When purchasing cat food, many cat owners are often attracted by advertising and make decisions based on price and cost-effectiveness. However, this approach may limit us to understanding the highlights of cat food and ignore potential shortcomings, as advertising tends to highlight the strengths of the product and avoid its shortcomings. Therefore, when choosing cat food, a smarter approach is to focus on the recipe list of cat food and to more comprehensively evaluate its quality and applicability by deeply analyzing its composition.
We must admit that some cat food formula tables are even fake, but this is a way for us as consumers to judge the quality of cat food more objectively. Below are nine kinds of raw materials that are harmful to cats. Each of them appears, it means that the quality of this cat food may decline.
The first type, food coloring
1. Lemon yellow, sunset yellow and temptation red, etc.: It has no practical benefits to cats, and they mainly play a role in improving the appearance of cat food.
2. Titanium dioxide: As a white pigment, its potential toxicity problem has also attracted attention.
The second type, thickener
1. Carrageenan: Carrageenan is widely used in cat cans, and its safety and impact on cat health are controversial.
The third type, fiber
1. Oat fiber: Oat fibers are the source of fiber, and their digestive absorption rate is low, which may affect the absorption of other nutrients and are not significantly beneficial to cats.
The fourth type, emulsifier
1. Monostearyl esters: used in pet food for thickening and preservation, and their safety for animals has not been fully confirmed.
The fifth type, plant protein
1. Soybean: As a cheap alternative to animal protein, it has an advantage in price. From the perspective of nutritional value, it cannot replace animal protein.
2. Pea: It is more common in grain-free cat food, but there is no sufficient evidence that it is better or healthier than cereals. The high phytic acid in peas may affect cats' absorption of minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron, etc., and lectin may also affect cats' digestion and absorption.
The sixth type, dairy products
1. Lactose: This problem cannot be ignored, because the decrease in the level of lactase in adult cats may lead to lactose intolerance and affect their digestion of dairy products. Many cats suffer from lactose intolerance, so dairy ingredients with high lactose content should be avoided in cat food or canned food.
The seventh type, low-grade fat
1. Saffron oil: seeds derived from saffron plants, which often appear in cat food, especially some imported food. Saffron oil contains linoleic acid, which is an omega-6 fatty acid that cats cannot synthesize on their own. However, cats' utilization of linoleic acid in safflower oil is also extremely limited and has little practical significance.
2. Linen oil: Seeds derived from flax plants contain high levels of α-linolenic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid with anti-inflammatory properties. However, cats cannot effectively utilize the nutrients in plant raw materials, and it is also inefficient in the utilization of α-linolenic acid in linse oil.
Eighth, Cereals and Carbohydrates
1.Wheat: It is usually added to cat food for its cost-effectiveness, providing protein. There are significant differences in plant proteins compared with animal proteins, and cats cannot make full use of plant proteins. For some cats, wheat can also cause allergic reactions.
2. Corn: As one of the cereals, corn is shown to be relatively efficient in digesting it and may be better than other cereals, but its nutritional value is still low compared to meat. Corn as pet feed may contain genetically modified ingredients, and there is no definite conclusion on the impact of genetically modified corn on animals.
The ninth type, preservative
1. Sodium nitrite: a preservative, colorant that can keep food fresh. However, if a cat consumes long-term or excessive sodium nitrate, it may cause sodium nitrite poisoning.
2.BHA: the English abbreviation of butyl hydroxy anise brain. It is a commonly used chemical preservative that can effectively extend the shelf life of cat food. Studies have shown that BHA is carcinogenic to cats, and long-term consumption of foods containing BHA is prone to carcinogenicity.
3. Ethoxyquinoline: A synthetic antioxidant that is sometimes used in pet food to prevent fat spoilage. Some studies have shown that this substance has a negative impact on the liver and kidneys of animals, and that ethoxyquinoline also has a potential risk of gene mutations. There is no more reliable data to comprehensively evaluate the safety of ethoxyquinoline, so avoid it as much as possible.
4.BHT: The English abbreviation of dibutyl hydroxytoluene, similar to BHA, is usually added to cat food as an additive. There are also data that BHT can also cause cancer in cats. In a rat experiment, BHT was shown to cause tumors in the lungs and liver and could have an effect on the thyroid gland.
5. Sodium tripolyphosphate: a water retention agent, preservative, commonly used in pet feed, especially added to some teeth moulding and cleaning products. Some current studies have shown that sodium tripolyphosphate can reduce the iron content in bones, liver, and spleen, and also lose calcium in bones.