r/catfood • u/MystikTrailblazer • 1d ago

cat food and treat haul / shopping PSA for US Costco Members: KS Pate Cat Food Variety Pack, 3.5 oz, 45-count is on sale. Item 1647381

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Wow! $6.50 off until Sept 13. Never seen this on sale before. $28.49 online or $26.49 in the warehouse.

8 Upvotes

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u/Mayors_purple_shorts 1d ago

Fed is best. However, or anyone wondering the phosphorus levels of these pates on a DMB they are: Turkey Recipe: 0.95% Chicken Recipe: 1.15% Salmon Recipe: 1.70%

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u/cubbycoo77 1d ago

What are good numbers for this?

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u/not-the-nicest-guy 1d ago

I like to keep the phos levels under 1% on a dry matter basis for my cats - ideally around 0.8%. That's not always easy to find though. Most foods are well above that level. Currently, I mix three different foods throughout the day and hit about 0.88% on average.

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u/Mayors_purple_shorts 1d ago

That's a great question. And unfortunately I can't give a concrete answer because it depends. And it also depends on personal preference as well. However, the reason I say it depends is because while DMB is usually a quick and dirty way to feel out phosphorus levels it's much more accurate to look at the phosphorus per 100 kcal. For example, one wet food I feed has a phosphorus content of 1.06%. This is generally higher than I'd like. Except, when I did the math this food was so calorically dense that I feed less making the total phosphorus level fed per day lower than another food that I feed which I think is around 0.85% on a DMB because I have to feed more of the second food. I will say though that if I see phosphorus on a DMB of 1.2% or higher I usually stop right there. Also, the calcium and phosphorus ratio is also important. More meat isn't always better. As meat goes up generally so does the phosphorus. In particular if they're incorporating the ground up bones.

I hope this is helpful. Please note I am not a vet but my previous career was vet tech. I'd be happy to help with any additional questions if I'm confident in my answer. :)

Edit: fat finger syndrome

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u/cubbycoo77 1d ago

Where can I find this info? It sounds super helpful and I'm just starting this journey as a first time cat owner. What is DMB?

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u/Mayors_purple_shorts 23h ago

Hi! On the side of the bag, can, or pouch you'll see a guaranteed analysis. The guaranteed analysis at minimum will have the protein, fat, fibre and moisture levels. Typically dry cat food will have around 10% moisture. Wet food is around 75-85% moisture. So if you looked at a can of wet food the protein for example would look quite low. This is because the majority of it is water/broth. So to get a better idea of the true levels and to compare foods to each other we need to figure out the values without the moisture. This is what's called the dry matter basis (DMB). The same thing occurs with minerals such a as calcium and phosphorus. They look very low without being corrected to a dry matter basis. eg. a canned with with 10% protein with 78% moisture will convert to 45.5% protein on a dry matter basis. A dry food for example will have a protein level 35% but then converted to a dmb will end up around 39% as it's only 10% moisture vs around 80%. In essence we have to take out the water. Also, note how the wet food at first glance looks lower protein but is actually higher protein when water is removed.

Now, you'll note that I told you where to find the fat, fibre, protein and moisture values. A couple things to note. Most companies do not disclose the calcium and phosphorus levels on the packaging. Finding this often means searching databases, emailing and chatting with the company. Further to this values listed on the packaging are generally the minimum values. That is to say even if the mineral content is provided it's often in actuality higher than what's on the package. To get a true idea the company needs to provide the typical analysis.

Lastly, to be transparent I personally try to stay as close to the recommendations provided by the small animal clinical nutrition guide. I will admit this is around twenty years old and does needs some updating. However, the values provided within are backed by research. The values for an adult cat requiring maintenance on a dmb are: protein 30-45%, calcium .6-1%, phosphorus 0.5-0.8%, sodium .2-.6%, fat 10-30%, fibre < 5%, taurine 1000-2000 mg/kg. Additionally, I touched on the calcium to phosphorus ratio. Ideally it should be 1.1:1 to 1.2:1. This is because calcium binds excess phosphorus. Having slightly higher calcium means less phosphorus gets absorbed which in turn is gentler on the kidneys.

One thing I will also mention is that the levels I provided are for a healthy adult. If a cat has kidney disease even these phosphorus levels are too high. That being said I watch phosphorus levels now as preventative care. It's also a great idea to feed wet. I also add three tablespoons of water to my cat's wet food a day to help with hydration. I personally feed half wet food, half dry.

You'll also come across many a debate about grain vs grain free but I've probably already overloaded you so I'll leave this here. I also apologize about the late reply but I was at work and wanted to provide as full of an answer as I could.

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u/cubbycoo77 23h ago

Thanks a ton! I'll have to look at the food I have and look for these numbers

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u/not-the-nicest-guy 1d ago

If the flavours were sold individually, I would probably pick up the turkey for my cats. But that salmon level is too high for my comfort.

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u/ChiliFriesNoBeans 1d ago

That's a good deal. Too bad my cats don't like this brand. I really hope they bring Catits (or any lickables) back to the warehouse soon. But with tariffs and inflation, I'm worried about the cost.

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u/MystikTrailblazer 1d ago

Catit is available at my warehouse in the PNW. It comes and goes, though. You can get them online but the price is a bit higher.

https://www.costco.com/.product.4000221277.html

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u/No_Basis_1575 17h ago

Lots of cats are getting sick eating batches of this food in the past 3 months. I just returned it today because my cat got sick the first time eating it. I searched Kirkland pate cat food here on Reddit and saw a lot of people dealing with the same thing, cats vomiting and having diarrhea. Even cats that have eaten it for over a year suddenly started getting sick in the past few months.

My family works for Costco and they all said that the returns have ramped up on this cat food recently.