"meat" And "meat" By-products

If your cat does not have an allergy or sensitivity to a certain protein, is "meat" really such a bad ingredient? Especially if it's not in the first few listed ingredients?

I will feed meat by products, but I strongly prefer a named meat source and at least a few named byproducts (liver, heart, gizzard) if I can get it.

Mystery meat doesn't sit too well with me.

You're referring to catch-all "meat" and "meat byproducts" ingredients on some labels, right? Although I prefer to know what kind of meat is in food, I do feed some Fancy Feast and Sheba foods that have those types of "meat" ingredients.

For our cats, the big thing is to feed maximum protein and meat but minimum carby vegetable matter, so I'm okay with feeding some generic meat ingredients. For our cats, those are far better than potatoes or peas. I prefer specific labels and ingredients but am more concerned about chemical ingredients (artificial colors, etc.) in foods like FF than the unidentified meats.

The cats really love Fancy Feast -- it's a once-a-week treat for them -- so I'd be sorry to give it up!

I agree with lisahe and Rini - I don’t think conceptionally there is anything wrong with “meat” or “meat by-products”. I just think it shows a lack of transparency on the part of the manufacturer. I personally prefer a named meat for that reason - more brand trust than anything else.

But exactly as lisahe mentioned, “meat” is better than a carbs vegetable that acts as a protein source.

The reason I ask, is that a seemingly "cheap" wet food, just does not seem THAT bad even compared to some of the expensive, supposedly "better" foods.

These are the ingredients.
Chicken, Chicken Broth, Chicken Liver, Poultry By-products, Meat By-products, Guar Gum, Vitamins and Minerals, Color, Sodium Tripolyphospate, Fish Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Dl Methionine, Salt, Taurine.

While I'm not fond of the Color (I highly doubt cats care what color their food is!). I've heard mixed things about Guar Gum, so I'm leery about that too. And I've read some shady things about the unspecified "Fish oil" (preserved with mixed tocopherols), but I think I've seen that in pretty much all foods. (I could be wrong)

There are no plant proteins, no soy, no potatoes, no corn...yes the guar gum CAN be an allergen, and is plant based, but it seems that this "cheap junk food" is not that bad. Am I wrong?

KarenKat said:

I just think it shows a lack of transparency on the part of the manufacturer. I personally prefer a named meat for that reason - more brand trust than anything else.

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Yes, exactly. I also wonder if sometimes those vague "meat" ingredients can vary a fair bit, which could help explain why cats seem to like some batches of food more than others. That's just my own suspicion, not backed up by any reliable information or source!

Jem , is that Canadian Whiskas? I think that's very, very decent food and wish I could buy it in the US. I'm not too keen on the gums or added colors, but I'm fine with the fish oil. I would not call it "cheap junk food" at all -- it doesn't even have tapioca, potato starch, or some other thickener (other than the gum, of course), making it, IMHO, far more species-appropriate than a giant pile of lots of foods that claim to be "premium" but contain numerous variations on legumes or starches.

To me, again, very much IMHO, the gums are the lesser evil than potatoes and legumes. That's partly driven by our cats' sensitive guts but also by the fact that lots of those foods with the vegetables are higher in carbs, which really are empty calories for cats.

All these unnecessary ingredients irk me -- and the cats, too! -- to the extent that I now make homecooked food because I don't want to feed too many gums and other additives that cats just don't need. The cats' favorite meals of the day are homecooked so I'm pretty skeptical of claims that cats need foods with a smooth, carageenan-induced mouthfeel to be palatable.

So, in the end, mystery meats concern me less than the chemicals and plant derivatives whose effects we know so little about.

I'm much more suspect if it's ALL mystery meat with no named meats, but that's rare I think! Meat byproducts don't bother me at all. My guess it's less about transparency and more about cutting costs by using what is available. To use only specified meats means they may need to decline other readily available meats, or they would have to have a specific formula for how much of it is made up by one animal type.

"to use the generic term "meat" on the label, it can only be from cattle, pigs, sheep or goats. If it comes from any other mammal, the species must be identified (for example, "buffalo" or "venison"), so you can rest easy that if any other species was used, it would have to be declared. Also, if the muscle is from non-mammalian species, such as poultry or fish, it cannot be declared as "meat" but must use the appropriate identifying terms."

The Association of American Feed Control Officials > Consumers > What is in Pet Food

lisahe said:

is that Canadian Whiskas?

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Yes, it's the Whiskas, Chicken entree, pate. I only listed the ingredients so as to not skew someones opinion on the food.
I am trying to ensure that my kitties don't become picky eaters and hopefully don't develop allergies, so I often introduce new food brands and flavors. I rotate their wet food, and this week, the Whiskas was on sale, so I got some.
The only protein that one of my cats doesn't really like much is beef. He will eat it, but won't finish it all off, so I don't give him beef very often, although I do once in a while just to see if his tastes have changed and to keep his body familiar to that protein (although, as mentioned, beef is part of the "meat" ingredients, I'm sure).
I also feed a wide range of wet foods, from the "cheap" grocery store stuff and the higher end stuff, but I'm finding that I get very frustrated with the ingredients in what is supposed to be high quality. They are the ones that have the potatoes, peas, and other legumes and veggies. Especially the trendy "grain free" and LID.

mizzely - I always thought that there was too much "fear mongering" when it comes to ingredients in pet food. I take a lot of the warnings with a grain of salt and just try to make the best choice I can that is also within my budget.
I also am completely fine with by-products (meat specified or not) in my cat's food, although not as a first and only ingredient. I wanted to see why this was such a big deal if a cat did not have an allergy.

I'm just glad I'm not the only one who's not afraid of "meat" and by-products. I was starting to think I was a horrible cat momma!

lisahe said:

I'm pretty skeptical of claims that cats need foods with a smooth, carageenan-induced mouthfeel to be palatable.

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And guess what? This food is VERY smooth and NO carageenan! My one kitty does have a texture preference, so I only feed him pates and add a bit of water and mush it good. But we are currently saving up to have his canine extracted, it's been broken since we adopted him, apparently the shelter didn't notice or didn't think it was an issue. We are also battling a stubborn URI with him and another one of our newly adopted, so we want them healthy before the surgery. I have wondered if his texture preference is because of his tooth, but he eats with no issues (wet, dry and treats).

Yeah, I mean, in the wild they would eat the byproducts! Not like they eat only muscle meat!

I too feed a wide range of foods, and I don't hesitate to get some cheap stuff. I have a picky girl though so she vetoes a lot, much to my wallet's annoyance

I agree also, that there seems to be a weird trend. Wet food tends to go into: Cheap but actually good, expensive but actually crap, and really expensive and great In order to feed any of the expensive and good I have to feed some of the cheap and good, too

I'm also not concerned with thickeners but I also agree they are wholly unnecessary, as evidenced by the many canned foods in other countries that don't use them at all.

I would email whatever company has the ingredients in their foo and ask EXACTLY where and what they’re coming from. If they can’t tell you I wouldnt feed the food.
Meat by products are how pentobarbital gets into pet food and kills pets. No thanks.

Jem said:

I also feed a wide range of wet foods, from the "cheap" grocery store stuff and the higher end stuff, but I'm finding that I get very frustrated with the ingredients in what is supposed to be high quality. They are the ones that have the potatoes, peas, and other legumes and veggies. Especially the trendy "grain free" and LID.

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I know, those filler vegetables are beyond annoying! Our cats loved Merrick's LID food until they started adding peas: they noticed it by the taste before I noticed the change on the label! I did notice a slight difference in the food itself when I was plating (ha!) it but food can be a little inconsistent so I didn't think much about it until the cats wouldn't eat it.

Jem said:

I'm just glad I'm not the only one who's not afraid of "meat" and by-products. I was starting to think I was a horrible cat momma!

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You're not the only one who's not afraid of them and and you're not a bad cat momma! I'd feed that food if it were available here: I don't think it is, though. (Someone posted about it a year or so ago, I think it was, and it seemed to be Canada only.)

I want a named meat first. By products are fine with me. I try to avoid veggies/questionable ingredients. My guys only like pate but they get a gravy meal once a week. I switch brands and flavors all the time. The more expensive brands don't seem to work for my cats. They do like Fussie Cat and Weruva fish flavors but I keep fish to once a week also. Friskies and F. F. Classic are popular with mine and they're low carb.

I try to avoid questionable meat sources, but that is a preference of mine. I personally think a lot of these overpriced 'prescription' diets for animals aren't any better than the stuff you can get at the supermarket. (Again, my very non-medical opinion)

For many years I fed my cats Fancy Feast or Purina and they lived long, healthy lives, I only started getting the more 'fancy' cat foods when I got a cat that was so picky that I started paying attention to what was in her food. I admit, 90% of why I choose them is guilt... the pure fact that if I wouldn't eat an unidentified meat, I wouldn't want my cat to eat it.

I did notice, however, that when I fed my cats Orijen and later Pure Vita, their coats were a lot softer, smoother and shinier, they had a lot more energy, and they never had weight problems.