When it comes to feline nutrition, proteins are often highlighted on packaging: "rich in protein," "40% protein," "high meat content"…
But all these claims do not mean the same thing.
To understand their importance, we must start from a fundamental fact: the cat is an obligate carnivore. Its organism has specific nutritional needs that make proteins and certain nutrients of animal origin essential to its diet.
However, choosing kibble with the highest protein percentage is not enough. Quantity matters, but their origin, quality, digestibility, and the overall balance of the food also matter.
Why do we say that the cat is an obligate carnivore?
The term "obligate carnivore" does not simply mean that the cat likes eating meat.
Throughout its evolution, its metabolism has adapted to a diet based mainly on animal prey.
Unlike some species capable of strongly adapting their metabolism when protein intake decreases, the cat maintains high activity in the metabolic pathways that use amino acids.
It therefore has relatively high protein requirements.
Moreover, proteins are not only used to build muscles. They contribute in particular to tissue renewal, skin and coat health, the functioning of numerous enzymes and hormones, as well as multiple bodily functions.
What is a protein?
Proteins are made up of amino acids.
During digestion, dietary proteins are broken down so that the body can absorb these amino acids and use them to build its own proteins.
Some can be synthesized by the body. Others must be provided in sufficient quantities by the diet: these are the essential amino acids.
In cats, some needs are particularly specific.
This is notably the case for taurine, which is essential for various bodily functions and which the cat must receive in sufficient quantities in its diet.
A prolonged deficiency can have serious consequences, particularly for the heart and vision.
This is why the formulation of a complete cat food is never just about the "crude protein" figure.
Why talk specifically about animal proteins?
Animal tissues naturally constitute sources of protein whose amino acid profile corresponds well to the needs of a carnivore.
They also provide certain nutrients that are particularly important for the cat.
But this does not mean that a vegetable protein is automatically useless or indigestible.
Plant-based ingredients can contribute to the total amount of protein in a food. The problem appears when one looks only at the percentage of crude protein without seeking to know where it comes from.
Two kibbles both showing 38% protein can have very different formulations.
In one, a large portion may come from animal ingredients; in the other, vegetable proteins may contribute more to the final figure.
The rate stated on the package does not, therefore, allow us to know the nutritional quality of the proteins on its own.
"40% protein" does not mean "40% meat"
This is a frequent confusion.
When the analysis indicates:
Crude protein: 40%
this means that the food contains approximately 40% crude protein according to the analysis method used.
It does not absolutely mean that the recipe contains 40% meat.
Conversely, a package announcing "70% animal-derived ingredients" does not necessarily mean that the finished food contains 70% protein.
These are two different pieces of information.
To understand a recipe, you must therefore cross-reference the list of ingredients and the analytical constituents, rather than interpreting a figure in isolation.
Fresh meat: watch out for comparisons
The mention "fresh meat" is attractive and can perfectly well correspond to an interesting ingredient. But it can also complicate the comparison between recipes.
Ingredients are generally indicated according to their weight at the time they are incorporated.
However, fresh meat contains a lot of water.
Dehydrated animal raw material contains much less water and is therefore much more concentrated.
Thus, seeing "fresh chicken" in the first position does not automatically allow one to conclude that the majority of the proteins in the finished product come from the chicken.
This does not make fresh meat bad: it simply means that you must interpret the list of ingredients correctly.
And dehydrated animal proteins?
Terms like "dehydrated chicken protein" or "dehydrated animal protein" may seem less appealing than "fresh chicken."
Yet, the fact that an ingredient is dehydrated is not in itself a flaw.
By removing a large part of its water, a much more concentrated raw material is obtained.
What becomes important then is to know what raw material was actually used and with what level of precision the manufacturer describes it.
"Dehydrated chicken protein," for example, provides more information about its origin than the very general mention "dehydrated animal protein."
The precision of ingredients matters
A detailed list of ingredients makes it easier to understand what the cat is actually eating.
Precise designations like:
- chicken;
- turkey;
- salmon;
- dehydrated chicken protein;
make it easier to identify the animal sources used.
Very broad terms like "meat and animal derivatives" give the consumer less information about their exact origin.
This does not allow one to automatically conclude that the food is bad. But when the goal is to compare compositions or track a cat's tolerance to certain ingredients, precision becomes particularly useful.
Are animal derivatives necessarily bad?
No.
The term "derivatives" is often interpreted as synonymous with waste without nutritional value. This is a simplification.
In prey, the cat does not only consume muscle. Organs like the heart or liver can provide interesting nutrients.
What matters is therefore less the existence of derivatives than their nature, quality, proportion, and the transparency of the formulation.
A recipe containing clearly identified offal is not automatically inferior to a recipe whose marketing only highlights "meat."
Digestibility is as important as quantity
A protein must be able to be properly digested for its amino acids to be available to the body.
This is why two foods with the same protein level may not provide exactly the same amount of actually usable nutrients.
The quality of raw materials and their processing particularly influence this digestibility.
Unfortunately, the exact digestibility is generally not indicated on packaging.
This is an additional reason not to reduce the evaluation of a food to a simple ranking based on protein percentage.
Does more protein necessarily mean better?
No.
The cat needs a protein intake adapted to its physiology, but the highest figure is not automatically synonymous with the best food.
A diet must also provide fats, vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, and all the necessary nutrients in adapted proportions.
One must also take into account energy density and the quantity actually consumed.
The situation of a growing kitten, a healthy adult, an elderly cat, or an animal with a disease is not necessarily the same.
For certain pathologies, the quantity or nature of the proteins may indeed need to be adjusted with the veterinarian.
Proteins and kidneys: should they be reduced in elderly cats?
Age alone is not enough to decide that a cat should receive a low-protein diet.
In the aging cat, preserving muscle mass remains important.
On the other hand, certain diseases, particularly kidney disease, require specific nutritional management that also does not boil down to "cutting out proteins."
The formulation then takes into account several nutritional parameters and must be adapted to the stage and situation of the animal.
It is therefore preferable not to significantly alter the protein intake of a sick cat solely based on general information found on a package or on the Internet.
How to evaluate the proteins in a food?
When you look at kibble or wet food, several pieces of information can be cross-referenced.
First, look at the crude protein rate, but do not stop there.
Then examine the ingredients to identify the sources that likely contribute to this protein intake.
Check if the animal species are clearly named and if the recipe also contains several concentrated sources of vegetable protein.
Finally, always place proteins in the context of the entire food: fats, carbohydrates, fibers, minerals, energy density, and complete food status.
The goal is not to find the package showing the biggest number, but a diet nutritionally adapted to the cat that will eat it.
And in wet food?
Percentages shown on wet food should not be compared directly with those of kibble.
Wet food generally contains much more water.
A wet food showing 10% protein may therefore seem extremely poor compared to kibble at 35 or 40%, whereas this comparison on the raw product is misleading.
To correctly compare foods with very different moisture levels, you must reason on a dry matter basis.
This is an essential point when one wishes to objectively compare two types of diet.
Key takeaways
Proteins are essential to the cat because its physiology is that of an obligate carnivore and its organism has specific needs for proteins and amino acids.
But several shortcuts are to be avoided:
a high protein rate ≠ automatically a lot of meat;
a lot of fresh meat ≠ automatically a lot of protein in the finished product;
dehydrated animal proteins ≠ low-quality ingredient by definition;
the highest protein rate ≠ necessarily the best food.
To understand what you are buying, you must look at the quantity, origin, and quality of the proteins, but also at the balance of the entire formulation.
At Sköll & Hati, our approach remains the same: do not stop at the figure highlighted on the package, but learn to understand what it really represents.