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The Breeder’s Choice Foods brand has over the years experienced immense growth with the cat food formulas under its umbrella. However, with such rapid growth also comes controversy. The brand has been embroiled in controversy because of the inclusion of avocados in their pet food formulas. While the inclusion of this ingredient has not been shown to cause harm to cats questions have been raised regarding its benefits.
The Wild Caught Sardine (wet) is a cat food type that falls under the Addiction cat food brand. Featuring Sardines, this hypoallergenic diet is said optimally balance all essential nutrients. It is also rich in Omega-6 and 3 fatty acids and is grain free. The company claims that the ingredients used are of high quality and as such, ensure that your pet’s nutritional needs are met.
Is this true? Find out below.
Ingredients in AvoDerm Wild Caught Sardine (Wet) Cat Food
Sunflower oil, sardine, sardine broth, Guar Gum, Avocado oil, Tricalcium Phosphate, Natural color (Natural Betacarotene), Taurine, Choline Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Supplement of Vitamin D3, Folic Acid, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfate (Vitamin K activity sources), Supplement of Vitamin A, Manganese Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Zinc Oxide, Supplement of Vitamin E.
The First 5 Ingredients
Sunflower oil: Tomato pomace is an inexpensive by-product of tomato manufacturing. Effectively, it is what is left over after processing tomatoes for juice, ketchup, soup, etc. In all likelihood, this is the leftovers of what is cleaned off of the floors and other areas of plants that process tomatoes for other purposes. As such, this is probably used more as a flavor enhancer than for nutritional purposes.
Sardine and Sardine broth: 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.
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.
Coconut oil: Coconut oil is an edible oil extracted from the kernel or meat of matured coconuts harvested from the coconut palm. Unique to most oils, coconut oil is not damaged by high heat, making it an ideal cooking oil. Coconut oil is great for skin and coat, helps with hair balls, naturally repels fleas, aids in digestion, is an antiviral, anti-fungal, antibacterial, boosts metabolism, can help reduce bad breath, may help prevent neurological problems, thyroid problems, cholesterol problems and is generally very well tolerated. It is also abundantly available and low priced. While this isn’t a very common ingredient in cat food, the known benefits of this ingredient are vast while there appears to be no real risk to cats consuming coconut oil.
Tricalcium phosphate: Dicalcium phosphate is a compound that is present in bone. It is a calcium salt. Usually, when people break their bones, the need to enrich themselves with this compound in order to help bone regeneration. For cat food, it is mostly used as a part of the processing of the food. While this ingredient sounds scary and doesn’t provide any nutrition for cats, it is considered safe and is usually included in very low levels.
Will this cat food give my cat allergies?
The Wild Caught Sardine (wet) formula contains no allergens and is grain free. It is therefore safe even for cats that suffer from allergic reactions. However, to be on the safe side, you have to read the ingredients list on all cat foods you purchase, before purchasing. This is because there are cat foods that contain allergens like corn and wheat and are yet to be recalled.
Ingredients You Should Take Note Of
- Guar Gum
- Coconut oil
Ingredients you should avoid
Artificial colors: There is absolutely no reason to included artificial colors into any cat food, ever. It’s extremely disappointing to see this ultra-low quality ingredient included. Added artificial coloring 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.
BHT & BHA: Both BHA & BHT are preservatives that have been banned in human foods in many countries due to cancer risks. However, they remain approved for use in pet foods. A growing number of pet owners are becoming aware of the potential dangers these ingredients bring and are shunning all foods containing BHA and BHT. BHA and BHT are extremely controversial ingredients in all forms of pet food.
Wheat, corn and soy: All three of these ingredients are known allergens for many cats. In addition, many cats have problems digesting these grain based ingredients. Since cats are obligate carnivores, their digestive systems are designed to digest meat and not grains. All of these ingredients will help to boost the protein percentage in cat food, but not all protein is created equally. Cats do not digest plant based proteins in the same way as meat proteins and in fact, gain little to no nutritional value from these grains. Several “grocery store brand” cat foods include these products to keep the price down as it is a cheap filler to help make your cat feel full as well as a cheap way to add protein to the food.
Corn Syrup: Unfortunately, corn is a known allergen for many cats and cats do not receive much of any nutritional value at all from corn, even though corn helps to boost the overall protein percentage of the food. Syrup extracts usually aren’t harmful to cats, but they aren’t all that nutritious, either. In fact, many syrup extracts will contain quite a bit of sugar which can lead to weight gain. Since many adult cats have diabetes, it’s probably a safer bet to stay away from syrups.
Conclusion
The Wild Caught Sardine (wet) has received good reviews from cat owners and is therefore suitable for consumption. Being allergens free also makes it good for cats with allergies and/or digestive problems. However, this formula is thin on nutritional benefits. It would make for a great meal if your cat is allergic to protein. Cats should be fed on protein rich foods and Wild Caught Sardine fails the test.
