Grain Free EVO Turkey & Chicken Formula DRY Cat Food ?

Has anyone switched their cat to the Grain free EVO Turkey & Chicken Formula Dry Cat Food?

What are your thoughts on this food?

I know canned is better, but I have one very picky eater.
She will not even eat treats.

 

If you have to feed dry I think it is a great food and I changed my cat to that food but even though his numbers dropped they still were to high.
The people on this board recently convinced me that ANY wet food is better for the cat than the best dry food so even though Harley would not even eat tuna I started a campaign to change all of my cats to canned food.
Surprisingly this only took me about 24 hours. I am not sure what it was, I have tried to change Harley before because of UTI issues and he refused but this time with some hand feeding and coaxing I got him started. I also hid the dry cat food I have and put it in a container so they couldn't smell it. At first he only ate a little bit but within 48 hours he has realized that is what they are going to get and he is doing fine. The best part is that his numbers are continuing to get better.
I am also killing two birds with one stone since UTI problems really are cut drastically if the cat will eat wet food.

So I will pass on advice I got here. IF YOU CAN GET HIM TO EAT WET THAT IS THEY WAY TO GO!

 

When we were dry food eaters, I would purchase EVO - herring and sweet potato and chicken flavors and Wellness Core. I would mix all three bags together and let them at it. They loved the EVO more than the wellness.

Of course, now that I know better and trained my girls to eat wet only - I do buy the EVO 95% and they like that - not as much as the junky canned foods and of course if I let them have dry, they'd go nuts.

 

What a coincidence! Peeps is currently on Hills prescription M/D. I just bought a bag of EVO turkey and chicken yesterday so I can switch her this weekend. I will keep you updated on our progress if you would like, Gingers Mommy.

Peeps has been OTJ for 16 months now. Her numbers are still great, but I have been toying with the idea of changing her diet for a few months now. I'm completely fine with the hills prescription, but the EVO is cheaper, and the local store where I can get the EVO gives me a rebate check for shopping there. They also insist on carrying my 50lbs of kitty litter out to my car, even if it's freezing out!

Perhaps tonight I'll post all the numbers I have for Peeps and start a new sheet specifically for her diet change.

 

Hmmm, let's just look at it this way...u have one diabetic kitty right?
do u want another one?

I sure didn't so off to wet food for both. Not only did Luna the diabetic improve his overall health, he is now off insulin and within normal BG range... the civvie (non diabetic) improved well with a shiny soft coat and healthy litterbox action.

Most people here who have more than one kitty and at least one diabetic have made the switch over to a wet food diet all around.

One way to introduce a wet food diet to a picky - kitty-krack addict, is to pick up several different brands and flavours from Janet & Binky's (GA) Food Chart.

http://binkyspage.tripod.com/canfood.html

Mixing a bit of one flavour with another works too.

Dont buy a case of one brand/flavour, do some experimenting on a day you have off and can spend some time testing different foods.
You could also, add some wet food bits to the dry, increasing it a bit at a time.

If u go to Dr Lisa's website Feline Nutrition, she covers Transition to wet food very well!

http://binkyspage.tripod.com/canfood.html

But if u have no choice, you will have to feed what ever the cat will eat - that is important!
But it is worth a shot to try one day.

 

I am not really sure if she is diabetic now. She has possible pancreaitis or hepititis or infection and possible HCM.
I want to feed her something thats better for her.

One day at the vets her BG was 460.
one 2 unit shot of insulin, she totally stopped eating and drinking for 32 hours.
They tube feed her at the vet for 2 days.
Her BG is now 75-80 with no insulin.

 

any infections can raise BG levels plus vet visits stress most kitties anyway.
was this treated? were there tests done?

if she was DX'ed with pancreaitis or any other health issue, she should be on a proper diet and or meds to help that.
treating with the occasional insulin shot is not the best approach unless there is a diabetic diagnosis.

hoping others can weigh in on that for u.

 

she had one shot of insulin and I discontinued.

I need $2000 to get her diagnosed. With no job, no unemployment, etc, thats difficult.

 

Try apply for financial help from one of these places: http://felinediabetes.com/vetbills.htm

 

squeem3,
Thank you :smile:

 

Please see my Feline Urinary Tract Health page - linked below - and read the section in the grey box at the top. Then....scroll down to Opie's pictures.

The 'dry versus canned' debate involves much more than carbohydrate content.

While discussing any dry food....please keep in mind that all dry foods are water-depleted and you are not doing your cat's urinary tract system any favors by feeding them.

 

All 3 of my cats seem to drink a lot of water. They always have.

Right now my concern is that Ginger eats, since she had a scare and was not eating or drinking anything and had to be tube fed at the vets for 2 days.
My vet mis-diagnosed her as being diabetic, and now she doesnt appear to be.

I do eventurally plan to try again to slowly change her to wet food, but feel this food is better to be using now and then during the transition.

 

I hear this day in and day out.....but people have to undestand that their cats still do not make up the water defecit when dry food is fed.

I have not read this entire thread so my comments are general ones which have to do with the fact that (understandably) the focus for new people here is often just the carbohydrate level of cat food when there are other very important issues involved - most notably, the water content.

Cats do NOT make up the deficit at the water bowl contrary to what people want to believe.

(edited for lousy spelling)

 

Right now its most important that she eats. I am so scared for her right now.
Tonight I had to syringe feed her because she is not eating very much.

I wish you could have Answered my email, but I do understand why you couldnt.

 

Have you tried Liv a Little Chicken treats? I have to order them, but some pet stores carry them. Calliope wouldn't eat any freeze dried treats until I bought those. She and the other 3 cats go crazy over them. Sometimes, crumbling the on top of food helps kitty eat. Some folks also use parmesan cheese sprinkled on top of food. I'd check to make sure that's okay with Ginger's other problems, but it might work.

I had some trouble with the other 3 cats switching to wet food. I started with the EVO dry and worked my way to the wet and, now, they're all on wet. Calliope went for it right away, though. I had to keep the dry on top of a table so she couldn't get to it, though. When her neuropathy improved, she found it and that was the end of the dry food for everyone.

Hope Ginger starts feeling better.

 

I doubt she would eat the Liv a Little Chicken treats either.
She wont even it cut up chicken cubes.

I think she might be starting to feel slightly better.
She ate a tiny bit of 9 lives canned flaked tuna select and a little of the EVO dry
She is also cuddling again with big brother Babibear.

 

I'm going to reply to your HCM thread as well, but wanted to add to this one that you should have mentioned right in the very first post on this thread that you have a cat who isn't eating. If you just ask a generic question about food, you're going to get all the typical answers about low carb and wet vs dry, etc. And people do not necessarily read every post thoroughly to see that you've "mentioned" later that she's not eating well -- the important info is off in another thread.

You have a cat not eating in an unusual circumstance, and from what I can tell, at risk for fatty liver, if she doesn't already have it. In this case you need to get food into her! I don't think this is the time for a food debate -- people get so hung up on the food issues that the more immediate concern seems to get put on the back burner. You have more immediate concerns. Debate on food later.

 

I do know her not eating is a big issue, I had posted that to see what peoples thoughts were on that food.

At the moment of course, I do not care what she eats, just as long as she eats.
I just figured that for the transistion from dry to wet, it was a good option.
She does not appear to be diabetic after all, at least for now, its hard to tell because she is not eating much.

One day she will pick at the food and seems to eat enough.
If she doesnt, I Syringe feed her. Which I did yesterday 4x.
Today I did not need to do that, she at about 10 dry morsels at a time several times today.
She will not touch the canned food. I can worry about that later, that canned food is better.
She just needs to eat...