Yeah, and I see no reason for my cats to eat “pretty much harmless” stuff, I want them to eat only healthy stuff
It's a thickener. It's also used a lot in people food especially ice cream. I don't eat much ice cream but when I do, I go for this one gelato that doesn't include it.So is carrageenan a thickener or for flavor? I do not buy anything with that ingredient which does make food more expensive.
I would avoid carageenan at a minimum and agar agar out of caution. Not every cat is as sensitive as my Krista. Maybe xanthan gum doesn't soup every cat's poops.I think I will pass on the carrageenan from what I've read. There are enough foods without it, and there's nothing currently in the rotation that has it. Why take the risk?
Avoiding gums entirely may lead to madness and or bankruptcy though.
They are the same. However Firstmates still have potatoes. That’s why I said Kasiks only uses pea as a thickener.Kasiks and First Mate are the same company btw, like I said, it IS runny but it'd worth a shot! Good price too.
How do you know for sure than these gums are hurting your cats?Cats are not tiny people! This is the one of the most frustrating things about shopping for food for cats--the belief that if it's healthy (or safe) for people, it must also be healthy (or safe) for cats. Who cares how much agar agar I eat if it's going to cause distress in my cat every time? I'm not entirely certain it doesn't cause distress in me either for that matter.
Xanthan gum runs through my cat like a river. Agar agar gives her visible distress. I won't even try carageenan because if there's a chance it is an irritant to her GI, she doesn't need any more damage in that department. I would say there are hundreds of cats represented on these forums alone that would disagree with the harmless assessment.
What happens to that "pretty much harmless" in highly acidic environments like a cat's digestion?
They use gelatin in cat food now? I did not know that.The jelly in some foods is aspic aka gelatain. Think chunks of meat in basically jello. Gums are mixed throughout the food as a sort of thickener.
The sad thing is we don’t need them in cat food. Looking at canned cat food outside the US without thickerens make me wish we had this option.They use gelatin in cat food now? I did not know that.
BTW, gelatin is made from beef or pork. They pulverize and process the hoofs, bones, tendons, ligaments and connective tissues. That is why gelatin can never be made kosher.
Sound gross, but gelatin can be beneficial to senior cats with arthritis.
Krista has IBD. I have had to pretty much ignore all those stupid expensive natural brands because there's a problem with almost all of them. Don't even get me started on marketing, especially the uselessness of "Limited Ingredient Diet" foods. Most of them are neither limited ingredient nor species-appropriate formulas. After I've short-listed all the foods that are either single protein or made up entirely of proteins I know Krista can eat, it's a very short list (maybe three or four cans in an entire Petco/PetSmart.) If there's any fruits, vegetables, grains, starches, non-animal ingredients besides the moisture and the supplements, then that can or pouch goes back on the shelf. If it's a Petsmart, I'm probably emptyhanded now. At least Petco carries Tiki Cat. What I'm left with is picking which gum Krista tolerates better than another. How do I know it's the gums? When a Tiki Cat formula that doesn't have xanthan gum agrees with her but a formula with xanthan gum soups her poops (mousse in, mousse out), it doesn't take a food scientist to deduce that xanthan gum is the problem. Same with agar agar. I can see it in her post-meal discomfort--the hunched, downward-looking, scrunched face--that that recipe isn't working for her. And the difference between that recipe and one that does? The agar agar.How do you know for sure than these gums are hurting your cats?
A lot of this fear mongering propaganda/marketing to get you to buy very expensive "natural" cat food. Marketing is HUGE in both human and pet food.
In high acid environments carrageenan gum can form 'polygeenan', which has been thought to cause cancer. It hasn't been scientifically proven though.
To me, that's the saddest part of this: cat foods don't need thickeners, be they gums, forms of seaweed, tapioca, potato starch, peas, chickpeas, or whatever else the pet food industry might come up with.The sad thing is we don’t need them in cat food. Looking at canned cat food outside the US without thickerens make me wish we had this option.
I pass on carrageenan -- for the cats and for us humans, too -- because there's research (in humans) that seems to indicate that it can have an inflammatory effect on the digestive system. It's avoidable, so like Rini, I figure why risk it. Like daftcat75, I buy gelato instead of Ben and Jerry's now. (Or Alden's ice cream sandwiches, they're a great treat.) Ice cream doesn't need carrageenan, and hummus and tortillas don't need gums!I think I will pass on the carrageenan from what I've read. There are enough foods without it, and there's nothing currently in the rotation that has it. Why take the risk? (I like Dr. Weil's summary on carrageenan.)
Avoiding gums entirely may lead to madness and or bankruptcy though.
LOLThat is gross if it's in human food too
Gummy bears are basically flavored gelatin. So gelatin is not only IN human food, it IS human food.That is gross if it's in human food too
And there's Jello, too!Gummy bears are basically flavored gelatin. So gelatin is not only IN human food, it IS human food.
With sugar, corn syrup, starch, color, acid, coconut oil, carnuba wax, beeswax coating. The oil and wax is used to polish them after the starch is blown off and make them shinny. My fav is Haribo Golden Bears, but some of them are a bit over-flavored. They do this intentionally so the flavor can last through the shelf life.Gummy bears are basically flavored gelatin. So gelatin is not only IN human food, it IS human food.
I like those too, but be careful though... those "sour" candies have LOTS of acid in/on them. That will literally melt the teeth right out of your mouth.Life Savers sour gummies for us. I don't care what's in them. They are one of my last "food" vices. Just a few a day. I even cared less about what was in Godiva Belgium Chocolate ice cream. That stuff was awesome !!! My slightly elevated sugar thanks them for discontinuing it but my taste buds damn them to hell for it.