Merrick Bistro Pates and Carbs

[chelsmarie]

To my horror, I recently realized that the vet recommended Merrick pates I’ve been giving my cat are a whopping 16% carbs on a dry matter basis! She really likes them but I’m worried that’s too much (I read to aim for 10% or lower).

She only gets half a can a 3oz day of Merrick, the rest is supplemented by the low carb pate options Fancy Feast and Purina One, with a tablespoon of low carb Only Natural Pet Poultry Kibble.

Am I worrying for nothing? Or is 16% carbs too much in the long run? Would it be better to feed only FF?

Can anyone recommend a middle of the road low carb pate option? She didn’t like Weruva (weird texture and low calorie for price) or Wellness (sniff and walk away). Wanted to try American Journey but those seem high carb too. Same for I and Love and You pates.

 

[LTS3]

IMO the carbs aren't terrible. While it's often suggested to stick with food under 10% carbs, unless your cat is diabetic and needs a strict low carb diet, it's fine to feed food with slightly higher carbs. You can feed a mix of both low and medium carb to have a wider variety of foods to choose from. The occasional higher carb (> 20% carbs) as a treat / meal is fine too. It's feeding only high carb food (mainly dry) for years that can cause issues.

The chart at Catinfo.org lists carb content: https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

Also, many vets are pretty clueless about nutrition so for the most part you can ignore whatever the vet recommends / suggests.

 

[maggie101]

To my horror, I recently realized that the vet recommended Merrick pates I’ve been giving my cat are a whopping 16% carbs on a dry matter basis! She really likes them but I’m worried that’s too much (I read to aim for 10% or lower).

She only gets half a can a 3oz day of Merrick, the rest is supplemented by the low carb pate options Fancy Feast and Purina One, with a tablespoon of low carb Only Natural Pet Poultry Kibble.

Am I worrying for nothing? Or is 16% carbs too much in the long run? Would it be better to feed only FF?

Can anyone recommend a middle of the road low carb pate option? She didn’t like Weruva (weird texture and low calorie for price) or Wellness (sniff and walk away). Wanted to try American Journey but those seem high carb too. Same for I and Love and You pates.

I was looking at the Merrick rabbit. In the ingredients after meat is potato starch then gums,etc. So I would think it's ok. As long as it's not calorie dense