ash content

marie-p · Mar 2, 2005

I have a 1.5 year old neutered male cat.

Right now I am feeding him eukanuba dry food chicken and rice formula. I chose that food because it seems to have more meat and less fillers than other foods in this price range.
However, the ash content is higher than other foods I've seen. It's 7%
I know male cats especially should have low ash food. Is 7% low enough?

cloud_shade · Mar 2, 2005

This site gives one person's opinion of what a good ash content is:
http://www.petmypet.net/Cat_Food_Confusion.shtml

However, the reason male cats need a low ash content is because they are prone to urinary tract infections and blockages. One way to help prevent those kinds of disorders is to feed at least some wet food. Cats that eat only dry food may not be getting enough water and may be at a higher risk for UTIs and kidney problems. There is a lot of debate about whether it is the total ash content or whether it is specific minerals that can lead to UTIs. If you have a good relationship with your vet, you may want to call him or her and ask for advice.

sharky · Mar 2, 2005

Ash is the amount of mineral matter in the food after it has been burned... I havent read the article so I hope I aint repeating stuff

pat · Mar 2, 2005

Originally Posted by marie-p

I have a 1.5 year old neutered male cat.

Right now I am feeding him eukanuba dry food chicken and rice formula. I chose that food because it seems to have more meat and less fillers than other foods in this price range.
However, the ash content is higher than other foods I've seen. It's 7%
I know male cats especially should have low ash food. Is 7% low enough?

7% is higher than some, but I've seen 6-6.5% on foods I feel are very good quality, so 7% is not horrendously higher (as compared to say 4%).

That said, I agree with what has already been posted, it would be good for you to have a quality canned food make up part of your cat's daily diet, and consider having a pet water fountain to encourage good water intake. In terms of future kidney issues, I believe it's more important to consider the quality and type of protein, and the phosphorus content of the food, than the overall per centage of protein. I'm far from an expert, just someone still learning and with an interest in all this, so I'd recommend a discussion with your vet about your concerns.

marie-p · Mar 3, 2005

Thanks for the advice.

I do feed him some canned food occasionally. Problem is he never eats more than a few bites at a time and I don't want the food to sit at room temperature for too long. Maybe I'll start taking the dry food away for a few hours every day before I feed him some canned food.
I'm assuming the ash content of a canned food should be much lower in percentage value than dry food (with all the water). What would a good ash content be for canned food?

He does also drink quite a bit of water.

I'm also thinking of mixing the eukanuba dry food with another kind of dry food (hopefully something lower in ash) to give him some variety.

nern · Mar 3, 2005

7% sounds fine for such a high calorie food. Keep in mind that the higher the calories are the higher many of the other nutrients will be because a smaller volume of food is fed yet it must still contain all the essential nutients.

http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/resou...e/urinary.html

CAUSES
There are many causes of urethral obstruction in cats, but the two most common are uroliths and urethral plugs. Urethral plugs consist of a soft, compressible material that contains variable quantities of minerals, cells and cellular debris, and mucus-like protein. Many factors interact to produce uroliths and urethral plugs; viruses, bacteria, diet, decreased water consumption, physical inactivity, urine retention, stress, and urine pH may all contribute.

The most common mineral associated with urethral obstructions in cats is struvite. Previously, the ash contentâ€”and more recently, the magnesium contentâ€”of the diet was thought to be a primary cause of struvite formation in the urine. However, researchers have found that urine pH is a more important contributing factor; urine that is acidic provides a less favorable environment for the formation of struvite uroliths and crystals. It also was discovered that cats who are fed multiple small meals throughout the day, or who are allowed to eat their food free-choice, routinely tend to produce a more acidic urineâ€”again less favorable for struvite formationâ€”than cats fed only one or two large meals per day.

Mineral deposits also have a greater tendency to form in urine that is highly concentrated or that is retained in the bladder for long periods of time. To encourage adequate water consumption, and thus the formation of urine that is more dilute, fresh water should be available to cats at all times. Fastidious cats sometimes avoid using a dirty litter pan, so owners should provide clean litter boxes to encourage regular and frequent urination.

Here's an example of how widely the ash contents can vary (the really low percentages listed are canned foods):
ash %.....ash per 100kcal
5.98.......1.46g
1.9........1.32g
5.36.......1.65g
1.72.......1.47g
6.43.......1.67g
5.5.........1.14g
1.9.........1.88g
6.5.........1.44g
7.0.........1.48g (Eukanuba Chicken & Rice)

nern · Mar 3, 2005

P.S. If you feed several small scheduled meals it may be easier to get him to eat the canned food in one sitting. My cats don't like to consume more than 2 - 3 oz. in one sitting.

jen · Mar 3, 2005

Does anyone know the ash content in Chicken Soup for the Cat Lovers Soul? Thats what I switched to and I wonder how it is for male who had a UTI once and the likelihood that he may get it again.

pat · Mar 3, 2005

Originally Posted by Jen

Does anyone know the ash content in Chicken Soup for the Cat Lovers Soul? Thats what I switched to and I wonder how it is for male who had a UTI once and the likelihood that he may get it again.

Hi,
I can not find where the manfacturer lists any ash content for the dry food formulas, but the adult dry has .1% of magesium. The canned adult cat formula has a max of 2.5% ash which is in the lower range of what you will see in the various brands of canned cat food.

nern · Mar 3, 2005

Originally Posted by Jen

Does anyone know the ash content in Chicken Soup for the Cat Lovers Soul? Thats what I switched to and I wonder how it is for male who had a UTI once and the likelihood that he may get it again.

There is 6.1 % in the adult dry and 6.3 in the adult dry light.

Also found these comments in the FAQ section of their webpage:
http://chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com/Stones.html

My cat has a history of bladder stones. Can he eat the Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul?

The Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul formulas are designed to maintain a urine pH of 6.1-6.4. This is adequate to prevent struvite crystals from forming. However, if your cat had calcium oxalate stones, he needs a diet that is formulated to maintain a urine pH of 6.6-7.0.

Feeding a canned product is thought to help prevent stone formation by increasing the total water intake and thus diluting the urine. Cats normally have concentrated urine and diluting it seems to help prevent urinary tract problems. Also, cats with chronic urinary tract problems seem to have an excessive response to stress. Any stress in their environment can trigger a flare-up of bladder trouble. Sometimes even a diet change (even when switching to an appropriate diet) can trigger the development of a problem.

Any cat with a history of medical problems such as bladder stones should have a thorough check-up and a nutritional consult with his veterinarian. If changing diets, switch very gradually (2-3 weeks) to help prevent a problem.

http://chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com/UrinepH.html

Both adult cat formulas are designed to maintain a urine pH of 6.1-6.4. This is adequate to prevent the development of struvite crystals in the urine. The Kitten formula is not acidified, but most kittens normally produce urine with a pH of 6.2-6.4.

pat · Mar 3, 2005

Thanks Vanessa, I only had time to go to the manufacturer's product descriptions, and for whatever reason, ash content was not listed as part of the guaranteed analysis on the dry cat food.

ash content

marie-p

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cloud_shade

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