What Cats Should Eat: How to Keep Your Cat Healthy with Good Food
Jean Hofve, DVM
Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2012 Jean C. Hofve, DVM.
Visit this author’s home page at http://www.littlebigcat.com
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or if it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This ebook does not constitute veterinary advice; readers should consult their veterinarian for specific advice concerning their cat’s health. The author and publisher shall not be liable for any loss or injury resulting from reliance on any information contained in this book or in respect of any information on any websites to which this book may be related or linked. If your cat has a medical issue, please seek professional veterinary care.
A Quickie Guide to Reading Labels
The Many Problems with Carbohydrates
Busting the Last Dry Food Myth
Canned Food and Hyperthyroidism
Frozen, freeze-dried, cold-processed, and raw diets
Meats, organs, and supplements to add to fresh meat
Foods considered but not approved, previously approved foods that are now de-listed, and why
Making Your Cat's Food at Home
Appendix A -- Supplements that All Cats Need
What Cats Should Eat
If you’re reading this, you’re obviously one of my favorite cat people: those who really care about their feline friends and want to provide the best and healthiest nutrition possible. You’re ready to learn; I’m here to help! So let’s go!
Our domestic cats are “obligate” carnivores—they’re born to hunt. Cats are uniquely adapted to eat prey animals, such as rodents, rabbits, birds, lizards, and insects. The body of a prey animal is mostly water, protein, and fat, with less than 10% carbohydrate (starch, sugar, and fiber). Although we’re not likely to bring home live birds and mice for our cats, we can still strive for this ideal balance when choosing a diet for our feline companions.
A Quickie Guide to Reading Labels
Sorry, there’s just no way around it; to be a smart consumer and choose the best foods for your cat, you’ve got to understand the labels. I’ll try to make it as painless as possible!
Content
The name of a pet food is strictly defined and tells us what is actually in the food. “Chicken for Dogs” must contain at least 95% chicken (excluding water for processing). Similarly, “Fish and Giblets for Cats” will be 95% fish and giblets together, and there must be more fish than giblets, since fish appears first on the label. If the label says “dinner,” “platter,” “entree,” “nuggets,” “formula,” or similar term, there must be 25% of the named ingredients. That is, “Fish Dinner” must contain 25% fish. If more than one ingredient is named, such as “Fish and Giblets Entree,” the two together must comprise 25% of the total, there must be more fish than giblets, and there must be at least 3% giblets. Ingredients labeled as “with” must be present at 3%, such as “Fish Dinner with Giblets.” An ingredient labeled as a “flavor,” such as “Beef Flavor Dinner,” may not actually contain beef meat, but more likely will contain beef digest or other beef by-products that give the food a beef flavor.
By-Products
Even on “premium” and prescription-type brands, you will notice one of the major ingredients listed is “by-products” of some sort. By-products are basically defined as “parts other than meat.” These may include internal organs not commonly eaten by humans, such as lungs, spleens, and intestines, other parts such as cow udders and uteri, and in the case of poultry by-products, heads, beaks, and feet. By-products must be from “freshly slaughtered” animals, although how fresh they really are by the time they reach the pet food manufacturer is anyone’s guess.
By-products are a cheap source of animal protein, but they are inappropriate as the sole animal protein source for cats. While it’s true that a hunting cat would eat the head, feet, tail, and innards of its prey, no cat would ignore the meat and eat only the by-products!
Rendered Products
Rendering (basically a process of slow cooking) produces two major items: animal fat or tallow, and a powdery, high-protein product usually called “meat meal,” “meat and bone meal,” or “by-product meal.” (Due to historical quirks in naming, the term “by-product meal” refers to poultry, while the equivalent mammal product is called “meat and bone meal.”)
Because of the way they are processed, dry foods use rendered meals as their major animal-source ingredients. Meals do contain more protein than meat, since the fat and water have been removed. Many dry foods advertise that they contain some type of “meat” (such as chicken or beef) as the first ingredient. However, because of the high water content of fresh meat, and because it’s further diluted with water to make the dough, the actual percentage of protein from this “top” ingredient is small. The first named meal is usually the primary protein source in these foods.
Rendered ingredients vary greatly in quality. Independent rendering plants accept a wide variety of materials, including animals that were dead, dying, diseased, or disabled prior to reaching the slaughterhouse (also called “downers” or “4D” animals). These are usually condemned, in whole or in part, for human consumption, and are rendered along with other by-products, parts and items that are unwanted or unsuitable for human use, such as out-of-date supermarket meats (along with their packaging), cut-away cancerous tissue, and fetal tissue (which is very high in hormones).
Independent renderers also accept such items as road kill, euthanized animals from vet clinics and shelters, and other seriously unappetizing ingredients. These items are not supposed to find their way into the pet food chain; and in fact, there are hundreds of other uses for rendered products, such as fertilizer, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, household products, and industrial applications.
However, over the years there have been numerous unsubstantiated reports of dead dogs and cats being processed into pet food. The Center for Veterinary Medicine, a branch of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), admits that dead dogs and cats are commonly rendered, and although they claim there is no legal prohibition against using dogs and cats in pet food, they do not “condone” the practice. (In fact, the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act applies to pet food as well as foods for human consumption, and it does prohibit this type of material, though FDA has chosen not to enforce it.) Reputable pet food manufacturers have “certified” that they do not use such materials in their products; although the truth depends on their suppliers’ integrity. This has been such a public concern that the FDA actually tested a number of dog foods for pentobarbital, the most common euthanasia drug, as well as dog and cat DNA (using a recently developed test). They found the drug, at levels they claim are not harmful, but no dog or cat DNA. Gosh, I feel better, don’t you?
On-site or “captive” rendering plants are closely associated with slaughterhouses, which are in turn connected with feedlots or poultry farms. These facilities are more likely to produce better quality, relatively pure meals. Such meals are typically designated with the name of the source animal, such as “chicken meal.” Many pet food companies buy their ingredients from these types of facilities.
Label Tricks
No matter how good a label reader you are, there are still a few tricks of the trade that can fool you.
There are quite a few foods out there for which the ingredient list looks good, but the quality is obviously inferior. The difference in price alone can be enormous. However, be aware that cost is not always a good indicator of quality. In the case of certain brands that are heavily advertised on television and in other media, the foods’ price is much higher than the ingredient quality justifies, because the manufacturer has to pay for all that hype. But if a food is seriously less expensive than its competitors, the ingredients must be suspect.
Here’s how companies will try to sell you products that look good, but aren’t:
Ingredient quality: Just like you can buy different grades of meat or eggs at the grocery store, so can pet food companies buy different grades of ingredients. The purer, higher quality ingredients cost more, so they tend to be used in products that are made in smaller batches (because less of these ingredients are available); this is usually reflected by a much higher price.
Ingredient sources: As we learned to our great sorrow in the 2007 pet food recalls, in the modern global economy, ingredients can be sourced from just about anywhere. China, Indonesia, and even Africa are now common sources of animal protein ingredients. While some countries have quality standards equal to or even better than the U.S., others do not. Worse, imported ingredients are rarely inspected, so poor quality, contaminated, and even adulterated (deliberately altered) ingredients can easily slip into U.S. manufacturing facilities. Or, food can be manufactured overseas and shipped straight into U.S. ports. For example, Nestlé Purina has a large pet food manufacturing plant in China.
Whatever the quality or source, the name of the ingredient on the label remains exactly the same. This is where the company’s reputation plays such an important role. By knowing something about the manufacturer, you can make a pretty good guess as to the quality of the product. Fortunately, you don’t have to figure this out on your own; I’ve studied the pet food industry for nearly two decades, and this report is the result!