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Between the advancement of nutritional science and a series of recent pet food recalls, cat owners are becoming more curious about commercial cat food. They want to know how it’s made and what ingredients are being used. They also want to know if commercial cat food is the best option for their cats or if there are other options to explore. Cat owners are right to be curious of commercial cat food, because there are some bad cat food manufacturers out there. So we have put together a guide of everything cat owners need to know about commercial cat food so you can make smart decision about your cat’s diet.
Types Of Commercially Available Cat Food
Cat food manufacturers used to just make kibble and wet food in a couple of different flavors. However as consumers have began to demand more nutrition from their foods, they now offer a larger variety of cat foods including:
- Dry cat food: Dry cat food is when manufacturers finely grind the ingredients together and bake them into a bite size kibble.
- Moist cat food: Moist cat food is a kibble that has a higher moisture content so it is soft and chewy.
- Wet cat food: Wet cat food usually comes in cans or sealed containers and is a mixture of ingredients presented as either a pate, a stew, or shreds.
- Fresh cat food: Fresh cat food is wet cat food without high pressure preservation methods. It is usually stored in the refrigerator or freezer until serving.
- Raw cat food: Raw cat food is available as dry, wet, or fresh and uses uncooked raw ingredients.
Cat foods also come in a variety of formulas to address specific dietary and health needs. These formulas include:
- Life stage formulas which come in kitten, adult cat, and senior. These foods are made to meet the dietary needs of a cat during different stages of their lives. Some foods are formulated to be “all life stages” which means they can be eaten at any age.
- Limited ingredient diets which uses a minimal amount of ingredients to keep the food simple and easy to digest.
- Grain-free which designed to reduce food intolerances and allergies triggers by the consumption of gluten.
- Holistic which is formulated to meet the nutritional needs for the whole health of your cat.
- Natural which is made with only natural ingredients and no chemicals or byproducts.
- Organic which is made with certified organic ingredients. If the label says “made with organic ingredients” it means that 70% or more of the ingredients are organic, but if it says “100% organic” the food is made entirely with organic ingredients.
- Specific dietary need which are formulated to support the health of your cat but addressing specific health problems like weight management, urinary tract support, and hypoallergenic formulas.
- Prescriptive which are only available with a prescription from a veterinarian. Prescriptive formulas are designed to help treat and manage chronic illnesses.
How Cat Food Is Made
Commercial cat food is usually made in factories. Some boutique commercial cat companies make their foods in kitchens. Other high quality cat foods will use “human grade” machinery which means that the machines are approved to make human foods or they will use “certified organic” methods which means that there is no contamination of non-organic ingredients during processing. Wherever the food is made, the ingredients are mixed together into a dough, paste, or stew and either:
- Extruded: The dough is pressure cooked with steam at very high temperatures until fully cooked. Extrusion is the most common process of preparing cat food. Most dry, moist, and canned foods are extruded.
- Freeze-dried: Freeze-drying is a newer method where the food is flash frozen then the excess moisture is vacuumed off. This method is usually used for dry raw foods.
- Air dried: Air dried is another relatively new way to make cat food. The food is dried under warm air. This method is used for dry food and dry raw food.
Commercial Cat Food Ingredients
Cat food manufacturers use a variety of ingredients. You can find the ingredients listed on the ingredients panel on the back of the package. The ingredients panel lists all ingredients used by weight. Since cats are carnivores, the first ingredient on the ingredients panel should always be a meat otherwise the food should immediately be rejected. Some other healthy ingredients to look for are:
- Livestock meats, game meats, or fish
- Organ meats like liver, heart, and kidneys
- Vegetables likes carrots, peas, and spinach
- Fruit like cranberries, apples, and blueberries
- Whole grains like barley and rice
- Added nutrients like vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and omega fatty acids
Some manufacturers will cut corners though and use unhealthy or cheap ingredients. So when scanning the ingredients label watch out for:
- Chemical preservatives like BHT/BHA, ethoxyquin, and propyl gallate
- Animal byproducts like rendered fats, animal byproduct meal, or chicken byproducts
- Artificial colors like red #40, yellow #5, or blue #1
- Artificial flavors like benzoates, amyl alcohol, and butylates
- Added sugars like corn syrup, sucrose, and fructose
- Fillers like hulls, pulp, and soy
The Nutritional Content Of Commercial Cat Food
The nutritional content of commercial cat food is listed on the guaranteed analysis panel on the back of the packaging. The guaranteed analysis panel lists the crude protein, crude fat, crude moisture, and crude fiber. Crude is not the type of nutrient but a form of measurement. Crude protein and fat are listed at the minimum levels the food contains, while the crude moisture and crude fiber are listed at the maximum levels the food contains. The guaranteed analysis will also list the amounts of any key vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and fatty acids. The guaranteed analysis panel is how you will decipher if the food meets the nutritional needs of your cat.
Regulation Of Commercial Cat Food
Commercial cat food is not as highly regulated as human food. However, the Food and Drug Administration has very specific standards for cat food. The first is that the foods cannot be made with any banned ingredients. The second regulation is the ingredients and nutrition have to be accurate labeled on the ingredients panel and guaranteed analysis. Finally, if the food is contaminated, it needs to be pulled from the market, a process known as a “recall.”
These are just the basic things any cat owner needs to know about commercial cat food. Commercial cat food has changed over the years so there are many types available with a whole range of processing methods, ingredients, and nutritional values. So armed with this information, the next time you are purchasing cat food you can assess whether or not you are buying the best quality cat food for your cat.
