If you have ever stopped to consider what goes into the commercial cat food you regularly buy for your feline friends, My Feline Buddy looks beyond cat food labels to find out what our cats are eating. We found some ingredients that are alarming and may even cause health risks in our cats. So if like most of us you buy commercial pet food, here is what you need to know:
The main ingredient
Meat should be the primary ingredient in a cat’s diet as they are natural carnivores. At times, grains or carbohydrates are listed before meat. While carbohydrates can supply energy in rambunctious kittens and active cats, cat food rich in grains can lead to over feeding. Grain-free and low-carb cat food are no better as these are often high-fat which can lead to cat obesity.
A carnivore’s diet
The quality of meat in pet food is rarely human-grade and this is true even for cat food labeled as human-grade. For the most part, it means the product was manufactured in the same facility where human food is made. While some pet food manufacturers may use raw meat to make cat food, often it is the less-appealing cuts that make it into cat food.
Meat by-products as they are called are the parts of meat that humans don’t care to eat. The heart, lungs, head, brain, kidney, liver, skin, and fat are mashed together to make cat food. In some instances, these are cut into chunks as in wet cat food.
Questionable “meat” in cat food
What shocked us is that the FDA regulators allow diversion of contaminated food and diseased animals for animal feeding provided that the ingredients are heated to kill pathogenic bacteria and do not contain drug residues. Hence, pet food can be found with damaged carcass parts, organs, and bones. It could simply be labeled as meat by-products or bone meal.
At times, those “meat chunks” may simply be vegetable proteins or even cereals made to mimic the texture of meat with thickeners and emulsifiers like starch, gel, and guar gum. Flavorings like bacon and smoked meat are added to trick our furry pals. In some cases, cereals are flavored with carcass remains and boiled offal also called meat render; then colored with food dyes.
Nutritional value
Most pet food makers need to add supplements to their pet food to make it nutritious. Dry pet food is often sprayed with fats, oils, vitamins, and minerals. Pet food may include useful minerals like calcium and phosphorus as well as B vitamins, vitamin E, and vitamin A.
Preservatives are essential for the shelf life of commercial cat food but it’s not all salt. Chemical preservatives may come in the form of ascorbic acid, citric acid, mixed tocopherols, and BHT, among others. Wet food is said to have less preservatives than dry food as canned food undergo sterilization, killing harmful bacteria and molds with pressure and high temperature.
Antioxidants are added to prevent fats from going rancid. Yeast, sweeteners, and “digests” or concentrated flavors are added for palatability. Be cautious when buying cat food with pet food dye. While coloring must have approval from the FDA, food coloring can lead to potential cancer risks. Likewise, BPA-lined canned food have the same risks.
