Dangers of wet cat food

A few days ago, I blogged about the benefits of wet cat food, which I've been feeding Cleo for about 6 weeks now in an effort to avoid another bout of fatty liver disease (feline hepatic lipidosis). The changes I've seen her undergo — i.e., more energy, healthier fur, more positive moods — have made me a believer in wet food.

However, we can't forget that only a year ago, many cats and dogs got sick (and some even died) from melamine contamination in wet pet food. So although wet food seems to be a better choice for your cat than dry food, we still need to be careful about which wet foods we choose.

According to this article on safe cat food, you should never feed your cat wet foods that contain wheat gluten, rice gluten, or rice concentrate. For one thing, these ingredients are used in place of animal protein — and grain proteins aren't as healthy for your cat. More importantly, though, wheat gluten is often imported from China, where it is a perfectly acceptable practice to add melamine to cat food.

If you aren't already aware of this problem, be sure to check the ingredients in the wet food you are feeding your cat! Also, note that different flavors in the same line of cat food can have different ingredients. I just checked 3 different flavors of the food I've been feeding Cleo lately — 2 flavors contained rice gluten, and 1 didn't. So don't assume that just because you don't see rice gluten in one flavor, that the brand doesn't use it at all.