How to raise Backyard Chickens: [CHICKENS-101] OT cat food

Sunday, April 25, 2010

[CHICKENS-101] OT cat food

Georgia wrote;"Hi Debbie, thank you for letting us know your connection to the 'pet food world'. I feed Deli Cat because I want those great clear plastic 5 gallon buckets it comes in. Care to comment on the quality of that product?"

Not Debbie, and I hope she'll come along and give her thoughts, but here's my take. I've been in cat rescue for 30+ years. I worked as a Vet tech for years, in both private practice and shelter situations. I have taken a great interest in nutrition as relates to all my critters, but it is all, of course, my opinion, based on lots of research from many and varied sources.

I've taken the ingredient list from this website;

http://www.purina.com/products/delicats2.aspx

Deli Cat Ingredients
Brewers rice, soybean meal, corn gluten meal, meat and bone meal, ground yellow corn, beef tallow preserved with mixed-tocopherols (source of Vitamin E), fish meal, turkey by-product meal, phosphoric acid, salt, brewers dried yeast, dried liver digest, added color (Red 40, Blue 2, Yellow 5, Yellow 6 and other color), potassium chloride, choline chloride, tetra sodium pyrophosphate, taurine, DL-Methionine, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, calcium carbonate, vitamin supplements (E, A, B-12, D-3), niacin, L-Alanine, calcium pantothenate, copper sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, citric acid, calcium iodate, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), sodium selenite.

So, here we go

Brewers rice, soybean meal, corn gluten meal,

My opinion? Not appropriate for cats. All three are grain based, and pretty much come from leftovers in human food/drink production. Cats are obligate carnivores (meaning that they can obtain all their nutrition from meat), not herbivores. Many feline nutritionists are convinced that the high grain content in cat food is resposible for the current epidemic of obese and diabetic cats. Most feline diabetes (not all) can be reversed by feeding high protein grain free food.

The first ingredients in any cat food should be meat or meat meal. Keep in mind that those with "fresh" chicken and other meats are using a first ingredient (ingredients are listed by weight) that is mostly water, about 70%. To me, a better first ingredient is single source (eg, chicken, turkey, lamb) animal derived meal. If "fresh" protein are used, "meal" should be the second ingredient.

Then we have

"meat and bone meal, ground yellow corn,"

Okay, the unqualified "meat" designation is one I dislike, but it's better than grain.

" beef tallow preserved with mixed-tocopherols (source of Vitamin E),"

Okay

" fish meal, turkey by-product meal,"

Okay. Unlike some people, I have no issues with by-products, as I consider them (as described in AAFCO regulations) as being good sources of trace ingredients.

" phosphoric acid, salt, brewers dried yeast, dried liver digest,"

" probably added to get the nutrition profile in line with whatever guidelines they are in trying to be in compliance with.

"added color (Red 40, Blue 2, Yellow 5, Yellow 6 and other color), "

Definite drawback, no benefit for a cat, and potential toxins.

"potassium chloride, choline chloride, tetra sodium pyrophosphate, taurine, DL-Methionine, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, calcium carbonate, vitamin supplements (E, A, B-12, D-3), niacin, L-Alanine, calcium pantothenate, copper sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, citric acid, calcium iodate, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), sodium selenite."

I don't argue with these, because I don't know enough. They are likely needed to get the food to be acceptable in nutrition profile.

There ya go. I feed mostly canned and raw, but do have some dry food addicts. For them, I use Taste of the Wild. It's a grain free food, but has stuff that I think is ridiculous, like peas and sweet potatoes, but they tell me thiose are needed to be able to produce a dry food.

Ingredients
Chicken meal, peas, sweet potatoes, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), potato protein, roasted venison, smoked salmon, natural flavor, ocean fish meal, methionine, potassium chloride, taurine, choline chloride, dried chicory root, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, yucca schidigera extract, dried fermentation products of Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus plantarum, dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, vitamin E supplement, niacin, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), vitamin A supplement, biotin, potassium iodide, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin (vitamin B2), pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, manganous oxide, sodium selenite, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.