Young Again Zero carb as an occasional meal or treat?

Would it be bad to give a small amount, no more than 1/4 c of young again as an occasional meal or treat? I know my cats like it, and before Hidey had his dental and I switched them to 100% wet I bout a 25 lb bag of it......now its just sitting there. I know everyone here recommends no dry, but I was wondering everyones thoughts since it is one of the diabetic friendly dry foods and it wouldnt be an everyday all day thing so I figure it would be easier on his system than usual since he would still be getting food with a high moisture content.

 

I give my cats 2 pieces of Evo (8% Carb) kibble with their Fancy Feast. It hasn't affected Dusty's BG readings. In my mind it simulates the bones and fur/feathers that would have been found in a real bird or mouse. It helps keep them regular and less fur balls. Try it but keep a close eye on the BG readings, come cats are more carb sensitive.

 

I think you're onto something here. I got a couple of free samples of Lotus dry food from my neighboorhood pet store a couple of months ago. I usually pass them along to a shelter or rescue, but I hadn't had a chance this time around. Henry (my non-diabetic) is an indoor/outdoor cat, as much as I hate it. When I try to keep him indoors, he gets super anxious and starts climbing around in my cupboards, looking for "crunchies" to eat (dried pasta, crackers, seeds and nuts, quinoa, rice, chips, etc...). This last time around, I broke out the dry food and gave him a couple of pieces and it calmed him down. When he's out and about catching prey (3 lizards, a bird, and a mouse so far this week that I know of), he has no desire for my pantry items and doesn't touch the couple of pieces of dry food I leave out for him to entice him home at night.

 

I just bought a bag and will compare the results of 100% dry to the numbers I know on 100% Purina DM wet. I'm going to get a Superfeeder for vacations, so the kibble works.
I can get him off insulin with the wet, so if his numbers are not crazy with the dry I'm golden.

 

Hidey was getting free fed dry before his diagnosis (blue buffalo weight control) and canned food in the morning and at night. I then switched hm to EVO and his stomach couldn't handle it. I then tried the YA and y cats loved it but his numbers would spike a bit. but then had his dental which meant no dry food since he had two extractions-his upper canines :cry: He's had 3 other extractions but recovered quickly since they were back teeth (like a week) since these were canines it took longer (about a month!) so he was OFF the dry. His numbers are stable for the most part but I have all this YA dry and I know they like the crunch. Yesterday I gave him a bit of the YA. Before I gave him some dry he was 51 5 hours later he was 52 so that made me feel more comfortable. I just will keep monitoring and definitely no dry at night since his AM numbers are always the highest.

 

Be careful when going to all dry because we've had many members who had kitties in remission lose it because they went to all dry. If your still on insulin I guess trying won't hurt, you'll either get a spike in the BG or you won't. nailbite_smile

 

Noooooooo! Definitely not all dry. What I'm thinking is that right now I feed my cats 5 times a day to keep him diet controlled and get the calories he needs but I was thinking of using the dry as a treat or maybe making dry one of the meals. That way they get the crunch and flavor of the dry, Im not throwing away 20+ lbs of dry food and they still get a lot of high moisture food.

 

I got some samples of young again but and gave Max a very small amount and it seemed to spike his BG. I use human freeze dried chicken and turkey bought from honeyville.com as treats. He gets the crunch without carbs and it is way cheaper than cat treats plus it is even sodium free!!

 

We have a cat who does amazingly well with a highly regulated feeding schedule. Her numbers stay beautifully level if, and only if, she eats about every 6 hours.
We sometimes use Young Again zero carb in timer feeders when we can't be home, especially in warmer weather months.

I would never suggest an all dry diet, but as an occasional snack in conjunction with plenty of moist food, it gets the job done. Her numbers are great, the ingredients seem to be high quality, and everybody is staying hydrated.
The only down side is that our two "Crunchy Junky" cats sometimes snub the moist food in hopes of holding out for dry. Fortunately, they aren't the diabetic cat, so we just give them that motherly, "If you're hungry, you'll eat!" response. Unfortunately, our diabetic cat is more than happy to finish off their plates for them if they stomp off.

I wouldn't say that I think it would work for everybody, but it is surely worth a try if:
1) You want a transitional "sprinkle" for the cat who refuses to eat plain wet food.
2) If there are times when you use a timer feeder and want a food that won't quickly spoil.
3) And if you have cats who will willingly eat both wet and dry.
4) As a healthier treat option. Every once in a looooong while, our cats get a few pieces in their Slim Cat treat balls. It keeps us all entertained when we're feeling stir crazy.

The company's website suggests free feeding, which I would never be brave enough to try with our diabetic kitty. We feed less than 1/8 of a cup per cat between meals, and it seems to keep her numbers balanced really well.

 

I too tried the Young Again cat food with my sugarbaby, and it didn't really change his numbers, which weren't all that good to begin with, but it really upset his stomach as well as the other kitties I gave it to. And I start off with a very small amount. I had 4 cats I was feeding it to along with their wet food and they all ended up with diarrhea. Could not get rid of it until I stopped giving it to them. Not sure what caused it but it was not a good thing for them or me. I have other cats that eat EVO and get wet twice a day. They are doing well with it, although I noticed the other day when looking at their website that they no longer show 6.99% carbs on their website they now show 12.99%. P&G really changed their food and I am not happy with that, but still 12.99 is lower than any other dry food I can find other than YA. But I will not feed it to my others due to the stomach upset that it caused with my fosters. I do give them a few bites as a treat every now and again, hated to throw it out, and that seems to work.