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Wysong Pet Foods was established in 1979 to provide natural and holistic foods for dogs, cats, and other common household pets. Their website claims they have two main objectives…
First, they want to “arm pet owners with the knowledge needed to make sound nutritional and health decisions for their pets – pet health and nutrition information is our best product and it is free to you.” And secondly, they desire to “provide natural and holistic pet foods and cat & dog supplements scientifically formulated and painstakingly manufactured and packaged for health optimization.”
On a whole, Wysong does seem to provide higher grade ingredients and they avoid grain and other cheaper filler ingredients. The company sells foods to meet many different customers including dry foods, wet foods, and raw based diets. While Wysong has had some recalls in the past, the recalls are limited and do no appear to be major concerns.
List Of Ingredients In This Cat Food
Fish, Chicken, Water Sufficient For Processing, Ground Extruded Whole Soybeans, Wheat Germ, Chicken Liver, Dicalcium Phosphate, Taurine, DL-Methionine, Yeast Culture, Ground Flax Seeds, Dried Kelp, Dried Wheat Grass Powder, Dried Barley Grass Powder, Natural Extractives of Sage and Rosemary, Garlic, Black Pepper, Artichoke, Ascorbic Acid, Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin Supplement, Manganese Proteinate, Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Copper Proteinate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin A Acetate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement
Top 5 Ingredients Analysis
Fish
The fish used in canned pet foods usually includes parts of the fish not typically used for human consumption. It is high in phosphorus and magnesium, which can be an issue in cats with a history of urinary tract disorders or kidney disease. Most fish used in pet food is that of very low quality, including farmed fish and discarded fish that is deemed unacceptable for human consumption. There is also a risk of mercury exposure as many types of fish contain a high mercury level. Over long periods of time, this can become hazardous. It is also important to try and find a cat food with ethoxyquin free fish. Most cat food brands do not disclose if their fish is ethoxyquin free and if it isn’t, that could pose some problems. Most cats love the taste of fish and will be happy to eat it, but it isn’t part of a regular diet for wild cats. Nonetheless, this is a high protein source with essential omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.
Chicken
Chicken is a very popular ingredient for pet food and in this case, they are referring to whole chicken. This is a very high quality meat source and we are pleased to see it listed. However, whole chicken loses about 80% of its content during the cooking process since the majority of whole chicken is water. After the cooking process is complete, the amount of whole chicken remaining is substantially reduced. Therefor, while whole chicken is a great source of meat protein, this ingredient alone is not enough to provide sufficient levels of meat protein in a cats diet.
Water Sufficient for Processing
For canned foods, water being at the top of the ingredients list is normal. As you could probably guess, water doesn’t do anything in the way of providing nutritional value, but it does help to keep the food moist. Sometimes a broth will be used instead of water, but all canned foods will require a high amount of moisture content.
Additional Ingredients Of Interest
Chicken Liver
Here is another ingredient you probably wouldn’t want to see on your own dinner plate, but most cats seem to enjoy the taste of liver. Uncooked liver, or liver in very high quantities, can actually be toxic to cats. However, in this food, it is clearly provided well within safe limits. In fact, this ingredient is a pretty high quality ingredient overall. It provides a good source of vitamins, minerals, proteins, and other nutrients your cat can benefit from.
Dicalcium Phosphate
Dicalcium phosphate (DCP) is a dibasic calcium phosphate formed by a reactive combination of calcium oxide and phosphoric acid. As a dietary supplement, it is commonly used as a source of calcium and phosphorus for both humans and animals. This ingredient is also frequently used as a firming agent and binder to help give the food more structure. While not an especially nutritious ingredient, the risk of adverse health effects due to cats consuming this ingredient appears to be very low.
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.
DL-Methionine
Methionine is one of the 10-plus essential amino acids that are required by both cats and dogs. For diets that contain minimal amounts of meat proteins and are heavily weighted to vegetable proteins like soy or are low calorie foods diluted with inert ingredients such as cereals and cellulose, there may be a need for supplemental methionine. Read more on this page.
Yeast Culture
Yeast culture is a by-product of the alcohol production industry. This ingredient doesn’t provide any nutritional value for your cat and only assists in the manufacturing process. Some cats are allergic to yeast and some can begin having skin or coat issues, so you should not feed this to any cat suffering from food allergies.
