? BB Wilderness alternatives? High protein high calorie suggestions needed!

Status
Not open for further replies.
Andy & Pimp

Andy & Pimp

Member Since 2015
After trying (or at least researching) all the grain-free premium canned foods I can get my hands on, Pimp seems to have settled on Wilderness. There isn't much nutritional info out there for this line. The calculations I have done, the turkey and chicken varieties should be around 5-7% carbs.

I like that they are calorie-heavy (Pimp needs to gain about 2 lbs), real meat ingredients, and reasonably light on my wallet. I don't like that they contain carageenan. I can't find any canned food that won't break the bank, of which I approve the main ingredients, that don't contain carageenan.

Most importantly it smells like people food (or close). I can't deal with the odor of FF or other brands with a lot of by-products. My nose is very sensitive in the morning. (I guess that's what happens when you quit cigarettes after 13 years).

It's got potato in the ingredients. But Wellness (the only other brand he would eat consistently) has sweet potato and vegetables, it's lower in calories and more expensive per can.

I've also been reluctant to buy brands who's first ingredient is broth. Meat, please, thankyou.

Anyone out there feed Wilderness to their sugar kitty?

Does anyone have the proper nutritional info for Wilderness chicken and/or turkey?
 
Here are Dr. Lisa Pierson's notes on Blue Buffalo:
A customer service representative provided carbohydrate values over the phone. Note that, despite being “grain free”, all of the canned foods are high in carbohydrates, including the ‘Wilderness Wild Delights’. The only diets that appear to be low in carbohydrates are the ‘Wilderness’ pate varieties - Kitten, Chicken, Turkey, Salmon, and Duck. However, I will not use or recommend products from any company that refuses to provide ‘typical nutrient analysis’ data for their diets.
Click to expand...

Since there are so many options with companies that have provided their nutrition information, most of us tend to stick with those because we are also keeping an eye on things like fat, protein, or phosphorus values because we may have cats that have additional nutritional needs (for example, Bandit needs foods that are low carb, moderate fat, and low phosphorus to keep all of his needs in check). I feed him a combo of certain Wellness Core flavors and Weruva.

Have you checked out the catinfo food chart, here? There's a lot of premium cat food brands out there that are the same or less expensive than the Blue Buffalo that have provided their nutritional analysis. If you get Wellness or EVO in the bigger cans, it's more afforable. Also the Weruva "Cats in the Kitchen" line is more affordable than their regular line. Yes, broth is a first ingredient but when you check out the # of calories per can, it's pretty reasonable. The only thing broth as a first ingredient over second or third ingredient means is that the food is likely to have a higher moisture (and possibly lower calorie) content. If the second ingredient is still meat and there's not much else in the list, then you're good.

Some other brands I'll feed occasionally are Nature's Variety Instinct, Tiki Cat, and B.F.F, but I'm sure some others will be along to give you some suggestions, too.

In my personal opinion, if Pimp needs to gain weight, I'd stick to Wellness because it's very calorie dense. The 12 oz cans are pretty affordable, and it's much cheaper if you find a locally owned feed store instead of buying it at Petsmart or Petco, where they mark it up a lot. If you ask, a lot of places will also give you a discount if you buy a case at a time. Or you can get it on Amazon for less than the pet food store chains, too.
 
Last edited:
Thanks Julia, I'll look into the 12 oz cans of Wellness.

I'd like everyone's thoughts on carageenan, too, if you have any.
 
I'm looking through the food chart for about the 100th time right now. What are good protein/fat ratios? P needs to gain some serious weight.
As far as we know, he doesn't have any special diet needs besides low carb. His kidney function is normal - for his age. Will more protein or more fat be better for him to rebuild muscle and gain back body fat?
 
Andy , I know when it comes to us beans. More protein builds muscle. Also when we lose, we lose muscle before fat. I would think our sugar babies follow the same suit. I would say protein. Protein will build muscle & put on healthy weight!
 
Madeline528 said:
I would say protein. Protein will build muscle & put on healthy weight!
Click to expand...
I think you're right about that. It would also make sense that they can convert protein to fat, just like us.

I think I read that CRF kitties need low protein, right? (EDIT: nope I'm wrong.) His kidneys are ok (anti-jinx) now, but is there risk of accelerated kidney decline with a high protein diet? I see foods I could try anywhere from 1:2 to 2:1 (protein:fat) and everything in between.
 
Last edited:
I don't know much about CRF. But I found this site www.felinecrf.com

What I read quickly, high protein doesn't cause kidney decline. I do know uncontrolled sugars long term can cause kidney decline. With beans who have kidney failure, you need to watch potassium.

I would try 2:1 (protein:fat). Is it low in carbs? When it comes to calories to put on weight. Use this (Pimp weight x 13.5 + 70). That # will tell you how many calories a day to maintain. Since Pimp needs to put on weight. He needs to eat more calories then that #.

Has Pimp lost anymore weight, since being diagnosed?

Andy, isn't potato high in carb?
 
Last edited:
I am feeding my kitties Wilderness, the low carb chicken, salmon and duck. Besides my sugarcat, I have a kitty that is prone to throwing up often (every day or so). Since switching to wilderness, she has not thrown up once! So right now, it is a good fit for us. We have about a week's worth of cans left so I may consider switching but right now this seems to be working for us. I understand through what others have posted about the food chart info and will be taking a closer look at shopping time!
 
Pimp is maintaining weight at last check. He feels much fuller to the touch. When he was DX his back felt like a rubber balloon stretched across a skeleton, he was that bony. He has gained some fat back now. Overall he is definetly healthier. He is definetly getting 1.5x his recommended calorie intake. Ketones negative this morning, too.

I have found there to be some bit of potatoes in almost every premium food. They're the 4th ingredient and the next one that follows is flavoring, guar gum etc. The wellness grain free varieties that come in under 5% on the food chart have sweet potato in them, and veggies.
Here's the ingredients list in Wilderness chicken and turkey

Is this nutrition calculator any good?
It says the Wilderness turkey is 7% carb so it should be fine. The g/a of chicken is the same. They are both 10% protein and that's pretty high. I don't think it spikes his blood sugar, almost every test this week has been at least 2 hrs past food.
 
The latest research has shown that early stage CRF kitties do best with high quality, low phosphorus protein.

It may be a bit ECID for cats and what spikes them. Neko is fine on the Wellness, but the cabs in her HC food are potatoes and it spikes her more than wheat Carb HC.
 
Sweet potatoes are much lower in carbs than regular potatoes. I wouldn't feed a sugar kitty anything with potatoes. I would avoid veggies completely by preference but an awful lot of the canned foods do include them.

Weruva is very low calorie so probably not what you want for pimp right now

What you need to watch with any of the calculators is the data going in - none of them will be accurate if you're using min/max values.

a home made diet would be ideal if you have the time and inclination, no cat food stench with that ;)
 
BJM said:
You have 1 more step in using that calculator.
Take the Calories from Carbohydrate and divide by the Total Calories to get the percent of calories from carbohydrate. That is the number you need.
Click to expand...

Really? Let's try this.
10-protein
9-fat
1.5-fiber
78-moisture
I assume you meant total calories divided by cal from carbs. It's 23.8 the other way around. Or like 0.04 your way, and that can't be right. That would mean I'm feeding him high carb food...crap....:banghead::banghead::banghead:

Is that really right?!?:oops::oops::oops:
Ok so we'll be changing food tomorrow and seeing what happens i guess!
 
Vyktors Mum said:
Sweet potatoes are much lower in carbs than regular potatoes. I wouldn't feed a sugar kitty anything with potatoes. I would avoid veggies completely by preference but an awful lot of the canned foods do include them.
Click to expand...
Looks like its back to sweet pototoes until i can find something better. I think there's probably less veggies in the wellness than potato in the wilderness...
 
from my daily condo
Madeline528 said:
I couldn't find any thing on Wilderness. But like you said " Wellness grain free are around 5% & 200cal". Wellness ex: kitten, chicken, turkey, beef & chicken, turkey & salmon. How many 5.5oz cans does Pimp eat per day? I know Layla, is much smaller (8lbs & I'm maintaining) then Pimp. She gets a total of 6oz a day, total 180 cal & no more then 10% carb total. When she was on insulin. I fed only before shots (2x day). Now I feed same amount, but I splint it into 3 meals (3/4, 1/2 & 3/4). No dry food
Click to expand...
He eats around 1/5 can at a time and a bit more than 1 can total. I just givc him a spoonful whenever he asks for it, but he's been asking for it more and more, and going to the kibble dish less and less. But he still eats kibble if he gets hungry when i'm not here. or while i'm sleeping, i'm sure. and lots and lots of freeze dried raw treats. he's got to be getting at least 250-300 cal/day. he is gaining slowly but surely now, and I expect him to gain faster if I can get him regulated.
 
Andy & Pimp said:
from my daily condo

He eats around 1/5 can at a time and a bit more than 1 can total. I just givc him a spoonful whenever he asks for it, but he's been asking for it more and more, and going to the kibble dish less and less. But he still eats kibble if he gets hungry when i'm not here. or while i'm sleeping, i'm sure. and lots and lots of freeze dried raw treats. he's got to be getting at least 250-300 cal/day. he is gaining slowly but surely now, and I expect him to gain faster if I can get him regulated.
Click to expand...

Lol, she fell asleep;)

Yea, I agree def at least 250 to 300 cal. With the amount of wet he eats. That's less then 10% carbs. I think once he's off kibble. It might be easier to get him regulated (less carbs).
Happy he's going for the wet food more!
 
I'll take any and all suggestions for low carb, high protein food with a high calorie count. DM is by-the-numbers perfect but it's got garbage in it and Pimp won't eat it anyway.
Fire away.
 
Mitz needs to gain weight right now too but she's rather particular about her food. She went on strike a while back (Wellness mixed with either Stella & Chewy's or Primal fd raw) so after lots of trial and error with new foods, she settled on Nulo. We've been able to gradually rotate the Wellness back into the mix and now a little bit of the Primal raw. Rather than go thru a bunch of taste testing again, our vet suggested we can try adding some animal fat like chicken fat, lard, etc. This week she's getting turkey thighs (roasted in butter) and next week, I'm picking up some duck fat from the butcher. Hoping this works!
Good luck to you and Pimp,
Joan
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top