Some animal food production standards are said to be superior to human food production standards. They are sourced from the same farms that produced the meat and vegetables you eat. In the article you will learn about the composition and production of dry and wet cat food, why they attract people, whether it is safe for humans to consume cat food and what the possible consequences are.
What is cat food?
Dry cat food
Dry pet food typically consists of meat, bones, muscle and other by-products from meat, poultry and seafood, as well as grains, grains, vegetables, vitamins and minerals.
Dry cat food is dried granules in the form of rings, pads, balls, etc.
Animal parts used for pet food may include damaged parts of the carcass, cheek meat, bones, kidneys, liver, intestines, spleen, lungs, udder and stomach tissue. The cereals used are corn, wheat, and barley. Most manufacturers additionally add proteins, vitamins and minerals to the feed, since they are destroyed when heated. Dry food has a shelf life of 10 to 12 months and requires the addition of preservatives. Some manufacturers use natural preservatives - vitamins E and C.
The production of granulated dry food began in the 80s of the 20th century.
Sometimes manufacturers, in order to reduce the cost of the product, prepare food from grain products with the addition of hydrolysates, thus improving the taste. But the nutritional value of such a product is negligible and disrupts the cat’s metabolism. Choose high-quality, balanced food for your pet!
To produce dry food, the ingredients are selected according to the recipe and carefully ground. The dry ones are mixed with the wet ingredients, water and steam, forming something like a dough. The dough enters the extruder, where it is prepared under pressure and goes out onto a belt, where it is cut into specific pieces. The feed is then oven dried and cooled. At the end of the process, the food pellets are treated with flavorings and preservatives and transferred to the packaging machine.
Dry food contains attractants that cause increased appetite in cats. This is the reason why animals become accustomed to this type of food.
Wet cat food
To prepare liquid food, the same ingredients are used as for dry food, as well as water, blood, and meat broth. Gelling and gelling agents provide humidity, it should be 70-80%. Agents include guar and bean gums, cellulose, starches and thickeners.
Wet food is no better or worse than dry food. Their composition is almost the same, differing only in liquid content.
The ingredients required for the recipe are mixed and ground, then formed into sausages and, after steaming, cut into portions. Next, the pieces with the gelling sauce are packaged in bags. After packaging, the packaging is sterilized and heated to high temperatures to destroy all living organisms that may be present in the mixture (bacteria, mold, viruses). In this form, the food can be stored for two to three years.
Looks really delicious
How does eating dry food affect your pet's health?
You could argue that many cats and dogs eat dry food and are fine. But any living creature seems healthy until external signs of illness appear.
Check out forums for owners of sick pets. All the animals mentioned there were eating dry food and were fine until their owners began to notice signs of illness:
- urination has become difficult due to the blocked urethra;
- pets with cystitis began to experience acute pain, blood began to come out in the urine, and they began to relieve themselves throughout the house;
- pets began to lose their appetite, suffer from food intolerance, intestinal inflammation and asthma;
- kidney stones continued to grow until clinical signs appeared;
- Cancer patients' tumors continued to grow until obvious symptoms appeared.
In other words, diseases can remain undetected for a long time, and all this time develop into more severe forms.
Why cat food attracts people
Cat food attracts people, first of all, with attractive marketing names. For example, “Tidbits with duck, rabbit and game”, “Appetizing platter with beef and lamb”, “Pads with tender pate”. Also, thanks to flavorings and taste enhancers, cat food has a rather pleasant smell for humans, which creates the illusion that the taste will be just as pleasant.
A human taste panel study found that people rate cat food between 5 and 9 on a scale of 1 to 10.
Meat ingredients
Cats are carnivorous predators and their diet is based on meat, so meat ingredients should take first place in the list of ingredients. They can be added to feed either fresh or dehydrated, and in the latter case they also serve as a good source of animal protein.
Offal, a natural source of many vitamins and microelements, is also useful and even necessary in cat nutrition. The main thing is that the name of each meat ingredient accurately names the type of meat from which they are obtained. But it is better to avoid components named in general terms, such as “meat and its derivatives,” since the source of raw materials in this case is unknown.
Anyone who produces a truly high-quality product has nothing to hide, and its composition will be transparent and understandable to the consumer. Fats in feeds must also be clearly labeled and of animal origin because vegetable oils are not complete for carnivores.
What happens if you eat cat food?
If you try cat food just once, out of curiosity, so to speak, it won't cause any problems. All you have to do is check the “tried” box on your life to-do list.
Is it harmful to eat cat food often? Can a person always eat cat food?
Constant consumption of cat food can cause health problems even in dogs. Since a cat is a carnivore, its diet should contain a high percentage of protein, as well as taurine, vitamin A and fat.
Why can it harm a person? What happens if you consume cat food?
Vitamin A helps maintain eye and heart health in cats. It is extremely important, especially during the growth period of the kitten. The human body does not need large amounts of this vitamin, especially since vitamin A has a cumulative effect. High levels of the vitamin are toxic to humans and can cause cancer, especially in smokers.
Vitamin A hypervitaminosis can lead to baldness, joint pain, bone damage
Taurine is a vital amino acid that prevents tooth decay and hair loss in cats. Since taurine is not produced in the animal’s body on its own, it must be contained in sufficient quantities in food. In humans, the amino acid is synthesized in the required quantity; excess can lead to side effects.
Excess taurine leads to headaches, nausea, dizziness
The main source of energy for cats is fat. Fatty acids are completely absorbed by the animal's body. For humans, excess fat is harmful and can lead to obesity, problems with the heart and blood vessels, liver and gallbladder diseases. Human metabolism is not sufficient to digest the volume of fatty acids that cat food contains.
How to provide your pet with a healthy diet
To keep your pets healthy and happy for many years to come, it is enough to provide them with a healthy diet.
Considering the disadvantages of dry food, create a healthy diet:
- there should be a sufficient amount of liquid in food;
- carbohydrate content should be minimal;
- use animal protein;
- use raw bones for dental health,
- Buy products only from trusted suppliers.
If you are not comfortable preparing healthy food yourself, pay attention to ready-made natural food, for example, SUPERPET.
Remember that a natural diet is the key to your pet’s health.
What happens if a child eats food from a cat bowl?
There is no need to panic and call an ambulance if the child has tried and successfully chewed the food. Cat food is not so harmful that it can cause all diseases at once. But there is a nuance. If the pet lives and lives only at home, does not go outside and is kept clean, in principle there should be no problems. It’s another matter if a child eats from the bowl of a cat who goes outside. The food may contain cat saliva and hair. In addition to food, cat parasites, helminths, and roundworms can also enter the child’s intestinal tract.
What to do in this case? Testing for parasitic infections should be performed. However, if the test is done on the same day or in the near future, it may turn out to be negative, since the parasites have not yet reached their goal and have not had time to reproduce in the body. Therefore, the analysis should be done two weeks after the child has tried cat food.
Parasitic worms cause various diseases
In the future, keep an eye on your baby and do not allow him to eat from the cat's bowl. In addition to parasite infestation, there is a more serious problem - the danger of suffocation. Just like coins, candy, small toys, and magnets, cat food pads should be kept out of the reach of children. Once in the esophagus, food can block the access of oxygen to the lungs. In this case, emergency assistance will be needed. After watching the video, you will learn what to do if a foreign object is stuck in a child’s throat.
How to wean
If a dog constantly steals food from a cat, it is necessary to wean it off. This not only spoils the health of the animal, but can also provoke a serious confrontation between pets. In this war, a third party - a person, as well as his property and nervous system - will suffer.
To wean your dog off cat food, you should follow these recommendations:
- Animals should be fed separately from each other, if possible, placing bowls in different rooms;
- you can try moving the cat's feeding area to a high place where the dog cannot get food from the bowl;
- if an animal really loves cat food and considers it a treat, then you should not give it as a reward during training; it is better to find another method of praise;
- if the dog is so accustomed to cat food that it refuses its own, then you can follow the principle and strictly limit access to the forbidden treat (nothing terrible will happen during a two-day hunger strike, but a psychological victory will be ensured).
You can also try to trick the dog. If he eats cat food for reasons of establishing leadership, thus showing aggression, then you can simply pour dog food into the cat’s bowl.
The owner’s task is to provide the pet’s body with all the necessary substances so that it is healthy and happy. Therefore, you should be very careful when feeding the animal and do not allow it to consume food that is not intended for it.
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Preservatives, flavors, vitamins and minerals
Dry food may well contain flavoring additives, because the food should not only be healthy, but also appeal to cats. Modern foods often contain various hydrolysates obtained from natural products, such as liver; they are completely safe for cats and give the food an attractive aroma.
In order for dry food to be stored for a long time, preservatives are added to it, and high-quality dry food uses natural antioxidant complexes based on rosemary, which are absolutely safe for animals. But it is better to avoid synthesized chemical compounds, because the individual reaction to them is quite unpredictable.
Since dry food is produced using high temperatures, some of the beneficial substances from the raw materials are inevitably destroyed, so vitamin and mineral complexes are added to the diet. It is important that the product packaging contains a complete list of substances with dosage information.
