Kibble
Cats are obligate carnivores. So it follows that if we keep feeding them anything other than raw meat, we will have to deal with serious health issues. These cost a lot of money, time and emotions.
Kibble should NEVER be fed to a cat and this is why:
- The main ingredient in kibble is corn. Below human grade corn. The left-over, no nutritional value corn. Instead of protein, you’re getting carbohydrates and cats should not have more than 4% carbohydrates in their diet.
- Natural cats’ diet is minimum 60% moisture. Kibble is DRY. Cats do not get thirsty. You do the math and you’ll get chronic dehydration, urinary tract disease and renal failure, to mention the most obvious.
- It does not help clean teeth. In fact, kibble is nothing more than sugar coated cereal for humans, so the effects on the teeth are similar, most notably tartar. Buildup of tartar leads to gum disease which makes the cat more prone to heart disease, kidney damage and damage to other organs. Here is a visual. And here is what those dental improvement claims actually mean. The best way to clean those teeth, in my opinion, is to chew on raw bones.
- There are not enough essential fatty acids in kibble, and these are critical to the well being of a carnivore. Cats have a need for at least two of these essential omegas – linoleic and arachidonic acids. The arachidonic acids can ONLY be found in FRESH RAW MEAT. Lack of these fatty acids leads to blindness, poor skin and coat health, kidney and liver degeneration.
So I decided to look up the ingredients on a bag of Hill Science Kitten kibble. I decided to look at the kitten food as opposed to the adult cat food because the kitten food is supposed to be more nutritious (you might cringe at the ingredients and Guaranteed Analysis of adult cat kibble…) So I am looking at the DMB (Dry Matter Basis).
Here is the comparison between the recipe I use and Hills Science Diet Kitten Kibble:
Moisture 75.25%
Protein 55% DMB
Fat 28% DMB
Fiber 5.6% DMB
Ash 11% DMB
Calcium 1.9% DMB
Phosphorus 1.7% DMB
Taurine .20% DMB
Ingredients: chicken muscle meat, chicken liver, chicken hearts, egg yolks, water and supplements
Moisture N/A
Protein 42.2% DMB
Fat 26.1%DMB
Carbohydrate 22.3%DMB
Fiber 1.8%DMB
Ash N/A
Calcium 1.28%DMB
Phosphorus 1.23%DMB
Taurine 0.35%
How much moisture is in this thing??? No clue, but I bet it is less than 10%. Remember that cats do not get thirsty the way we do. In nature cats get their water from their food, raw meat, which is at least 60% moisture.
There is WAY too much carbohydrate in this food: 22.3% compared to what cats should actually consume, which is 4% MAXIMUM, no matter the age of the cat.
The protein is not bad, but remember this is kitten food, adult cat food kibble will have less. It is still much less than a rat carcass. Also, where does the protein come from? I bet it’s not meat.
Ingredients: Chicken By-Product Meal, Ground Whole Grain Corn, Corn Gluten Meal, Animal Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Chicken Liver Flavor, Brewers Rice, Fish Oil, Flaxseed, Dried Egg Product, Soybean Mill Run, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, L-Lysine, L-Threonine, L-Arginine, vitamins (L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Soybean Oil, Cysteine, Calcium Carbonate, DL-Methionine, Vitamin E Supplement, Taurine, minerals (Manganese Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), L-Tryptophan, preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid, Magnesium Oxide, Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract.
Now: what is chicken By-Product?
Furthermore, from my research, cats do not need the following: corn, rice, flaxseed, dried egg, soybean or rosemary extract. Why are they in there? Why is corn the main ingredient? (the rule is: whatever ingredient is first on the list or if it appears twice in the top three, that is the main ingredient)
* Read this excerpt for an explanation of ingredient splitting.
Also, there are A LOT of supplements added to this recipe. If you do a little research you will find that cats do indeed need these supplements. More importantly, however, is WHERE these supplements come from. They should come from animal tissue. If you follow the link under choline chloride you will read a very interesting article, by a vet, on exactly this subject.
Question EVERYTHING and do your research!
And this is the breakdown of a rat carcass, which is what a cat would normally be eating….what they have been eating for thousands of years:
Moisture 63.63%,
Protein 55%DMB
Fat 38.1%DMB
Fiber 1.2%DMB
Calcium 1.15%DMB
Phosphorus 0.98%DMB
Here is the breakdown of a field mouse:
Moisture 67%
Carbohydrates 3%
Crude Protein 57%
Fat 23%
So I feel pretty good about my recipe compared to expensive kibble. It may not be the best but keeping in mind the variety I think it is better than anything the AAFCO recommends.
And here is a nice article on commercial pet foods. And another one.
Stay tuned for an in-depth look at the most popular dry cat food brands!