Grain-free food recommendations

[sqirrelfriends]

Dcat went to the vet today, and it was mentioned that I needed to change his diet. He said the food we feed him is bad quality but didn't say how specifically.

He recommended either Hills or Royal Canin, unfortunately neither of these do a grain free version which Dcat needs, otherwise he gets a very upset stomach.

We use Applaws at the moment and I thought it was ok with a good protein content, obviously I was wrong. We have also tried James Welbeloved and Wainwright's, both of which didn't agree with him. Also AVA (pets at home brand) which kept being recalled so I don't really trust it.

Can anyone please recommend a good grain or gluten-free food to try?

IIRC not all Applaws foods are complete, so might be missing essential nutrients.

Zooplus is great for trying a range of foods. My old boy is now on a special diet but previously ate a mix of grain free wet and dry, he was never fussy so just had whatever caught my eye/was on offer.

Eh, sounds like he's talking crap. Applaws has more meat and fewer grains than Royal Canin/Hills. Was he trying to flog you stuff he sells in the vet?

Applaws dry is complete

My cat is on Sainsburys Hypoallergenic (complete, grain free) dry food, and Butcher's canned wet food. Don't know how good they are but she loves both.

I think you should ask the vet exactly what is wrong with the perfectly decent food you are giving. I assume you are talking about dry food

@dementedpixie, that's what I thought initially but the only food that I could see was the recovery food.

I do feel a bit crap that Ive potentially been feeding Dcat rubbish food. I was really happy with it as well, finally found a food that suits and now potentially have deal with Dcat having a sore tummy again (and dealing with the cleanup )

www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/dry-cat-food/sainsburys-adult-hypoallergenic-recipe-complete-dry-with-fresh-salmon-1-years-800g This, they do salmon or chicken, reviews are good.

petfoodexpert.co.uk/?search=Hill&species=cat

This gives scores on cat food. Applaws % for dry food is in the 70s. Hills/Royal Canin get under 50%

Sainsburys have a grain free own brand, pouches (£7ish for 48) tins (£4ish for 12) and biscuits. That's what was recommended to us from the rescue centre. They do kitten, cat and seniors.

Thanks @whirlwindwallaby I'll have a look.

I'm toying with the idea of just keeping Dcat on applaws for the moment but it will be good to have a backup for if the vet has a valid reason why his food needs to change.

its not rubbish food. Its high meat and grain free

I give Encore which is virtually identical to Applaws (same manufacturer). I also give Thrive dry that is 90% meat and grain free

@dementedpixie that's really interesting! I just had a look and Applaws compares really well. I wouldn't actually choose either of the foods the vet recommended based on those protein contents.

Complete means all the relevant nutrients. I think Applaws wet is classed as a complementary food so it's not bad as such but just doesn't contain everything a puss needs.

Applaws do a complete wet food so maybe just swap to that

Thanks @Vinorosso74 @QueenPaws Wet food doesn't agree with him unfortunately so he's on dry only.

Such a shame because he loves the gravy.

And if its dry food then Applaws is already complete

It could be the gravy in wet food which upsets him. There are soooooo many varieties of cat food out there it's quite a mission.

If he's happy and healthy on Applaws dry there is no need to switch.

There is emerging evidence that grain free diets are low in taurine and this can lead to heart disease.
Many of the boutique foods are not doing any kind of trials to ensure that nutrients are actually bioavailable in their foods. So the world small animal veterinarian association have produced these guidelines https://wsava.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/WSAVA-Nutrition-Assessment-Guidelines-2011-JSAP.pdf.
Be aware that the person who write pet expert has no nutritional qualifications at all.

Applaws says it is a complete food. Its surely better for cats to eat mainly meat rather than a food stuffed with grains.

I think its dogs that need more than just a meat based diet rather than cats.

www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/outbreaks-and-advisories/fda-investigation-potential-link-between-certain-diets-and-canine-dilated-cardiomyopathy

Fda warning seems to be about dogs

The WSAVA guidelines are for cats and dogs as whilst the DCM is just dogs, lots of the boutique foods have not done the testing to ensure that nutrients are bioavailable. The boutique firms create a food that on paper should be complete and so are allowed to make that claim as per foods are poorly regulated - I could set up as a pet food company tomorrow and no one would check that I have any idea about per food.
The FDA dog advice is also combined with the boutique raw cat food in the UK that gave at least 13 cats and one human tuberculosis.
The boutique
People should read all the evidence and understand why it is important to feed a food that ensures that their pet is able to access all the nutrients in the food they are buying.

@Lonecatwithkitten the problem I have with Dcat is that any food I've given him that isn't gluten free makes him literally leak feaces. It's disgusting and can't be healthy for him.

I be read the articles and can't see how grain-free actually contributes to low taurine other than possible mixtures leading to low absorption. Since I've chosen a high-protein food (taurine is found under animal protein), surely that would better suit Dcat's taurine requirement than say, Whiskas.

Grains don't contain taurine and I wouldnt say dry applaws is a boutique food. It has taurine added too