Canned food brands in England

Hello
My family of 4 (husband + 2 cats) are moving to England (Norwich) and I was wondering what brands of low carb/high protein food are best. One of my cats was diabetic until October of last year (hooray).
I currently feed them Instinct Nature's Variety and Wellness. I did find these brands on Amazon UK but they are SOOOO expensive.
Any tips?
I did try to use the search box on this forum to see if a similar thread has been posted but couldn't find anything.
I appreciate your help.

 

Hi

I hope you are finding the uk a nice place to be

This thread will hopefully be of use

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...for-europeans-and-international-buyers.64843/

Here is a link to a UK Food list but I have to say that new foods seem to be coming onto the uk market all of the time

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/lv?key=0Aq4WIfRfL3G1dDd2dkNtMnNoMDZYaDVxTGtSd1dmWmc

 

Also this thread whilst it doesn't start off discussing UK food choices does end up doing so

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...ng-mel-please-look-at-ss.128413/#post-1323328

 

The best food that I have found in the UK is from a company called The Happy Kitty Company,they import high quality food from Germany that is high in protine,and grain free.I called them before I put in my first order and asked if I could place a small order of different brands to see what Bailey liked,ask to speak to Sam,I am sure she will oblige.I also feed Bailey Natures Menu,I buy this from a local pet shop or online.
Good luck with the move. Diane

 

Hello Nadja and Sam,

Zooplus.co.uk do quite a wide range of FD-friendly complete foods, complementary foods (for the occasional bit of spoiling!) and freeze-dried treats. You should see their name against the brands in the spreadsheet that Sarah sent the link for. I also get food from the Happy Kitty Company. As Diane has already advised, Sam is lovely to speak if you need advice and beyond helpful. I also buy Nature's Menu Beef/Chicken and Chicken/Turkey pouches (I get them from our local pet shop, but they're available online, too.)

Wishing you a safe journey. Hope the move isn't too stressful.

 

If anyone has the time, folks, I'm sure Juliet (user name 'Dr Schrodinger') would love help with adding foods to the list! (Mwah! )

The list is for all of us UK'ers here (and helps quite a few other Europeans too) and if we find a good low carb food it would be great to add it to the list.

Eliz

 

Hello Nadje and Sam,

Until a few years ago it was really hard to find good quality cat foods in the UK. Pretty much everything here was made by the huge multinationals.
But in recent years all that has changed (not least because of our wunderbar German neighbours): And we now have access to what is - probably - some of the best cat food in the world!

Brits got chatting on cat forums and started buying cat food directly from German websites. But then some enterprising companies started importing the stuff so that we don't need to do that any more (hooray!).
The German cat foods are streets ahead of most of the stuff on the supermarket shelves. Labelling of contents is usually very clear (especially so with premium brands). And some brands also give some assurance that the animals that go into the food have decent welfare standards.
There are also some interesting British-made grain-free cat foods from companies such as Nature's Menu, Lily's Kitchen and Forthglade. And if you like to feed ready-made raw food we have that here too.

Another useful thing about European cat food is that we have 'typical analysis' rather than 'guaranteed analysis' (of minimum and maximum values). So it is much more likely that what you see on the label is the same as what's in the tin.

If you're willing to buy online then you will have a huge variety of foods to choose from. It is possible to buy decent food at supermarkets but your choice will be much more limited.

I just had a rummage through my 'cat cupboard' and these are the foods that I have there at the moment and that I buy regularly:
Grau grain-free and Catz Finefood from Zooplus. Granatapet and Mac's from The Happy Kitty Company. Nature's Menu pouches, Forthglade 'natural cat', and Lily's Kitchen (available from several sources online and I buy from wherever I can get the best deal!) Some of these are premium foods. But they can be pricey so I also buy Mac's from the Happy Kitty Company. It's a similar price to the supermarket Whiskas and Felix foods but is much better quality.

Other popular foods for diabetics here include Cosma and Bozita (the latter is from Sweden).

What you buy will depend on your budget, and what your cat likes/needs. But please DO be reassured that your kitty will do just fine here, food-wise!

Best wishes,

Eliz

 

Hi Elizabeth. I would be happy to help but my maths is REALLY BAD. I have always had to ask other people to help me work it out but I could forward her the info I have gathered.

 

Hello Elizabeth,what a very good idea of yours,I have often thought as we see more UK members joining the forum that compared to our friends across the pond we are lacking in food data.It would be very useful to include more suitable foods that are now being found by our members,also list the suggested foods that are medium carb and high carb to have on hand for the (panicky times )when we need to steer low numbers back up to safety.
Forthglade is a food I haven't come across,is it any good?I have just found a soft pate food that ticks all the right boxes called Meowing Heads
I still think Lilys Kitchen seems to be one of the best out there,but I really worry about the Carrageenan content.
I too don't have a head for maths,so is there anyone out there that has the time and inclination to have a go?

 

I've recently come across one of the sainsbury's brand of cat food

How does this selection stack up carb wise

http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/shop/gb/groceries/wet-cat-food/sainsburys-tdc-chicken-collection-6x85g

 

Looks pretty good.
A couple of anomalies though: The contents add up to a smidge more than 100% which is a tad strange. And the calculation puts it at zero carb, which can't actually be right because it does contain some tapioca. But the tapioca is way down the ingredients list so would seem to be a minimal amount.

Looks like a potentially good find!

 

I guess that might end up being me.... I'm actually OK with the calculations (but am essentially just extremely lazy (and not at all tech savvy) and hoped someone else might do it! )

I'm OK to do the calculations if a more tech savvy person can add the details to the Google doc...?

 

Thanks for the link to the Sainsbury's brand Phlika.

Bailey, I've just discovered Meowing Heads as well. ( I don't think they do them in slightly cheaper packs though )

 

Hmmm....which particular 'Meowing Heads', Diane?
I just did a calculation for the 'Drumstix' and it comes out at 12.9% calories from carbs...
I'm puzzled about that because the blurb says it's grain-free, potato-free etc. But when you tot up the ingredients there's 4% unaccounted for (which the calculation 'assumes' is carbs)... Maybe there's just an error in the labelling...?

 

Hi Elizabeth & Lynn,have gone right off Meowing Heads (drumstick) I have just opened a tin and its off!!! green and smells awful,will be taking it back and complaining! And now Elizabeth has come across carb contents that don't add up it is definitely off the menu for Bailey.
Regarding the Sainsburys food Phlika mentioned wont the tapioca content raise the bg?

 

Maybe, and maybe not. It looks like it's a tiny amount, so it may just depend on how carb-sensitive the kitty is...

(And sorry to hear about the manky cat food, Diane. Yuk!!! )

 

Tapioca is supposed to have a low glycemic index and not raise glucose fast.

 

Sarah,I have been digging around this afternoon,and I think the Sainsburys food you posted about is HiLife Tempt Me Chicken collection but packaged for Sainsburys under their own name,if you google it you will see the contents are the same,Bailey likes this food but have not been buying it for him recently since I noticed that it was produced in Thialand,and this worries me,(am sure there must be no control over what they put into the food in Thialand)am I turning into a neurotic woman?!? or what!

 

Thank you everyone! I really appreciate your help I am planning on taking a supply of nature's variety as We try brands you all suggested one less thing to worry about!

 

I came across this food when at Pets at home the other day. Can someone just do the magic calculation to confirm it is low carb

http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/p...5D||ads_f12501_ntk_cs%3A%22Seriously+Good%22#

 

Hmm, well, according to the calculation I've been trying to use, the carb content in this one is 3% in terms of basic carbs. Which is excellent.

I'm not so sure about the second part of the calculation, which requires you to work out the carbs based just on dry matter (not the moisture in the wet food). So in that case...the carbs in this one are 16%.

I hope someone chimes in who knows a bit more than me to correct or confirm my calculations!

 

Try this calculator.

 

Oh, that's excellent!!! I just wish cat food labels and websites actually listed all the required amounts though. So many don't list the moisture content.

 

My spreadsheet calculates that as 2.8% calories from carbs.

It's low fat and has a high water content, with most of the calories coming from protein.
The blurb implies that it isn't a complete food. But as a supplement to a balanced diet that shouldn't be a problem.
And it contains some tapioca. (But given the low carb content of the food this may not matter unless a kitty is uber-sensitive to carbs).

Eliz