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It is very important that you choose only the best cat formulas to feed your cat. Choosing a cat formula that is ideal for your cat can be a hard task. Many cat food manufacturers use ingredients that could bring harm to your pet making it even more important to be vigilant when purchasing cat formulas.
The Kit and Kaboodle Original Medley Chicken Turkey and Ocean Fish (dry) cat formula is a product of the Purina Company. Is this the cat formula that you have been looking for? Read on to find out.
Ingredients contained in this cat formula
Ground Yellow Corn, Corn Gluten Meal, Meat And Bone Meal, Soybean Meal, Animal Fat Preserved With Mixed-Tocopherols (Form Of Vitamin E), Chicken By-Product Meal, Turkey By-Product Meal, Turkey By-Product Meal, Animal Liver Flavor, Phosphoric Acid, Salmon Meal, Tuna Meal, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, Taurine, Added Color (Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 2), Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Vitamin A Supplement, Copper Sulfate, Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Foli9C Acid, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Calcium Iodate, Biotin, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Source Of Vitamin K Activity), Sodium Selenite. Y-4513. Guaranteed Analysis: Crude Protein (Min) – 30.0%, Crude Fat (Min) – 8.0%, Crude Fiber (Max) – 4.5%, Moisture (Max) – 12.0%, Calcium (Ca)(Min) – 1.0%, Phosphorus (P)(Min) – 0.8%.
An overview on the first five ingredients
Ground yellow corn
As you might expect, this ingredient is simply yellow corn that has been ground into meal or flour. As with any other corn ingredient in cat food, this is a very controversial ingredient. Cats are obligate carnivores and do not receive much of any nutritional value from plant based and grain based ingredients. While it’s true that cats will eat the stomach contents of their prey in the wild, which usually includes plant based products, it is only consumed in small amounts and doesn’t really add any health benefits. Usually, this ingredient can be found in lower priced cat food because it can be used as a very cheap filler to help make your cat feel more full. However, since corn is a rather difficult to digest, many cats may have problems with this food. In addition, corn is one of the most well known food allergens for cats. While your cat may not suffer from corn allergies, it is a very common problem and one of the big reasons why this ingredient is so controversial.
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.
Meat and bone meal
Meat and bone meal is the dried and rendered product from mammal tissues. It does not contain horn, hair, hide trimmings, manure, stomach contents, added blood meal or poultry by-product. The calcium content should not be more than 2.2 times the phosphorus content. While this ingredient probably provides a high amount of animal based proteins, it is generally considered to be a very low form of animal proteins. With such generic labeling, we are unable to tell where the meat and bones are coming from. It could be coming from almost any animal. As with other unnamed meat sources, we remain very skeptical about this ingredient.
Soybean meal
This ingredient is created after grinding the soybean to extract soybean oil. In addition to being used in dog and cat food, it is widely used as a filler and source of protein in other animal diets including pig, chicken, cattle, horse, sheep, and fish feed. This ingredient can often be found in “hairball relief” cat foods as it is believed to help eliminate hairballs. While some cats are allergic to soy based ingredients, the pet food industry is pretty defensive of this ingredient claiming that despite the attempts of researchers to prove a link between soy and bloat, no studies to date show this link. Rather, breed, body type, weight and stress level are significant risk factors. The pet food industry also claims that soy products are a superb source of bodybuilding protein, coat-nourishing vegetable oil and healthful fiber for cats. As long as your cat isn’t allergic to soy based ingredients, this ingredient shouldn’t pose any problems, but it isn’t included without controversy.
Animal fat
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.
Other ingredients of interest
Chicken by product – 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.
Salmon meal – Salmon is an excellent source of high quality proteins for cats and is extremely rich in healthy Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids. Some people worry about mercury levels in fish. It’s true that all fish contains some degree of mercury, the level in salmon is much lower than other types of fish and the FDA doesn’t believe it causes any problems at all. Most salmon in cat food is farmed salmon, but higher end cat food (especially those labeled “natural”) can often times be fished from natural lakes and streams. The biggest problem with fish ingredients, including salmon, is if the fish includes an antioxidant called ethoxyquin (EMQ). It is believe that ethoxyquin could be very harmful to cats and other animals. Always make sure you are using “Ethoxyquin free” cat food blends when they include fish ingredients. When in doubt, call the customer service number and ask.
Added color – There is absolutely no reason to included added color into any cat food, ever. It’s extremely disappointing to see this ultra-low quality ingredient included. Added color is used for marketing purposes only. They want their product to stand out sitting on the shelf at the store, so they add coloring to their product. Essentially, the coloring is added to entice YOU (the human) to purchase the food over other brands. Your cat could care less what color the food is. Unfortunately, added color is quite controversial as there is growing evidence suggesting cancer in cats from too much food color exposure. At worse, this is a harmful ingredient and at best, it is a marketing ploy with no nutritional value or positive benefit to your cat. We usually have a tough time recommending any cat food that includes such a controversial ingredient.
Does this cat formula contain allergens?
There are several controversial ingredients contained in this cat formula. This means that the cat formula is likely to cause allergies in cats.
Ingredients to avoid
Food preservatives – This is an extremely generic label considering food preservatives come in many different forms. Some preservatives are ok while others can be extremely hazardous to your cats health. Since this is simply listed as food preservatives, we remain highly skeptical about what is actually included here.
Wheat – Most cat food brands that use wheat in their products will tell you that wheat is a grain used as a high-quality carbohydrate source in dry dog and cat foods and biscuits. They will tell you that it provides energy for daily activity, as well as processing characteristics for the food. And finally, they will tell you that the allergy risk associated with wheat is low. However, many experts not associated with the pet food industry will seemingly say the opposite. From them, you’ll hear that wheat and wheat by-product is a very common allergy for dogs and cats. You’ll even find sources that claim wheat has also been linked to epileptic seizures and celiac diseases. Cats are not able to digest grains nearly as well as humans or dogs, so many cats may also experience digestion issues if given too much wheat. In general, wheat is considered to be a very low priced filler ingredient with essentially no nutritional value for cats. As the debate rages on, you be the judge.
Conclusion
This cat formula falls short of the claims that are made about it by the manufacturer. It contains known allergens and you should steer clear of it if you have an allergy prone cat.
