Need Help Understanding Nutrition of Food

Discussion in 'Feline Health - (Welcome & Main Forum)' started by Shanna Murrin, Aug 9, 2018.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Shanna Murrin

    Shanna Murrin New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 9, 2018
    Hi there, so one of my cats was just diagnosed and I want to switch him to mainly wet food (he gets a little wet and mostly dry right now). So I was looking at a chart that is linked on this site that shows the protein/fat/carb etc. info for a bunch of different foods and thinking I would go with the Purina Pro Plan, but when I go to Purina's site the protein and fat numbers are completely different, way lower (they don't list carbs unfortunately). What's the deal, are they measuring differently than whatever is used for the chart? Any insight would help, thank you!
     
  2. Esi

    Esi Member

    Joined:
    Aug 4, 2018
    I'm somewhat in the same boat as you right now, trying to figure out how to transition to a wet/canned food diet for all three of my cats, with one, Hemi, being diagnosed with diabetes last week.

    I just read the following this am. It gives some great insight as to "our" questions. :)

    Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition
    Lisa A. Pierson, DVM

    https://catinfo.org
     
  3. Arkali

    Arkali Member

    Joined:
    Aug 1, 2018
    I had to switch all mine over too. For one thing, i had no idea how unhealthy dry food is, and so I wanted to get them all of that ASAP. For another thing, I didn't want to have to deal with feeding different cats different diets and having to sort that out. So all three of mine are now on Fancy Feast Classic Pates.
     
    Esi likes this.
  4. Esi

    Esi Member

    Joined:
    Aug 4, 2018
    Yeah, I had no clue either. I always thought they needed the kibble to help in digestion as well as, maintain healthy teeth. I feel like such a terrible furkid mom. :( I've lost a few kitties over the yrs that I can't help but wonder "what if I'd known." *sigh* At least I know now.
     
    Arkali likes this.
  5. Tracey&Jones (GA)

    Tracey&Jones (GA) Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 12, 2016

    On the can is the guaranteed values - hence the min/max qualifers. In Dr. Lisa's list it is the as fed values, what is actually the values over time when being fed.
     
    Arkali likes this.
  6. Veronica & Babu-chiri

    Veronica & Babu-chiri Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 5, 2016
    One important thing to consider is that manufacturers usually list the guaranteed analysis which are either minimum or maximum values and as Tracey said Dr. Lisa's list is based on as fed values, and carbs you usually have to calculate them based on how many carbs each of the ingredients have, some times you can ask the manufacturer and they give it to you but they do not usually list it.

    I also switched all of my cats to the same diet and it was great for them, they became more active their coats improved and less fur balls
     
    Arkali likes this.
  7. Arkali

    Arkali Member

    Joined:
    Aug 1, 2018
    I've had those exact same thoughts. Trying not to beat myself up too much. We didn't know and did the best we could with what we *did* know.
     
    Esi likes this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page