Cat Food Classes

General information

In the industry of production of ready-made cat food, these products are usually divided into four classes: economy, premium, super premium and holistic (Human Grade). The last type of elite nutrition appeared on the pet food market not so long ago, and almost instantly eclipsed all its predecessors.

The classification of feeds is rather conditional, since the boundaries between the products of the economy and premium groups, premium and super-premium, super-premium and holistic are not clearly marked. In Europe, the USA, Canada, there are a number of organizations involved in the certification of feed and responsible for their safety. In Russia, a similar function is performed by the organization Roskachestvo. At the moment, the experts of the Russian institution have recognized only three samples of cat food as high–quality products - Acana and Orijen (Canada), as well as Brit (Czech Republic).

Actually, the class of cat food depends on the category of raw meat products, their percentage ratio, vitamin palette, the amount and variety of minerals contained, the degree of digestibility of useful components.

About 80% of the cat food market is dry food. At first glance, crunchy granules and "pads" seem to be quite poor food, and inexperienced owners of striped eaters often use "crackers" as a supplement to the main diet. However, high–quality balanced dry food and water is quite a self-sufficient menu for daily pet feeding. However, we are talking about a full–fledged feed - such a definition should be indicated on the product packaging. The norms of daily consumption should also be indicated, depending on the weight and age of the cat.

Wet food, which is delicious meat cubes in jelly or sauce, pates, is sold packaged in jars, bags, spiders of various textures. Such a product is more expensive than dry. Cats eat it with great eagerness, however, not all types of such food are suitable as a staple food and are often used as a treat or in combination with dry pellets. For everyday meals, you can use a number of wet feeds, which include cereals, as well as vitamins K, A, D, E, taurine, iron, copper, manganese, zinc, amino acids of the omega-3 and omega-6 groups. Such products should contain information confirming that the food is balanced and recommended for the daily diet. Complete feeds are sold, as a rule, under the brand of manufacturers that produce both dry and wet food options for animals at the same time.

Economy class Feed

In most cases, economy-class food is bought for their pets by owners who blindly trust the ubiquitous advertising praising these products, as well as those who are forced to save. Experts also advise not to get too carried away with such food and compare it with instant soup. If your kitty eats such food for a long time, she will certainly have problems with the gastrointestinal tract.

The basis of the composition of economy-class feeds are the cheapest cereals, while often it is not even specified which ones. Sometimes in the list of ingredients there is a very vague and vague formulation: "cereals and vegetable products". As a rule, such a generalizing definition simply hides waste from the food industry with minimal nutritional value.

The quality of the meat component of the feed can be guessed by finding the phrases "poultry flour", "meat and its derivatives", "flour of animal origin" in the list of ingredients. Such products are meat production waste (ground and processed beaks, skin, claws, hooves, offal and even tumors), and they are not too rich in protein. The main source of protein in this product are plant components, mainly corn gluten (gluten), extracts of vegetable protein, which is absorbed extremely poorly by the cat's body. Vitamins and minerals are also poorly represented in economy-class feeds. In addition, dyes, antioxidants, preservatives, flavorings are widely used in such products, the origin of which is not specified, which suggests that they are not of natural, but artificial origin.

In a word, such food cannot be called full-fledged and self-sufficient, but cats who eat natural products can be offered as an exception as a treat. For this purpose, a fragrant wet food is better suited.

Many people associate economy-class feeds only with the widely advertised brands Friskies, Whiskas, Kitekat, Gourmet and Felix. But economical owners who care about the health of their pets should know that there are other products, for example:

• Cat Chow (produced in the USA, Russia, Hungary);
• Gemon (made in Italy);
• Purina One (produced in USA, France, Italy, Russia);
• Stout (produced in Russia);
• Perfect Fit (produced in the USA, Germany, Hungary, Russia).

It is worth noting that most of the economy class feeds, namely Felix, Friskies, Gourmet, Cat Chow, Pro Plan and Purina One, are produced by one Nestle Purina Pat Care company under different brands.

Feeds of this category are sold at a price of 160-380 rubles per 1 kg.

Premium Feed

Premium-class feeds in their quality and price differ from economy-class products not so strikingly, but the word "premium" itself impresses the owners of mustachioed pets. However, they should be aware that the meat component of such a feed is also dominated by processed production waste, and the source of carbohydrates is usually corn and wheat, which often cause allergies in animals.

In fairness, we note that the presence of the meat component is higher here than in economy-class feeds. Accordingly, the amount of protein of animal origin increases, which contributes to better digestibility of food. The vitamin and mineral group is more widely represented in these products, although the origin of preservatives and antioxidants is also traditionally shrouded in mystery.

Feeds of this class occupy a middle position between economy class and super-premium class goods. Some manufacturers focus on cheaper components of the composition, others use ingredients characteristic of products of a higher class. This explains the heterogeneity of the range of premium-class feeds, which should make cat owners more meticulously look at the information about the composition of the product placed on the packaging. According to the price/quality ratio, the following feeds look the most attractive:

• Brit Premium (produced in the Czech Republic);
• Organix (produced in the Netherlands);
• Probalance (produced in Russia);
• Hill's (produced in the USA and the Netherlands);
• Eukanuba (produced in Russia);
• Science Plan (produced in the Netherlands, Czech Republic).

Thanks to relentless advertising, such feeds as Pro Plan and Royal Canin have also become widely known. They are no better or worse than the above brands, however, judging by the reviews, their prices are unreasonably high.

On average, prices for premium feed range from 170-480 rubles per 1 kg.

Super Premium Feed

The main advantage of feeds of this elite category is that the main "supplier" of protein in them are animal products, not plant products, which ensures easy digestibility of food by the animal's body. The meat component here is represented directly by meat of the first category, as well as by-products in the form of liver, tongue, kidneys, heart.

Cereals are mainly rice and oats, sometimes barley, potatoes may be present in the composition. These components are easily digestible, they are not as allergenic as corn and wheat, which are compulsively present in economy and premium class products. Corn gluten, which is increasingly blamed for provoking the development of allergies in cats, is absent here.

Flavoring additives in super-premium feeds are banned, but the vitamin and mineral palette is presented impressively. Vitamin E and rosemary derivatives are used as natural antioxidants and preservatives. If the list of ingredients does not contain information about the origin of preservatives and antioxidants, the feed is unlikely to be correctly characterized as a super-premium product.

The feeds of this elite category are approximately similar in quality. Differences may manifest themselves in the percentage of meat components, a set of cereals. In the rating of super-premium cat food, displaying the most expressive price/quality ratio, the following five stand out:

• Fitmin For Life (produced in the Czech Republic);
• Brit Care (produced in the Czech Republic);
• Summit (produced in Canada);
• Blitz (produced in Russia);
• Leonardo (made in Germany).

The cost of products of this class is from 180 to 550 rubles per 1 kg.

In the category of food products of the super-premium class, therapeutic and dietary feeds occupy a separate position. They are introduced into the diet of cats according to the appointment of a veterinarian. These specific products also include hypoallergenic feeds, which are divided into several types depending on which product causes an allergic reaction in the animal.

A diet excluding wheat and corn has been developed for cats suffering from allergies to vegetable protein (gluten). Instead of them, rice is usually introduced into the composition, sometimes oats, millet. In the formulation of some such feeds there are no cereals at all.

Pets who do not tolerate animal protein are bought hypoallergenic food, which does not contain chicken, beef, pork. The alternative is lamb, duck, rabbit, salmon fillet, herring – these products are easier to digest, allergic reactions are provoked in very rare cases.

For animals that do not tolerate dairy products, eggs, yeast, special feeds are sold, there is a mark on their packaging – "with a limited number of components".

Holistic class feed

Holistic class food is the best that you can choose for your pet. Initially, they were classified as super-premium, but today they are considered as a separate group. The ingredients included in this feed are of high quality and nutritional value, they are similar to food familiar to humans. This product is manufactured using a special technology that allows you to preserve all the useful properties of the components included in it, the digestibility of the feed is at least 80%.

In the composition of holistic you will not find offal, it contains only meat (it should be fresh and / or dehydrated), or fish fillets. The meat assortment is very impressive, and not barely noticeable, as in cheap feed. There is no place for corn, wheat, wheat flour, corn gluten, potato and pea protein in such food.

Potatoes, peas, lentils, rice are "responsible" for carbohydrates here, and the fruit–berry-vegetable group is responsible for fiber. All preservatives are natural.

Holistic is characterized by a high-quality and diverse vitamin and mineral component. We will find much more of these nutrients here than in other feeds, even those belonging to the super-premium class. Among the best brands are often called the following:

• Acana (produced in Canada);
• Carnilove (produced in the Czech Republic);
• Go Natural (produced in Canada);
• Grandorf (produced in Belgium, France);
• Farmina N&D (produced in Italy, Serbia).

The Acana brand, which often leads all kinds of ratings, is the leader in the number of positive reviews. The composition of this product is as open as possible, the percentage of all major components is always indicated.

The cost of holistic-class cat food can vary significantly, some of them are sold at a clearly inflated price.

On average, 1 kg of product can cost 620-900 rubles.

What you need to know about the composition of feed

When choosing food for your pet, first of all, carefully read the composition of the product, remembering that the classification of goods is not always accurate. Note that the ingredients are indicated as their percentage content in the product decreases. It is desirable that the meat component should be listed first, because the cat is a predator and a meat eater, he needs to eat meat regularly. If the name of the meat component in the dry product is preceded by the word "dehydrated", you can be sure that there is exactly as much of it as indicated. The absence of the designated term indicates that the list of ingredients indicates the amount of meat in raw form, but in reality it is at best three times less (when making dry food, meat is evaporated). It is great if there is information about the meat of which named animal is present in the feed, for example, chicken meat, beef, rabbit meat, etc.

The percentage of cereals should not be too much, the cat does not really need them. In any case, it is desirable that grains do not occupy the first place in the list of ingredients. Rice and oatmeal are preferred, as they are absorbed by the animal's body better than other grains. It is good if they are presented in a whole form, and not ground into flour. Potatoes, including sweet potatoes, are a good source of carbohydrates.

Take a close look at the information about offal. If these ingredients are of high quality and useful, for example, liver, scar, lungs, manufacturers will certainly open this information. If you see the mysterious inscription "animal by-products", you can be sure that among the components there is a place for recycled horns, hooves, bones, beaks, heads, ligaments, blood and other very unappetizing waste, whose useful properties are approaching zero.

The presence of fruits, vegetables, lactobacilli, probiotics, plants in cat food is welcome, especially if these components are presented in whole form, that is, not powdered or processed into paste. The listed ingredients are added to food for its fortification.

Animal fats in inexpensive feeds are mostly low-grade. If the fat is of high quality, it will be indicated on the package that it is fish or chicken (not poultry!).

Fillers such as corn and wheat gluten, corn flour, cellulose powder are undesirable. In many cats, they very often provoke allergies.

Such preservatives and antioxidants as BHA, BHT, ethoxyquine, propyl gallate, propylene glycol are toxic, and their content should strive to a minimum. Elite feeds contain safe natural compounds – vitamins E, C, citric acid, herbal extracts, oils. However, even an expensive product often uses toxic ethoxychine, designated in the international codification as E324.

It is necessary to take into account the difference between the products themselves included in the food composition and the results of their processing. For example, fish (specifying which one) is welcome, but fish meal is undesirable: it is usually made from heads, tails, bones. Eggs are preferable to egg powder, whole barley and rice are more useful than crushed grains.

The presence of soy or soy protein concentrate is undesirable – this product often causes allergies in cats. Yeast is also allergenic, which is added to increase the volume and give the feed an attractive taste. Dyes that make the food multicolored can attract only the owner of the cat, the animal itself does not need them at all.

Read the information on guaranteed analysis posted on the product package, revealing data on proteins, fats, carbohydrates, fiber, ash, water. Keep in mind that the best source of protein is recognized as muscle meat of chicken, beef, veal, game, eggs, some high-quality offal.

For clarity, let's compare the composition of the most unassuming and most expensive of the dry feeds. The first one will contain protein and plant extracts, cereals (in the majority), meat (in a clear minority), meat and bone meal, mysterious offal, atracants – flavoring additives adored by cats, but harmful to them, addictive.

As part of the best feed, you will see such appetite-stimulating products as fresh and dehydrated lamb meat, boneless duck meat, duck fat, lamb fat, herring oil, pollock fillets, herring, yellow perch, salmon. Meat is present exactly in the amount indicated on the package. In the list of ingredients you will also find eggs, red lentils, chickpeas, green peas, dried alfalfa, brown algae, pumpkin, spinach greens, carrots, apples, pears, cranberries, chicory roots, dandelion, ginger, peppermint foliage, cumin seeds, turmeric, rose hips. Delicious "crackers" are characterized by a natural brown color, there is no place for dyes in such a product.

Rules for feeding cats

A cat who is used to regularly eating only ready-made food should not be offered an appetizing breast or minced meat. She, of course, will not refuse, but her stomach will suffer, because your treat will create an imbalance in her digestive system. You need to choose one thing - ready–made feed or natural products.

It is advisable to purchase dry and wet feeds from the same manufacturer, the products must belong to the same price category. It is not necessary to treat a cat with economy-class food in the morning, and in the evening with an elite–class delicacy. If you really want to change your diet, do it slowly, slowly mixing new food into the animal's usual food for at least a week. Increase the amount of new feed by approximately 1/6 of a serving daily, respectively reducing the part of the feed that you have decided to give up.

If a cat, accustomed to elite nutrition, for some reason found himself without dinner, and there is no way to buy expensive food, do not run headlong to a 24-hour supermarket for an affordable cheap product – the next day the animal is guaranteed to suffer from diarrhea. Let him fall asleep hungry, but healthy.

There should always be fresh water in the cat bowl. Keep in mind that cats have a reduced sense of thirst. If you notice that your pet drinks little, soak him dry food or replace it with wet.