7 Things No One Told You About Cat Food

Here are seven secrets that the cat food industry would probably rather you not know. Did you know all of these things?

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0:00 Introduction
0:39 1. Cat Food Names Can Be Misleading
1:44 2. The First Ingredient Isn't Always the Main Ingredient
3:11 3. Many Foods Contain Animals That Aren't on the Label
4:03 4. Most Foods Aren't Subjected to Feeding Trials
5:03 5. Most Cat Food is Owned by the Same Companies
5:49 6. Dry Food Could Be Considered Nutrient-Deficient
6:34 7. The Guaranteed Analysis Isn't Nutrition Facts
7:33 Conclusion

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[AllAboutCatsYT]

What was the most surprising fact you've learned about cat food and the pet food industry?

[stJohn.-]

I found out about the book: Dead Pets Don't Lie. I just saw an interview with Joe Ardis & Donna Howell who wrote it, and they explained that if the pet food nutritional label says: "byproduct" or meat meal, bone meal, then the pet food is made from our pets that had diseases that were taken to the Pet shelter but not adopted, or the Vet who euthanize the animals. They then sell our dead animals to an Animal Rendering Prosessing Plants! They also use expired meat from grocery stories, roadkill with maggots, etc.
I just threw out my cat's Meow Mix and Friskies.
I fed her a Mahi Mahi and albacore, and she loved it, so now I need to buy some chicken and organ meat.

[LeilaniLight]

What I really want is your shortlist of brands that ARE the BEST foods for your cat, both in wet and dry foods.

[PetFoodPuzzleGuy]

Excellent video! As a retired veterinary rep for Hills for 34 years, I can say your info is totally accurate. When Purina put chicken as their first ingredient in 1987, yes, I remember the day! … it changed everything! Today pet food marketers have done a great job of manipulating the discussion away from sound nutrition and instead have made it a game of ingredients. The danger of that, especially for cats who are much more sensitive to nutrient excesses( urinary stones, kidney disease, etc) is that pet food companies can pick attractive ingredients that appeal to cat parents and totally ignore the excess nutrients they are delivering! I personally want to check out your lab results on various foods! I spend my time calling companies to get the actual nutrients because that’s what matters! Sadly, a nutritionist wouldn’t even look at an j Gregor t panel! They would look at the actual nutrient levels, check bioavailability, total digestibility, all the things pet food marketers don’t want you to look at! Just look at our pretty ingredient panel. There has been so much new info on feline nutrition in the last 10 years or so and cat parents are stuck comparing tons of brands who don’t even have a staff board certified nutritionist or chemist. The tragedy is they don’t need one anymore! You are on the right track with this video! AAFCO is like the fox watching the hen house! They are worthless! Imagine how many years a cat is a senior and yet they gave no guidelines at all. While nutrition is probably most critical in that stage, it’s ignored! We have a lot of work to do!😐

[faeriesandrainbows]

This is well-timed with Jackson Galaxy's video about cat food labels. 😊

[Trigillia]

My pet food tip is that prescription diets are not actually "prescriptions". Pet food does not meet the legal requirements to be classified as such. The term "prescription diet" is a marketing term. This is not to say that anything is wrong with using a prescription diet- it's just another product or label hidden behind confusing marketing.

[evezford]

I really appreciate this video. I’m a newer cat mom. I switched to feeding my cat 99% wet food, with just an occasional dry meal or snack. And as I look at the ingredients in the wet food and see seed oils listed I really wonder if that’s ok for a cat. Shouldn’t all their fat intake be from animal fats? And I found out most of what looks like meat is really Wheat Gluten😱! That’s a dirty trick, I was shocked. I’m looking for food that’s better and I’m really glad I found your channel! Thank you!

[panatypical]

Thinking about what you revealed here, I can almost picture these cat food manufacturers rubbing their hands together as they compose the ingredients lists for their products....
For oh so many years I followed that 'standard' procedure of feeding my cats both wet and dry food. A while back I was convinced to discontinue the dry food, and I went through a good two months of mutiny with my cats. It was rough, but we came out all right on the other side of the issue. What I did was to feed them a few of the many varieties of dry treats as just that, treats given separately from their actual dinners. Even so, budget permitting, there are many nugget type treats, e.g., the freeze-dried raw variety, that can be given in place of 'crackers'. Work in some minimally processed human grade meat and the cats will gladly say sayonara to dry food forever.

[RiverSprite]

My Persian preferred dry food. She didn't want to eat anything else. So I let her. She lived to be 28 years old! Zero health problems. Not kidding. I'm glad you removed the negative stigma attached to it.

[incogskd]

By the way, Cat-man-doo Chicken Littles are 100% freeze dried white chicken meat. My cat is now addicted to them and prefers them to Temptations which are not healthy. The Chicken Littles cost a lot but what is a healthy cat worth?? I tried other brands of freeze dried meat and my cat turned his nose up to them until I found the Chicken Littles.

[Southafricanimport]

Really appreciate the video. It's been tough to try and decipher the ingredients, especially as you noted for the carbs... I ended up doing a lot of our own research and spreadsheets on Hills, Royal Canin, Purina as to the macro nutrients. We also weigh the foods for every meal, and feed a 60% wet and 40% dry diet, those %'s are simply our preference on what we 'feel' is right. Consulted our vet, who is the only cat specialist in the city, and the jury is out on the perfect mix of wet and dry. Getting a running water cat fountain is also a great way to encourage them to drink water, and placing it in the 'high traffic' area where everyone walks by.

[whiteknightcat]

It's extremely disheartening to see the monopolization trend that is consuming North American businesses gobbling up independent pet food manufacturers coupled with the drive to increase profit margins astronomically since 2020. Six corporate behemoths control almost the entire pet food industry, and about 80 to 85% of all meat production is controlled by THREE monster corporations. Capitalism depends on competition to produce the best goods and services at the best prices. With monopolization, THEY control quantity, quality and price, and we the consumer are stuck with whatever they decide. (Hopping off soapbox now.)

[incogskd]

I found out that Hartz Delectable Stew has, to my horror, Carrageenin in it. Look on the label, Carrageenin is a carcinigen. Now I am looking for another brand even tho my Nehemiah loves it. I am trying Open Farm wet food which is all meat. If Nehemiah rejects it, I will donate it to a needy person with a cat and start over. He is very fussy and it might take a few brands until I find a replacement. Reveal cat food pouches are his dinner food and he likes them, especially the Tuna and Shrimp version. He likes that for dinner but breakfast at this time is a work in progress.

[hallaloth]

What gets me to this day is still how much people push dry food. Realistically we know overly processed carbs aren't good for us. . .why do we decide to give it to our pets? Cats AND Dogs.

[mspears_bobobuddytheseniorcat]

Thank you for all the great info! My 2 senior cats eat canned food only diet and they seem healthier than when they used to eat their hard food. 😺😺❤️

[ashandrose]

I love these videos very informational. Any new “best” dry or wet cat food videos come soon? I try to find the best dry and wet food for that doesn’t break the bank for my two cats (both under 2 years). Keep up the great work!

[leepfrog]

Im going to start making my cats food. It seems very complicated but as with anything to do with diet in any living creature it just takes a bit of research to make sure everything needed is in the food consumed.
Totally worth it, to make sure my little man is eating healthy food. No creature should be eating processed food thier entire lives.
It might be a small investment at first with everything needed to purchase but again, I think it'll be worth it.

[DD-jmug]

I use Katkins in UK. It's like 14 pounds a week. All natural and zero carbs. ❤

[jeanmorell]

Thanks for the info we need more insight on these matters of reading cat food labels to decipher what they really say. I am open to more information about this very important matter.

[anthonypc]

Thank you for investigating this trickiness for us to better navigate.

Wish our human food brands would at least be more honest in nutrition info.