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Cooking, rendering,
drying, canning and baking all destroy vitamins
and other nutrients. The by-products used as raw
ingredients are poorer quality and contain less
nutritional value than the prime cuts of meat
depicted on the label. Pet food manufacturers
therefore fortify the product with vitamins and
minerals.
The 'Not-So-Hidden'
Ingredients
Some contaminants
may survive the rendering, manufacture and cooking
methods. Consequently cat food may also contain
hormones (give to increase growth or milk yield),
antibiotics (intensively reared animals are
routinely medicated because disease spreads
quickly in crowded conditions) or even the
barbiturates sometimes used to humanely destroy
the animal (electrocution or blunt trauma methods
are more usual). Even less desirable contaminants
also may enter the product.
To make kibble more
appetizing, it is sprayed with fat mixed with flavor
enhancers. The odor appeals to cats.
Untreated kibble smells bland. Much of the fat
used in pet food is rendered animal fat separated
from the meat slurry, but it may also include
rancid fats, fats and oils unsuitable for human
use or grease from fast food restaurants. In
America, restaurant grease is now a major
component of the animal fat used in pet food. This
reflects the American human diet. The used grease
is stored in drums outdoors for long periods of
time, giving it time to spoil. Fat processors or
rendering companies blend it with different types
of fat, stabilize it (e.g. with ethoxyquin, a
substance not tested for safety in cats) and add
antioxidants (slows spoilage). It is sold to
various customers, including pet food
manufacturers.
Cats are obligate
carnivores and cannot digest vegetables, fruit or
cereal. They rely on proteins and fats found in
prey, not on vegetarian carbohydrates. Processed
cereal and other vegetable proteins are cheap
fillers. The items used include wheat, soy, maize,
peanut hulls, rice and potato. The increase in
vegetable protein is dramatically seen in dogs -
the characteristic white dog turds of yesteryear
are rarely found; they were caused by weathering
of dog excrement rich in bone meal. Some cats do
not cope well with cereal in their cat food. In
Britain, some owners of Persian cats noted that a
particular brand of kibble with a high cereal
content caused vomiting and diarrhea in their
cats.
The amount and type
of carbohydrate in pet food affects the nutrient
value the animal actually gets. White rice is
highly digestible, even for cats, but other grains
must be processed to make them 75%-80% digestible.
Some cat foods advertise their vegetable
ingredients so that it appeals to humans - cod
with carrots, turkey and vegetables (green beans).
Vegetable matter has poor nutritional value for
cats and are best used as bulking agents for cats
on weight reducing diets. Peanut hulls have no
significant nutritional value and are only useful
to increase dietary fiber - think about it, they
are used in some bean bag toys!
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