Help Choosing Dry Food

[ginjaninja]

I have been searching and searching for a low-carb, high protein dry food without grains, chicken, potatoes, or (preferably) peas. Does this exist?? Help!

 

[Kieka]

Welcome to the world of picky cat owners and commercial foods. It really feels like you go down a rabbit hole once you start dealing with food sensitivities and owner preferences.

When it comes to dry food getting low carb without grain, potato and peas is just not going to happen anytime soon. Sorry. The problem with dry food is it must have some sort of binder element to it. By simple form and function to be shelf stable and a hard kibble it has to have a binder to hold it together. This will lead to a higher carb content in dry kibble over wet foods which can avoid the binder elements. Some kibbles use tapioca but that is usually in conjunction with peas. If you did find one with no grain, no peas and no potatoes I bet they would use a soy based binder (which is really another version of peas) or millet or some other starch. Thing is that whatever binder they use (even if it is grain free, no peas and no potatoes) is something that cats don't eat naturally and wouldn't eat if we didn't put it in their food. I have yet to find a dry kibble that doesn't have any sort of binder and I doubt I will because of what it is.

Chicken is really hard to avoid in dry food. Really really hard. Even if the name of the food doesn't say chicken in it they hide chicken meal somewhere in the ingredients. There are a few high protein, low carb foods out there in the commercial cat food world but every single one I have seen does chicken as the base (because it is a lower cost protein) and finding something low carb without chicken is another challenge all on its own.

I really hate to say it, but if you have to or want to feed dry you are going to have to pick the lesser evil and make choices. I have found looking for Limited Ingredient forms will help with eliminating the chicken aspect and grains. Then narrowing it down by novel proteins will help too. In my case my guys can't have any poultry or fish in their dry food. Which is really fun since every non-poultry food seems to have fish. I personally am on Natures Variety LID Rabbit dry.

There are better low carb options without chicken if you branch out to the wet or dehydrated food realm. I really would love someone to prove me wrong and find a low carb, chicken free, no grain, no potato and no pea dry food formula though.

Edit: And I prove myself wrong, lol. I was looking around and it looks like Young Again has a new formula, NEW! LID ZERO Mature Health. Chicken fat is does not have any chicken protein so it isn't really "chicken" when it comes to allergies or sensitivities. This food though is an ultra premium brand and high price point of $8-$7 per pound depending on the bag size.

Hydrolyzed Pork, Chicken Fat, Hydrolyzed Yeast Flavoring, Guar Gum, DL Methionine, L-Lysine, Fish Oil, Psyllium Husk(source of fiber), Potassium Citrate, Brewers Yeast, Potassium Carbonate, Calcium Carbonate, Fructooligosaccharides (FOS), Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Taurine, Vitamin E Supplement, L-Tryptophan, L-ascorbyl-2polyphosphate (source of stabilized vitamin C), Betaine Anhydrous, Magnesium Sulfate, Salt, L-Carnitine, Biotin (vitamin B7), Zinc Sulfate, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Rosemary Extract, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacinamide (vitamin B3), Thiamine Mononitrate (vitamin B1), Folic Acid (vitamin B9), Vitamin A Acetate, Riboflavin (vitamin B2), Calcium Pantothenate (vitamin B5), Sodium Selenite, Dried Aspergillus oryzae Fermentation Extract, Dehydrated Pediococcus Acidilactici Fermentation Product, Beta Carotene, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (vitamin B6), Cobalt Sulfate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid (Preservatives).

 

[lalagimp]

Take a look at Dr Elsey's cleanprotein kibble. They have it on Chewy.com now. I heard about it a few months ago, asked them to send me a bag, wrote about it on my blog, and have continued purchasing to feed the girls. Recently I started giving them canned food too. It's higher calorie kibble, but the girls have adjusted their eating habits and haven't gained anything. I put out less than 1/2 cup per day, along with their 1 5.5 oz can of food.
Dr. Elsey’s Cleanprotein Cat Food line

 

[ginjaninja]

Take a look at Dr Elsey's cleanprotein kibble. They have it on Chewy.com now. I heard about it a few months ago, asked them to send me a bag, wrote about it on my blog, and have continued purchasing to feed the girls. Recently I started giving them canned food too. It's higher calorie kibble, but the girls have adjusted their eating habits and haven't gained anything. I put out less than 1/2 cup per day, along with their 1 5.5 oz can of food.
Dr. Elsey’s Cleanprotein Cat Food line

Looks like both of the dry foods contain chicken. Thanks for the suggestion, though.

 

[ginjaninja]

Welcome to the world of picky cat owners and commercial foods. It really feels like you go down a rabbit hole once you start dealing with food sensitivities and owner preferences.

When it comes to dry food getting low carb without grain, potato and peas is just not going to happen anytime soon. Sorry. The problem with dry food is it must have some sort of binder element to it. By simple form and function to be shelf stable and a hard kibble it has to have a binder to hold it together. This will lead to a higher carb content in dry kibble over wet foods which can avoid the binder elements. Some kibbles use tapioca but that is usually in conjunction with peas. If you did find one with no grain, no peas and no potatoes I bet they would use a soy based binder (which is really another version of peas) or millet or some other starch. Thing is that whatever binder they use (even if it is grain free, no peas and no potatoes) is something that cats don't eat naturally and wouldn't eat if we didn't put it in their food. I have yet to find a dry kibble that doesn't have any sort of binder and I doubt I will because of what it is.

Chicken is really hard to avoid in dry food. Really really hard. Even if the name of the food doesn't say chicken in it they hide chicken meal somewhere in the ingredients. There are a few high protein, low carb foods out there in the commercial cat food world but every single one I have seen does chicken as the base (because it is a lower cost protein) and finding something low carb without chicken is another challenge all on its own.

I really hate to say it, but if you have to or want to feed dry you are going to have to pick the lesser evil and make choices. I have found looking for Limited Ingredient forms will help with eliminating the chicken aspect and grains. Then narrowing it down by novel proteins will help too. In my case my guys can't have any poultry or fish in their dry food. Which is really fun since every non-poultry food seems to have fish. I personally am on Natures Variety LID Rabbit dry.

There are better low carb options without chicken if you branch out to the wet or dehydrated food realm. I really would love someone to prove me wrong and find a low carb, chicken free, no grain, no potato and no pea dry food formula though.

Edit: And I prove myself wrong, lol. I was looking around and it looks like Young Again has a new formula, NEW! LID ZERO Mature Health. Chicken fat is does not have any chicken protein so it isn't really "chicken" when it comes to allergies or sensitivities. This food though is an ultra premium brand and high price point of $8-$7 per pound depending on the bag size.

Hydrolyzed Pork, Chicken Fat, Hydrolyzed Yeast Flavoring, Guar Gum, DL Methionine, L-Lysine, Fish Oil, Psyllium Husk(source of fiber), Potassium Citrate, Brewers Yeast, Potassium Carbonate, Calcium Carbonate, Fructooligosaccharides (FOS), Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Taurine, Vitamin E Supplement, L-Tryptophan, L-ascorbyl-2polyphosphate (source of stabilized vitamin C), Betaine Anhydrous, Magnesium Sulfate, Salt, L-Carnitine, Biotin (vitamin B7), Zinc Sulfate, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Rosemary Extract, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacinamide (vitamin B3), Thiamine Mononitrate (vitamin B1), Folic Acid (vitamin B9), Vitamin A Acetate, Riboflavin (vitamin B2), Calcium Pantothenate (vitamin B5), Sodium Selenite, Dried Aspergillus oryzae Fermentation Extract, Dehydrated Pediococcus Acidilactici Fermentation Product, Beta Carotene, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (vitamin B6), Cobalt Sulfate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid (Preservatives).

Wow, I had no idea that chicken fat was any different than chicken protein! I passed over a TON of options just because I saw "chicken". I'll have to search again! I'll also take a look at the Young Again suggestion.

What would you say is the "best" carb/starch? Sweet potatoes/white potatoes/peas/tapioca/beans/lentils?

 

[Kieka]

Wow, I had no idea that chicken fat was any different than chicken protein! I passed over a TON of options just because I saw "chicken". I'll have to search again! I'll also take a look at the Young Again suggestion.

What would you say is the "best" carb/starch? Sweet potatoes/white potatoes/peas/tapioca/beans/lentils?

That is really tough. Honestly, the "best" is probably to find two or three different foods and rotate through them. They each have their strengths and weaknesses. Peas have more vitamins and protein but its not animal protein so my worry is that a pea heavy food will have an inflated protein listing. Tapioca is a simple starch but it must be properly processed by the manufacture so I wouldn't do a questionable brand. It also can break down into sugar more easily (so not so good for a diabetic cat). Potatoes are a more complex starch and can contribute to weight retention. Both white potatoes and sweet potatoes are biochemically similar. They have slightly different vitamin content but they really aren't as different as people like to think in terms of "healthy". Potatoes do tend to be slightly more reactive for sensitive kitties which is why the LID formulas usually tout being potato free.

Personally, I think the best is a mix of tapioca and peas. I think their strengths and weaknesses balance each other out in a battle for the best of a necessary evil.