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Cat food is not highly regulated so you cannot always trust the label claims.
The only way you can ensure that you are feeding your cat a high-quality, natural cat food is to read the ingredients panel.
However, with all the complex ingredients and nutrient ratings, it can be really confusing trying to understand what the ingredients list actually means for the quality of the food. So the first step in buying any cat food is to learn how to read the ingredients list. Here is our simple guide on how to both read and understand the ingredients list.
How Is Cat Food Labeled?
There are three ways that a cat food is labeled. The first is the label claims which are usually on the front of the package. These claims are not heavily regulated so they don’t necessarily have to be backed by anything. Claims like “healthy” or “delicious” are really just marketing. Where you find the real information is on the back on the packaging. On the back of the packaging there is the ingredients list which lists all the ingredients inside of the food and the guaranteed analysis panel which lists the nutrient percentages. These labels are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and have to follow very clear guidelines. So they are the most accurate way to tell if you are feeding your cat a healthy and natural food.
Understanding The Ingredients List
The ingredients list is a panel that lists all the ingredients in a food in descending order by weight. So the first ingredient is the most prominent ingredient and the last ingredient is the least prominent. The FDA regulates the ingredients to the extent that the ingredients list has to be in this descending order and cannot use any ingredients that are banned from consumption. You can read the ingredients list on cat food very similarly to how you would read the ingredients list on the food you would eat.
What To Look For On The Ingredients List
There are some basic guidelines to follow in order to pick a great cat food based on the ingredients list. The first is to look at the very first ingredient. A good quality cat food will have a meat protein listed as the first ingredient. This meat protein should be a whole meat ingredient like “deboned chicken” or “turkey” and not a meat meal or meat byproduct. Meat meals and byproducts are highly processed, difficult to digest, and can come from bad sources.
The next thing you want to do is make sure all the ingredients are natural whole foods. A pretty good rule of thumb is that if you don’t recognize the name of an ingredient, it’s probably best to avoid feeding it your cat. However this isn’t always true because some great additives like vitamin C may be listed as “ascorbic acid” or vitamin E is sometimes listed as “tocopherol.” So the best idea is if you see a word you don’t understand, look it up. If it’s another word for a healthy ingredient like a vitamin or mineral, then the food is safe. However if it’s the name of a chemical preservative like “ethoxyquin” or “propyl gallate” you should avoid it.
Finally, you want to watch for any fillers, artificial colors, artificial flavors, or added sugars because these are not healthy for your cat. Most fillers are heavily processed grains or grain byproducts so things like “cellulose” or “rice hulls”, so look only for whole grains. Sugars can also be hidden as things like “fructose” or “corn syrup.” On the other hand artificial colors will be easily recognized and like as “red 40” as will artifical flavors which will listed as a chemical name like preservatives.
The Guaranteed Analysis Panel
Once you have decoded the ingredients list and found a natural cat food that only uses healthy ingredients, you want to look at the guaranteed analysis panel. The guaranteed analysis panel is equivalent to our “Nutritional Facts” panel and listed the key nutrients in the food. The guaranteed analysis is also regulated by the FDA and has specific rules about how things are listed. This panel is where you will figure out whether or not the food is nutritionally appropriate for your cat.
What Is On The Guaranteed Analysis Panel
The guaranteed analysis panel always lists the crude protein, crude moisture, crude fiber, and crude fat. Crude is a rough measurement and not a type of nutrient. The crude protein and crude fat are listed as the minimum protein and fat content, so the food may actually contain slightly more. While the crude moisture and the crude fiber are listed as the maximum moisture and fiber content, so the food may actually have a little less. Another thing typically listed on the guaranteed analysis is the kcal which is a caloric measurement. Finally, the guaranteed analysis panel will list key vitamins like vitamin E or C, minerals like calcium or iron, and fatty acids like Omega-3s.
What To Look For On The Guaranteed Analysis Panel
What to look for on the guaranteed analysis panel for your cat depends on a lot of factors: Age, weight, health, and lifestyle all factor into what kinds of nutrients your cat needs. So to determine what to look for in the guaranteed analysis panel, you should consult your veterinarian for the specific requirements for your cat’s nutritional needs. They will give you guidelines on what protein, fat, fiber, and nutrient content a good food for your cat will contain.
Once you understand how to read and interpret the ingredients label on cat food you can begin comparing different cat foods to see what is the healthiest, most natural cat food available for your pet. It is really important to understand this because as pet parents we can’t always trust the label claims. So it is really important that we take a minute to read the labels before feeding any food to our cats.
