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When deciding on a cat formula, there are many things you should put to consideration. Things like the nutritional value, the price and whether the formula is from a well known brand. The selection process can be hard considering the number of cat formulas in the pet food market.
The Solid Gold Health Products for Pets is one of the companies that have been in the pet food market for decades. The company has several brands of cat formulas under their umbrella among them the Grain and Gluten Free Sardines and Tuna.
According to Solid Gold, this formula contains minerals and vitamins and is an ideal dry food accompaniment. They further claim that this formula is best used as a treat. Nevertheless, it is important to evaluate its safety and nutritional value. Read on to find out whether this formula is a worthwhile investment.
Ingredients in Solid Gold Grain and Gluten Free Sardines and Tuna
Tapioca Starch, A-Tocopherol, Tuna, Sardines, Water, Folic Acid, Supplement of Vitamin D, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Menadione Sodium Bisulfate Complex, Riboflavin Supplement, Supplement of Vitamin A, Thiamine Mononitrate, Manganese Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Choline chloride, Supplement of Vitamin E, Taurine, Tricalcium Phosphate, Cellulose Gum, Canola Oil.
An overview of the first five ingredients
Tapioca Starch: Tapioca flour, also known as tapioca starch, is a starchy white flour that has a slight sweet flavor to it. Tapioca flour is an alternative to traditional wheat flours and has a variety of uses in baking. Tapioca is a source of carbohydrate obtained from the roots of the cassava plant (Manihot esculenta), which is indigenous to Latin America. It is not a cereal grain like corn or wheat which have links to food allergies in cats. The benefit to using tapioca in a pet food as the primary carbohydrate source instead of typical grains is tapioca’s biochemical simplicity. Grains are complex in the sense that they contain proteins and other phytonutrients in addition to carbohydrates. Tapioca is just starch – a combination of amylase and amlylopectin. There are no known canine or feline allergies to tapioca, so this is becoming a more common ingredient in many pet foods.
A-Tocopherol: 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.
Tuna: This ingredient is a well known saltwater fish. There is some debate about whether fish products should be included in cat food at all, because cats by nature do not eat much sea food. A lot of cat owners would rather see meat from other animals such as beef, chicken, turkey, or other meat sources. However, tuna does supply a good amount of protein and also contains an excellent amount of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.
Sardines: A sardine is a young pilchard or other young or small herringlike fish. Some cat owners like to avoid fish in cat food because sea food is not usually a part of a cats natural diet. All fish products also contain a certain level of mercury and some cat owners fear that over time, the ingestion of mercury could be harmful (although there is very little evidence to suggest a significant risk). Overall, this ingredient does supply some extremely nutritious properties including protein and very healthy fatty acids.
Water: As you might expect, water is mostly added for moisture and cooking purposes. It does not add any nutritional value to the food.
Other ingredients of interest
Folic Acid: This is a vitamin of the B complex, found especially in leafy green vegetables, liver, and kidney. It is vital for red blood cells and for many other cells in the body. There are no known issues concerning this ingredient adversely effecting cats.
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.
Taurine: Taurine is an essential amino acid that is critical for normal heart muscle function, vision, and reproduction in cats. Since cats are unable to create proper levels of taurine in their body naturally, it must be supplemented in their food. That’s why you’ll see this ingredient listed for so many different cat food blends. For cat foods that contain enough high quality animal based proteins, a taurine supplement may not be needed. However, most cat foods will need to add in additional taurine in the form of a supplement to the food. Even when included as a supplement instead, there is very low to almost zero health risk associated with this ingredient. In fact, a lack of taurine can cause a slew of issues, so it’s very important to make sure your cat is receiving enough taurine in his or her diet.
Will my cat suffer allergic reactions from eating this formula?
As the name suggests, this formula is grain and gluten free meaning that it is allergy free. The ingredients used also don’t contain any allergens or allergen derivatives. Therefore, you can rest assured that your cat companion will not have any allergic reactions from eating this formula.
Conclusion
This formula is a good choice for a dry cat food accompaniment. The ingredients are nutritious and well balanced. The formula, however, is short on animal protein. Nevertheless, this formula is meant to be used as a treat. In this light, it should be accompanied by a protein rich dry food.
