I wouldn't feed it.

First of all it's a limited ingredient diet. It's great for cats who develop food allergies. YOu can put them on this to stop the allergies and then start to incoorporate other proteins to see what sets off those allergies again. I'd save it for if you need a novel protein.

Second, it's very high in carbs and a lot of the protein comes from the pea... it would not be my first choice.

I've never heard that red meat makes their crap stinky. I don't have that issue and all 3 of mine eat a primarily beef diet (one is allergic to almost everything else).

Why not start with a regular old grain free chicken?

Wild Calling, Merricks, Wellness core, Hound and Gato, By Nature 95%, Dave's 95% are all good choices and have basic chicken varieties.

 

I was thinking duck because I already feed her duck jerky treats, and she handles those really well.

Maybe I'll buy a can or two of red meat food from the boutique pet supply store down the street. The smell thing could just be hearsay haha.

What percentage of protein to carbs would you recommend for a cat on the heavier end of healthy?

 

Yes, I have always read that fish is not a good choice because of mercury, and also the fish used for the food is farmed, contaminated fish from China, and also that it is not a good protein source. I buy it as an "occasional" treat for my cats. They go bananas over it, lol.

So I pretty much stick to chicken, turkey, and beef on occasion, but I do have one cat who is highly allergic to beef. She will projectile vomit it within minutes of eating it, so I don't buy that one often. I have one cat who possibly has pancreatitis, and he is on one of those limited ingredient foods that Mow Mow mentioned. It does work for him, he has had way less vomiting and problems since he has been on that food. I do buy the duck one occasionally, and the venison one, in the limited ingredient brand, and my other cats will eat that now and then, but it is not a regular food that I get them. But non of mine seem to have a problem with duck or venison, so I throw it in there now and then.

Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition :: healthy cat diet, making cat food, litter box, cat food, cat nutrition, cat urinary tract health is a pretty good place to read about what is good and what is not so good. I have found it very helpful. It explains why wet food is better for cats, and why. It's very informative.

I have never heard about beef making stinky poop though

 

So I guess my follow-up question is whether it is safe to feed limited ingredient diets to a healthy cat? What about a variety of LID foods?

The link to the food I provided shows that there are tons of vitamins and whatnot in the food. The pea flour is way at the end of the main ingredients list, below all the duck items. It would be nice to know what percentage the flour is of the total ingredients :x

I think it makes the poop smell... beefy.

 

It won't HURT a cat to eat a limited ingredient diet... but what happens in 2 or 5 years when the cat starts to exhibit allergies? What will you use in an elimination diet if you've already been rotating those LID diet foods.

You'll have already fed all the limited ingredients so you'll never be able to rule their proteins out as an allergen. It may never happen but from somebody whose cat is allergic to... EVERYTHING. It's nice to know those are there when I need them.

If your cat is already on the overweight side I would absolutely NOT feed it. It's got way too many carbs for a pudgy cat. She'll just get fatter unless you feed a ridiculously small amount.

I'm not sure I understand why you can't feed something between red meat and LID diet? As I said in my first post in this thread, why not just feed grain free chicken and turkey? You're going to pay the same amount for a case of Dave's 95% as you are for the Natural Balance LID.

 

I'm not sure I understand why you can't feed something between red meat and LID diet? As I said in my first post in this thread, why not just feed grain free chicken and turkey? You're going to pay the same amount for a case of Dave's 95% as you are for the Natural Balance LID.

Earlier I mentioned that I already feed her duck jerky treats, so I know that she likes it and it doesn't make her sick. And mostly I wanted to know if there was some secret reason that duck is bad for cats, and if 5 years down the line I'll find out that all the duck I gave her is the reason for some horrible disease. That's all really.

I'll take a look at the Dave's 95%.

 

Sorry I forgot to mention I am staying away from red meat for ethical reasons. Birds and fish have a much smaller mental capacity for emotional suffering. Cows, on the other hand, suffer immensly. Also, most cheap cattle comes from deforestation in the rainforest. I work at an environmental NGO in DC, so I get to hear about this stuff all day, yipee!

I am totally willing to get my cat red meat, if she needs it! I might just buy it every once in a while so she can have a varied protein diet.

 

I get my cat Merrick's chicken based dry food (she won't touch wet). I mean, I'm strict vegan, etc etc., but cats are carnivores. I agree, however, that it's unfortunate pet food companies aren't more mindful and open as to how they source their meat (then again, that'd impact the price, no doubt).

 

There's no reason why you can't feed your cat duck. My cats love duck. I wouldn't stick only to duck though. Cats need variety and keeping them on one protein could potentially lead to a food allergy of that protien. I feed them Nature's variety Instinct Duck, Rabbit, and Salmon. I also use their Pride variety in rabbit. Nature's variety doesn't have carrageenan in it. Wellness does have this ingredient in theirs. I also feed them stella & chewy's dehydrated raw in duck and turkey and also a little frozen raw made by vital essentials. I steer clear of anything with chicken in it as one of my cats has skin issues on it. Hound and Gato is an excellent food, but unfortunately my cats don't like it....none of them