Grain Free, High Protein And Low Carb Dry

WinterLunaCheese

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I have 3 cats that when I use their weights to calculate based on various wet food "feeding instructions" from grain free to not, it becomes impossible for me to feed only wet being low income.

So I'm on a search for a grain free high protein low carb not because any of my cats have diabetes but because I personally think that's the best option, after researching. Does anyone know which carb/starch is the least worst for a cat though which I'm having trouble finding?

Most grain free use potato, sweet potato, tapioca or pea in various forms. Which is the best or lowest carb? Wysong Grain and Starch Free is still expensive compared to other brands. I can't afford raw brands either, freeze dried is still too expensive and I hear it's worse with the ones you have to pay for freezer packs when shipping.

What is a high protein low carb dry cat food?
 

cheesycats

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Something to keep in mind is the worse canned food is still better than the best dry food (usually anyway)

Anyway dr elsey clean protein and young again cat foods are some that come to mind that are very little carb. Tiki cat is also pretty good.
 
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WinterLunaCheese

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Something to keep in mind is the worse canned food is still better than the best dry food (usually anyway)

Anyway dr elsey clean protein and young again cat foods are some that come to mind that are very little carb. Tiki cat is also pretty good.
Sadly even Friskies based on their feeding instructions per pound of body weight isn't feasible as the sole diet. I still will do wet when I can but not only wet. I don't drive and order food online, so some cheaper store brands that refuse to ship the store brand aren't an option either. I'll look into Dr Elsey though thanks!
 

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Fancy Feast classics are a good choice for wet food on a budget as are some of the Friskies wet foods Dry is harder to do on budget. However i do feed Dr. Elseys dry food, chicken flavor. it is expensive, but cats seem to be happy with eating less of this food. i guess because it is so low carb, less than 5%, and high protein, so it kind of evens out i guess. I get Dr. Elseys either from their website, or from chewy online. they do have a smaller 2 lb bag that you can try.
 
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WinterLunaCheese

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Fancy Feast classics are a good choice for wet food on a budget as are some of the Friskies wet foods Dry is harder to do on budget. However i do feed Dr. Elseys dry food, chicken flavor. it is expensive, but cats seem to be happy with eating less of this food. i guess because it is so low carb, less than 5%, and high protein, so it kind of evens out i guess. I get Dr. Elseys either from their website, or from chewy online. they do have a smaller 2 lb bag that you can try.
Fancy Feast claims you need to feed one 3 oz can per 2.5 lbs of body weight. Even that is really expensive for my cats. That'd be 19 cans at Chewy's $0.53 per can that's $10.07 per day, per month I simply cannot afford that alone. My one cat is 20 lbs not fat or overweight, not a Maine Coon either which vets etc are surprised by. Dr Elsey does seem really expensive, so does Tiki Cat and Young Again when I currently go through a little less than an 11 lb bag of grain free dry food among 3 cats. I wouldn't know how much to buy of these other brands. Hopefully someone can tell me which starch is the least worst, so I can go with more well known brands that are cheaper.
 

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I agree that wet food is best if you can do it at all. Keep in mind that I have never heard of an adult cat who needs to eat as much as the description on the can says! My sedentary 12 pound cat eats under 200 calories a day, which is less than 6 Oz for most foods.

But if you absolutely have to do dry,Orijen fit and trim is probably the very best dry cat food out there. The name is deceptive. It's actually their highest protein food because they think higher protein is better for weight loss, which I completely agree with, but it's also a great food for a cat at a healthy weight. You can read about it here:
Low Calorie Cat Food For Overweight Cats | ORIJEN
BUT it's very very expensive. You can check with your local retailer because they do have a buy 12, get 1 bag free program. But still, most people are scared away by the price.

Also you can't get Orijen on chewy anymore, since chewy was bought by PetSmart and Orijen refuses to deal with them.

The second best dry cat food I know of (besides maybe wellness core) is EVO. Which, so tragically, is being discontinued! But it's still in stores until warehouses run out, so you can probably find it at some great clearance prices right now.

For anything else... absolutely avoid corn as an ingredient, and try to stay away from grains and potatoes as well because they are starchier. The next common fillers are peas and chickpeas, which are obviously still starchy, but not as bad. Be careful when comparing foods, though, because cat food makers love inflating their protein percentage with these plant proteins.
 

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The girls get up to 6 oz of wet each day, and 1 of the 6.6 lb bags last me two months with everyone eating the appropriate number of calories. I've weighed my girls. They eat less and hold their weight pretty perfectly.
 
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WinterLunaCheese

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Thanks molly92 molly92 the feeding instructions on most wet foods grain free and not make the amount "needed" outrageous and not affordable for a lot of people, including ones that aren't low income IMO I'd imagine anyway. Sheba claims a cat needs 3 portions of the "perfect portions" (half of a two-tray) per 5 lbs, I've read they're discontinuing the 3 oz cans. If I calculated right I'd need 12 portions for just my 20 lb cat. In the end with all their weights it'd be $300+ a month for my 3 LOL Who can afford that really?

Thanks for the dry options, I'll look into those too! I saw EVO but it has tapioca starch which one website claims is the highest carbohydrate concentration but another says potatoes are the worst. It's confusing!
 

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Evo is being discontinued so I would check that off your list.
An average cat needs 20 cal per lbs so about 400 a day for your big boy. With young again that’s under a cup a day for him. Young again recommends free feeding and has a nice explanation of why on their website. Idk how much your other cats weigh but you would likely not have to feed them much if they’re more average. They offer 25 lbs bags which are 130$ They claim the 8 lbs bag would last a 10 lbs cat over 3 months so I think price wise it would be the best food. If they like it.
Tiki cat is expensive. And they suggest much more for feeding. Around 1 cup and a half for your big guy. Dr elsey is similar to tiki.
 

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Something to keep in mind is the worse canned food is still better than the best dry food (usually anyway)

Anyway dr elsey clean protein and young again cat foods are some that come to mind that are very little carb. Tiki cat is also pretty good.
They're both too expensive.
 
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WinterLunaCheese

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Yes, that's not bad for Young Again, although my cats are extremely picky they won't eat most fish flavors or no beef flavor at all if it's the main ingredient in wet or dry. I stick to chicken or turkey bases foods, so the pork in Young Again makes me very leery, they've never had pork as a main ingredient. Free feeding is ideal, I'm not sure if I could get them to eat separate if I did certain amounts for each. Anyway, as far as weights, one is 12 lbs and the other 16 but could stand to lose some weight, oddly my veterinarian has never been concerned though but I can tell they're overweight. My 20 lb cat is the only one not overweight.

Websites are saying he needs 366 calories using two different calculators, though they're calculators by two different brands. The others based on current weight need 250 and 310 according to those calculators. My current food, which I don't know if it's a good brand so won't mention by name, has 395 calories per 8 oz cup, despite the recommendations on the bag for 20 lbs is 1 1/4 cup. Very weird! Looks like they want people to feed more than is necessary. If I want to do some wet and dry I guess I'll have to look at calories for each, even if I switch to a different better dry food.
 

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Fancy Feast classics are a good choice for wet food on a budget as are some of the Friskies wet foods Dry is harder to do on budget. However i do feed Dr. Elseys dry food, chicken flavor. it is expensive, but cats seem to be happy with eating less of this food. i guess because it is so low carb, less than 5%, and high protein, so it kind of evens out i guess. I get Dr. Elseys either from their website, or from chewy online. they do have a smaller 2 lb bag that you can try.
I had changed to Fancy Feast a few weeks ago and it gave my cats the runs. I was just trying to save money. Dr. Elseys is kibble and expensive. I do not feed kibble food anymore to my cats.
 
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WinterLunaCheese

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I had changed to Fancy Feast a few weeks ago and it gave my cats the runs. I was just trying to save money. Dr. Elseys is kibble and expensive. I do not feed kibble food anymore to my cats.
If I went by the "feeding instructions" on low end and high end grain free I personally could never afford that. It ranges from $130 (low end) to 500+ per month, I've sat and calculated based on the "feeding instructions" for various brands. What are you feeding? How much? And, how much does your cat weigh?
 

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They're Ragdoll cats. One weighs about 6 lbs and the other about 9 lbs. I sparingly feed them Primal freeze dry food mixed with Tiki can food now. These add up in cost. My male cat eats like a 30 lbs dog.
 
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WinterLunaCheese

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They're Ragdoll cats. One weighs about 6 lbs and the other about 9 lbs. I sparingly feed them Primal freeze dry food mixed with Tiki can food now. These add up in cost. My male cat eats like a 30 lbs dog.
I don't understand the feeding instructions on Primal Freeze or how much I'd need for 12 lbs, 16 lbs and 20 lbs. It's probably not feasible. Tiki Cat is $0.99 per 2.8 oz can which I don't know how much I'd need if I fed a wet dry combo but together with Primal Freeze it'd likely be impossible for someone as low income as myself.
 

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Exactly. Not sure why "quality" pet food has to be soooo expensive. Then if we feed meow mix or frizzkies kibble, they'll eventually get sick then come the vet bills. A few pet owners in the office I work in feed their cats and dogs Rachel Ray's pet food. I read the ingredients and it contains everything a cat should not be eating. Just because the food has "a celebrity" name on it, people think it's good food for cats.
 
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WinterLunaCheese

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Primal Freeze 5.5 oz bag has 19 nuggets I need 3 (12 lbs with weight loss), 4 (16 lbd weight loss) and 9 (for 20 lbs maintain weight). That'd be one $14.99 5.5 oz bag per DAY! I have no idea how to figure out a mix of that and wet but I'm guessing it'd still be outrageous and not feasible
 

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It's $30.00 for a 14oz bag of Primal. My 2 cats eat it in 4 or 5 days. That's over $180 a month on just cat food for 2 cats.
 
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