Cat Food

[pipermarau]

Hello, all!  I am proudly owned by two cats that have been kind enough to change their diet when I was forced to go gluten free.  The problem is finding cat food that is gluten free without the company slipping in Barley Grass or Wheat Grass and acting like it is completely safe.  

 

Right now my kitties are on a combination of brands that label their food as "Grain Free", with Blue Wilderness/Buffalo being the major brand.  I recently got them a bag of Red Meat Feast but my skin is getting irritated and my stomach is getting that gluteny ache.  Has anyone had issues with the dry food in the last six to twelve months?  The last post I found here when trying the keyword search was back in 2009, and it was dog food.  The Blue company has made some changes, and the wet food has been just fine for us, however we do need some nice crunchy food that won't get me contaminated.

 

Thank you for any suggestions.  Ive been gluten-free since 2012 but things can still be challenging.

[kareng]

There are a lot of grain free cat and dog foods that I think would be safer for your pets than Blue.  Both my dog and my cat have gotten some of the food that caused overdoses of vitamin D.  I would think they may not be very careful about cc of grains if they aren't careful about the basics in making their foods.  When you look at how they store the raw materials, its amazing they don't have more recalls!

 

We use Merrick - but I am not a "super sensitive".  I am only answering here because I wanted you to be aware that Blue has had some issues.

[Ginkgo100]

Hello, all!  I am proudly owned by two cats that have been kind enough to change their diet when I was forced to go gluten free.  The problem is finding cat food that is gluten free without the company slipping in Barley Grass or Wheat Grass and acting like it is completely safe.  

 

Right now my kitties are on a combination of brands that label their food as "Grain Free", with Blue Wilderness/Buffalo being the major brand.  I recently got them a bag of Red Meat Feast but my skin is getting irritated and my stomach is getting that gluteny ache.  Has anyone had issues with the dry food in the last six to twelve months?  The last post I found here when trying the keyword search was back in 2009, and it was dog food.  The Blue company has made some changes, and the wet food has been just fine for us, however we do need some nice crunchy food that won't get me contaminated.

 

Thank you for any suggestions.  Ive been gluten-free since 2012 but things can still be challenging.

 

 

Please forgive me, but I am a little confused.  I'm sure you are not eating the cat food  , so what is causing it to affect you? Is the dust from the dry food getting into your mouth or cross-contaminating your food?

 

I always assumed Blue Wilderness was gluten-free (we feed it to our cats, too), but it turns out that it does contain barley grass as an ingredient.  Now barley grass itself is gluten-free, because the gluten is found only in the seeds (grain). However, if the grass is harvested after the plants go to seed, some seeds (grains) could get mixed in, which would indeed mean that there is a small amount of barley gluten in the food.

 

Anyway, assuming it's the dust, here are some options:

 

• Feed your cats somewhere far away from the kitchen, so the dust won't cross-contaminate your food.
• Wear a dust mask when feeding the cats. (I know, it sounds like a pain in the neck.)
• Switch to canned cat food. It wouldn't even need to be grain-free,* since there would be no dust to get into the air. You might want to always use a disposable plastic spoon to scoop it into the dish (and disposable bowls, maybe?).

 

*That said, my personal feeling is that cats aren't meant to have grain-heavy or high-carb diets, which is why we feed grain-free food. But grain-free canned food is really expensive, and canned food generally has a much higher protein-to-carb ratio than most dry foods, which means that it is worth considering even if it does contain, say, rice.

 

Good luck!

[bartfull]

Hi Ginko. The other worry about gluten in cat food is they always groom themselves with their gluteny tongues right after eating. Then if you pet them and forget to wash your hands you might get glutened. I can't get gluten-free cat food where I live but I always wash my hands before popping anything in my mouth but I have a very affectionate cat so that means I wash my hands a LOT!

[pipermarau]

Hi Ginko. The other worry about gluten in cat food is they always groom themselves with their gluteny tongues right after eating. Then if you pet them and forget to wash your hands you might get glutened. I can't get gluten-free cat food where I live but I always wash my hands before popping anything in my mouth but I have a very affectionate cat so that means I wash my hands a LOT!

 

 

you hit the nail on the head about grooming!  the dust does bother me like any gluten dust, but cats are chronic bathers by tongue.  their saliva can be what gets me the worst because my two cats are very affectionate and they lick my face when i sleep, headbut me and rub whiskers on everything they see, and they are lap cats.  my oldest has a UI problem and has to eat canned/wet food only for the rest of his life.  shopping for him is easy but the other kitty still likes a little dry food sometimes.  she was a runt and needs a better diet since she already lost one tooth on the wet food diet.  they don't get table scraps but sometimes do get treated with their own pot roast or cooked chicken when i can afford it.  

 

The brand Simply Nourish has no wheat, rye, or barley in it but my kitty gets the hiccups on it.  She was ok with their rabbit formula but this chicken one isn't going over so well.

 

thank you all for the other replies.  i chose to quote this one because they know exactly what i am afraid of when it comes to my cats and their food.

[BlessedMommy]

I use this brand of grain cat food and there's no wheat or barley grass in it. My kitty loves it! I was using their Green Pea and Salmon formula for awhile and now for variety's sake, I switched it up and ordered my cat their Green Pea and Duck formula.

 

Open Original Shared Link

 

Plus, I have the convenience of getting it shipped to my door every month. The grain free cat food in the stores around here is much more expensive than online.

[GF Jeannie Marie]

I was old by my Dr. that my whole household including pets need to eat gluten free for those of us suffering from celiacs to "get better". It was a hunt to find grain free food that was truly indeed gluten free! We feed our dogs the kirkland signature grain free food, I'm not sure if they have a cat food though. Before we switched dog foods, my kids would get hives if the dogs licked them. Gluten hides everywhere!!!!!