Grain Free?

[athegaylouise]

So from what I've gathered on this site, the big thing is feeding cats "grain free" food and that would be the best way to help my little chunk Dallas lose some weight. So I started supplementing their evening meal with Sheba wet food perfect portions (I feed my other little Blair an extra meal since she doesnt have weight issues at all and is a little under) but in the mornings I still want to feed them dry food.
I have always fed them Purina Indoor (the green bag), but they have also tried some of the surf n turf or the blue Purina cat chow bag as well on rare occasions Ive had to get it. I wanted to try a grain free dry food and saw that Purina came out with a grain free food. Not sure what you guys think of it, but both my cats are not a fan. This is probably the first time in my life I've watched Dallas sniff his bowl and just walk away from a full bowl.
So now I'm not sure if I should try something else or mix in their regular food and try to get them used to it?

 

[mizzely]

All grain free is not created equal by any means! Dry foods still need a binder and are usually high in carbs (peas, potatoes, etc). Wet foods don't need as many carbs and contain mostly meats.

Weight is based on calories. So the best thing is to determine how many calories your cat needs and then see how much of the foods you feed are needed to meet that number.

Cats tend to be resistant to diet changes because if they aren't used to it, it smells off and that signals to them it could be bad for them to eat. Mixing old food and new food helps a lot with this, and is alao recommended to prevent stomach upset.

 

[Columbine]

Grain free is a bit of a buzzword in cat (and dog) food, and has been for some time now. Grain free doesn't necessarily mean better or healthier though - many grain free foods are loaded with other starches (such as potato), which can be just as problematic. The original point behind grain free food was that it was higher in animal protein and lower in carbs/starches. As grain free has become more mainstream, this aim has been lost to some degree. Additionally, many lower carb grain free foods are significantly higher in fat and calories, making them especially easy to overfeed.
Grain-free Cat Food – What Does It Mean?
How To Choose The Best Dry Cat Food?

When it comes to weight loss, that can be very difficult to achieve with kibble. The easiest way to help a cat lose weight is to feed a 100% wet diet. Wet food is higher in animal protein than kibble, and is more filling and satisfying for that reason alone. On top of that, the moisture content keeps cats well hydrated and allows you to feed a much bigger portion for the same calories.
How Much Food Should I Feed My Cat?
Obesity In Cats
Is Your Cat Overweight?
A Scientific Take On Cat Nutrition By Dr. Rachel Boltz

 

[athegaylouise]

Yea I'm just really struggling with trying to balance making sure Blair gets all the calories she needs, with also trying to cut down on Dallas's calories.
I have always just fed Purina Indoor, and now I have a little more of a budget to try and buy something a bit healthier for them that might help Dallas lose some weight. I did start giving them wet food for their evening meal, but when I tried to supplement it with their morning meal as well they both seemed to be going crazy and trying to get into the kibble container I have.
I guess maybe I need to figure out how much exactly I should feed each cat. Dallas will be 2 years old next week and weighs about 14 pounds and definitely has a little waddle and overhang. Blair is almost 4 and she is just about 7 pounds and has always been on the small side since she was little.
Is there any dry kibble that would be acceptable?

 

[Columbine]

Kibble isn't awful - it just makes weight loss much harder to achieve. Many people (including me) feed a mix of wet and dry very successfully. I feed some kibble simply because, like your guys, mine absolutely ADORES it I just cut it right down if my girl gets a little big (as happened when my old boy wasn't eating well, so there was more and yummier food around for her to steal ).

One answer would be to measure and ration the kibble, keeping it part of timed meals rather than leaving it out for them to pick at. That way (so long as you supervise or separate them at mealtimes), you have absolute contol over how much each of them is eating. Keeping the kibble container in a cupboard rather than on the counter, away from little paws and noses, should help them not obsess over it too

I really can't help you with brand suggestions as I'm in the UK, but you might find some ideas here Say your top 3 Dry or wet cat food brands can be local In your case, you need to balance fat and caloric content against lower starch options, so the lowest starch options (such as Orijin) may not be your best choice. Another option is to mix one of the low starch but higer cals and fat type foods in with a lower fat and calorie, but still decent protein level, options. This is what I do, as it boosts the overall nutritional profile without sending the calories sky high. I usually go with about 3 or 4 parts of the lower calorie food to 1 part of the premium one.

I hope this helps some, and that some US members will be along with suggestions soon

 

[mizzely]

I like to use this list as a starting point for "best" wet foods: Today’s best cat foods–reviews of canned and raw options

And this for dry: Best dry cat foods (with caveats)

 

[lisahe]

Columbine has already summarized the "grain-free" issue pretty well: I think what's most important is to try to keep carbs low in a cat's diet. They have no real biological need for them and don't even process them particularly well. Meaning that lots of plant-based ingredients--particularly potato, peas (which can appear in various forms), and tapioca--have a tendency to raise carbs and calories without offering any real nutritional value. Many are used as thickeners. They're just empty calories. And it's meat protein, not pea protein that cats need! This is why our cat specialist vet recommends low-carb (grain-free and no potatoes and the like) wet diets with lots of meat for all cats, but especially for overweight cats.

Columbine's suggestion about mealtimes is a good one. We have one cat that tends to be skinny and another who tends to eat too much so we separate the cats for most meals. It really helps the thinner cat eat better (she's a slow, painfully deliberate eater and tends to get nervous when her sister hovers like a vulture!) and helps keep the slightly larger cat from overeating. We feed five small meals a day (I work at home, so it's not that difficult) which keeps them from ever getting too hungry. We weaned them off dry food within a couple of months of adopting them: they, too, waited for the dry food and would try to get at it but eventually stopped because they started to like their wet food.

Sheba's a great start and foods like Fancy Feast Classics (the pates) are low-carb, too. Foods like Friskies pates and Trader Joe's have some rice but are lower-carb than lots of other canned foods that are far more expensive.

 

[MeganLLB]

I am also trying to get one of my cats to lose weight, and feed a dry/wet combination. I try to buy a quality food, but am always looking for a good price. I can't pay top dollar for a tiny 7lb bag.

I did a lot of searching for a high protein, low carb, moderate fat dry food for a decent price and I came up with Earthborn Holistic Primitive Feline. I get it on chewy.com and a 14lb bag is $31.99

All of the other ones that had 40%+ protein and very little carb were upwards of $40-60 for a 6-8 lb bag.

If someone finds another brand I would be interested in knowing, but that would be my suggestion as far as dry food.