Food Choice

Otis in Tampa

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What would be a better feed for a cat. A dry food with 473 Kcal/cup and 20% carbs Grain Free or a dry food with 283Kcal/cup and 34% carbs which is not Grain free. My cats are currently on the 2nd choice and have been on for years.
 

Furballsmom

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Hi! I'm not sure, really, between the two choices. If you decide to switch, go very slowly with just a little of the new food mixed in at first.

Do you have a pet water fountain?

Is canned food out completely, not even a couple cans or three a week?
 
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Otis in Tampa

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They get 1 3oz. can of wet split between the 2 of them in the am every day. The male loves it and will finish his sisters because all she really like is the juice. They do not have a fountain. The male will drink from the bathroom faucet on a daily basis; the female drinks from their bowl of water. Any idea who may be able to answer my original question?
 

FeralHearts

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Hi there and welcome to TCS!:welcomesign:

While I'm no expert, I've struggle enough with food the last few years to gain a bit of helpful knowledge I hope.

Low carbs is great but low carbs and high calories? Not so sure.... so...would need a few more details, most important is ingredients, fat content etc.

There is also a great site called www.catfooddb.com, that I reference a lot. It has things broken down really well. Like % of calories from fat and carbs, quality etc.
 

LTS3

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What would be a better feed for a cat. A dry food with 473 Kcal/cup and 20% carbs Grain Free or a dry food with 283Kcal/cup and 34% carbs which is not Grain free. My cats are currently on the 2nd choice and have been on for years.
IMO, neither brand. Both are way too high in carbs for cats. Too many carbs can cause diabetes because it puts a huge strain on the pancrease. The calorie content of both foods are pretty dense, too. No cat needs 473 calories daily except for pregnant females. 283 calories is somewhat better but more suitable cat that weighs 14 lbs or so.

Could you increase the amount of canned food and decrease the amount of dry? Maybe one 3 oz can for each cat daily to start and increase it up to 2 cans per cat a day? You'll have to decrease the amount of dry food so the cats aren't getting too many calories and you're not wasting food. The general rule of thumb is 20 to 25 calories per pound of ideal body weight daily.
 

Willowy

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Most dry cat foods have around 450 calories per cup :dunno:. So I don't think that's too high. I'm not even sure how the other one only has 283 calories per cup. Higher protein/lower carb is better for cats.
 
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Otis in Tampa

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Most dry cat foods have around 450 calories per cup :dunno:. So I don't think that's too high. I'm not even sure how the other one only has 283 calories per cup. Higher protein/lower carb is better for cats.
Nutro Weight Management is what they eat now, 283 kcal/cup. I was looking to change to Petcurean Go with Chicken, turkey and duck with 473kcalcup
 

Willowy

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High carb foods aren't good for weight loss in cats. Ironically, most "weight management" cat foods are very high-carb :/. If you gave them measured amounts of the lower-carb food, it might actually work better for weight loss.

Is switching them to all canned food an option? I find it a lot easier to keep cats at a healthy weight with wet food.
 
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