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Has your feline friend finally turned 1? This is the age most cat owners prefer to start feeding their cats on formulas meant for adult cats. Or, maybe you’re just looking to switch blends? In any case, choosing a new cat formula can be overwhelming, especially because of the numerous choices available.
Eukanuba is a pet food company known for the manufacture of dog and cat formulas. The Eukanuba Entree With Lamb And Rice Cat Food blend is one of the adult cat formulas under this brand. According to the company, this formula is ideal for cats of one year and beyond. It is said to offer your cat all the nutrients it needs to grow steadily and healthily.
Eukanuba is owned by Procter & Gamble and uses a manufacturing plant in Leipsic, Ohio. In 1969, Paul Iams wanted to find a name to differentiate the new formula from other Iams pet food products. Iams chose to name this new formula “Eukanuba”, a term originated by jazz era personality Hoagy Carmichael, meaning “the tops” or “something supreme” (read more on Wikipedia).
Ingredients in The Eukanuba Entree with Lamb And Rice
Meat Broth, Meat By-Products, Chicken, Chicken By-Products, Lamb, Natural Flavor, Brewers Rice, Flax Meal, Carrots, Broccoli, Dried Beet Pulp, Potassium Chloride, Sweet Potatoes, Guar Gum, Sun cured Alfalfa, Salt, Brewers Dried Yeast, DL-Methionine, Dried Egg Product, Minerals (Manganese Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Copper Sulfate), Carrageenan, Choline Chloride, Vitamins (Vitamin A Acetate, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Menadione Dimethylpyrimidinol Bisulfite (source of vitamin K3), Folic Acid), Fructooligosaccharides, Titanium Dioxide.
Top 5 Ingredients Analysis
When we review any cat food, we always take a close look at the top 5 ingredients. These ingredients make up the vast majority of the nutritional content in the 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.
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.
Chicken
Chicken is a very popular ingredient for pet food and in this case, they are referring to whole chicken. This is a very high quality meat source and we are pleased to see it listed. However, whole chicken loses about 80% of its content during the cooking process since the majority of whole chicken is water. After the cooking process is complete, the amount of whole chicken remaining is substantially reduced. Therefor, while whole chicken is a great source of meat protein, this ingredient alone is not enough to provide sufficient levels of meat protein in a cats diet.
Chicken By-Products
While this ingredient does provide a high amount of meat protein, this meat source is considered to be of lower quality than many other meat sources. Chicken By-Product is produced through a process of cooking, drying and separation of fats and proteins from animal carcasses. It contains a combination of meat (or cuts or parts) including lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, livers, blood, bone, necks, undeveloped eggs and intestines. Usually, by-products are the “left overs” that can’t be used for human food consumption. The greatest fault of this ingredient is the same trait that makes it so affordable and so commonly found in pet foods. The unpredictability of what might (or might not) be included.
Lamb
Lamb is a very high quality source of meat protein. Generally, this ingredient is more nutritious in canned formulas than dry formulas, but in either case, it is nice to see this ingredient listed. Unfortunately, about 80% of this ingredient is lost during the cooking process. That means, there actually isn’t much of this ingredient left once it has all been processed.
Additional Ingredients Of Interest In Eukanuba Entree With Lamb And Rice Cat Food
Brewer’s Rice
Brewers rice is the small milled fragments of rice kernels that have been separated from the larger kernels of milled rice. It is a processed rice product that is missing many of its nutrients, but does provide a source of carbohydrates. It is a by-product of rice milling and considered a lower quality filler ingredient usually used in lower priced cat food blends. Usually, brewers rice is used to make rice flour, but if the quality is too poor for rice flour, it will then be sold to pet food or dairy feed companies. For many cats, this ingredient can cause allergies or digestion issues. Most cats will not have any problems processing this food, but it’s not one of the better ingredients, either.
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.
Dried Beet Pulp
Beet pulp is a by-product from the processing of sugar beet and is a source of fiber and energy. It is popular among many pet food companies due to its high availability and low price. The most common complaint about this ingredient is that it causes digestion problems, most commonly a very hard stool or diarrhea. It has also been known to cause bloat in some dogs and cats which can be very serious if left unchecked.
Suncured Alfalfa
Alfalfa is a rich mineral food that has trace minerals such as zinc, iron, and manganese. It also includes vitamin A, vitamin C, as well as other nutrients that are beneficial to cats such as chlorophyll. The fact it is “suncured” is a bit of a marketing gimmick and doesn’t add anything to the nutritional value.
Allergy Risks Associated With Eukanuba Entree With Lamb And Rice Cat Food
While we are not especially happy about the quality of ingredients used in this food, it does not contain many of the main allergy causing ingredients, making this a pretty safe cat food for cats with food allergies.
Poor Quality Ingredients Commonly Found In Cat Food
Soy – Soy is another common food allergen for cats and is also known to cause gastric upset. This ingredient is considered a very low priced filler ingredient. While it will certainly help make your cat food more full, the full nutritional benefit in this ingredient is questionable at best. Many cat food brands will tell you the allergy risk is very low with soy, but it is one of the most well known food allergens that cats deal with in commercial pet food. Overall, this is a pretty low quality ingredient.
Wheat and corn – Both of these ingredients are grains and unfortunately, they have links to food allergies in cats. While most cats will not form allergic reactions to these ingredients, cats with pre-existing food allergies should avoid both wheat and corn based products. In addition, wheat and corn can be very difficult for some cats to digest. Since cats are obligate carnivores, their digestive systems are designed to process meats and not grains. These ingredients boost the protein percentage of the food, but cats do not get the same nutritional benefit from plant proteins as meat proteins. Cats require meat protein to live a healthy life. Both of these ingredients are most commonly found in lower priced cat foods and include the grains as a way to help make your cat feel more full without actually adding more expensive and nutritional ingredients to the food. In smaller quantities, these ingredients shouldn’t pose any issues, but wheat and corn aren’t considered to be high quality ingredients by any means.
Gluten meal – 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.
None of these four ingredients is contained in the entrée with lamb and rice formula.
Conclusion
The client reviews on this formula are mostly positive. The fact that it is a non-allergy causing formula also seems to be an advantage that drives most cat owners to purchase the product. This is, therefore, a good cat formula for many adult cats. Unfortunately, this cat food does contain some lower quality ingredients, making this a below average cat food.
