Comparison of feed composition using the Kompanion analyzer

What will you learn from the article?

1. What to look for when choosing cat food
2. Analysis of the composition of cat food
3. Comparison of types of cat food Features of the composition of dry cat food
4. Features of wet cat food

There are different types of food

Budget and classy

Cheap, available,

Wet and large

Dry, dear,

Well, in general, at least some!

In this material we will talk about how not to get confused in front of the shelf with cat food and choose for your pet not only the tastiest, but also the healthiest by studying the composition of cat food!

What to look for when choosing cat food

When you go to a pet store for the first time, it’s not surprising to be overwhelmed by the huge variety of cat food on offer. But in order to make the right choice, you still need to have a cool head on your shoulders and, when choosing food for your family pet, focus not only on beautiful packaging and reasonable cost, but also on analyzing cat food on the following points!

1. If you don’t yet understand food brands, then pay attention to the country of origin. By all accounts, the best food is made in Denmark, Germany, Canada, the USA and the UK.
2. Advanced cat owners need to pay attention to the brand of food. The reputation of some foods is very tarnished, while others, on the contrary, are undeservedly deprived of the attention of buyers. You can learn more about this in the article rating dry cat food.
3. But the most important thing in any food is the composition. We will teach you how to read, analyze and compare cat food and instantly assess its real benefits or harm.

Cheap food is the enemy of cat health

Let's start comparing cat food with popular inexpensive foods. No owner who loves his pet should give his cat economy-class food! These brands are well advertised and are available in abundance on the shelves of supermarkets and pet stores. They are often sold by weight.

Read the composition of such food. In the first place there will be ingredients such as corn meal, grits, corn gluten, rice, bone meal, animal fat, soybean meal. And only in last place will you see chicken by-products (some feeds don’t even contain them!). And under the name chicken meal, meat and bone meal or meat products, processed feathers, beaks, hooves, and bones can be hidden. It is clear that there is absolutely nothing edible for a cat in such a product, not to mention any usefulness!

What makes mustachioed predators eat something like this? Aggressive chemical flavorings and flavoring additives! They cause addiction in the animal, clog the taste buds and other, higher quality food seems fresh and tasteless to the cat. Since cheap food contains few nutrients, you need to eat more to fill it. Cats have to eat 2-3 times more cheap food, eat often and in large quantities, but in nature they do not fill their bellies all day long.

For normal digestion, a cat should drink 2-3 times more water than it ate dry food. This does not happen when feeding with economy class food, since its volume is too large. Gradually, such improper feeding leads to diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. A common diagnosis found in cats eating cheap food is urolithiasis. Examples of economy class food are: Kitekat, Whiskas, Friskies, Cat and Food, Purina, Oscar.

Analysis of the composition of cat food

In what cases is it better to put a jar (bag) of food back on the store shelf?

• If you read that cat food contains cellulose, sugar, caramel and, attention, Propylen glycol. The latter is considered a sweetener, but in fact it is a de-icing agent, which is very harmful to the health of the animal.
• If the food contains E127 (an artificial dye), which often provokes cancer.
• If the composition does not hide a large percentage of by-products. Good offal is good for cats, but often under this name manufacturers disguise such unappetizing things as, say, beef skin or simply waste from slaughterhouses.
• The inscription “meat” does not mean that the food contains meat, but that the manufacturer is trying to hide the true nature of this component. Only if you have a transcript, that is, a detailed list of types of meat, can you count on the fact that your cat will eat a pure product.
• Do not buy food if you see it containing Ethoxyquin, BHA (E320) and BHT (E321). These are artificial antioxidants that can damage the liver, cause depression, seizures, and skin neuroses.
• Chemical preservatives are also not the best food for your cat.

What makes a good cat food?

• Meat will come first in a good food! It must be at least 35%! Beef, chicken, turkey, rabbit or fish are healthy meat ingredients.
• The next component that must be present in the feed is protein. 20% protein is a good number. Egg or milk whites are an excellent natural filler.
• Only 10% comes from high-quality offal.
• Plant fibers needed by cats should not exceed 25% of the composition. Oats, wheat, rice, corn are useful for cats only if the manufacturer does not add them in order to save on meat.
• Additional mineral and vitamin supplements are only a plus for the manufacturer’s karma.

Safe and necessary supplements include:

• ascorbic acid;
• vitamins H, K, B3, I15, B5, B6, B2, B1;
• Calciumoxide, Calcium phosphate, Calciumcarbonat (calcium);
• Calcium pantothenat (vitamin B5);
• chloride, choline chloride;
• cobalt, copper, copper carbonate, copper sulfite, iron sulfite, iron oxides, manganese, zinc and copper;
• the presence of an amino acid such as taurine in the composition is also a good indicator and incentive to purchase food;
• natural antioxidants (vitamins E and C) will not harm your pet.

How to choose dog food

When buying food for your pet, you need to pay attention first of all to its composition. The first place among the listed products should be the meat ingredient.

Chicken is not recommended for dogs prone to allergies. For them, it is better to choose a diet based on turkey, duck, beef, lamb or other types of meat.

Cereals are most often used as carbohydrates. Rice has a beneficial effect on the digestive process, but the presence of wheat is not welcome. It refers to products that are practically indigestible by the animal body. Other ingredients to avoid include soy, beets and corn. These are useless components that most often cause intolerance in dogs.

Grain-free formulas are as close as possible to the natural diet of carnivores. They are recommended for daily feeding to dogs by most veterinarians. However, the cost of such feeds is higher than standard grain formulas. However, extracts of plants, fruits or vegetables added to the composition enrich the animal’s diet and have a beneficial effect on its general health.

Dog food is usually divided into:

• Everyday – for daily feeding;
• Medicinal - they should be taken strictly on the recommendation of a veterinarian;
• Specialized - used when the animal has a specific problem.

The owner decides which one to buy based on the pet’s health condition and the veterinarian’s advice.

Recommendations: 10 best foods for kittens

15 Best Puppy Foods

18 best foods

Comparison of cat food types

Keep in mind - the price directly depends on the quality of the food!

Budget food belongs to the economy class. You will instantly recognize them on the shelf, because these foods are actively advertised, are the most widely represented on the market and can be bought in almost any supermarket. Economy class foods include Whiskas, Kitekat, Friskies, Oscar, Four-Legged Gourmand, etc.

Economy-class food contains many artificial additives (flavor enhancers, dyes and preservatives), but there is offensively little meat. It is intended to replace low-quality offal and vegetable proteins. Such food will never be properly balanced and the differences in the line are only in taste, and not in content. Digestibility of economy class feed is 60-65%.

A higher level is premium food. They are also inexpensive and do not have much meat content. Of those presented in our stores, premium food includes Royal Canin (Russia), Pro Nature, Nutra, Happy Cat, etc.

It is assumed that they contain a little more meat than in the previous class of food, and the by-products are better. In premium food there is already a division according to purpose (kittens - older cats, for hair removal - regular food). Digestibility – 70-75%.

The price of super-premium cat food is already significant for the family budget. These foods are practically not advertised, since it is believed that the reputation of the brands Hills, Royal Canin (France), ProPlan, Nutra Nuggets, etc. speaks for itself. Super-premium food can be purchased exclusively in pet stores and veterinary institutions.

They contain a lot of meat, little vegetable protein, and no artificial additives at all. It is absorbed by 85-95% and already takes into account the breeds of cats.

Our cat “Maslow’s pyramid” is completed with Human Grade (Holistic) food, which can only be purchased by pre-order. Eagle Pack Holistic, Evo, Orijen, Felidae - these are all Michelin stars in your pet's bowl.

Elite food contains plant components, expressed without treatment with harmful substances (including pesticides). Animal sources raised without the use of hormones or antibiotics. By the way, if you wish, you can also try this food together with your pet without harming yourself.

Features of the composition of dry cat food

Leave the myths about the unhealthiness of dry food in the past, because, in fact, the compositions of wet, semi-wet and dry food are the same. The difference is only in proportions.

To understand this, let's imagine how the dry food production process goes.

First, nutritionists develop a recipe. Its components are mixed using automatic machines and this raw material is baked and pressed through “sieves” that determine the future form of dry food. Next comes the decorating process. That is, dried pieces of food are “pollinated” with fat and digestives, which make the dried product more appetizing. These are the main processes for producing dry food.

Therefore, good dry food will not state that the percentage of meat component is too high. According to the law, the manufacturer indicates the share of the final product, and dried meat cannot occupy more than 50%. Normally and usually it is 35%.

If you do not find meat in the first place in the dry food, do not be upset, its weight after drying determines the 4th, 5th, or even 10th place in the composition.

The absence of dyes and flavors means that the food is not harmful to the cat.

In addition to the composition of cat food, it is worth looking at the daily feeding rate. That food is more nutritious for an animal whose manufacturers have stated a low daily intake.

Rating of popular brands of dry cat food in 2021

All dry food is divided into several types:

• Economy class;
• premium;
• super premium;
• holistic.

The worst, most low-quality and even dangerous to the health of cats are economy class products. They contain by-products and also contain many cereals. When consuming them, cats often experience allergic reactions and digestive problems.

High-quality food includes all the necessary minerals and vitamins for cat health

Premium level

Although this food is slightly lower in quality than a super-premium product, it is still very popular. The best brands of dry food, according to cat lovers, are:

Brit Premium. Produced by the Czech company Vafo Praga sro Contains chicken meat and flour made from it, rice, corn, chicken fat. Brewer's yeast is a source of B vitamins.

Probalance Premium. Cat food is produced by the domestic company Velkorm. The crude protein level is 32%, the crude fat level is 14%. The source of proteins is dehydrated poultry meat. Rice and barley supply the cat’s body with the necessary amount of carbohydrates. Fiber is supplied to the animal's blood by beet pulp.

Ontario. This brand is Czech. Under this name they produce food for both cats and dogs. Designed for different breeds. There is a separate line for sterilized pets. Thanks to a well-balanced composition, the animal’s body receives the necessary substances. The downside is the presence of by-products in the composition.

With the exception of minor issues, premium food can be called relatively safe for cats. But you should choose those products that contain a minimum of corn or wheat flour, which can provoke the development of an allergic reaction.

Holistic segment feed

Holistics are the highest quality animal feeds. They have a perfectly balanced composition and do not contain by-products. But the price of such products, naturally, is quite high.

Reliable manufacturers:

Acana. Produced in Canada, it is very popular among owners of cats of different breeds. The composition of the product is almost perfect. It contains a complete list of vitamins, minerals, amino acids. Contains fresh chicken and turkey meat. There are also chicken giblets - heart, liver, kidneys. These are extremely important, essential sources of natural animal protein.

Carnilove. This food contains salmon and salmon fillet meal, herring meal, and chicken liver. In total, the share of meat ingredients is 63%. The options can be not only fish, but also purely meat, with the addition of lamb or wild boar flour. Grain crops are not used in the manufacture of the product, which is a big plus. The downside is the high price.

Jaguar. Jaguar is a British made cat food. Produced by Essential Foods. Contains cooked boneless chicken and duck, as well as dehydrated chicken and duck. Fish in the food include trout and salmon. The holistic vitamin and mineral supplement is also rich. There are no grains in the composition, which is a big plus. The downside is that it is the only universal form of food for cats of all breeds.

Each holistic treatment for cats is good, useful and of high quality in its own way. But you need to choose a specific product taking into account the food preferences of your pet.

Holistic class - the best professional food

The holistic category includes the highest quality food in the highest price category. This is the food that the pets of famous nurseries eat. If we continue to compare dry cat food by composition, then the first places on the holistic label will be chicken or salmon, chicken (salmon) flour, starch or potatoes, peas, chicken (salmon) fat.

At the same time, both an advantage and a disadvantage is the absence of chemical flavors and flavoring additives. Therefore, if the animal previously ate food with an abundance of chemical additives, then at first it is not attracted to the new product. Even if a cat initially refuses high-quality food, you should not immediately give it flavored food. You wouldn't feed your child chips just because he likes the taste, would you? Wait a little, and the tailed fussy eater will try new food. Holistic brands include: Innova, Golden Eagle Holistic, GO and NOW Natural holistic, GRANDORF Natural & Healthy.