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A couple of months ago and as the result of a discussion in one of the threads here on the subject of what meat parts are used in premium canned cat food, I contacted three of the top cat food companies to find out from them what parts of the animal they use in their canned diets. I have shared bits of this information since that time, but haven't had the time to post the full details. Here they are now for anyone who is thinking about feeding these commercial foods, or has wondered about the meat content.
The three companies contacted were : Nature's Variety, Wellness (or WellPet as it is now called), and Hound & Gatos. Contact was initiated by way of email and upon receiving responses, I phoned the companies for follow-up.
The main questions asked of these companies were :
1. Which part of the animal is used as the meat protein source in your food. Does your meat protein contain any muscle meat such as breast, thighs or legs? Does any of your food feature by-products?
2. Where is your meat protein sourced?
Optional questions
3. What are the reason for featuring carbohydrates in your canned diets?
WELLNESS
- Meat Type - meat protein consists of "clean cuts of muscle meat and will include pieces from the breast and thigh" (of chicken for example).
- Meat Sourcing - sourced in the US from USDA inspected animals.
- Carbohydrate Content - Quote: "We formulate diets to meet the need for the general population of cats but offer options for them as cats can be finicky and like many different consistencies and combinations. We offer products with grains as well as products that are grain free, some as a pate and some with chunks and gravy. Since we are a commercial food, all of our diets must be complete and balanced which is why we do not offer all meat products".
Telephone Followup with Wellness
- I asked Wellness about the carageenan in their canned diets. Response from Wellness is that they are currently looking at a replacement for carageenan (possibly Lentils), but they want to ensure that the replacement will be reliable. I asked whether their canned meat contains any by-products. The response from Wellness was no, they do not use by-products.
NATURE'S VARIETY
Meat Type – Quote: "We use meat from the backs and frames of the animals. Breasts, thighs, and legs are typically reserved for use in human food. All of our meats are sourced from USDA approved facilities and we use all high quality ingredients. No by-products are used".
Meat Sourcing – Quote: "All of our poultry, pork, and beef come from the U.S. and our lamb and venison are imported from Australia and New Zealand. The rabbit protein we use in our canned diets is from China. We employ a U.S. educated food scientist in China to oversee our rabbit sourcing. All rabbit protein is tested before shipment from China and again after it arrives in the U.S. for processing into our diets. We are very confident in how we handle our sourcing from China. We source most of our ingredients from the U.S. and turn to other locations only as needed. We are very stringent on our sourcing and have good relationships built with our vendors for quality ingredients".
Telephone Followup with Nature's Variety
Nature's Variety confirmed that they use the backs and frames of the animal as their meat source in the wet canned diet. As for the source of Rabbit being from China, NV said that they have been working on locating an alternate source for Rabbit and will be making the announcement shortly that their new source will be New Zealand. The question was asked whether NV uses by-products in their canned food. The response was that no, they do not use by-products, no connective tissues. I asked about the clay content in the NV Instinct Grain-free wet canned and the purpose for this. The response was that this is used as a binder but is a negligible amount, according to the rep I spoke with.
I asked NV about their new PRIDE line of canned foods. Pride is a new line of shredded or flaked varieties that DO contain guar gum, but no carageenan. NV confirmed that the meat source in this line is the same as what is in their Instinct line. The difference being that the PRIDE is a chunky variety rather than a pate.
HOUND & GATOS
Meat Type – Quote: "We do not allow any filler meats to the products. We purchase only premium cuts like breasts/leg/thigh. We do not buy intestines, heart, nerves etc. In a few of our products we add only 1% Duck Liver to offset the cost. If we didn't do this, a case would be much more expensive because of the meats that we buy. Our US rabbit is deboned so very little if any ash levels. Our largest buyers are the IBD Cats! The product works because I do not add "taste chemicals" or other garbage. Cats and dogs were created to eat meats only- not 99% generic liver or wheat, corn, etc".
Meat Sourcing - All meats are sourced in the US except for New Zealand Lamb.
No Telephone followup
The three companies contacted were : Nature's Variety, Wellness (or WellPet as it is now called), and Hound & Gatos. Contact was initiated by way of email and upon receiving responses, I phoned the companies for follow-up.
The main questions asked of these companies were :
1. Which part of the animal is used as the meat protein source in your food. Does your meat protein contain any muscle meat such as breast, thighs or legs? Does any of your food feature by-products?
2. Where is your meat protein sourced?
Optional questions
3. What are the reason for featuring carbohydrates in your canned diets?
WELLNESS
- Meat Type - meat protein consists of "clean cuts of muscle meat and will include pieces from the breast and thigh" (of chicken for example).
- Meat Sourcing - sourced in the US from USDA inspected animals.
- Carbohydrate Content - Quote: "We formulate diets to meet the need for the general population of cats but offer options for them as cats can be finicky and like many different consistencies and combinations. We offer products with grains as well as products that are grain free, some as a pate and some with chunks and gravy. Since we are a commercial food, all of our diets must be complete and balanced which is why we do not offer all meat products".
Telephone Followup with Wellness
- I asked Wellness about the carageenan in their canned diets. Response from Wellness is that they are currently looking at a replacement for carageenan (possibly Lentils), but they want to ensure that the replacement will be reliable. I asked whether their canned meat contains any by-products. The response from Wellness was no, they do not use by-products.
NATURE'S VARIETY
Meat Type – Quote: "We use meat from the backs and frames of the animals. Breasts, thighs, and legs are typically reserved for use in human food. All of our meats are sourced from USDA approved facilities and we use all high quality ingredients. No by-products are used".
Meat Sourcing – Quote: "All of our poultry, pork, and beef come from the U.S. and our lamb and venison are imported from Australia and New Zealand. The rabbit protein we use in our canned diets is from China. We employ a U.S. educated food scientist in China to oversee our rabbit sourcing. All rabbit protein is tested before shipment from China and again after it arrives in the U.S. for processing into our diets. We are very confident in how we handle our sourcing from China. We source most of our ingredients from the U.S. and turn to other locations only as needed. We are very stringent on our sourcing and have good relationships built with our vendors for quality ingredients".
Telephone Followup with Nature's Variety
Nature's Variety confirmed that they use the backs and frames of the animal as their meat source in the wet canned diet. As for the source of Rabbit being from China, NV said that they have been working on locating an alternate source for Rabbit and will be making the announcement shortly that their new source will be New Zealand. The question was asked whether NV uses by-products in their canned food. The response was that no, they do not use by-products, no connective tissues. I asked about the clay content in the NV Instinct Grain-free wet canned and the purpose for this. The response was that this is used as a binder but is a negligible amount, according to the rep I spoke with.
I asked NV about their new PRIDE line of canned foods. Pride is a new line of shredded or flaked varieties that DO contain guar gum, but no carageenan. NV confirmed that the meat source in this line is the same as what is in their Instinct line. The difference being that the PRIDE is a chunky variety rather than a pate.
HOUND & GATOS
Meat Type – Quote: "We do not allow any filler meats to the products. We purchase only premium cuts like breasts/leg/thigh. We do not buy intestines, heart, nerves etc. In a few of our products we add only 1% Duck Liver to offset the cost. If we didn't do this, a case would be much more expensive because of the meats that we buy. Our US rabbit is deboned so very little if any ash levels. Our largest buyers are the IBD Cats! The product works because I do not add "taste chemicals" or other garbage. Cats and dogs were created to eat meats only- not 99% generic liver or wheat, corn, etc".
Meat Sourcing - All meats are sourced in the US except for New Zealand Lamb.
No Telephone followup
