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Are you looking for a suitable formula alternative for your cat? Finding the most suitable brand cannot only be daunting, but also quite boring. It will take you ages to go through all the ingredients lists of various cat formulas and determining which ingredient is suitable and which one is not. Luckily, cat food reviews like this one make it easy for cat owners to select a nutritious cat formula without much hustle.
This review will take a closer look at the Party Mix Meow Luau Crunch (dry). According to Friskies, the Party Mix Meow Luau Crunch is made from treats that have a variety of shapes each coated with flavor. Each treat contains a unique crunch making every bite a new experience.
This formula is also made using several delicious flavors, enticing aromas and tantalizing colors and textures which make it appealing to your cat.
Are these claims factual or just publicity stunts?
Ingredients used to make this formula
Chicken meal, brewers rice, animal fat preserved with mixed-Tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), corn gluten meal, animal liver flavor, malt extract, pork and bone meal, ocean fish, salmon, natural and artificial flavors, phosphoric acid, calcium carbonate, brewers dried yeast, salt, crab meal, Choline chloride, added color, Taurine, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, Yellow 5, Vitamin E supplement, niacin, manganese sulfate, citric acid, Yellow 6, Vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, thiamine Mononitrate, copper sulfate, riboflavin supplement, Red 40, Vitamin B-12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, Blue 2, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, calcium iodate, BHA (a preservative), biotin, Menadione sodium Bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), BHT (a preservative), sodium Selenite.
The first five ingredients
Chicken Meal: Chicken meal is ground up chicken meat that has been carefully dried to a moisture level of 10%. The protein content is 65% and the fat level is 12%. Many pet owners feel that chicken is a superior ingredient to chicken meal. It would seem logical that feeding a pet a whole, non-rendered chicken would be good. However, whole chicken still contains its moisture content prior to cooking and since whole chicken consists of about 80% moisture, after the cooking process is over there isn’t much left. With chicken meal, the moisture was removed prior to cooking. That means, chicken meal actually has a much higher protein percentage and provides far more beneficial nutrients to your cats than whole chicken. Meals consist of meat and skin, with or without the bones, but exclusive of feathers/hair, heads, feet, horns, entrails etc. and have the proper calcium/phosphorus ratio required for a balanced diet. It’s also important to note the quality difference between “chicken by-product meal” and “chicken meal.” While we do take exception to chicken by-products, chicken meal is actually a very high quality and nutritious ingredient. We are happy to see this listed.
Brewers 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.
Animal fat preserved with Mixed-Tocopherols (form of Vitamin E): Animal fat provides essential fatty acids, energy, and fat soluble vitamins. This ingredient can also support a healthy skin and coat. Unfortunately, when it comes to fat sources, animal fat is considered to be a lower quality ingredient. This is because it is an unnamed fat source. Usually, we like to see a named fat source (such as “chicken fat”). In this case, we are forced to guess what animal or animals this fat source comes from. Animal fat, also called tallow, is a product of rendering. In the rendering process, pieces, parts, and even whole animals are put through a gigantic grinder, then boiled in vats for 30 minutes to several hours. High heat is necessary to kill bacteria, viruses, molds, and other pathogens. The boiling process also allows the fat to separate and float to the top, where it is skimmed off for use in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, industrial lubricants, and, of course, pet food.
Tocopherol is a naturally occurring chemical element found in a variety of foods. It is commonly called vitamin E in a generic sense, as vitamin E substances are made up of tocopherol and similar elements. The main purpose of this ingredient is to provide a natural preservative for the food. Since this is a natural preservative, it is generally considered safe.
Corn Gluten Meal: This is the dried residue from corn after the removal of the larger part of the starch and germ, and the separation of the bran by the process employed in the wet milling manufacture of corn starch or syrup, or by enzymatic treatment of the endosperm. The expression “corn gluten” is colloquial jargon that describes corn proteins that are neither gliadin nor glutenin. Only wheat, barley, rye and oat contain true gluten. For the most part, this ingredient is normally only found in cheaper “grocery store brand” cat foods. Corn is frequently used as a filler ingredient to help make your cat feel more full, but it does not add much of anything to the nutritional value in the food. In addition, this is a common allergen for many cats and corn based ingredients can often be difficult for cats to digest. That’s why we can’t recommend this food for cats with food allergies or sensitive digestive systems.
Animal Liver Flavor: When the ingredient “animal liver flavor” is used, what animal did this liver flavor come from? We don’t know, and either do you. The only one who really knows this answer is the manufacture. You can try calling them to ask, but most pet food companies are tight lipped about their “proprietary information.” To put things in perspective, this ingredient is so processed that it’s just the FLAVOR of an unnamed animal liver. This ingredient can even be synthetically derived to imitate liver flavor. While it probably won’t pose much harm to your cat, the fact this is a flavor coming from an unnamed animal leaves us wondering, and that doesn’t instill much confidence or imply quality.
Will my cat suffer from allergic reactions?
Unfortunately, this formula contains several ingredients that have low nutritional value. Some of the ingredients are also from allergy causing products such as wheat and corn meaning that cats suffering from allergic reactions cannot feed on this formula.
Other ingredients used in this formula
Bone meal: Bone meal is a mixture of finely and coarsely ground animal bones and slaughter-house waste products. It is used as an organic fertilizer for plants and as a nutritional supplement for animals. This is not an ingredient humans would want to see on their dinner plate, but cats do gain quite a bit of nutritional value from bones. While we’d like more information about the animals these bones are sourced from, this ingredient isn’t likely to cause any short-term or long-term health issues and is probably quite beneficial in your cats diet.
Pork: Pork is the most consumed meat product in the world and so it is readily available for pet food as well. It is very high in healthy animal based proteins and fatty acids. Since cats are obligate carnivores, they receive quite a bit of nutritional benefit from this ingredient. Except in very minor cases, the allergy risk associated with pork is quite low while the health benefits are very high.
Conclusion
This cat formula contains various nutritious ingredients. However, the presence of allergens (corn and wheat) and chemical-based preservatives cannot be ignored. These ingredients are known to have harmful health effects to cats. As a result, the Party Mix Meow Luau Crunch can be considered as being below average.
