I need some help with Max’s diet again. I’m feeding Max all Instinct limited ingredient turkey and rabbit now due to the GI issues (pancreatitis, IBD). Chicken may be a trigger for him, but turkey doesn’t seem to bother him as much. I like giving him the Weruva foods because they are low phosphorus but they aren’t very gentle on his stomach if he stays on that. I also have used the EZ complete with ground turkey and he liked it. If I try to switch him to all homemade food (which seems to be the only choice I have in finding a food with low phosphorus, low carb and for his GI problems) where can I get other meats to use with the premix? I buy ground turkey from the grocery store. I don’t know what else to get. Help! The problem is, I think his GI system is sensitive to chicken and that’s causing all of these pancreatitis/IBD flare ups. I don’t want to feed him fish. I only give him tuna every now and then. I have the EZ premix already. I’ve just not been making cat food lately, but if that’s best for him that’s what I will do! He already has early stage CKD so I try to stay away from higher phosphorus in foods and that’s why I’ve been using Weruva. But, Weruva has some additives in it that’s sometimes upset his stomach. The Instinct Limited ingredient is gentle on his GI system, but not low in phosphorus. What else can I do? Try the EZ complete again? If that’s the best answer then I need ideas on what to use with it, and where to find it…grocery store? Honestly I haven’t put a lot of effort into learning about raw feeding or making your own cat food. I cook the turkey I use when I do make it. I’m almost ashamed to admit it because I’m probably not doing what Max has needed all along. I’m probably making it hard, but it isn’t easy taking care of a cat with so many issues. There’s also another slight problem that I just need to try and get over for Max’s sake, and that’s handling raw meat. I did it before when my kids were little, I cooked their food so they could have balanced meals. (I’m vegetarian though) I know, I need to do what’s best for Max and I am willing to. So, ideas for making cat food? What meats to get and where? Any help welcome. Yesterday https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/5-31-max-amps-355-2-5-275-4-203.278114/#post-3076216
Lori, there's a brand called Forza10... I am pretty sure they have low phosphorus content. I'm not certain about the meat, I.e. chicken etc. But I do know they have a lamb variety. Good luck, I'm not savvy with homemade food, I never tried it. But my Luigi was sensitive to everything. We tried all the novel meat diets, duck, bison, rabbit, etc. Everything sans kangaroo. Good luck and you and Mr.Max have a great day!
Thank you so much @Deb and Sylvester I will check into that. I’m trying to find the best diet I can but like some other cats here, he’s complicated. I hope I can get some good ideas from anyone else who is/has gone through the same!
Hi Lori, I too have toyed with the idea of making Cleo's food and just like you really haven't put a lot of effort into researching it . There are some other canned LID options. Off the top of my head: ZiwiPeak https://us.ziwipets.com/collections...ual&filter.p.product_type=Canned wet cat food (you'll have to contact them for phos content) Koha https://kohapet.com/collections/limited-ingredient-diet-pate (they have the nutritional chart with As Fed, DMB and ME basis) Dr. Elsey's Clean Protein https://www.drelseys.com/product-types/food/ How low in phosphorus are you looking? I'm sure you must have perused http://felinecrf.org/phosphorus.htm at some point.
@Angela & Cleo thanks so much for these suggestions. I’m going to research those as well. I’ve been giving him foods that are as much below 200 mg/kcal as possible up until recently when I started the Instinct GF limited ingredient back due to his GI issues. He loves chicken but I’m afraid it doesn’t love him so I’m trying to avoid that. I’ve tried novel proteins like rabbit, duck, and venison but he will only eat the rabbit out of those choices. I have studied feline crf site quite a bit when the vet first told me he needed to be on a kidney diet. I chose instead to go with low phosphorus foods instead of lowering protein. It’s really a lot to keep up with in these complex cats. I honestly feel like I’ve learned as much here about cats and various issues as I have in my entire career in medicine. That’s crazy but I feel like I have. Sometimes it’s overwhelming but we do our best. Thank you again.
Max has had two BMs today and the stool is very black. I’m starting to feel like there’s something really bad going on with him. I called and got his lab values from the other day when I took him due to the drooling. I’m going to post those on his SS. I hope Max is okay.
I have two sources of other meats for making home made cat food. The first is an exotic meat butcher nearby. He stocked buffalo, kangaroo, wild boar, venison, etc. The second source is a pet food store that specializes in raw meats. In addition to premade raw, they also stock just plain frozen meats for people who make their own. From there I could get ostrich, quail, rabbit, goat, elk as well the ones listed previously. I preferred the raw meat butcher, otherwise I was thawing then refreezing meat. And could get the quantity I wanted instead of preset amounts.There is also a local raw pet food vendor who sells preset amounts of just plain meat that I can get at other pet food stores. Two other meats that are generally available at stores for people are lamb and pork. Both are rather rich, but you can pan fry first and get a little fat off of it.
