Understanding Cat Food Ingredients Label - What Not to Feed Your Cat

You may assume that if the canned cat food is on the shelf at your trusted pet store it must be safe to feed your cat, but think again. Not all commercial pet foods are made with the same ingredients, and some ingredients can cause your pet problems that could require a visit to the veterinarian.

To protect your cat, learn to become a label reader, suggest Nina Anderson, Dr. Howard Peiper and Alicia McWatters authors of “Super-Nutrition for Animals,” published by Safe Goods. Cat food can contain preservatives, additives and “4D” meat and meat-by-products. The 4D (dead, diseased, dying or disabled) meat is rejected for human consumption, and by-products can be moldy, rancid or spoiled processed meat. Ann Martin, author of “Food Pets Die For,” New Sage Press, even claims that some rendering plants can render roadkill, restaurant garbage, euthanized pets and zoo animals, which, after rendering, can be purchased by pet food companies.

How can you become a super label reader? According to Anderson, Peiper and McWatters, when reading cat food labels, the following ingredients should raise a red flag:

Aluminum: can cause discoordination problems in cats.

Animal/poultry fat: are difficult to digest and can lead to health problems as it is usually from meat rejected for human consumption.

Artificial color: like red #40 and yellow #6 can be carcinogenic (cancer-causing) or cause sensitivity in cats.

BHT/BHA: petroleum products are used as preservative and can cause a host of health issues including weakness, breathing difficulties or cancer.

Ethoxyquin: was originally an herbicide classified as a poison by the FDA. It was first used as a feed preservative for animals intended for slaughter. It has been connected to liver cancer in dogs and mortality in puppies as well as skin allergies and other immune-related diseases.

Meat-by-products: “meat” does not explain what the animal source is and can be roadkill. Meat-by-products can contain 4D sources that are unfit for human consumption and can include hooves, hair, feathers and beaks. But some by-products can be good for pets, such as organ meat and bones; however, labels typically do not differentiate between healthy and unhealthy by-products.

Propylene glycol: is used to de-ice airplanes and is added to food and cosmetics to prevent bacterial growth. However, it is also thought to adversely affect the good bacteria in the intestines and is connected to constipation, liver and kidney problems and cancer.

Sodium nitrite: is used for meat curing and to add color to pet food; however, it is thought to be carcinogenic.

Peanut hulls: are an ineffective, cheap bulk source of fiber that can cause constipation and colon damage.

Sugar and other sweeteners: corn syrup, molasses, sucrose and beet sugar are all unnecessarily added sugars that can lead to sugar addiction, obesity, diabetes and hypoglycemia, among others, in pets.

Some pet foods use sugar, propylene glycol and corn syrup as carbohydrates; whereas, high-quality premium pet foods use complex carbohydrates from whole grains. Additionally, the protein source may not be a digestible protein source. Because meat by-products can contain poorly digestible sources of protein, you would want to see better protein sources rather than by-products, by-product meals or dried animal digest. High up on the label, you should see whole protein sources like eggs, chicken, beef or lamb.

A good clue that you are on the road to feeding your cat a healthy premium cat food is if the label reads “human-grade ingredients.” If you keep an eye on the cat food label and understand what not to feed your cat, you will be taking a positive step toward ensuring him a long healthy life.

Next article: Premium versus Commercial Cat Food - Is There Really a Difference?