Cat Food Ingredients - What to look for?
Cheryl
of differing opinions.
Personally, the thing I wanted to avoid most was the
potentially dangerous preservatives, like Etboxyquin,
BHT, Sodium nitrite, plus artificial coloring. Many people
don't want to feed their cats food containing "by-products"
or other non-human-grade food, but I'm not totally convinced
that by-products are necessarily bad -- after all, it's
stuff that would be eaten by the cat in the wild. Feeding your
cat a whole chicken with all of the "nasty" parts (as far
as humans think) is a whole lot more nutritious than just
feeding her the breast meat, because of all of the nutrients
that are found in organ meat, bones, etc. Just because a
human thinks something is distasteful doesn't mean it isn't
perfectly normal and healthy for your cat. After all, I wouldn't
want to eat a mouse. But that doesn't mean that I think
that the food SHOULD contain by-products, either... just
that I'm sort of on the fence about them.
As it turns out, the cat food I use DOESN'T have by-products
listed. I buy Nutro (dry and canned) because my cat likes
it better than the other brands I tried -- but I'd have had
no problem with a food that contains by-products, as long
as the source was specifically identified (in other words,
"chicken by-products" or "beef by-products", and NOT
"poultry by-products" or "animal by-products". If Tess had
preferred IAMS, for example, then I'd have been happy to
buy that for her.
You'll certainly want to make sure that it contains B-12 and
Taurine. In the U.S., you can look for foods that are marked
as meeting the nutritional levels established by AAFCO.
I don't know if there's a similar equivalent in Canada.
I think this is one of the better (and balanced) articles
I've read on cat nutrition:
http://www.best.com/%7Esirlou/catnutrition.html
There's also a site that will give you a lot of information
(probably more than you want to know) about pet
food ingredients:
http://www.api4animals.org/ShoppingGuide.htm
Hope this helps
--
Cheryl in SLC
(to e-mail, make the obvious change to my address)
Alan McKay wrote in message ...
>Hi folks,
>
>I like to give my cats a variety of foods, and always read the
>ingredients very carefully before buying anything for them. But
>I'm not exactly sure what to look for. I try to avoid anything I
>can't pronounce, similar to how I select my own food. I get
>the impression that "xxx-meal" is not as good as simply "xxx",
>and "xxx-by-product" is also not as good as just "xxx".
>
>I see a lot of folks here saying good things about Sciene Diet.
>I don't recall exactly what it was, but I do remember being
>fairly unimpressed by the ingredients (was it preservatives,
>I'm not sure). Other foods seemed to me to be better.
>But then again, I don't know too much here.
>
>Anyway, are their guidelines on ingredients? As I mentioned,
>I always read them carefully.
>
>Does anyone know if "Techni Cal" is good? I think it might
>be only Canadian because there is a Canadian Maple Leaf
>on it. The ingredients look good, and when I do side-by-side
>tests all 3 cats seem to prefer it to any other. At least
>that's with Kitten food. Haven't tried Techni Cal cat food
>yet.
>
>As for cat food, they all seem to love Happy Cat in
>side-by-side tests.
>
>Are there any guidelines on what to look for?
>
>thanks,
>-Alan
>
>
>
>--
>--
>Alan McKay
>amc...@ottawa.com
>http://www.bodensatz.com/
>
>
Holly E. Ordway
<7n0vd4$n...@news2.newsguy.com>:
>Personally, the thing I wanted to avoid most was the
>potentially dangerous preservatives, like Etboxyquin,
>BHT, Sodium nitrite, plus artificial coloring.
One of the nasty things about artificial coloring, IIRC, is that if your
cat decides to throw up on a rug, you may end up with a brightly colored
stain from the colorant!
>Many people
>don't want to feed their cats food containing "by-products"
>or other non-human-grade food, but I'm not totally convinced
>that by-products are necessarily bad -- after all, it's
>stuff that would be eaten by the cat in the wild.
I think that avoiding by-products is the result of a combination of
anthropomorphism ("I wouldn't eat chicken heads, so my kitty shouldn't
either!") and a misunderstanding about what "by-products" actually are. For
the first point, you point out quite correctly that a cat's normal, healthy
diet in nature includes a lot of stuff that people would find quite
unappetizing! We shouldn't apply human tastes to cats.
As for the second point, "by-products" means parts like feet, heads,
internal organs, and the like. It doesn't mean rotted carcasses,
diseased animals, feces, or pieces of cardboard (as was suggested in a
previous thread!)! Iams and Science Diet contain by-products; Nutro does
not. I think that if by-products really were unhealthy or non-nutritious
for the cats, then veterinarians would be selling Nutro instead of the
others in their hospitals.
What's probably best is a mix of meat and meat by-products in a food, which
would end up as the equivalent of the whole animal. If a food contains just
by-product meal, it may not have enough quality protien. If a food contains
just chicken breast meat, for instance, the makers will have to *add* the
vitamins and minerals that would have come from the other parts.
Cheers,
Holly
holly-...@home.com
lc...@my-deja.com
> Personally, the thing I wanted to avoid most was the
> potentially dangerous preservatives, like Etboxyquin,
> BHT, Sodium nitrite, plus artificial coloring.
Adding to the above, all nitrates and nitrites are very harmful. .
Another one to avoid is sulphates but these aren't 1/100th as bad as
the nitr*tes. Also adding to her post, I avoid cat feeds that contain
carrots. It gives me the impression that the manufacturer doesn't have
a clue on cat nutrition. Liz
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Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
CMTowle
M.
<lc...@my-deja.com> wrote in message
news:7n59mf$6rd$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
lc...@my-deja.com
"CMTowle" <cmt...@home.com> wrote:
> The problem with carrots being?
> Also adding to her post, I avoid cat feeds that
> contain
> > carrots. It gives me the impression that the manufacturer
> doesn't have
> > a clue on cat nutrition. Liz
No problems at all. It's just an impression that they don't know their
business. What's the major benefit of carrots? Beta-carotene. Cats,
unlike humans, dogs, and many other species, cannot convert beta-
carotene into vitamin A so carrots for cats would be just a filler. If
you have cheaper and more digestible fillers like rice or potatoes, why
use carrots? How much vitamin A (in the form of retinols) is added to
such feeds? Is it the minimum recommended by the AAFCO? Liz
CMTowle
because you get the impression the manufacturer knows nothing
about cat nutrition and you would rather opt for a food which
contains cheaper "fillers" instead.
If a manufacturer claimed that carrots are a good source of
Vitamin A in cat food, then you'd have a very valid point with
respect to that specific manufacturer. However, beta-carotene is
an antioxidant, carrots are a good source of fibre and
nutritionally not comparable to rice and potatoes.
As to your question re Vitamin A. The minimum AAFCO requirement
for adult maintenance is 5,000 IU/kg of diet (1998 Merck
Veterinary Manual). Innova Lite, as an example, which does
contain carrots, provides 42,054 IU/kg.
M.
<lc...@my-deja.com> wrote in message
news:7n5kd5$b8a$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
lc...@my-deja.com
> Your logic escapes me. You avoid cat foods which contain carrots
> because you get the impression the manufacturer knows nothing
> about cat nutrition and you would rather opt for a food which
> contains cheaper "fillers" instead.
Well, remember the feed business is not only about the health of cats
but also about making a profit. You want to keep your price similar to
that of other brands in the same level so that you have a competitive
price while making as large a profit as possible. So the question is,
why add an ingredient that is nothing more than a filler, with no
additional benefits, that is more expensive and less digestible than
other fillers? I can't talk about all cats, but my cats also find
potatoes much more palatable. It may be a marketing manuever though.
Say a person is choosing between two brands and this person doesn't
know about the b-carotene thing, the person is more likely to choose
the brand with carrots because the person believes it's healthier. I
may be a little strict, but I don't think fooling a customer is a good
thing to do. As the father of marketing said, "If you think the
customer is a moron, remember she is your wife." I love it!
> If a manufacturer claimed that carrots are a good source of
> Vitamin A in cat food, then you'd have a very valid point with
> respect to that specific manufacturer. However, beta-carotene is
> an antioxidant, carrots are a good source of fibre and
> nutritionally not comparable to rice and potatoes.
Agree..but nutritionally not comparable to what species? That's what
my point is. For cats, carrots is not more nutritional than rice or
potatoes. A good source of fiber? Yes, true. But there are cheaper
sources. One more point, the more you save on fillers, the more you
can spend on premium ingredients, those that are truly nutritive for
cats.
> As to your question re Vitamin A. The minimum AAFCO requirement
> for adult maintenance is 5,000 IU/kg of diet (1998 Merck
> Veterinary Manual). Innova Lite, as an example, which does
> contain carrots, provides 42,054 IU/kg.
It is not my intention to criticize Innova since I do consider it one
of the best brands out there. Seeing that number I can't help but ask
how much is too much. Excess vitamin A is as harmful, or maybe more
harmful, than insufficient vitamin A. Among other undesirable things,
it destroys the liver. You wouldn't want to use vitamin A as an
antioxidant. You might consider using beta-carotene as an antioxidant
but it's certainly not as effective as vitamin E and perhaps not $$$
attractive either. ??
CMTowle
<lc...@my-deja.com> wrote in message
news:7n60r8$ff1$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
>
> > Your logic escapes me. You avoid cat foods which contain
carrots
> > because you get the impression the manufacturer knows
nothing
> > about cat nutrition and you would rather opt for a food
which
> > contains cheaper "fillers" instead.
>
> Well, remember the feed business is not only about the health
of cats
> but also about making a profit. You want to keep your price
similar to
> that of other brands in the same level so that you have a
competitive
> price while making as large a profit as possible. So the
question is,
> why add an ingredient that is nothing more than a filler,with
no
> additional benefits,
I disagree that it is "nothing more than a filler with no
additional benefits" and obviously some manufacturere do too
(see previous post).
>that is more expensive and less digestible than
> other fillers? I can't talk about all cats, but my cats also
find
> potatoes much more palatable.
Innova Lite, as an example, also has potatoes, so it is not
necessarily an "either or" proposition.
Clearly some manufacturers prefer to use premium ingredients
throughout.
> > As to your question re Vitamin A. The minimum AAFCO
requirement
> > for adult maintenance is 5,000 IU/kg of diet (1998 Merck
> > Veterinary Manual). Innova Lite, as an example, which does
> > contain carrots, provides 42,054 IU/kg.
>
> It is not my intention to criticize Innova since I do consider
it one
> of the best brands out there.
It was your generalization re avoiding any cat food that
contains carrots that seemed odd and illogical to me as did your
presumption that using carrots indicates that the manufacturer
knows nothing about cat nutrition.
>Seeing that number I can't help but ask
> how much is too much.
According to AAFCO, the max. is 750 000 IU/kg.
>Excess vitamin A is as harmful, or maybe more
> harmful, than insufficient vitamin A. Among other undesirable
things,
> it destroys the liver.
The excessive consumption of liver can lead to hypervitaminosis
A potentially causing many severe skeletal problems including
bone lesions and osteoporosis.
>You wouldn't want to use vitamin A as an
> antioxidant.
It is the beta-carotene in carrots which is being used as an
antioxidant. Vitamin A comes from meat sources and is also
added.
>You might consider using beta-carotene as an antioxidant
> but it's certainly not as effective as vitamin E and perhaps
not $$$
> attractive either. ??
Innova Lite, for example, also uses Vitamin E (300 IU/kg). The
AAFCO minimum is 30 IU/kg).
M.
lc...@my-deja.com
>I disagree that it is "nothing more than a filler with no
>additional benefits" and obviously some manufacturere do too (see
previous post).
After a little research I am forced to agree with you. This is what I
found:
Nutritional facts for carrots: (100g serving)
Energy: 43.0 kcal
Protein 0.85 g
Fat 0.24 g
Carbohydrate 9.5 g
Dietary Fiber 3.3 g
Sodium 50 mg
Potassium 332.9 mg
Vitamin A 187% of human RDA 0% of feline RDA
Vitamin C 11% of human RDA
Folacin 8.5% of human RDA
Iron 4.9% of human RDA
Nutritional Facts for Potatoes: (100g serving)
Energy 72.7 Kcal
Protein 2.5 g
Carbohydrate 15.3 g
Dietary Fiber 1.8 g
Sodium 3.3 mg
Potassium 486 mg
Vitamin C 30% of human RDA
Thiamin 6.7% of human RDA
Niacin 5.3% of human RDA
Vitamin B6 9.3% of human RDA
Pantothenic acid 4% of human RDA
Phosphorus 4% of human RDA
Magnesium 8% of human RDA
Iron 6% of human RDA
After seeing the above, I suppose you agree with me that potatoes are
more nutritive than carrots, for humans and cats alike, both in amount
of individual nutrients they provide as in variety of nutrients.
> > If a manufacturer claimed that carrots are a good source of
> > Vitamin A in cat food
Like I said from the beginning, it’s an impression and that is exactly
what my impression is – that they add carrots to fool the customer into
thinking it’s a natural source of vit. A. After all, most people know
carrots are a good source of vit. A. I suppose the best way to settle
this is to write to the manufacturer and ask why carrots are added to
the formula.
> Clearly some manufacturers prefer to use premium ingredients
> throughout.
And come up with a more expensive feed with no additional benefits.
This reminds me of Mercedes and other top cars that offer the same
level of comfort and safety but way cheaper in price. It’s the
customer’s choice. Regarding cars, this choice is usually associated
with status. I don’t think anyone would buy feed based on status then
why pay more? Regarding Innova, it does have some probiotics and I
would be willing to pay more for them… but not for carrots. 
>Seeing that number I can't help but ask
> how much is too much.
>According to AAFCO, the max. is 750 000 IU/kg.
Any excess of vitamin A builds up in the body, specially in the liver.
The max is 750.000 IU/Kg for how long? You need a time variable there.
>Excess vitamin A is as harmful, or maybe more
> harmful, than insufficient vitamin A. Among other undesirable
things,
> it destroys the liver.
>The excessive consumption of liver can lead to hypervitaminosis
>A potentially causing many severe skeletal problems including
>bone lesions and osteoporosis.
Sorry, I might not have expressed myself correctly. Since vitamin A
builds up mainly in the liver, it ends up destroying that organ –
hepatic cirrhosis. I didn’t say anything about eating too much liver.
Severe skeletal problems, bone lesions and osteoporosis are caused by a
deficiency or overdose of vitamin D.
> Innova Lite, for example, also uses Vitamin E (300 IU/kg). The
> AAFCO minimum is 30 IU/kg).
Innova claims they use vitamin E and vitamin C as antioxidants. They
do not claim using beta-carotene as antioxidant so my question
remains.. why use carrots? I’ll write them and ask.
Two additional facts:
1. Excess fiber in feline feeds causes constipation according to a
study conducted by U.C.Davis Veterinary College. Obs.: I am not
saying that Innova has excess fiber, I’m just mentioning a fact.
2. A study conducted in Finland involving 27000 healthy male smokers
showed that when their diet was supplemented with vitamin E, vitamin C
and beta-carotene, the risk for kidney stones was directly proportional
to the amount of fibers in their diets. The higher the fiber content,
the greater the risk.
Yes, cats don’t smoke. Yet, every one of those men were healthy before
supplementation started so smoking was not the crucial factor.
Antioxidant supplementation was.
Now the bad news.. I just received the reply from Innova. Here it goes:
"Hi Luiza,
We include carrots and apples in the Innova cat food to provide a
complete and balanced diet.
Carrots and apples add antioxidants, carbohydrates and fiber. They are
good natural sources of Vitamins A & C, and are essential for the cat's
good health.
We do not have any distributors for Brazil as yet. However, we are
continually expanding our markets, and maybe sometime in the future we
will be able to provide you with our foods.
Thank you for your interest in our healthy products!
Betsy"
Now, either they think I'm a moron (as the rest of their customers) or
they don't know as much as they should about feline nutrition. First,
carrots and apples do not provide vitamin A for cats; second, cats do
not require vitamin C; third, cats do not require carbohydrates.
CMTowle
your concerns. The web site doesn't mention any of "Betsy's"
statements re Vitamin A and C being essential to cats.
M.
<lc...@my-deja.com> wrote in message
news:7n8cbm$9fd$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
...snipped...
rric...@lanminds.com
>First,
>> carrots and apples do not provide vitamin A for cats; second,
>cats do
>> not require vitamin C; third, cats do not require
>carbohydrates.
>>
>> Liz
>>
Why don't cat's need carbohydrates? I know that fat is a good source
of high-density calories, but must of a cell's energy (as I recall)
comes from sugars, and sugars come from carboydrates.
Rebecca
Remove "not" when replying by email
CMTowle
Although I did not write the quote you attribute to me, here is
some info from both the Merck Veterinary Manual and Cornell's
medical reference book which might be useful.
Carbohydrates in cat foods are usually in the form of a. starch
and cellulose, b. sucrose and lactose, and c. glucose and
fructose. Carbohydrates are a less expensive source of energy
than fat or protein. They are also contained in dry cat food to
provide structure. There is apparently no need for carbohydrates
if sufficient protein and fats supply glucogenic (animal starch)
amino acids and glycerol (sugars). Cooked carbohydrates are
usually well tolerated, but excessive carbohydrates can cause
obesity.
Vitamin C is not necessary for cats as they synthesize Vitamin C
from glucose. It becomes necessary if there is a high metabolic
need or if synthesis is not adequate. Excessive Vitamin C
supplementation can cause calcium oxalate stones. It is mainly
used as an antioxidant and preservative.
Vitamin A is vital for cats, but since they can't convert
beta-carotene to retinol (active form of Vitamin A), they need
dietary sources of preformed Vitamin A as found in organ meats
(liver, kidney...).
Hope this helps somewhat.
M.
<rric...@lanminds.com> wrote in message
news:379ae523...@nntp.lanminds.com...
rric...@lanminds.com
>Hi Rebecca,
>
>Although I did not write the quote you attribute to me, here is
>some info from both the Merck Veterinary Manual and Cornell's
>medical reference book which might be useful.
>
Sorry about that.. I really try to keep attributions straight!
And thanks for the info. So, it'snot necessarily BAD to give cats
carbs, if I understand what you wrote.
CMTowle
in addition to a complete cat food, could result in obesity as
excess carbs are stored in the body as glycogen (animal starch)
and fat. And, of course, obesity can result in very serious
problems.
Hope this helps,
M.
<rric...@lanminds.com> wrote in message
news:37998617...@nntp.lanminds.com...
CMTowle
re Vitamin A and C, ***from carrots and apples***, being
essential to cats.
M.
CMTowle <cmt...@home.com> wrote in message
news:E%Ol3.18145$5i7....@news.rdc1.va.home.com...
> First,
> > carrots and apples do not provide vitamin A for cats;
second,
> cats do
> > not require vitamin C; third, cats do not require
> carbohydrates.
> >
> > Liz
> >
> >
Cheryl
nutrition.... may I ask what you feed your cats?
lc...@my-deja.com
> Why don't cat's need carbohydrates? I know that fat is a good source
> of high-density calories, but must of a cell's energy (as I recall)
> comes from sugars, and sugars come from carboydrates.
>
> Rebecca
Rebecca, I'm sorry this reply took so long. Deja News has been under
maintenance and the site didn't work for two days and all the msgs now
are another two days late.
Cats, like us and like dogs, can get all the sugar they need from
protein and fats. So carbohydrates are not necessary in their diets.
And yes, most of the cells in our body prefer glucose as energy source
more than ketones. The liver will feed the cells all the glucose they
need providing there's enough protein and fat to do so. The big
advantage of a diet low or nule on carbohydrates is that the animal
will not become obese. Liz
lc...@my-deja.com
> Liz, obviously you have done a lot of research on feline
> nutrition.... may I ask what you feed your cats?
>
> --
> Cheryl in SLC
Hi Cheryl. Sorry for the delay in the reply. Deja.com had been
malfunctioning... All msgs are late.
The first two cats I ever had were fed raw beef meat and raw beef
liver - that's it. Back then I thought that diet would supply the cat
with all its needs. At eight months of age, one of the cats developed
pansteatitis which unfortunately no vet (I went to five different vets
at the time) was able to diagnose. After a lot of research I managed
to find exact symptoms of what he had in a book of human nutrition, and
those symptoms were caused by the deficiency of vitamin E
(pansteatitis). So I gave him supplements of vitamin E and he
recovered fully in three weeks - no sequelas thank goodness. BTW, you
will find in veterinary books that a diet of tuna exclusively will lead
to vitamin E deficiency but I don't think you will find in any
veterinary book that beef meat and beef liver exclusively will also
lead to vit. E deficiency.
From then, I decided to add commercial foods to their diets.
Unfortunately, the only brands in Brazil at the time were Purina,
Cargill and Whiskas, and since my pets prefered Whiskas, I fed them dry
Whiskas, canned Whiskas, and continued with the meats.
At three years of age, they developed FUS, the two of them together.
After many episodes, a lot of suffering and a lot of research since the
vet was unable to solve the problem, I realised that FUS is caused by a
lack of water, not by magnesium or anything else they claim. So I
lowered dry food to the minimum possible and stopped meats (causes a
lot of urea output, one of the ions in struvite crystals) and stayed
with mostly canned for a few years. Their health was not satisfactory,
they were getting too many silly diseases such as ringworm, other types
of mycosis, chin acne, and minor bacterial infections. Worst of all,
breast tummors started appearing. I needed to switch foods again.
Fortunately, the first naturally preserved food got to Brazil, Proplan,
and I stopped Whiskas canned and dry and switched to Proplan dry and
Waltham canned - I had to keep my cats ingesting a lot of liquids to
keep the FUS from ever recurring. BTW, another major drawback of dry
only is CRF (chronic renal failure). The more I studied and the more I
learned about commercial foods and the importance of what goes inside
the body in general, the more tempted I became to go back to an all
natural diet.
This is what I do today:
I give my cats raw (breast) chicken meat (better calcium/phosphate
ratio), raw beef liver about once a week, canole oil daily(excellent
source of unsaturated fatty acids), vitamin E supplements (400 I.U.
once a week), vitamin B supplements (100% human RDA twice a week), milk
daily!(best thing possible for any cat with a history of FUS and the
best guarantee your cat will never have CRF), tomato sauce (about once
a week) -(best source of selenium and a natural urine acidifier),
yogurt, cheese, raw yolk, cooked egg white, raw sea! fish (about once a
week - good source of minerals), garlic, brewer's yeast daily
(excellent source of Bs), table salt enriched with iodine (just a tiny
bit daily) and Proplan available at all times but it's more of a snack
since most calories are coming from other sources. I need to continue
with a little bit of commercial food because cats need dietary source
of vitamin K and my cats refuse to eat beef intestines. I switched my
dogs to a similar diet (most calories coming from raw chicken - chicken
in Brazil is extremely cheap, about 70 cents of a US dollar for every
2.2 pounds / 1 kg) and their skin allergies vanished not to mention the
general improvement in their appearance and energy levels. BTW, the
dogs get almost the whole chicken - including liver, kidneys, head,
feet and bones. The health of the cats improved dramatically and
tartar build up stopped in both cats and dogs. No more silly
infections either. In a few years I'll know if the breast tumors will
also stop (when the young animals of today become old). So far so
good. Additionally, their stool volume decreased so drastically you
wouldn't believe it. Today, my Kuvazs's stools are as small as my
cats' stools used to be when they were on commercial only and that's a
pretty large breed of dog. The volume of stools tell you how much
indigestible matter is going into the food you are feeding your
animals. As safety proceedure, I only use meats that have been
previously frozen. Freezing destroys most parasites, specially toxo.