forgot to include Beef & Salmon 2.1% Carbs

 

[greenvillegal]

There's just too much to choose from!

 

[sharky]

Most wet food in the premium market is going to be low in carbs ... remember to get the dry matter carbs as the other includes the water or broth that makes up about 75-82% of the can