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Addiction New Zealand Venison & Apples Entree Wet Cat Food Review Rate This Cat Food
Are you searching for the ideal cat formula? Caring for the health of your cat involves finding the most nutritious formulas for them. There are numerous formulas in they market today promising optimum nutritional value, but only a handful of them actually deliver on their promise.
The Addiction cat food brand is one of the many pet food brands in the market. The New Zealand venison & apple entrée is a formula under this brand. According to Addiction foods, this is a grain free formula that offers nutrition to boost your cat’s vitality and immune system. It is said to be a very good alternative to other lamb, beef and chicken based formulas.
Are these claims true?
Ingredients in Addiction New Zealand Venison & Apples Entrée
Venison, Carrots, Apples, Potatoes, Peas, Cassia Gums, Carrageenan, Taurine, Dried Seaweed, Choline Chloride, Zinc Sulphate, Calcium Carbonate, Ferrous Sulphate, Niacin Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Copper Sulphate, Manganese Sulphate, Calcium Pantothenate, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Calcium Iodate, Folic Acid.
Top 5 Ingredients Breakdown
Venison
While not a common meat source found in most cat food products, venison is a fantastic source of protein. In dry cat food products, most of this ingredient is lost during the cooking process. However, in wet cat foods, the content of this ingredient is mostly retained during the cooking process. We have absolutely no concern with this ingredient and consider it to be extremely high quality.
Carrots
A good source of carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals, carrots are becoming more common in pet foods. This ingredient is also known to boost the immune system and help promote healthy eyes in cats as well as providing a good source of fiber.
Apples
Apples provide an excellent source of pectin, a water-soluble fiber. This is an ingredient normally found in higher end brands of cat food.
Potatoes
Potatoes provide a lot of carbs and unfortunately, cats do not digest carbs well and it can also lead to weight gain. This ingredient is becoming more popular in “grain-free” cat foods because while potatoes are not grains, they serve much the same purpose by acting as a non-nutritious filler. The good news is potatoes are complex carbs. These complex carbs are easier to digest than whole grains and also don’t spike blood sugar levels like the simple carbs do. But, anyway you cut it… carbs are carbs and cats don’t need them. This is a rather non-nutritious ingredient.
Peas
Peas are becoming more and more common in pet foods today, especially those listed as grain-free, holistic, or natural pet foods. While peas are certainly not grains, they serve much the same purpose. It mostly acts as a filler and a cheap way to increase the protein percentage of the food. However, cats receive almost no nutritional value from peas. Since cats are obligate carnivores, they require proteins from meat based ingredients. There is very little research that has been performed on the long term effects of cats consuming peas. We do know that peas can cause runny poop or digestion issues in dogs, but the full effect on cats remains a bit of an unknown. At best, this ingredient will act as a filler and will not provide much nutritional value, if any, to your cat.
Additional Ingredients Of Interest In Addiction New Zealand Venison & Apples Cat Food
Carrageenan
This is an additive extracted from red and purple seaweeds, consisting of a mixture of polysaccharides. It is used as a thickening or emulsifying agent in food products. There is still much research being done on this additive and while it is generally considered safe, there is room for caution as carrageenan has produced intestinal damage and ulcers in some animal studies. If you would like more information about the ongoing research of this ingredient, you may reference this research study.
Dried Seaweed
This is simply seaweed that has been taken through a drying process. It is used in cat formulas as a source of iodine. This is a great alternative to table salt.
Taurine
Taurine is an essential amino acid that is critical for normal heart muscle function, vision, and reproduction in cats. Since cats are unable to create proper levels of taurine in their body naturally, it must be supplemented in their food. That’s why you’ll see this ingredient listed for so many different cat food blends. For cat foods that contain enough high quality animal based proteins, a taurine supplement may not be needed. However, most cat foods will need to add in additional taurine in the form of a supplement to the food. Even when included as a supplement instead, there is very low to almost zero health risk associated with this ingredient. In fact, a lack of taurine can cause a slew of issues, so it’s very important to make sure your cat is receiving enough taurine in his or her diet.
Choline Chloride
Like humans and many other species, cats require choline. Almost all commercial pet food blends will contain supplemental choline. This ingredient mostly helps with cell function.
Addiction New Zealand Venison Allergy Risk
The New Zealand venison & apple entrée is a quality formula made with quality natural ingredients. There are no traces of common allergy causing ingredients, making it ideal even for cats with food sensitivities. Of course, if your cat suffers from food allergies, please consult your veterinarian before switching to any type of new cat food.
Harmful Ingredients Commonly Found In Cat Food
Soy, wheat and corn – All three of these ingredients are known allergens for many cats. In addition, many cats have problems digesting these grain based ingredients. Since cats are obligate carnivores, their digestive systems are designed to digest meat and not grains. All of these ingredients will help to boost the protein percentage in cat food, but not all protein is created equally. Cats do not digest plant based proteins in the same way as meat proteins and in fact, gain little to no nutritional value from these grains. Several “grocery store brand” cat foods include these products to keep the price down as it is a cheap filler to help make your cat feel full as well as a cheap way to add protein to the food.
Artificial additives – It should go without saying that cats in the wild do not require artificial additives in their diet and they don’t require artificial additives in their diet as our pets, either. These additives are normally included in order to preserve the food and increase its shelf life, but often times have negative side-effects.
Gluten – This ingredient is associated with causing allergies in cats. It is also known to raise sugar levels in cats. Over time, this can lead to diabetes. Gluten refers to the proteins found in wheat endosperm which is a type of tissue produced in seeds that’s ground to make flour. Many pet food manufactures will use this ingredient to help boost the protein percentage of the food.
Fortunately, none of these harmful ingredients are in the New Zealand venison & apple entrée.
Conclusion
Judging from the ingredients alone, this formula is an above average formula. It is made using quality natural ingredients that support your cat’s overall health and nutrition. It is also a grain free formula making it a favorite among many cat owners. Like other Addiction brand formulas, this too is a hypoallergenic formula making it a great choice for owners of cats with food sensitivities.
