4 Health vs Paws N Claws Can Food

I am new and have learned a lot from this site but it can be very overwhelming. I bought a few cans of 4Health for my cats to try. I feed them a little canned food each day with their dry. I am trying to transition them off of Indoor Cat Chow dry food to 4Health All Stages dry but I have read on here and I had my own concerns about the dry and canned 4Health containing so many vegetables.

Then with the Paws and Claws chicken variety has fish  which I understand fish should be avoided. Well I just noticed the 4Health has Salmon in it too. Oh me!!! Which would you think is best??

Paws and Claws Canned:

Ingredients:
Sufficient water for processing, meat by-products, chicken, poultry by-products, fish, rice flour, guar gum, added color, salt, potassium chloride, sodium tripolyphosphate, carrageenan, vitamins (vitamin e, a, d3, b12 supplements, thiamine mononitrate, niacin, d-calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, folic acid, biotin), minerals (ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, copper proteinate, manganous sulfate, potassium iodide, sodium selenite), choline chloride, taurine.

Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein (min.) 10.00%
Crude Fat (min.) 5.00%
Crude Fiber (max.) 1.00%
Moisture (max.) 78.00%
Ash (max.) 3.00%

4Health Canned:

Chicken, Chicken Broth, Liver, Dried Egg Product, Brewer's Rice, Salmon, Dried Potatoes, Barley, Cellulose Fiber, Peas, Guar Gum, Potassium Chloride, Flaxseed Meal, Carrots, Dried Cranberries, Dried Blueberries, Apples, Carrageenan, Taurine, Dried Chicory Root, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Kelp, Salt, Dried Parsley, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Choline Chloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Niacin Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, Potassium Iodide, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid.

Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein (min.) 9.0%
Crude Fat (min.) 6.0%
Crude Fiber (max.) 1.5%
Moisture (max.) 78.0%
Taurine (min.) 0.05%
Omega-6 Fatty Acids* (min.) 0.50%
Omega-3 Fatty Acids* (min.) 0.10%
Vitamin E (min.) 25 IU/kg

*Not recognized as an essential nutrient by the AAFCO cat food nutrient profiles.

Calorie Content (ME Calculated):
1,100 Kcal/Kg, 171 Kcal/Can

Those aren't the ingredients of the 4Health ckn canned food I bought. The one I bought doesn't have fish in it but it does have dried potatoes, barley, peas, carrots, dried cranberries and blueberries, apples, dried kelp and  chicory root. I am not sure why they add the fruits and vegetables. For added vitamins????

Hi catlover100 

I'd compare these brands by nutritional data and ingredients.

Since cats are carnivores, they can't utilize carbohydrates very well. Carb sources like grains, potatoes, and peas are generally cheaper than meat. Many brands are loaded with carbs to keep the prices lower or increase the company's profit.

To avoid carbs as much as possible, we must know the carb content of each food. Since they don't list carb content in the guaranteed analysis, we have to calculate the carb content.

Carb (wet matter basis) = 100% - (protein% + fat% + fiber% + moisture% + ash%)
Carb (dry matter basis) = 100 x carb(WM)% / (100% - moisture%)

Brand  /  Carb(WM)  /  Carb(DM)
Paws and Claws Canned  /  3.0%  /  14%
4Health Canned  /  2.5%  /  11%

4Health Canned doesn't list the ash content, so I used 3.0% as an estimation.

Of the two brands, the carb contents are like the above. Since 4health Canned is lower in carbs, I'd prefer 4Heath Canned.

Although 4Health is a bit higher in fiber than Paws and Claws, 1.5% isn't especially high compared with other brands. Carb-wise, 4Health Canned is superior to Paws and Claws Canned.

Next let's look at the ingredients. Paws and Claws Canned uses more protein from unnamed source of meat (meat by-products, poultry by-products,  and fish). If they don't even tell what animals they used to make the food, we can't assume the quality is high. (Many people buy meat products at grocery stores if they are listed as "chicken", or maybe "beef", but you probably don't buy them if they are listed only as "some kind of meat" )

On the other hand, 4Health Canned uses chicken, liver, dried egg product, and salmon. Plant ingredients such as peas can add the protein too. Although you don't know what animal they used for liver, others are named ingredients. (And "liver" is better than "meat by-produtcs", since we can't tell what kind of organs they used if they list "by-products".)

So 4Health uses safer ingredients than Paws and Claws.

Still, 4Health has its cons. While Paws and Claws only uses one possible plant protein source(rice flour), 4Health uses Brewer's Rice, Dried Potatoes, Barley, Peas and other plants down the list. So we can assume this food is based on more plant protein than Paws and Claws. Plant protein is generally cheaper than meat protein, but lower in quality since cats are carnivores.

Paws and Claws Canned:
Higher in carbs
Unnamed meat ingredients
Based more on animal protein

4Health Canned:
Lower in carbs
Named meat ingredients
Based more on plant protein

So these are the pros and cons of the two brands. I'd personally pick 4Health, and maybe add some fresh meat as treats to compensate for the lesser animal based protein. This way you can avoid added color in Paws and Claws, and with a lesser amount of added salt.
But if you don't add anything to the food, it's a matter of preference whichever you choose.

Then with the Paws and Claws chicken variety has fish  which I understand fish should be avoided. Well I just noticed the 4Health has Salmon in it too.

Click to expand...

Ingredients are listed in order of weight. Since fish is the fifth ingredient for Paws and Claws, while salmon is the sixth for 4Health Canned, these brands are more based on meat (or egg & plant protein) than fish. If you are still worried, you can look for a brand that doesn't list fish, or that lists fish further down the ingredients list.

 I am not sure why they add the fruits and vegetables. For added vitamins????

Click to expand...

Most of the times they are added to keep the producing cost down, or to appeal to consumers. Many people seem to think fruits and vegetables are healthy for cats, because they are healthy for humans.

Wonder how much fruits and veggies can benefit cats, since they are heated in the canning process and many nutrients are destroyed. Cats in the wild don't eat much plant anyway.

Wow!! what a great detailed analysis that helped me the novice understand. I really appreciate it.

Yeah, my overweight cat Hadrian loves lettuce for some reason. I don't know nutritionally that it benefits him but he cries at the refrigerator for some so I will give him a few times a week.

I do give them some chicken as treats and will probably increase it for their benefit.

Thanks again

Hi catlover100   Glad if I could be of some help!

My cat loves lettuce too, fresh from the fridge   I don't think it'd help nutritionally either, but guess it's a good treat if they love it! A little fiber can help prevent constipation too.

Have a good day!