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Fancy Feast is one of the most popular cat food brands on the market today. As such, it is readily available in many grocery stores, pet food stores, and is also available online.
Fancy Feast is owned by Nestle Purina PetCare. They introduced the Fancy Feast brand name in 1982 and only had 7 flavors of wet cat food initially. The brand name was introduced as their “gourmet line” of cat foods.
Nestle Purina PetCare has been the subject of several pet food recalls over the past several years. Be sure to frequently check the FDA pet food recalls website. You might want to sign up for their email alerts as well.
Ingredients In Fancy Feast Sliced Beef Wet Cat Food
Meat broth, beef, liver, wheat gluten, meat by-products, corn starch-modified, fish, poultry, soy flour, soy protein concentrate, artificial and natural flavors, salt, added color, calcium phosphate, potassium chloride, Taurine, Choline chloride, thiamine Mononitrate, zinc sulfate, Vitamin E supplement, ferrous sulfate, niacin, copper sulfate, calcium pantothenate, Vitamin A supplement, manganese sulfate, Menadione sodium Bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, biotin, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, potassium iodide.
Top 5 Ingredients Analysis
Whenever you are reviewing a commercial cat food blend, it is good practice to pay special attention to the first 5 ingredients listed. These ingredients make up the vast majority of the nutritional content in the food. Let’s take a look at the top 5 ingredients in this cat food.
Meat broth
Used as a source of moisture and flavor, meat broth is normally considered a higher alternative to plain water, even though it doesn’t provide much nutritional value. It’s unfortunately this broth is from an unnamed meat source. Normally, we like to see named meat sources for the broth such as chicken broth or turkey broth. In this case, we are left guessing what meat source is used to create the broth. I can literally be from almost any animal and that is a bit concerning.
Beef
Beef is considered to be a higher quality ingredient. It is an excellent source of animal protein and contains many other nutrients that are very important for a cat to survive and thrive. Since this is not in “meal” form, that means this ingredient still contains all of its moisture content prior to cooking. Once fully cooked, most of this ingredient will have evaporated due to its high moisture content. That means, even when this ingredient is ranked highly, it will usually only provide a small percentage of the overall protein in the food. There is no dismissing this ingredient, though. It is high quality and we are pleased to see it listed.
Liver
In the wild, cats almost always eat the liver of their prey. It is a rich source of vitamin A which cats must obtain from their food since they can’t make it in their bodies. This is also a good secondary source of protein. If cats consume too much liver, it could cause toxicity, but the amount needed for liver to become toxic to cats is very high. Liver is provided in safe quantities in this cat food blend.
Wheat gluten
We don’t think any grain is “good” for your cat. It doesn’t mean wheat gluten is “bad” for your cat, either, but the fact it provides almost no nutritional value makes us question the quality of the ingredient. Wheat gluten can be a decent protein source for animals with digestive systems that can break it down, but as obligate carnivores, cats are not one of those animals. Their digestive systems produce only the enzymes necessary for processing animal-based proteins. There are also some allergy risks associated with wheat gluten. In addition, too much of this in a cats diet can potentially lead to weight gain and diabetes. Unfortunately, diabetes in cats is a very serious health problem, so it is important to keep a close eye on your cats weight and diabetic risk when feeding a cat food containing ingredients like wheat gluten.
Meat by-products
This is about the lowest quality meat product that can be included in any cat food. We are very disappointed to see this ingredient listed. Meat By-Products are parts of slaughtered animals including the lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, liver, blood, bone, partially defatted low-temperature fatty tissue, and stomach and intestines freed of their contents. In addition, meat by-products can also legally contain animals that were dead, dying, or diseased before slaughtering. Many times, animals with tumors are ground and processed, meaning, ground up cancerous tumors could legally be included in your pets food. While unlikely, it can even legally include road kill. Perhaps worst of all, this ingredient COULD include meat from euthanized cats, dogs, horses, or other animals. Meat by-product is an unnamed meat source and you never know for sure where it is coming from or what animals are being used. Also note that meat by-products are not approved for human consumption. It consists of unwanted parts only acceptable in the pet food or feed industries. This is one of the most controversial meat ingredients that could be included and there is much to be concerned about when purchasing any pet food that includes meat by-products.
Additional Ingredients Of Interest In Fancy Feast Sliced Beef Feast Cat Food
Fish
The fish used in canned pet foods usually includes parts of the fish not typically used for human consumption. It is high in phosphorus and magnesium, which can be an issue in cats with a history of urinary tract disorders or kidney disease. Most fish used in pet food is that of very low quality, including farmed fish and discarded fish that is deemed unacceptable for human consumption. There is also a risk of mercury exposure as many types of fish contain a high mercury level. Over long periods of time, this can become hazardous. It is also important to try and find a cat food with ethoxyquin free fish. Most cat food brands do not disclose if their fish is ethoxyquin free and if it isn’t, that could pose some problems. Most cats love the taste of fish and will be happy to eat it, but it isn’t part of a regular diet for wild cats. Nonetheless, this is a high protein source with essential omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.
Poultry
Contrary to popular belief, poultry does not always consist of chicken products. Poultry can include a number of different birds including chickens, fowl, quail, turkeys, ducks, geese, and even pigeons. All of these birds must be “domesticated” birds, meaning they must be raised in a human environment like a farm. While we would feel much more comfortable knowing exactly which type of poultry is being used, generally poultry is considered to be a higher quality meat protein ingredient. Unfortunately, poultry contains quite a bit of water weight prior to the cooking process. Since all ingredients are listed by weight prior to cooking, most of this ingredient is lost during the cooking process. That means, it is important for this meat protein source to be complimented by another quality meat protein source.
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.
Soy protein concentrate
This is a protein ingredient derived from defatted soy flakes. It contains 70 percent protein and retains some of the soybean’s dietary fiber. Dehulled and defatted soybeans are processed into three kinds of high protein commercial products including soy flour, concentrates, and isolates. This ingredient is usually only included as an inexpensive way to boost the protein percentage, but unfortunately, not all proteins are created equal. Since cats are carnivores, their bodies are designed to digest meat protein and not plant based proteins. Additionally, soy is a known allergen for many cats and could possibly cause digestion issues. While most cats will not have any problem with soy protein concentrait, we consider this to be a rather non-nutritious and low quality ingredient.
Allergy Risk Associated With Fancy Feast Sliced Beef Feast Wet Cat Food
Unfortunately, this Fancy Feast cat food blend contains corn and soy. Both of these ingredients are known allergens for many cats. While most cats will not suffer from allergic reactions from this food, you should be careful feeding this food to your cat if he or she has shown allergic reactions to other grain based ingredients. Further, cats with digestion sensitivities should avoid this cat food because corn and soy can be difficult to digest.
Conclusion
Fancy feast Sliced Beef Feast wet cat food does contain some higher quality ingredients including quite a bit of meat protein, there are some less desirable ingredients included as well. Meat by-products, for example, supply a high amount of meat based proteins, but it is a very low quality meat source that can include almost any animal in any condition, even animals who had cancerous tumors before slaughter. We also note the presence of ingredients linked to food allergies in cats. Judging by the ingredients, we think this is a lower quality cat food. What do you think? Let us know in the commenting area below.
