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Are you in search of the ideal cat appetizer? Since the introduction of cat appetizers to the market, meal times have become fun times for most felines. Your cat no longer has to wait until meal times to eat. These appetizers ensure that your cat’s tummy is always full. In turn, this ensures it remains active throughout the day. There are so many appetizers in the market and picking one can be a headache. Your best bet is to go for appetizers that supply the cat with healthy ingredients.
The Fancy Feast White Meat Chicken Appetizer in a Delicate Broth is a wet formula that is readily available in the market. According to the manufacturers, this appetizer contains no byproducts or fillers. It is claimed to have real chicken chunks is a delectable gravy.
Is this appetizer the most ideal one for your cat? Read on to find out.
The ingredients in the appetizer
Water, chicken, guar gum, xanthan gum, sodium nitrite (to maintain color)
An overview of the ingredients
Water
As you might expect, water is mostly added for moisture and cooking purposes. It does not add any nutritional value to the food.
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.
Guar gum
This ingredient is also sometimes called guaran. It is primarily the ground endosperm of guar beans. The guar seeds are dehusked, milled and screened to obtain the guar gum. It is typically produced as a free-flowing, off-white powder. This ingredient is mostly used to thicken the food and give it more texture. It is an FDA-approved, all natural GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) ingredient used by the food and cosmetic industries. It also is used to improve the shelf life of the food and helps lower the glycemic index of food. Many cat food companies claim this ingredient also aids in digestion and weight loss. There is some minor debate about the benefits of this ingredient with some claiming negative impacts, but in general, this is thought to be a relatively non-nutritious yet safe ingredient.
Xanthan gum
This is a substance produced by bacterial fermentation or created synthetically and is used in cat foods as a gelling agent and thickener. It is composed of glucose, mannose, and glucuronic acid. It is what causes the black rot on veggies that have been in the fridge too long. Once the bacteria has fermented, it is pasteurized (killed) and filtered. The resulting xanthan gum is then treated with isopropyl alcohol, dried, ground, and diluted to desired consistency. The finished product is a loose, whitish-colored powder. The behavior of xanthan gum makes it ideal for food processing purposes and is used in human food frequently. Nutritionally speaking, it is a carbohydrate with about seven grams of fiber per tablespoon. Xanthan gum is made using carbohydrates from corn, wheat, dairy, or soy which are all common food allergens for many cats.
Sodium nitrite
Nitrates are used in curing, which is a broad category of techniques for preserving foods, mainly meat and fish, that involves the use of salt, sugar, or some form of dehydration. In each case, the goal is to make the food unattractive to the bacteria that cause food spoilage. This works because bacteria are tiny organisms that require, among other things, moisture, oxygen and food. Take away one of these things and they die. So basically, that’s a fancy way of saying this ingredient is used as a preservative. In addition, it also gives cat food that red, meaty look. While unsubstantiated, there are claims that sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate can cause chemically induced cancer in cats. In rare circumstances, pets have died due to to receiving too much of this ingredient in their food.
Conclusion
The Fancy Feast White Meat Chicken Appetizer Cat food is a pretty good quality appetizer. You shouldn’t use this cat food as a part of your cats regular diet as it does not contain all of the nutrients your cat needs to live a healthy life. However, as a treat or mixed in with your cats regular diet it should be ok for most cats.
