WHAT'S GOING ON WITH CAT FOOD?! Photo: "Kenzie" by Linda Francese
This was a frustrating yet interesting post to write last night.
When I learned that Natura, makers of several respected brands of pet food, were accused of falsely advertising their pet food as “human grade,” I thought, “Why, those liars! Does that mean their food is not good quality afterall?!”
Answer: It doesn’t necessarily mean their food is bad quality. Rather, Natura got in trouble because there is no legal or standardized definition of “human grade” in pet food. So they were sued for false advertising.
And guess what? Many of the other highly respected cat foods have claimed to be human grade as well. (I’m not going to name names–I’m sure they’re scrambling.)
Then my research on this topic led me to other shocking information…Shock #2…
But first, if you’re wondering why I’m so worked up about the contents of cat food, it’s because I lost a feline soul mate to intestinal lymphoma. That’s one cancer that may actually be partially caused by food: The wrong foods for a cat can lead to IBD, which many experts believe may lead to intestinal lymphoma.
And it’s become suspiciously common in cats.
AND I continue to stumble upon new things that could contribute intestinal cancer, including a new one I’ll mention in a moment.
Shock #1 There isn‘t a legal definition of human grade pet food yet
Susan Thixton of TruthAboutPetFood.com has done some great investigating to come to the stunning truth that we don’t really know what foods are human grade because it isn’t defined or regulated for pet food. (Go here to help her petition to change this!)
However, a number of good pet foods, including Natura, have gone ahead claimed “human grade” quality simply because it wasn’t illegal under federal law to do so. In some states though, it is illegal. Hence, Natura was sued in California.
One Happy Exception! Honest Kitchen, makers of dehydrated pet foods, is the one company that can legally claim they are human grade because they were taken to court and fought–they proved themselves good enough for that title. Good for them! Now I just have to try to convince my cats to eat their food again. It didn’t go over well before, but I was more impatient in those days. I didn’t really do my full 6-day switching plan back then. Honest Kitchen cat food has about 9.5% carbs served hydrated. The ideal way to serve it is with some fresh meat, which would lower the carb count.
Shock #2 We should avoid carrageenan now?
Petsumer reports and Susan Thixton led me to this: Carrageenan–long-considered safe and natural because it’s from seaweed–has become suspect in some serious crimes! (It may be that the chemicals used to extract it are the cause.)
Here’s the deal:
- Carrageenan is used in many cat foods and some human ones (hello cheap ice cream!), but it seems the government is mighty slow at heeding the latest research about it.
- Degraded carrageenan, which occurs at high temperatures and acidity, has been associated with ulcerations in the gastro-intestinal tract and gastro-intestinal cancer in animals. Before freaking out about that, do know that we aren’t sure if the carrageenan in pet food has been degraded or not, and one study of various samples of human foods with carrageenan found no degraded carrageenan.
- But, a quick review of several research articles cited by Wikipedia says that, at the very least, even regular (nondegraded) carrageenan looks guilty of suppressing the immune system and inflaming the intestinal lining–which, I might add, is the kind of thing that causes intestinal bowel disease (IBD). Some of my favorite cat food companies don’t seem to have heard about this particular study on non-degraded carrageenan yet.
And, I’m sorry to say, carrageenan is in most Wellness and Innova Evo canned foods. In fact, it’s in most of the best canned foods!
OK, don’t panic. We don’t know yet exactly what amount in cat food would be scary.
But I, for one, am going to start avoiding it because I don’t want any Bad Stuff ™ in cat food that is eaten regularly over a period of years.
What do we know about how a little affects the gut over time? And may it have been one factor in my Bastet’s intestinal cancer?! (Most of her wet foods had carrageenan and grains, and the dry food had rice.)
So what grain-free canned options do we have without carrageenan?
I am investigating. One great one that doesn’t have carrageenan is Natures Variety Instinct 95%. But then, that has ground flaxseed.
I have been avoiding some good canned brands (like Wellness and Instinct) because they have ground flaxseed and other fussy ingredients. My background as a nutritionist taught me that ground flaxseed oxidizes very quickly. Once flax is oxidized it’s actually bad for you. Plus, I don’t like to see a lot of fussy ingredients, because I believe a cat’s digestion needs simple foods.
Now that I’ve confessed my fear of ground flaxseed to you, I need to get clear about it. Check out both these statements with convincing references currently in Wikipedia:
- “Ground flaxseed can go rancid at room temperature in as little as one week.”
- “Ground flax is remarkably stable to oxidation when stored for nine months at room temperature”
Huh? Well, at this point, I will choose ground flaxseed over carrageenan any day.
Which is exactly why I’m going to try switching to Instinct 95% canned for the canned portion of our cats’ diet.
Note: Just don’t buy the claims that flaxseed gives your animal omega 3s! Cats and dogs cannot convert the alpha-linoleic-acid to EPA and DHA, so they don’t really get omega 3′s from flax oil, as Dr. Jean Hofve explains here. It’s not easy for humans to convert flax oil to EPA/DHA either, so I’m not surprised.
Yes, I’ll be digging deeper, and I’ll be looking at more options, and I’ll be updating my best commercial cat food post, as I intend to do on a regular basis.
What do you think?
I’m interested in your thoughts on all this! I promise to read your comments below this post.
|
Join the natural cat tribe!
Join the hundreds of folks worldwide who receive exclusive updates, and get a FREE COPY of my eBook, 6 Natural Ways to Help Your Cat Live Longer! Just enter your name and email below:
|
|
Ugh, I was going to go find some Evo for my cat with feline leukemia. I’ll be interested to see your list. Unfortunately I can’t get him to eat much canned food… he loves kibble. He also has IBD and I had great luck switching him to Organix dry food. He began getting healthier immediately when I started giving him this.
Margaret, my heart goes out to you & your kitty with leukemia. I am wishing him a strong immune system to be healthy longer!
Since he’s got IBD too I can see why you’d want a grain-free food. My reading tells me organic foods are ideal for feline leukemia–ie, avoiding chemicals that may deplete immune system. So he was on the right track liking an organic food.
A grain free organic dry food option is Epigen 90 (has to be 90, not the other Epigen!)
Two grain-free, carrageen-free wet foods are the Newman’s grain-free organic ones, and the Evanger’s Turkey & Butternut Squash.
I believe keeping him hydrated is ideal, so wet food is ideal, but I know it’s not always so simple to convince an unwell cat to switch foods. Not sure if you saw my article on switching foods, but hopefully that can help.
Thanks Liz for the info on the other foods. I read this the other night on the run and managed to find some Paul Newman food at Walmart of all places. Plus I can get the evangers locally so I’ll look for that this week. I read your article and I’m trying it, but so far he’s been resistant. The only way he’ll eat anything is out of my hand. He’s the most difficult cat I have. He’s just not interested in food at all… unless it’s in my hand. On the plus side, he still continues to do well. I’ll keep trying the wet foods. Maybe it’s just a matter of finding something he likes.
Hi Margaret,
Glad you found some good foods locally. I totally understand about his eating out of hand preference–very common with cats who are working through an illness. It’s such a tough time because that’s when we most want them to eat. I’ve been there. If you can find any enticements he likes and put them on top, that can help. Also, mixing in a bit of warm water helps sometimes too (cats prefer warm food).
Just wanted to add: if he’s getting healthier, you must be doing something right!
Many people don’t realize that Natura was purchased by Procter & Gamble (makers of Iams and Eukanuba and shameless animal-testers) a year ago. Between P&G’s abundance of advertising dollars and lack of ethics, this is probably not the last time they’ll make false claims.
One of the things Natura was known for was that they sourced all their ingredients from the U.S. But while the *names* of the ingredients have not changed (which allows P&G to claim that “recipes” and “ingredients” have not changed), P&G is undoubtedly buying the cheapest grades possible, most likely imported from China and other countries where there is little if any quality control. P&G would not have bought Natura if they could not make a massive profit…with pet food, that means “sell the cheapest possible product at the highest possible price.”
I used to love Natura foods, especially Evo, but I do not use or recommend any of them now. Brands now made by P&G include Evo, Innova, California Natural, Healthwise, and Karma.
About the IBD cat: I’d really recommend a complete change to wet food. (See my website http://www.littlebigcat.com for info on “Switching Foods” plus more on health and nutrition.) Dry food is much more often to blame, as it is heavily heat processed (creating distorted and often allergenic proteins), and is much harder to digest. Also be sure to feed in meals, don’t leave food out all the time. The cat has a relatively large stomach and short intestine, so they are meant to eat a full meal and then rest for many hours. Constant food intake is irritating. Also, by nibbling 24/7, he will never be hungry enough to give the wet food a real go! If he’ll eat canned food at all, you’ve already won 90% of the battle.
I do not find much advantage to grain-free foods, most of them simply substitute starchy vegetables (like potatoes or peas), which does not change the carbohydrate content. High-protein dry foods are extremely dehydrating as well. Along with IBD this could really stress his kidneys. Please consider ditching the dry food–he sounds very responsive to nutritional improvement, you may be very pleasantly surprised!
Thanks! I will check out your website for ideas. Sadly he doesn’t nibble between meals… or at least I don’t see any evidence of it. He’s just not interested in food at all and I have to make him eat. I keep trying with the wet, but so far, I’ve only had a little bit of success. I’ll keep trying though.
I currently show 2 cats. While at a show a breeder was feeding Tiki wet food. I had never heard of it but was able to get some at a specialty pet store in town. My boys love it! I have only fed them the chicken, as one cat does have some food allergies. You might find this appealing for your cat, as my hesitant to try new foods cats, loved it at first try.
Linda, good tip–my cats are wild about Tikicat Wild Salmon! (and the Wild Salmon doesn’t have carrageenen, though some Tiki’s do)
Liz, thank-you so much so this post. While it’s disheartening to learn more about the dark side of pet food, we must continue to share and shed the light. The big corporations exert their power by their advertising dollars but ultimately the consumer decides. I’m happy to share.
Thank you Layla. Yes, we’re all in this together with our feline buddies. It amazes me that when I was young the contents of cat food *seemed* irrelevant–cats seemed to do pretty well without too much focus on the food content. But since those days in the early 70′s I see cats having more and more disease–CRF, FLUTD, diabetes, obesity, cancer, and dying younger.
My guess is that part of it is that cats are not hunting and eating wild prey as much, since most are indoors for safety. But also, I’m suspicious of what has changed in the food since those days too. I wish I could compare the ingredients to today’s Meow Mix–and compare where companies *sourced* their meat then vs. now…you know, how clean was it then vs. now.
I was just thinking that the crappy food like a Meow Mix probably wasn’t as bad when I used it thirty years ago. Do you know anything about Go! cat food?
Funny, I think Meow Mix was about the only option in those days!
“Go!” I hadn’t heard of, but I’m glad you mentioned it because now I’ll
add it to my current research project. A quick look tells me their dry grain-free (only) options are not too bad as far as dry goes. I like the meat quailty. But for their canned grain-free, the problem is it has carrageenan (see above rant).
Is krill oil a good source of omega 3s for cats and dogs? My concern is what is the proper daily dosage for cats and dogs based on weight?
Hi there, krill does provide omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants and is considered safe for dogs and cats. The dosage I’ve seen is about 250mg for pets under 20lbs. Some of us have avoided it because there have been ecological concerns about krill overharvest affecting penguin and whale survival.
Honestly I don’t know who to believe on this because Dr. Mercola says that the krill harvested for supplements (at least the one he sells) is carefully sustainably sourced. He says the problems come from krill harvested differently for things like industrial salmon farms. Dr. Mercola says his krill are harvested from an area of the Antartic in a way that does not take from marine mammal populations.
Just discovered that Petguard Organic Chicken and Vegetables canned cat food is carrageenan free and the smaller 5.5 oz cans are BPA free.
Annie, sounds great. Adding to my TBD list. thank you
Hi thank you for your great post, it’s nice to find information similar to my current woes! Seems like every time I start to research something, I end up sitting at the computer, clicking links and going “wait… WHAT? arg!” for hours. a In any case, your post helps me see that’s it’s just the process of doing what’s best for our loved ones and I’m not alone. AND that it’s worth it.
I just went to the store to get good food for my cat who has kidney disease (apparently high quality protein is the way to go, despite common vet knowledge/advice). So now I am searching to get him some good food, these comments help and great to know about carrageenan! Well.. “great”.
One thing I will mention that might help anyone else with sick cats, is a product called “Transfer Factors” made by a company called 4Life. It’s a supplement that encourages immune strength. There are some incredible testimonials on a site called Shirley’s Wellness Cafe (relating to kidney disease).
I’m so glad I found your site! I lost my beloved soul mate kitty to IBD that went undiagnosed until it was too late. I miss him deeply.
I couldn’t believe he got IBD because I thought I was feeding him and my other cat the best food – Wellness and Evo grain free. Now I read about carrageenan. And, sadly, my other cat was just diagnosed with IBD. Thankfully I think we caught it early.
The vet prescribed Royal Canine hypoallergenic food. My cat ate it for a bit, but then stopped. I decided to switch her to raw after reading your post about IBD and the best foods to treat it.
I ordered a couple you mentioned and went to a natural pet supply store nearby and searched for a raw food that seemed to have the least number of ingredients. I found one called Seattle’s Natural Pet Pantry (I live in Seattle). And the ingredients for the venison food is ground venison, salmon oil, psyillium husks, egg yolks, vitamin B, kelp and calcium citrate. Do you see anything bad in the list? The two that gave me pause were the psyillium husks and egg yolks. But I wasn’t sure. She loves the food and is eating a lot so I take that as a good sign.
I’ve also read some conflicting information about only feeding them novel proteins yet another site said to alternate different proteins and said chicken was a good protein. Do you have thoughts on that?
Thank you for your wonderful website and information!!
I have been using TC Feline raw cat food premix for years and my cats love it. I’ve tried many different raw food varieties, but so far my finicky eaters are only happy with this tried & true product. I mix with specially packaged frozen lamb and chicken so the process is relatively simple and keeps everyone happy.
I too thought that I had found a good canned food in the Nature’s Variety Grain Free, until I noticed an ingredient in the list called montmorillonite clay, which seemed kind of weird to me. I was not able to find out much about it from my vet or anywhere else. Just seems strange, and it is quite high on the ingredient list.
Liz, I hate to tell you this, but the Instinct 95% has dried kelp in it – that’s seaweed – seems like that is a source of carageenan, no?
I think that the best diet for all cats is a raw one, but you do have to read ingredients on those foods as well. Instinct makes one, but I am betting it has the dried kelp in it. (sorry, didn’t check the ingredients). However, I am concerned about switching to raw with a cat that already has a compromised immune system and digestive tract.
I have a recently adopted cat with severe intestinal and organ inflammation (may/may not be lymphoma) so I am doing what I can for her. I am dismayed to read about the carageenan aa I feed Wellness grain free. I am giving her high collagen broth now in the hopes that it can help her intestines to heal.She also gets Denamarin, probiotics and enzymes.
Probably the best thing we can do for our cats is make our own raw food, but who has the time and machinery? Sigh. I just wish the food manufacturers would make food that is healthy and not care what humans think about its consistency and “eye appeal”.
I was trying to buy the best natural canned food for my two cats today. All Tiki cans stated the source was Thailand. So I left it there. I adopted an older [10 - 12 year old] female cat who vomits undigested dry food quite often. Her previous owner fed her canned food only and I suspect her teeth may be sensitive. I’ve tried just about everything.
I am thankful to have found your website. The post from Jean Hofve DVM was especially interesting, because reading the labels of the P & G ‘natural’ brands that she listed, indicates they’re made in the USA and imply the source is CA.
I live in upstate NY and we don’t have many sources for organic wholesome pet foods.
Thanks.