Which Wellness canned?

Nick always eats Fancy Feast Gourmet Chicken Feast (it's the only flavor he likes... he won't eat anything that isn't chicken only), but a recent thread about the changed formula has me worried that he won't like it anymore. Thankfully, my local stores still have tons of the "old" kind (good through Sept. 2011), but I'm interested in trying something else. For the heck of it, I grabbed a 3 oz can of Wellness Chicken Formula, thinking it was the one I saw on Janet & Binky's chart as having the same carbs (4%) as FF chicken. Turns out the one I bought has potatoes and fruit and such in it (though grain free). Is this the right one? http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/cat_wellness_can_chicken.html

 

if the wellness cans have a little yellow triangle on the label, then they are grain free....

however, yes, Wellness does add potatoes, and such to their food, but the quantity is really very small, some of the Wellness flavours are still a good choice for low carb wet food.

EDIT TO ADD:
Check the Wellness website, u will see pics of the cans with the yellow triangle.
Here is the link:

http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/cat_well ... index.html

 

Look for the Wellness cans with the yellow Grain Free sign on the label. The potatoes and fruit. while no what you would put in home made food, are in such small amounts they don't count.

 

It is a grain-free one, which is why I thought it was right, but then the other starches and fruit made me think I grabbed the wrong one. Sounds like that is fine though, and maybe the fruit will even be good for his urinary tract (he used to get crystals years ago)! Thanks!!

 

I'd like to chime in that I debated feeding the wellness, but went with the EVO 95% Chicken and Turkey which according to binky's chart has 0 carbs. Here is a comparison between the two:

Protein/Fat/Carbs/Fiber(g)/Phosph(mg)/Calories per cup

EVO 95% Chicken & Turkey: 29/71/0/0.1/237/209

Wellness Chicken: 30/66/4/0.2/219/220

 

EVO 95% is an excellent choice, as well as Wellness.

I began with Wellness, switched to EVO 95%, and went back to Wellness. Why? Because I tracked how a food change affected BG levels and Luna's overall appetite combined with weight gain/loss.

I am a firm believer in trial and error, what works for your cat as every cat is different.

In all honesty, I like how EVO looks and smells (like a french pate you want to spread on your crackers :lol: )

but Wellness works well for my cat, after all he is the one eating it.

Trial and error.

 

Good point Ronnie. After all, Boo has only recently began his wet food journey. I definitely would put Wellness or Nature's Variety Instinct as my next two choices if I need to switch. I like the fact that EVO comes in 13oz cans, which I think wellness does, but Instinct does not. EVO has the best price per/oz as well.

Either way, you are doing the right thin by trying a High Protein/Low carb wet diet. "Proper" food is the best medicine for your diabetic.

 

My cats are new to the wet food thing too and I originally put them on EVO because I heard that it was great low carb but my cats won't eat it.
I tried them on Wellness Core and they eat that fine. So what really counts I guess is what they will eat.

 

A few comments. First of all, zero carb is not necessarily better than low carb. The nutritional composition of an adult mouse is about 8% carb (from http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/zoo/WholePreyFinal02May29.pdf. Some of us have found that we get better BG control feeding between 5 - 10% carbs rather than zero carbs. That is not necessarily true for every cat, but something to keep in mind when selecting a food.

My cats do not like any of the 95% meat versions. My own theory is that organ meats (by-products) have a stronger scent and flavor than muscle meat. It is true that some cat foods have added flavors (both natural and artificial) but my cats do like some that claim to have no added flavors (Wellness Chicken & Herring and Turkey). I think, to them, the EVO is like us being fed poached chicken, plain rice, and steamed veggies. Healthy, but bland and boring. So, don't be afraid of a few carbs and don't be afraid to mix it up once in a while.

Edited to fix %carb from mouse.

 

This is great info, thanks all! I don't think Nick would like the EVO... anything other than chicken-only, he turns his nose up. Even turkey! He's a finicky boy and likes to have the same thing all the time, so hopefully I can find something that is really close to the FF Gourmet Chicken Feast. There's plenty of time to experiment thankfully!

 

You may have a point, and obviously it varies form cat to cat. My diabetic is obviously very "carb sensitive" because the EVo 95% has made a world of a difference. I did revisit specs on the wellness core and two things bother me. First, I don't like the fact they put "potatoes' in it and the other one isn't a huge deal but they don't offer 13 oz cans. From what I've read potatoes are not good for a diabetic. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[quote="Covert Ops
You may have a point, and obviously it varies form cat to cat. My diabetic is obviously very "carb sensitive" because the EVo 95% has made a world of a difference. I did revisit specs on the wellness core and two things bother me. First, I don't like the fact they put "potatoes' in it and the other one isn't a huge deal but they don't offer 13 oz cans. From what I've read potatoes are not good for a diabetic. Correct me if I'm wrong.[/quote]

Well, potatoes are not as bad as grains, but they are not something I would expect feral cats to eat. However, the quantity in a can of Wellness is very small. There is only about 1.5 grams of carb in a 3 oz. can of Wellness Turkey. That amounts to about 1/2 tsp of potato assuming all of the carb is from potatoes.

The purpose of my post was not to say one cat food is better than another. I think newcomers frequently stress out about finding the perfect food. I did. There is no perfect cat food. It is usually trial and error to find what works for your cat that they are willing to eat. EVO is working for you, so you should keep using it and you should tell others. EVO does not work for all cats. It is too high in fat for some cats prone to pancreatitis.

 

According to the Binky chart, Wellness core has almost as much fat as the evo and has more calories. So many things to consider, too much phos could = renal failure.. now too much fat = pancreatits. ugh!! How can you tell the evo has more fat, from what I've read any low carb food is going to be higher in fat but it's a "good fat", right?