Innova EVO - long term?

[JamBray]

Both of my cats and our dog have been on Innova EVO for approx. 2 years now (with our dog going off for a couple of months) and are doing great on it. However, I got to thinking yesterday if I should keep them on it. The reason being is that I know a diet high in protein can have adverse effects on the liver and kidneys in people as it causes them to work harder, but wasn't sure if it worked the same for animals (since the BARF diet is so popular). So is it okay to keep feeding them this, or should I mix in regular Innova to give them more carbs? TIA.

[SingleWhiteFemale]

Cats do not need carbs to survive. They're naturally carnivores. Actually, carbs are difficult for their little bodies to process. But if for some reason their body needs glucose, they can break down protein to make it.

They're programmed to thrive on high protein, low carb diets. If you're feeding your cat high carb amounts, those carbs turn to glucose so they have a high amount of glucose in their body, and in turn they release more insulin to bring down the amount of glucose. It doesn't work, and over time the cat will develop diabetes.

Diabetes is no fun (currently battling that with my oldest for the last year, and he just started to go into renal failure as well). It really sucks. For almost 20 years, my parents were feeding a higher carb diet--Science Diet (non-prescription, the stuff you can ge at Petsmart). It has produced 2 diabetic diagnosises out of 5 "senior"/adult cats over 10.

The time that high protein is contraindicated is when the kitty is in renal failure. Under those circumstances, one gives subQ fluids to make kidney function "easier"/help flush excess protein. Unfortunately, CRF frequently follows diabetes--so you're stuck with a condition that warrants a high protein/low carb diet, and another that warrants a low protein/high carb diet.

[greenbunny]

My one cat must be on EVO for a grain allergy, so while I have wondered about your question, I can't really do anything about changing her diet. Food with grain makes her sick.

[JamBray]

Thanks so much for that explanation SWF. I had a feeling that it worked differently in some animals, so it's good to know that I'm not doing them any harm. Now does food break down the same way for dogs too?

[kemorr]

It's not entirely true that cats don't need carbs. Yes, cats are obligate carnivores and in nature they do not seek out grain fields and eat the corn/rice/wheat etc. However, remember that in a "natural" environment a "natural" cat will kill an animal and eat the entire carcass. Not just the parts that are deemed "acceptable" by people. All animals, including prey animals, store carbohydrates in their bodies. There is a small amount of carbohydrate stored in the muscle (which is mostly protein) but the majority of carbohydrate is stored in the liver as glycogen. Therefore, a cat eating "naturally" is eating carbohydrate, in the form of glycogen, from eating organ meat. They use and metabolize this carbohydrate the same way that other species do.

In addition, the number 1 cause of diabetes in cats is not high carb diets but obesity. Having an overweight cat is a significant risk factor for the cat developing diabetes. Now you may argue that high carb diets are the #1 cause of obesity, but I believe that overfeeding is the #1 cause of obesity. If you overfeed your cat with a high protein and/or high fat diet and it gets fat, it will be just as much at risk of developing diabetes as cats fed a regular cat food that is higher in carbs. Unfortunately, in the US, the rising epidemic of obesity in people is very closely mirrored by a rising epidemic of obesity in pets.

Finally, diabetes can cause kidney failure, but it is actually a fairly infrequent cause of kidney failure. We have at least 3-4 cats per week hospitalized in our clinic for kidney failure and a very small percentage of them are diabetic. There are many other causes of kidney failure, the biggest of which is better preventative medical care. Cats are living a lot longer due to better medical care and their kidneys are one of the first organs to fail as a result of old age. We routinely see cats who are 17 years and older. This was very rare even 10-15 years ago.

You are probably fine feeding your cats Innova Evo for as long as they do well on it. The best recommendation is to have your cats evaluated by a veterinarian at least yearly and to consider having blood and urine tests performed on a yearly basis (every 6 months once the cat is older) so that any disease process can be caught early and progression can be delayed with good medical care.

[jesvet]

Check the labels for an AAFCO statement. IIRC Innova is good at doing feeding trials, one of the reasons I used them in the past. The AAFCO statement says one of two things: "This diet has been formulated to meet the nutritional requirements..." or "Feeding trials have demonstrated this diet provides adequate nutrition...". Feeding trials are obviously more preferable to just saying you followed a recipe, but many manufacturers use both with little problem.

OK, I looked it up:

"Animal feeding tests using AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) procedures substantiate that Innova EVO Adult Dog Food provides complete and balanced nutrition for all life stages."

That means they fed the diet for a minimum amount of time and made sure the dogs were growing properly and did not experience nutritional imbalance, renal overload, etc. I doubt it would be a problem using long term. It has carbohydrates, just not from grain sources.

[JamBray]

Thank you so much kemorr and jesvet. Such a relief to know that I can keep them on a food that I feel really good about, and that they're doing so well on, without having to worry.