? Wet food recommendations pls! ($$)

Hi! I remember many owners here feed their diabetic cats fancy feast wet food. I can’t afford to feed my cat Royal Canin Glycobalance wet food, it feels like it takes half an hour spoon feeding him this food bc he can’t grab the morsels with his teeth (he’s a senior, pate is better for him) and it doesn’t seem to help his blood sugar levels. Also he’s extremely finicky so I think he’d actually eat FF.
What flavors are reccomended for diabetics please? Thank you!!
Also any dry food recommendations too please currently he likes Royal Canin Glycobalance dry food but it’s very expensive . Unfortunately I have to leave dry food out for the early evening bc I’m not home to feed him at dinner at early evening time all the time bc of work so I’ve got him on a 10am 10pm Lantus & meal schedule.

 

Our borderline diabetic guy likes the FF Classic Chicken Feast pate,
Fancy Feast Classic Turkey & Giblets pate, and Classic Tender Liver & Chicken Feast pate. His main problem is that he is hyperthyroid, now controlled with medication. His blood glucose was reading somewhat higher than normal, consistently, but the diet change seems to have it under control now. Our not diabetic girl, who we have switched feeding to match his, prefers the fish flavors, which works well for making sure each cat gets their fair share of food. Having read here that some people noticed that beef flavors of various foods made the bg rise, we haven't offered any of those.

I buy the FF by the case, I get one case of each of the three flavors for him, and switch flavor each meal, and so far he isn't getting picky and eats it all each time. I get a case of mixed fish pate flavors for her, and switch off each time as well.

For him, since he doesn't like to bite into the wet food, I mash it with a fork and add a tablespoon or so of water, mash that in well so that it's like a fluffy mousse. The extra water is good for them. He licks it up, makes a big mess of it, but then he's always been a bit of a slob, but now he keeps licking until he's cleaned the whole area. We feed him in a plastic storage tub that I cut the front off of, (So it has back wall, sides, and bottom, like a high-sided tray) so when he licks the food right off the plate it lands in the tub and he can just keep licking it up. When we fed him in a bowl, his licking would pack it into the curve of the bowl and he had trouble getting it all out. So, our high-sided food tray keeps the mess off the floor, and is easy to wipe clean.

 

Kallie loves Halo Grain Free Natural wet food. I Amazon several cases at a time - roughly $20 (sometimes $18 sometimes $23) for 12 5.5 ounce cans. The only dry food she gets is in the form of treats - PureBites Duck, Chicken, Beef - so I'm sorry that I can't speak to that part of your question.

 

Dusty and my civie Beni both eat all FF pate flavors. I also buy cases of it and just rotate the flavors every couple of days.

 

All of the fancy feast classic line are OK to feed. Instead of dry, consider getting a timed feeder. Put his wet food in there with an ice cube and he can get feed when he needs to be, plus the extra water of the melted ice. Then it can close again at least two hours prior to the preshot test so the number is not food influenced.