Choosing kibble for your cat can quickly become complicated. Between the terms "premium," "rich in meat," "grain-free," "natural," "sterilized," or even "high protein," packaging is full of arguments designed to grab our attention.
However, the front of the bag is rarely the most interesting part.
To understand what you are really feeding your cat, you need to turn the bag over and examine several pieces of information: the type of food, the list of ingredients, the analytical constituents, the additives, the energy value, and the feeding recommendations.
No single figure can designate "the best kibble." It is the combination of all these pieces of information that allows you to judge whether a formula is consistent with your cat's needs.
Start by verifying that it is a complete food
This is the first piece of information to look for.
A complete food is formulated to provide all the nutrients necessary for the animal when distributed in accordance with recommendations and for the category of animals for which it is intended.
This mention is more important than many of the marketing arguments present on the front of the bag.
A cat fed exclusively with kibble must receive a diet formulated to meet its nutritional requirements.
You must also verify that the product is appropriate for the animal's life stage: kitten, adult, or a specific situation if indicated.
Read the ingredient list… but correctly
Ingredients are generally listed in descending order of weight at the time of their incorporation into the recipe.
The first ingredient is therefore interesting, but it doesn't tell the whole story.
Fresh meat contains a lot of water. Conversely, a dehydrated raw material is much more concentrated.
Thus, seeing "fresh chicken" in first position does not automatically mean that chicken represents the majority of the product once the kibble is manufactured.
You must look at the entire list.
Prioritize precise information
A detailed composition makes it easier to know what the cat is eating.
Terms such as:
chicken,
turkey,
salmon,
dehydrated chicken protein
provide relatively clear information on the origin of the ingredient.
Very general terms provide less information.
This precision becomes particularly useful when a cat has a food sensitivity or when you want to compare several recipes.
However, it is not enough to determine the overall quality of the product: a nice list of ingredients is only part of the analysis.
Look at where the proteins come from
Since cats are obligate carnivores, proteins play an important role in their diet.
The crude protein level indicated on the bag is worth looking at, but you shouldn't stop at the percentage.
A food can contain proteins derived from both animal and vegetable raw materials.
Thus:
40% protein does not mean 40% meat.
To interpret this figure, you must refer back to the list of ingredients and identify the main sources likely to contribute to the protein content.
The quality and digestibility of the proteins are also important, even if this information is not always directly available on the label.
Don't be afraid of the word "by-products"
Animal by-products have a bad reputation, even though the term covers very different materials.
A cat wouldn't only consume muscle from its prey. Certain organs, such as the liver or heart, have real nutritional value.
The presence of by-products is therefore not automatically a sign of bad kibble.
What is much more interesting is knowing what they actually are and what their origin is, when the manufacturer provides this information.
Transparency in the formulation is more useful than a simplistic opposition between "meat" and "by-products."
Check the analytical constituents
After the ingredients, look at the analytical constituents.
These generally include:
- crude protein;
- crude fat;
- crude fiber or cellulose;
- crude ash or mineral matter;
- sometimes moisture.
These figures describe the nutritional profile of the food from another angle.
They allow you to compare products, but here again, no percentage should be interpreted on its own.
A kibble very high in protein, for example, is not automatically better if its overall formulation is not adapted to the cat.
Fat: let's not forget it
Fat is sometimes viewed with suspicion, notably out of fear of weight gain.
However, it is essential.
It provides energy and contributes to the intake of essential fatty acids. It also contributes to the palatability of the food.
What matters is that its quantity and nature are consistent with the rest of the formula and the cat's needs.
An animal that is inactive or prone to weight gain does not necessarily need the food with the lowest fat content: total energy density and the quantity distributed also count.
What about carbohydrates?
This is one of the big peculiarities of kibble labels: the carbohydrate level is generally not indicated directly.
However, kibble usually contains starch, partly for reasons related to its manufacturing process.
This starch can come from grains like rice or corn, but also from potatoes, peas, lentils, or tapioca.
That is why:
grain-free does not mean carbohydrate-free.
When moisture and other necessary constituents are available, it is possible to estimate the carbohydrate fraction by difference.
But this estimation should remain only one element among others in the analysis of the food.
"Grain-free": not a quality criterion on its own
"Grain-free" has become an extremely visible commercial argument.
However, removing grains does not mean removing starch: it simply comes from other raw materials.
Kibble containing rice may have a more interesting formulation than another using a lot of peas and potatoes.
And the opposite can also be true.
It is therefore useless to automatically classify foods into two categories:
with grains = bad
grain-free = good
The quality of a recipe cannot be determined by a single ingredient or the absence of a single ingredient.
Ash or mineral matter: should you be worried?
The term "mineral matter" or "crude ash" is sometimes worrying because the word "ash" gives the impression that burnt residues have been added to the food.
That is not the case.
It is an analytical measurement corresponding to the mineral fraction remaining after burning the sample in a laboratory.
It includes various minerals present in the food.
The overall level can provide information, but it does not allow you to evaluate the mineral balance of the recipe on its own.
When more detailed data is available — calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, for example — it provides additional information.
The interpretation of these values then depends on the cat's age, physiological state, and possibly health.
Look at the nutritional additives
The "additives" section is sometimes interpreted as a list of substances that should absolutely be avoided.
However, not all additives have the same function.
Nutritional additives can, for example, provide vitamins, trace elements, or certain amino acids necessary for the balance of the formula.
In cats, taurine is particularly important.
Its presence among the additives in a food does not mean that the recipe is of poor quality. On the contrary, certain nutrients must be present in sufficient quantity for the food to properly cover the cat's needs.
Also look at the energy provided
Two kibbles can have compositions that seem similar while providing different amounts of energy per 100 grams.
This data is particularly important when determining the ration.
A high-energy kibble will generally require a smaller quantity to provide the same number of calories.
This is also why you should not switch from one product to another while automatically keeping the same daily weight.
When the energy value is indicated by the manufacturer, it is therefore worth taking into account.
Don't forget water
Kibble is, by definition, a food containing little water.
A cat fed mainly or exclusively with a dry diet therefore depends more on the water it drinks spontaneously.
This does not automatically make kibble bad, but hydration must be part of the thought process.
Several sources of clean and easily accessible water can be provided, and wet food can also be integrated into the ration if it suits the cat.
Kibble and canned food are not necessarily competitors: a mixed diet can perfectly well be considered, provided that the quantities are adapted.
"Sterilized," "indoor," "premium": what are these terms worth?
These words can help identify a product's positioning, but they never replace an analysis of its composition.
The term "sterilized cat," for example, does not exempt you from looking at its energy density and recommended quantities.
Likewise, terms like "premium," "natural," or "ancestral recipe" can be seductive but do not, on their own, allow you to evaluate the nutritional quality of a kibble.
Turn the bag over.
The really interesting information is usually on the back.
The best composition remains the one that suits the cat
The label provides a lot of information, but there remains one element that no bag can perfectly predict: the individual response of the cat.
A diet can look excellent on paper and be poorly tolerated by an animal.
Conversely, a cat can stay perfectly healthy on a formula that does not have the most attractive packaging on the shelf.
Therefore, also monitor:
- its weight;
- its body condition;
- its appetite;
- its stool;
- its coat;
- its digestion;
- its general state.
Composition and observation of the cat must work together.
A transition remains necessary
Even when you have found a diet that seems more suitable, avoid replacing the old ration abruptly if possible.
A quick change can cause digestive upsets and make you think the new food is poorly tolerated when the transition itself was too abrupt.
Unless a medical necessity dictates otherwise, introduce the new food gradually and observe the cat's reaction.
To remember
When choosing kibble, do not look for a magic number or a miracle ingredient.
First, check that it is a complete food adapted to the cat in question, then examine:
the ingredient list and its precision;
the sources of protein;
proteins, fat, fiber, and mineral matter;
the role of starch sources and carbohydrates;
nutritional additives;
the energy value when available;
the recommended daily quantity.
And above all, do not let terms like "grain-free," "rich in meat," or "premium" decide for you.
At Sköll & Hati, our principle remains simple: the front of the bag is for selling. The back of the bag is for understanding what you are buying.