
We share a very special relationship with our furry little friends. For most people, pets are an integral part of the family, and sometimes some people see their pets like their babies.
This means we all want the best cat food for our furry friends and will spend any amount of money to get them the best quality food and everything else. And good quality food is no exception.
For our little feline companions, food can be quite a dicey issue. Choosing a healthy diet for our cats can be an intimidating process as cats have very specific requirements for their dietary nutrients.
Most big cats are purely carnivorous in the wild, and this remains true even for their domesticated counterparts.
Therefore, while it may not outright harm them to feed them the kind of vegetables we eat, or even dairy products, providing them with the right source of nutrients from the right type of food is extremely important.
This is where commercial cat food comes in. Certain nutrients, including a lot of vitamins and amino acids, can be degraded by the temperatures, pressures, and chemical treatments used during the manufacturing process. Hence, they need to be added after manufacture to avoid nutritional deficiency in your cat.
For example, taurine is an example of a very specific amino acid that is found in meat. However, during processing commercial cat food, this taurine is degraded, which can result in vitamin and protein deficiency in your cat. Therefore, companies will produce synthetic taurine to be added to the meat product later.
Long-term taurine deficiency is extremely dangerous to cats and can lead to a variety of diseases and illnesses such as retinal degradation, loss of vision, and cardiac arrest. So with all the options available in the market today, how do we figure out which is the best option for our cat?
Stores these days sell targeted cat food to address specific needs, including cat food for young cats, old cats, fit cats, couch cats, sick cats, obese cats, active cats, and so on.
Companies such as 4Health have come up with even more options in these that are specially formulated to be the most effective. Read on as we talk about the dietary requirements of cats and how 4Health cat food can fit into your cat’s needs.
We were pleasantly suprised by the ingredient profile of 4Health cat food. Grain-free, gluten-free, soy-free, corn-free.... it's hard to find an AFFORDABLE cat food that hits ALL of these. Plus, real chicken is the first ingredient. Price aside, this checks out nutritionally.
Table of Contents
Natural Diet Of Cats
Food is the nutritional fuel that powers your cat’s internal engine. Food is made up of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, other nutrients, and water, and for optimum health, these nutrients must come from high-quality sources and must be present in your cat’s diet in specific proportions. Each nutrient supports specific bodily functions that contribute to physical and mental health.
There’s a lot of conflicting information out there about proper nutrition for cats, and despite their best intentions, many pet owners don’t know what’s really in the food they buy.
With debates raging about protein and carb balance, plus cat food brands throwing around buzzwords like ‘premium’ and ‘all natural ingredients,” it’s easy to get misled.
Like big cats, their wild counterparts, domesticated cats are obligate carnivores. This means they are true carnivores and require the nutrients present in animal flesh to fulfill their dietary requirements.
Even domesticated cats will relish freshly killed meat from rodents, rabbits, amphibians, birds, reptiles, and fish meal, but cats are also opportunistic feeders and will readily take cooked food.
They will also take dry food when offered, provided that food is palatable. Therefore, the natural balanced diet of cats does not contain any vegetable matter. Although domesticated cats will not outright refuse vegetable matter given to them, this is not their natural diet and hence must be avoided where possible.
One exception to this is that cats have been known to occasionally eat certain plants and grasses, usually as an emetic (a substance that causes vomiting).
Cats are unable to synthesize some essential nutrients that are necessary for survival that human beings can. These nutrients include the amino acids arginine and taurine.
Cats lack the specific physiology to extract nutrients efficiently from plant-based materials and require a high protein diet, which is why high-energy meats from freshly killed prey are optimal foods. So it is necessary for you to provide these nutrients directly to your cat through natural meat in their diet.
Commercial Cat Food
Most of the store-bought food you can find in the market today can be bought in either wet canned form (canned cat food) or in a dry form known as kibble. Some manufacturers have even started selling frozen raw diets and premix products in case you wish to feed raw food to your cat.
Ingredients
Quality ingredients in your cat’s food, that is, whole proteins free from harmful or controversial substances, are among the most important characteristics of the best cat food formulas.
Digestibility
Quality ingredients are a key component of the best cat food, but if your cat isn’t actually absorbing those high-quality nutrients, the superior ingredients’ benefits are lost.
Digestibility is the percentage of foodstuff taken into the digestive tract that is actually absorbed into the body, and it’s an important characteristic to consider when selecting a cat food.
Why Low-Quality Ingredients Are Harmful
Regardless of where you fall in the debate over carbohydrates, it’s a known fact that high-quality ingredients matter for a healthy cat. Processed ingredients and additives don’t offer the same nutrients as whole meats and ocean fish meal and may be contaminated with bacteria and other harmful agents.
Rendered fat is a common additive in pet foods because it easily increases the necessary fat content. However, it is ripe for bacteria and mold growth, so it can be unsafe for your pet to eat. It doesn’t offer the same health benefits as the whole fats that come from real fish and meat.
Other additives, like artificial colors and flavors, may be considered known carcinogens; caramel, BHA, BHT, and ethoxyquin are all considered to be dangerous for both people and pets. Below is a quick guide on what to look for and what to avoid.
Types Of Cat Food Available
Fortunately, it is not as hard as it first seems to get to the bottom of the different types of cat food and what you should be looking for. All you need to have is a basic understanding of your cat’s individual needs and how each type of food meets that requirement.
Generally, cat owners focus on three main aspects of cat food. Quality, cost, and convenience. However, this is a question of your kitty’s health, and so quality must be at the forefront of your purchasing decisions, definitely above cost and convenience.
There are three main types of cat food. Dry food (also known as kibble), semi-moist food, and wet food (also known as canned cat food.)
Dry Food
This is often the cheapest choice available for your cat. It has a very long shelf life, and one bag of food will last several months. The difficulty with dry food is that it is not very palatable, and cats who are renowned for being fussy eaters may easily turn their nose up at it if their diet solely consists of this.
A cat is less likely to gorge itself on dry food, perhaps because of its unpalatability, and instead, only eat what is required to relieve hunger. Because of this, it is a good idea to leave out during the day for your cat to have a nibble on as you can trust that your cat is not likely to overeat because of it.
Dry food has a reputation for being nutritionally unbalanced. However, these days there are plenty of high-quality dry foods available that are far from nutritionally incomplete. Many cats lead long and healthy lives on a diet of just dry food.
Wet Food
This would usually be your cat’s first choice of food. Easy to eat and very tasty, a cat would happily eat its way through tins and tins (or packets and packets) of wet food if given half a chance.
For this reason, you shouldn’t freely leave out wet food as they will probably continue to eat it even if they don’t necessarily need it anymore and then become overweight.
It is absolutely vital that your cat receives the complete balance of nutrition that it needs. A cat’s nutritional needs change during its life, and so it is important to make adjustments to its diet as time goes on.
For example, Kittens need around twice as many nutrients per pound of body weight as an adult cat does. Likewise, a pregnant or lactating cat needs more nutrition to help them stay strong.
There are very high-quality varieties of wet food in the market, although it is necessary that you understand the labels. For example, “Tuna Cat Food” is a phrase that means there is at least 95% tuna in the product.
“Tuna Dinner” or “Tuna Platter” means there is on average about 25% tuna contained within the product, and “Cat Food with Tuna” means there is just 3% of tuna to be found in the product. It is very important to make sure of what you are buying, as it is a question of a furry friend’s long-term health.
Semi-Moist Food
This is not dissimilar to dry food in terms of appearance, but rather than crunchy, it is chewy. Although it would be common sense to assume this was the happy medium between dry and wet food in terms of cost and shelf life, it is not actually a popular choice, nor particularly good for your cat’s health.
This is because the processes and additives that are involved in production make it poor quality. It is not very common to see this type of cat food on shelves anymore as consumers are wiser to what their cat needs and what is unhealthy for them. As a rule, it is best to avoid semi-moist food.
There are other minor varieties available in the market as well based on your cat’s needs. Your vet can offer advice on the best type and amount of food to provide your cat, but generally, it is safest to choose a cat food specifically designed to meet your cat’s needs at whatever stage it is at.
Kitten food should be purchased for kittens, for example, and stopped once the cat reaches adulthood (when it is one year old.)
If your cat is suffering from a particular illness or disease, it may be prudent to switch to a therapeutic diet that is designed to help relieve some of the symptoms and even aid recovery.
Because of these types of cat food’s specialized nature, it is only possible to buy this type of food on prescription from your vet. Talk to your vet if you feel this may benefit the health of your cat.
Another important thing to keep in mind is that you choose your cat food based on your company’s values.
The best companies to buy cat food from are the ones who make sure their products are accessible to anyone who wants it (online or in-store), offer quality nutrition (organic, grain free cat food and novel proteins like bison, for example), and make reading food labels easy. These companies also show a social/moral responsibility for the greater good of all companion animals.
4Health Cat Food
Originally produced for Tractor Supply Company, 4Health started out with dog food but ventured into cat food as well because of popular demand. While a lot of store-brand cat foods are made with low-quality fillers and artificial ingredients, this is not true of 4Health cat food. The 4Health cat food brand uses the tagline, “Optimal nutrition for optimal health,” and it shows the quality of the product they create.
They use meat as their number one ingredient. In addition to this, this is a good cat food brand that uses real animal proteins as the primary ingredient, but they manufacture their foods without any corn, wheat, or soy products.
According to the Tractor Supply website, 4Health pet foods are made with “flavor-filled, nutritious ingredients at an affordable price.”
This brand may not offer the widest selection of cat food products, but those they offer seem to be made with quality ingredients in healthy formulas designed for cats in all life stages.
Diamond Pet Foods, Inc. produces the 4Health cat food brand, and the Tractor Supply Company owns Diamond Pet Food. All of 4Health cat food products are manufactured in the United States in plants located in South Carolina, California, and Missouri.
This company was founded in 1938 as a mail order tractor parts business. Still, it soon became a leading provider of home improvement, lawn and garden maintenance, agriculture, livestock, and pet care products. Because this brand is a store brand, it is exclusively available at Tractor Supply Stores.
4health Grain Free Indoor Cat Formula for Adult Cats provides optimal nutrition for indoor adult cats with a formulation that helps maintain a healthy digestive system.
4Health Cat Food Review
Finding detailed information about the 4Health cat food brand is a little difficult given the fact that it is a private label brand. The Tractor Supply Company website provides limited information about the brand as well as their individual products.
The website states that “pets deserve a premium food with the nutrition their bodies need and flavors they crave,” suggesting that meat is always the number-1 ingredient in their pet food products.
The website goes on to say that all 4Health products offer a complete and balanced diet with omega fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals – all t–e nutrients pets need to remain happy and healthy without any corn, wheat, or soy ingredients.
4Health offers an assortment of both dry and wet food formulas. There are two traditional dry cat food recipes as well as two grain-free options.
The 4Health All Life Stages dry cat food formula is made with real chicken and salmon meal as the primary sources of protein, supplemented with chicken fat and flaxseed as healthy fats.
This recipe features ground white rice (rice formula), cracked pearl barley, and potatoes in terms of digestible carbohydrates. In addition to these ingredients, the recipe also contains fresh fruits and vegetables for added complete and balanced nutrition as well as chelated minerals.
The 4Health Indoor Cat Food is designed to meet the nutritional needs of indoor adult cats – it has ideal fiber and fat levels to help your cat maintain lean body composition.
It is very similar in composition to the All Life Stages Cat Food recipe but has the addition of dried fermentation products to help promote healthy digestion.
In addition to these options, 4Health offers two grain-free dry food options for cats. The Grain-Free Indoor Cat Food is made with chicken, chicken meal, fresh turkey meal, and fish meal with chicken fat and flaxseed for fat. In terms of carbohydrates, this recipe features garbanzo beans, peas, lentils, and powdered cellulose.
The Grain-Free Whitefish and Potato recipe features whitefish, fish meal, salmon meal, and turkey meal. It also contains a whole potato, dried peas, and tapioca. Both of these recipes are supplemented with vitamins and minerals as well as fresh or dried fruits and vegetables to ensure balanced nutrition.
Also, 4Health offers five traditional recipes as well as two grain-free options. The two grain-free options are Turkey & Giblet Dinner and Chicken & Whitefish Dinner. There is one Indoor Chicken Formula, a Turkey & Salmon recipe, a Chicken & Beef recipe, and a Chicken & Brown Rice recipe.
Both of the grain-free wet foods are supplemented with chelated minerals and vitamin supplements. They are made with a limited number of additional ingredients such as chicken, turkey, poultry giblets, dried egg product, and broth.
The Adult Chicken Formula is a little bit different from the Indoor Chicken Formula, though both include added antioxidants and omega fatty acids. These recipes are also made with chelated minerals and vitamin supplements.
The 4Health Grain-Free Indoor Cat formula features chicken as the number-1 ingredient, chicken meal, turkey meal, and fish meal as supplementary protein sources.
This recipe “provides optimal nutrition for indoor adult cats with a formulation that helps maintain a healthy digestive system.” Let us look into the details of each type of cat food that this company manufactures and whether or not it is good for your cat.
We were pleasantly suprised by the ingredient profile of 4Health cat food. Grain-free, gluten-free, soy-free, corn-free.... it's hard to find an AFFORDABLE cat food that hits ALL of these. Plus, real chicken is the first ingredient. Price aside, this checks out nutritionally.
4Health Wet Cat Food Reviews
4Health Adult Chicken Formula
About 70% moisture, therefore, is always seen near the top of the ingredients lists. After cooking, the chicken loses most of its moisture as well as protein—a common ingredient found in cat food.
Chicken broth is used to add moisture to the formula. Different from water as broth has added nutrients and proteins. This broth is made from chicken. The liver is packed full of nutrients.
Rich in Vitamin A. A good quality ingredient, yet intake has to be monitored. A vague term as we don’t know the source of the liver. Dried Egg refers to an egg or egg product that has had the moisture removed. However, this also contains grains, which are of poor nutritional value for cats. Cats cannot digest grains easily.
They are in cat foods as a filler ingredient and filler only. Wheat, corn, corn flour, flour, white rice, ground rice, barley, brewer’s rice, etc., fall into this category. Ingredients such as wheat gluten and corn gluten also fall into this category as these ingredients originate from grains.
4Health Chicken & Beef Dinner
This is because ingredients such as fish, meat, and grains already contain selenium naturally. Therefore the addition of sodium selenite just adds more selenium to the formula.
A study has shown that sodium selenite is no more harmful than natural sources of selenium for what it is worth. Besides that, fruits are added to make the food appear healthier, although they provide no extra benefits.
This brand also contains food-grade carrageenan, which is known to cause GI tract issues in cats. This is because the food grade carrageenan contains small amounts of pro-inflammatory particles.
A highly controversial ingredient as much fear that even the food grade carrageenan will eventually lead to cancer (this has not been proven, though).
4Health Turkey & Salmon Dinner
This is a good option, and the top 5 ingredients are Turkey, turkey broth, liver, salmon, and dried egg.
Turkey includes meat, skin, and bone of turkey. About 70% moisture, therefore, is always seen near the top of the ingredients lists. After cooking, the turkey loses most of its moisture as well as protein—a common ingredient found in cat food.
The broth is also made from turkey and is used to add moisture to the formula. It is different from water as broth has added nutrients and proteins.
The liver is rich in Vitamin A, making it a good quality ingredient, yet intake has to be monitored. Salmon is a very popular species of fish, which provides protein and may have elevated levels of mercury.
While feeding your cat salmon every now and then is okay. However, long term exposure to ocean fish meal will cause health problems. Also, the majority of the time, fish used for pet food is rank and of poor quality. This type also contains grains and sodium selenite making it a subpar type of cat food.
4Health Grain Free Chicken & Whitefish dinner
The liver is nutritious organ meat coming from a poultry source. Whitefish is a vague term for fish. It can mean cod, haddock, sole, or others. Whitefish is less fattening than other fish
4Health Grain Free Salmon Recipe in Broth
However, one concerning ingredient for many customers would be the chicken liver, organ meat with many nutrients.
Toxicity due to eating too much liver is a possibility. Therefore intake has to be monitored. It is present in this cat food in safe amounts, so you don’t have to worry about your cat being sick.
4Health Dry Cat Food Reviews
4Health All Life Stages Cat Formula
Chicken meal refers to the dried rendered skin, meat, and bone of chicken. This excludes the head, feet, and intestines. If the ingredients list states ‘boneless’, then the meal is skin and meat without the bone, making it a more concentrated source of protein.
The chicken itself refers to the meat, skin, and bone of the chicken. About 70% moisture, therefore, is always seen near the top of the ingredients lists. After cooking, the chicken loses most of its moisture as well as protein.
4Health Indoor Cat Formula
The concern with meals over regular meat is that meals can legally contain the ‘4Ds.’ This means dead, diseased, dying, and disabled animals.
However, grains are of poor nutritional value for cats. Cats cannot digest grains easily. They are in cat foods as a filler ingredient and filler only. Wheat, corn, corn flour, flour, white rice, ground rice, barley, brewer’s rice, etc., fall into this category.
Ingredients such as wheat gluten and corn gluten also fall into this category as these ingredients originate from grains. Vegetables are normally used as a binder and carbohydrate substitute.
Grain-Free cat food could still have a high amount of carbohydrates. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, peas, etc., while not grains, still contain carbohydrates. Another ingredient added to this model is cellulose.
This ingredient is a fiber source, often used as a carbohydrate substitute. It also has thickening properties. It is a filler and lower quality ingredient. Cellulose can actually come from wood. This is just an example, and it doesn’t mean wood chips are actually in this food.
4Health Grain Free Whitefish, Pea & Potato with Real Turkey
You can opt for this, although it is a higher range in terms of price. Some of the ingredients mentioned above include fish meal, the dried rendered ‘meat’ and fish bone.
Suppose the ingredients list states ‘boneless’, then the meal is skin and ‘meat’ without the bone. If a fish is named, then the meal is made from the named fish. A more concentrated source of protein, yet mercury levels are a concern.
Another major concern is the presence of starch instead of grain. This includes pea, potato, tapioca starch (flour). Starch is a type of carbohydrate. Cats need carbohydrates, but only very little.
The addition of these extra carbohydrate sources makes the percentage much higher than what a cat needs. Cats are not equipped to digest high amounts of carbs. These types of ingredients are mainly in cat food because they are great binders. They bind the food together effectively.
Another disadvantage is the presence of non-meat protein. This refers to protein extracted particularly from non-meat sources, and this includes pea and potato protein, amongst others.
These ingredients have a low biological value. The protein from these sources simply cannot be used effectively by cats, as this protein lacks the essential amino acids the cat needs.
4Health Special Care Weight Management
Turkey meal refers to the dried rendered skin, meat, and bone of turkey. This excludes the head, feet, and intestines if the ingredients list states ‘boneless’, then the meal is skin and meat without the bone.
The legumes include lentils, chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans), soybeans, or any other bean. The growing trend is to include legumes in cat food labeled as grain-free, similar to fruits and vegetables.
Legumes provide bulk and a source of carbohydrates. It makes the food appear healthier as opposed to seeing grains; however, legumes are unnecessary. While for these reviews, peas are under the category of vegetables, peas are also considered a legume.
One important disadvantage is that this food contains copper sulfate. This is an irritant and is linked to copper toxicity. Many do not like the presence of this ingredient in cat food because it has many other uses.
It can be found in the leather, wood, battery, ink, paint, and metal industries. It also contains sodium selenite, and many cat owners are concerned about this ingredient.
It is a cheaper form of selenium and is linked with selenium toxicity. This is because ingredients such as fish, meat, and grains already contain selenium naturally.
Therefore the addition of sodium selenite just adds more selenium to the formula. A study has shown that sodium selenite is no more harmful than natural sources of selenium for what it is worth.
4Health Cat Food Alternatives
Blue Freedom Dry Cat Food
Need a healthy dry food recipe for an adult cat? You can easily find this brand in stores and online, and there’s a lot to love– without the high sticker tag of more premium cat foods. The recipe contains no animal by-products and no artificial flavors or preservatives.
Instead of relying on corn or wheat as fillers, this grain-free recipe contains high-quality protein. Flaxseeds supply essential omega-3 fatty acids, while sweet potatoes are a natural source for B-vitamins, beta carotene, phytochemicals, and antioxidants. I also love the addition of taurine, plus cranberries for urinary tract health. Shop Here.
Give your kitty some kibble that’s nutritious and oh-so-delicious! Blue Buffalo’s Freedom Indoor Adult Chicken Recipe Grain-Free Dry Cat Food is specially designed for indoor cats and is completely free from grains and gluten for sensitive sidekicks.
Tiki Cat Luau Wet Food with Poultry or Fish in Consomme for Adult Cats & Kittens
Designed for adult cats and kittens alike, this wet cat food is an excellent alternative to 4Health. Available through multiple retailers, the acclaimed cat food averages 4.5 out of 5 stars based upon over 2,500 customer reviews, and it’s easy to see why.
This recipe is grain and potato-free, made with high-quality fish or poultry. Free of by-products and fillers, your cat will enjoy the broth for added moisture and the choice between chicken, seabass, salmon, tuna, vitamins, and minerals, including taurine, are added to support a cat’s health at any age. Buy Here.
Tiki Cat Luau is the real deal! Pop the top, and see for yourself: tender shredded chicken, flaked ahi tuna, wild salmon, seabass, mackerel or tilapia swimming in a luscious consommè.
Halo Kitten Grain-Free Dry Food
Get your kitten off to a great start with this grain-free dry food. Whole (no byproducts) salmon and whitefish are antibiotic-free for optimal nutrition. The entire blend is free of GMOs and artificial flavors and colors. With plentiful fiber, this brand will support your kitten’s digestive tract with high-quality nutrition.
Certified sustainable and made in the United States, DHA, antioxidants, and essential vitamins and minerals are tailored to fit the specific needs of a kitten. Buy Here.
Premium ingredients and sustainable practices come together in Halo Grain Free Natural Dry Kitten Food. Our natural cat food is a holistic blend of nutritious whole meat (that’s right, WHOLE MEAT), with non-GMO fruits and veggies plus the essential vitamins and minerals that your kitten needs to look and feel their best.
Conclusion: 4Health Cat Food Review
Overall, this 4Health Grain-Free Indoor formula seems to provide adequate nutrition for adult cats, and it does include some beneficial additives such as chelated minerals and dried fermentation products.
It is always good to see more than one source of animal protein at the beginning of the ingredients list, with additional sources appearing further down the line.
This product lives up to its grain-free name, relying on garbanzo beans, peas, and lentils for gluten- and grain-free carbohydrates as well as dietary fiber.
We were pleasantly suprised by the ingredient profile of 4Health cat food. Grain-free, gluten-free, soy-free, corn-free.... it's hard to find an AFFORDABLE cat food that hits ALL of these. Plus, real chicken is the first ingredient. Price aside, this checks out nutritionally.
In an attempt to hold down expenses, many first-time cat owners buy the cheapest foods they can find for their cats. This is a false economy for a couple of reasons.
- First, studies have shown that cats eat as much as they need to get the nutrients they require. Therefore, they might eat twice as much of that generously-carbohydrate-filled store brand to get the nutrients they need in a normal feeding of premium food.
- Second, the continued feeding of substandard foods over a period of years will heavily contribute to, or even cause, serious medical conditions that will require expensive veterinary care. So it is important that you pay attention to what is in your cat food, and this can keep your furry little friend healthy and happy for years to come.
Other Cat Food Brands That Might Interest You:
- Best Cat Food for Urinary Health
- Human Foods that Harm Your Cat
- Merrick Bistro Grain Free Cat Food Review
- Stella & Chewy’s Chick Chick Chicken Dinner Morsels Freeze-Dried Raw Cat Food Review
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