Limited Ingredient Diet Instinct Rabbit: Can I Use The Dog Version?

[artgecko]

Some background: Our 13 year old cat was showing signs of a food allergy and instead of purchasing the vet diet, we tried an LID with a protein he had never had, rabbit. The brand I chose was Instinct. I did not want to solely feed dry food (he is used to eating a 50/50 wet dry rotation). Instinct had both dry and canned versions and had rabbit, so I went with them. The change in diet appears to be working, but the price of the canned food is crazy expensive...We're talking almost $40 per case. The dry food is reasonably priced.

I've looked at the ingredients and the brand makes a "dog" version of the wet food that comes in larger cans and is cheaper. The ingredients are almost the same with some being higher or lower than the cat listing. The only exception is that the dog food does not list taurine. I know that taurine is necessary, but he is getting that from the dry food and in theory, there should be some taurine naturally in the protein sources in the wet food.

I'd like to know your opinions of trying the wet dog food (but continuing to use the dry cat food).

I will list the ingredients and percentages below.
Instinct wet food cat version
Ingredients
Rabbit, Water, Rabbit Liver, Pea Protein, Peas, Montmorillonite Clay, Dicalcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Minerals (Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Potassium Iodide), Salt, Choline Chloride, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Niacin Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid), Taurine, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate
Caloric Content
1,053 kcal/kg, 164 kcal/5.5 oz can, 90 kcal/3 oz can

Instinct wet food dog version
Ingredients
Rabbit, Water, Rabbit Liver, Pea Protein, Peas, Montmorillonite Clay, Dicalcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Cobalt Proteinate, Potassium Iodide), Salt, Choline Chloride, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Niacin Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate
Caloric Content
1,050 kcal/kg, 393 kcal/13.2 oz can

My goal is to use this temporarily while we do some food trials and attempt to switch him to a more readily available protein source LID (like duck, turkey, or venison). If I need to supplement taurine, I am willing to do so (assuming I can find some to purchase).

I would love your feedback or experiences.

 

[Wile]

The ingredients and nutritional profile of the two foods look pretty similar. You might be ok if you supplement the wet dog food with taurine, but I would not feed it unsupplemented. My only real concern would be that the instinct website does not provide information on the potency of the vitamins in the food. I'd suggest contacting the manufacturer and asking for that information.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I would also only feed it if adding extra taurine, and I would also investigate any of the ingredients that are in the dog food but not in the cat food to make sure they are ok to feed cats (simply google that) I would do that for you, but one of my guys keeps walking back and forth in front of my monitor and I can't keep the ingredient lists straight with him doing that

 

[duckpond]

Im not sure i would feed my guys dog food. I think the protein is normally lower, and the carbs are higher. And the vitamin and mineral profile is designed for a dogs needs, not a cats. But thats just my thoughts

 

[artgecko]

Thank you everyone for your input! I am going to contact the company and get exact percentages for mineral content, etc. I may end up not trying it because I will be doing a feeding trial with the "turkey" formula by the same company to see if he has a reaction or not. If he does not have a reaction, that formula is a good bit more affordable (in the cat version) than the rabbit, so I won't need to consider feeding the dog version.

The main reason I was considering this, is that years ago back when the EVO 95% line was out, their dog and cat formulas were literally the same food...just packaged in a larger size (nutrient profiles and ingredients were identical). At that time, I was able to feed the large can size to my cats to save a little money, it allowed me to give them the best, but at an affordable price. These two formulas (instinct) appear to not be exactly the same though, so I will check with the company to see what their thoughts are on feeding the "dog" version with taurine supplementation.

 

[Azazel]

You will risk taurine deficiency which is very dangerous. Cats can’t metabolize taurine from cooked meat, that’s why they are obligate carnivores and eat raw prey in the wild. This is also why all cooked cat food is supplemented with taurine. If you’re feeding something incomplete it shouldn’t make up more than 10% of your cat’s daily nutritional intake.

 

[sargon]

You'd think that dog products, which are similar would be fine for cats, but it is almost never true. Dogs and cats have very different metabolisms, and, generally speaking, dogs tolerate a lot of things that are fatal to cats.

 

[jen]

Among other things I would worry that the protein is too low and carbs are too high, you have to look into that too. I would not risk it for any of the possible issues mentioned above.