Cats are carnivores. They require good quality meat in their food. However, many commercially available cat foods use a lot of filler. As a result the cat must eat more food to get at the nutrition. These lower quality foods also use FAT to give the pets a glossy coat. Many owners feel a glossy coat = a healthy pet = good food. Unfortunately in combination with the lower quality of the food, and the addictiveness of fat, the cat must eat a lot more food, thereby eating a lot more fat. Thus contributing to obesity and feline diabetes.
Because food brands vary from country to country and each brand may change its’ formula from time to time I will not get into brand names. I will refer to the more common ingredients and discuss why they are good or bad. YOU can then determine if your cat is on a good, or poor, quality food.
The FIRST FIVE ingredients are the ones you want to pay most attention to. If the top ingredient is a good meat source, but the remaining four are all cheap filler, your food may not the best.
If the food indicates that it is Human Grade, that is even better, as it indicates the food is fit for human consumption. If it does not say human grade then it can even be meat from animals who were euthanized.
Chicken Meal, Lamb Meal, Turkey Meal, etc – Good
Any meat marked with “MEAL” following it is a good source of actual meat. One of these MUST be the first ingredient listed on your bag. Chicken, Turkey and Lamb, being the gentlest on a cats tummy and the least likely to cause allergies. Fish Meal, such as salmon or tuna, should never be the first ingredient, as fish is high in calcium it may contribute to urinary tract problems.
Meat Meal, Animal Fat, Etc – Bad
Any unspecified meat is mystery meat. It can come from ANY animal that died and was rendered that day. In the past there have been pet foods found with dog or cat in it. When you feed mystery meat, you can contribute to pet allergies as the food will not be consistent from bag to bad. It is best to stick with a consistent meat source.
Corn and Corn Gluten Meal – Bad (if in any of the top 3 positions)
A filler really, corn is of no nutritional value and is a common allergen, especially in dogs. Corn is a carbohydrate, and should never be higher than fourth on your pets food ingredient list. Carbs will make your cat fat!
Chicken By-Products, and by-Products in General – Bad
Cheap filler of low digestibility. By-Products are waste left over by the rendering process. Beaks, feet, undeveloped eggs, intestines and even feathers. Not exactly yummy. But even worse is that by-products are preserved with a nasty chemical pesticide known as Ethoxyquin (see below).
Ethoxyquin – Very Bad
A preservative. It is a chemical pesticide considered so bad it is banned from use in some countries. It may be used on its own or hidden in the by-Product and as such is considered part of the by-product so may or may not appear listed on the ingredient list. Has been linked to health problems.
BHA and BHT – Bad
Cheap chemical preservatives, used in lower quality pet foods. Both have been linked to numerous health problems.
Tocopherols (Vitamin E) – Good
This is a more expensive preservative. It is natural, safe, and will preserve a food up to 12 months.
Rice – Acceptable, with explanation
Rice is a filler, Brown Rice being exceptionally better than Brewers Rice. Rice Flour also being low in value for nutritional purposes.
Yucca – Good
You wont find this in the top spots, it is a lesser ingredient used primarily to help control odor in the litter box. Also believed to help with arthritis.
Flavors and Colors – Bad
Color dyes seve no purpose other than to make the people buy the food. The cat does not care if the pieces are different colors, the chemicals used to make flavors and dyes have been linked to health problems.
More
There are certainly more ingredients than I have listed, but these are important ones to watch for. Better food is more expensive because of the use of quality ingredients, BUT as a result your pet wont need to eat as much, have fewer health problems, and best of all, have less mess in the litter box.
Every food markets itself as the best! I caution you not to take the advice from any one who sells a particular kind of food (and only one food) they are making money by promoting that food and will only tell you good things. This even includes veterinarians. They are paid to sell certain foods. I do not want to discredit veterinarians knowledge when it comes to helping sick or injured animals but typically they receive little or no training on food brands or ingredients except from food companies who directly approach them to sell their kind of food.
Cats need access to their dry food all the time, and should have canned food when they are kittens. Canned food should be given 1 teaspoon per feeding, ideally mixed with water to make a soup, which will help prevent urinary tract problems. Adult cats may have this mixture once a day. With canned food you will want to avoid the “chunks in gravy” because the gravy is carbohydrates and will contribute to problems you do not want.
Cost does not determine quality. Some food companies inflate their price so you think its better food, others have their prices higher because of paying for veterinarian endorsement. Food made in your own country may be less costly than a product made elsewhere.
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User Comments
B. Radley
On January 20, 2008 at 1:14 pm
informative! thanks.
Gordon
On January 22, 2008 at 5:15 pm
My cat only eats cheap cat food. What should I do?
B Nelson, author
On January 27, 2008 at 2:02 pm
To Gordon. Cheap food is addictive because of the fat content.. Think of it like Potatoe Chips – hard to stop at one. You need to mix good food in with the cheap stuff to get him used to it, eventually you will eliminate the cheap stuff and he wont have a choice.
Madison Ogashi
On January 28, 2008 at 10:08 pm
I’m new here, tryin’ to get my feet wet here…lol. Great article, I’m still looking around the site (s), anything on dog food?
Leah L.
On March 4, 2008 at 3:57 pm
I am researching good cat food for my lovely 1 year old kittens, and I am thinking of a certain brand (of course I won’t mention it) with these first 5. I know about the corn and I know about the chicken meal, but the other three? Are they OK?
Chicken Meal, Ground Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Rice Flour, Dried Plain Beet Pulp
B Nelson
On March 17, 2008 at 11:15 pm
Corn Gluten Meal, being third… is not as bad as first or second. Not great but not of huge concern.
Tiferni
On July 3, 2008 at 2:44 am
Wow the purina kitten food im feeding my kitten sucks
eddiego65
On August 30, 2008 at 10:02 am
Very informative. Thanks!
Nina Mann
On December 16, 2008 at 12:38 am
Chicken Meal, Ground Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Poultry Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Dried Plain Beet Pulp, Natural Flavors, Soybean Oil,
Nina Mann
On December 16, 2008 at 12:39 am
Thats the beginning of my ingredient list and is the best I have found thus far, is that okay?
B Nelson
On December 17, 2008 at 4:11 pm
It is certainly better than most. Ideally if its HUMAN GRADE that is great. But glad to see Chicken Meal as #1 and no “By-Products”
sam burgee
On March 29, 2009 at 6:26 pm
Chicken, brewers rice, corn gluten meal, poultry by-product, and soy protein isolate.
O.o That’s bad, isn’t it? *changes food*
Erin
On June 3, 2009 at 12:16 am
No wonder my cat’s been so lazy since I moved! I’ve always given her fairly cheap cat food, but she also got a ton of table scraps, whether they were given to her, or stolen by her, lol. Anybody find some really good kinds? I’ve been giving Linxii Friskies Feline Favorites, first ingredient is ground yellow corn, brewer’s rice and ground chicken by-product. She doens’t like it anyway, I just want to know what to swap to.
And what wet cat food?
kathy
On July 5, 2009 at 3:37 am
I guess i better switch over to Iams. I’ve been buying this one brand that seemed better than Purina. Its something like Good ???
I come home alot to a pile of regurgated cat food. The stains are a pain to get out at times, due to the red pieces of cat food in it.
B Nelson
On July 6, 2009 at 9:19 am
to Kathy #14 Iams is NOT a good food either – remember the rules: If its in a grocery store or Wal Mart it is NOT a good food…
If you see commercials for it, they are putting money into advertising NOT ingredients = not a good food…
Science Diet is a tricky product too, it is placed in vet offices and has an inflated price – it is also NOT quality but the high price is due to the cost of paying for vet endorsement.
CaSundara
On August 23, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Great article, – funnily enough I just published a very similar one myself, just this morning!
I’m currently using a Swedish wet food called Bozita because it contains no meat-meal, is made from entirely raw meat (due to Swedish processing laws) and has no added cereal. It comes in jelly and my cats love it!
It also has an added immune system booster and comes in large (360g) tetra-packs which you can tear open and then fold shut again, allowing you to keep in the fridge for 48 hours with no smell escaping.
The best bit is that it’s far cheaper than most UK brands!
I also use a salmon oil and seaweed supplements.
beth
On October 12, 2009 at 11:27 pm
Hello
i have a one year old ragdoll and has just been throwing up once a week for the past four weeks. Food only. Which wet and dry food do you recommend. (I also have an eight year old domestic short hair) Both are females.
Thank you
B Nelson
On October 13, 2009 at 11:21 pm
to beth. It is hard to suggest a food brand without knowing what country you are in – generally stay away from grocery store or department store foods.
Select one that is chicken and rice (mush not chunks) and offer that.
Is it food vomit or hairballs? has she been dewormed? your older cat may need a senior formula.
KJBOT
On December 30, 2009 at 8:45 pm
I have nine pets, six cats and three dogs. I am on a tight budget and have had to search to find a good quality pet food that will fit into my budget. I am more than pleased with the Chicken Soup brand. I have used it for cats, kittens, dogs, and puppies with very good results. The ingredient lists fall into all the good categories listed above, and I have not had any untoward effects, very rare vomiting, small stools and excellent skin and coats. One dog has allergies and has no problems with the dog food which has no wheat, corn or soy in it. I am able to buy it at the local feed store and at a local specialty pet store. Thanks for the very informative articles.
Tammy
On January 31, 2010 at 10:49 am
What do you think about California Naturals Cat and Kitten food? It is Chicken and brown rice formula.
B Nelson
On January 31, 2010 at 12:14 pm
Tammy that is a pretty good food, its not sold where I am but I looked up the ingredients on line and it looks good.
Cyndi
On March 23, 2010 at 10:17 am
We feed our cats President’s Choice Nutrition First cat food. The first ingredients are: Chicken Meal, Chicken, Brown rice, dehulled barley, and oatmeal followed by chicken fat preserved with tocopheros. I’m presuming that’s a pretty good list of ingredients and the price fits nicely into our budget as we have 4 cats to feed.
Minister Marlene
On July 26, 2010 at 11:09 pm
I’ve been thinking about this, I want my kitten to eat healthy along with he rest of the family, I would like to know about a better food for him, now that I’ve found your article I’ll have to take the time to compare what you have shared by checking the labels on my kittens food. I’m in the U.S can you suggest what I could feed my kitten? Is Preident’s Choice O.K?
Also can you suggest a book for me, something you’ve read and liked. This time around I really want to understand my cat.
Heres a joke I had another cat a few years ago, I gave her some cat food that was on sale and she turned it over and tried to cover it as she would have done in her litter box. That was a wake up call.
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