Yeah, I did the same with the dogs when I had Caesar and Goliath. It costs more, but in the long run your dogs live longer if you don't feed them crap. With Caesar and Goliath I took them off anything with corn. With Ramses I went even further and checked the protein percentages. He was on a 35% protein food with fruits and vegetables in it (because they are almost omnivores) but when he developed the chicken allergy I switched to lamb and salmon. Then after the last vet visit I put him on a diet with only 24% protein as he's a senior dog now, but it still has the other healthy ingredients.
I know cats need a LOT more protein than dogs, which is why dogs will eat cat poop if they can get it. Like little treats nature provides for free.
She may be puking because she is eating too fast. That gulping is a result of competition with Stewie, wolfing it down so he can't get any. That can also cause puking.
It wouldn't hurt to rotate their protein flavors a bit if they'd allow it.
I think the sweet potatoes are an unneeded filler, like pumpkins but even cheaper. Check the percentage of proteins (good quality). Is it high enough? And is it meat meal or meat and bone meal? You want to avoid the ones with bone meal as it's cheaper grade and has more filler.
What kind of protein is in that cat food? If it isn't quite 50%, would it be worth it to add a raw egg to it? Egg is the absolute best protein to give both dogs and cats. The vet said I can give Ramses egg even though he's allergic to chicken because egg protein is different than chicken.
At their age, it wouldn't hurt to give them a few supplements in case it is a lack of some enzymes. Wouldn't hurt them any.
Oh, my! This looks just like shadow kitty. Black, same eyes and just as skinny. I wonder if shadow kitty has hyperthyroidism rather than is just skinny?
Says 52% protein, 36% fat and 12% carbohydrate for inactive cats. Your cats are pretty inactive.
Boy, that's not only a lot of protein it is a lot of fat. But I guess it's needed to grease the tubes because of all that hair they eat.
This is interesting:
"However, energy requirement sharply and progressively increase again in these cats when they become older, starting at 10 to 12 years of age. "
"In addition to an increased caloric intake, older cats also require higher amounts of protein to maintain protein reserves compared with younger adult cats. As cats age, they absorb and metabolize protein less efficiently — therefore, it’s extremely important to feed high-quality protein (i.e., animal source rather than grain-based), as well as an adequate quantity of protein to aging cats.
It's very clear that not all proteins are created equal, especially when feeding a obligate carnivore, such as the cat. The biological value of a protein is a measure of that protein's ability to supply amino acids (especially the 11 essential amino acids) and to supply these amino acids in the proper proportions. It is well-established that animal proteins (e.g., meat, meat by-products) have a higher biological values than vegetable proteins (e.g., corn gluten meal, soybean meal, soy protein isolate)."
"In the short digestive tract of cats, plant proteins are far less digestible than meat proteins. "
"To help maintain lean body mass and promote optimum health, geriatric cats should receive diets that will provide 6.0-8.5 g of high quality protein per kg body weight per day, or diets that provide at least 50% of calories or metabolizable energy (ME) as protein. "
"So how do we calculate how much protein a commercial cat food diet actually contains? Here is how I do the calculation:
First determine the grams of food in a can or cup of food feed.
For canned diets, there are 28.3 g per oz of canned food, so a 5.5-oz can of food contains ~156 grams of food.
For dry food diets, remember that a cup is a measurement for volume, whereas a gram is measurement of weight, so there is not a general conversion of cups to grams. Depending on size and density of the dry kibble, one 8-oz. cup may hold under 3 oz (~85 g) to over 4 oz (~113 g) of food. To determine the weight (oz or g) in a cup of dry food, look for the information listed on the product bag or manufacturer's website; otherwise, email or call the company to find the information.
Second, look up the moisture content for the canned or dry formulations.
Most canned foods contain about 75% water, so that leaves us with 25% dry matter. In a can containing 156 g of food, that leaves us with 39 g of dry matter (i.e., 156 g X .25 = 39 g).
Most dry foods contain about 10% moisture, leaving 90% of dry matter. In a cup of dry food (113 g), that leaves us with ~102 g of dry matter (i.e., 113 g X 0.9 = 101.7 g).
Third, look up the diet’s percent protein on a dry matter basis (DMB), again from the information on the can or bag or from the information on the company’s website.
If the food contains 30% protein (DMB), that means the diet contains 30 g of protein per 100 g of dry matter. This is true for either a canned or dry diet.
Finally, multiple the grams of food (DMB) contained in a can or cup of dry food by the percent of protein (DMB) in each can or cup.
If a 5.5-oz can of diet has 75% moisture and 30% protein on a DMB, then that food contains 11.7 g protein/can of food (39 g X 30% = 11.7 g).
If the same can has 75% moisture and 50% protein on a DMB, then that that diet contains 19.5 g protein/can of food (39 g X 50% = 19.5 g).
If a cup of dry food has 10% moisture and 30% protein on a DMB, then that food contains 30.6 g protein/cup of food (102 g X 30% = 30.6 grams)."
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Date: 2017-07-07 08:06 pm (UTC)I know cats need a LOT more protein than dogs, which is why dogs will eat cat poop if they can get it. Like little treats nature provides for free.
She may be puking because she is eating too fast. That gulping is a result of competition with Stewie, wolfing it down so he can't get any. That can also cause puking.
It wouldn't hurt to rotate their protein flavors a bit if they'd allow it.
I think the sweet potatoes are an unneeded filler, like pumpkins but even cheaper. Check the percentage of proteins (good quality). Is it high enough? And is it meat meal or meat and bone meal? You want to avoid the ones with bone meal as it's cheaper grade and has more filler.
What kind of protein is in that cat food? If it isn't quite 50%, would it be worth it to add a raw egg to it? Egg is the absolute best protein to give both dogs and cats. The vet said I can give Ramses egg even though he's allergic to chicken because egg protein is different than chicken.
At their age, it wouldn't hurt to give them a few supplements in case it is a lack of some enzymes. Wouldn't hurt them any.
Oh, my! This looks just like shadow kitty. Black, same eyes and just as skinny. I wonder if shadow kitty has hyperthyroidism rather than is just skinny?
https://endocrinevet.blogspot.com/2011/11/optimal-protein-requirements-for-older.html
Says 52% protein, 36% fat and 12% carbohydrate for inactive cats. Your cats are pretty inactive.
Boy, that's not only a lot of protein it is a lot of fat. But I guess it's needed to grease the tubes because of all that hair they eat.
This is interesting:
"However, energy requirement sharply and progressively increase again in these cats when they become older, starting at 10 to 12 years of age. "
"In addition to an increased caloric intake, older cats also require higher amounts of protein to maintain protein reserves compared with younger adult cats. As cats age, they absorb and metabolize protein less efficiently — therefore, it’s extremely important to feed high-quality protein (i.e., animal source rather than grain-based), as well as an adequate quantity of protein to aging cats.
It's very clear that not all proteins are created equal, especially when feeding a obligate carnivore, such as the cat. The biological value of a protein is a measure of that protein's ability to supply amino acids (especially the 11 essential amino acids) and to supply these amino acids in the proper proportions. It is well-established that animal proteins (e.g., meat, meat by-products) have a higher biological values than vegetable proteins (e.g., corn gluten meal, soybean meal, soy protein isolate)."
"In the short digestive tract of cats, plant proteins are far less digestible than meat proteins. "
"To help maintain lean body mass and promote optimum health, geriatric cats should receive diets that will provide 6.0-8.5 g of high quality protein per kg body weight per day, or diets that provide at least 50% of calories or metabolizable energy (ME) as protein. "
"So how do we calculate how much protein a commercial cat food diet actually contains? Here is how I do the calculation:
First determine the grams of food in a can or cup of food feed.
For canned diets, there are 28.3 g per oz of canned food, so a 5.5-oz can of food contains ~156 grams of food.
For dry food diets, remember that a cup is a measurement for volume, whereas a gram is measurement of weight, so there is not a general conversion of cups to grams. Depending on size and density of the dry kibble, one 8-oz. cup may hold under 3 oz (~85 g) to over 4 oz (~113 g) of food. To determine the weight (oz or g) in a cup of dry food, look for the information listed on the product bag or manufacturer's website; otherwise, email or call the company to find the information.
Second, look up the moisture content for the canned or dry formulations.
Most canned foods contain about 75% water, so that leaves us with 25% dry matter. In a can containing 156 g of food, that leaves us with 39 g of dry matter (i.e., 156 g X .25 = 39 g).
Most dry foods contain about 10% moisture, leaving 90% of dry matter. In a cup of dry food (113 g), that leaves us with ~102 g of dry matter (i.e., 113 g X 0.9 = 101.7 g).
Third, look up the diet’s percent protein on a dry matter basis (DMB), again from the information on the can or bag or from the information on the company’s website.
If the food contains 30% protein (DMB), that means the diet contains 30 g of protein per 100 g of dry matter. This is true for either a canned or dry diet.
Finally, multiple the grams of food (DMB) contained in a can or cup of dry food by the percent of protein (DMB) in each can or cup.
If a 5.5-oz can of diet has 75% moisture and 30% protein on a DMB, then that food contains 11.7 g protein/can of food (39 g X 30% = 11.7 g).
If the same can has 75% moisture and 50% protein on a DMB, then that that diet contains 19.5 g protein/can of food (39 g X 50% = 19.5 g).
If a cup of dry food has 10% moisture and 30% protein on a DMB, then that food contains 30.6 g protein/cup of food (102 g X 30% = 30.6 grams)."