Animal Digest
Our ingredient score: 1 / 5 · Flavoring · How We Score
Animal digest is a flavoring made by breaking down animal tissue with heat, enzymes or acids until it becomes a liquid or powder. It is sprayed on or mixed into dry food to make it taste better to cats. The label does not say which animal or which parts it comes from, so the source can change from batch to batch. It adds little nutrition; its main job is flavor.
Common Questions
Why is animal digest added to dry cat food?
To make the food taste better. It is sprayed on or mixed into the kibble so cats accept it more readily.
Is animal digest bad for cats?
Animal digest is a flavoring made by breaking down animal tissue with enzymes or chemical processing, then sprayed onto kibble. FDA requires each ingredient to be listed by its common or usual name, and "animal" is that name here, so the species is not stated. No authority we found sets a specific concern for cats at the levels used. If your cat has a food allergy or another medical condition, ask your veterinarian before choosing a food with it.
Source: fda.gov
What is animal digest in cat food?
Animal digest is a liquid or powder made by breaking down clean animal tissue until it becomes a concentrated, savory material. Makers coat dry food with it so the kibble smells and tastes more like meat. On a label it shows up as "animal digest" when the source animal is not named, or as "chicken digest" or similar when it is. It is used for taste, not as a main protein source.
What does "animal" mean on a cat food ingredient list?
It means the label does not tell you which species the ingredient came from. FDA says ingredients must appear by a common or usual name that accurately describes the basic nature of the food, and that ingredient names defined by AAFCO may serve as common names. "Animal digest" names the type of ingredient, not chicken or beef. Shoppers who need to track a specific protein usually look for ingredients that name the animal.
Source: fda.gov
Can a cat with a food allergy eat food with animal digest?
That depends on what the cat reacts to, and the label cannot tell you because the source animal is not named. The Merck Veterinary Manual lists beef, fish and chicken as the most common food allergens in cats. It calls the elimination diet trial the reference test and notes that a trial of at least 10 weeks may be needed. An unnamed animal flavoring makes such a trial hard to run, so a veterinarian is the right person to choose the food.
Source: merckvetmanual.com
How does Pettings score animal digest?
Pettings gives animal digest 1 out of 5 and lists it as a flavoring. It appears on 2 of the 149 dry cat foods we list. The low score reflects that the source animal is not named and that the ingredient adds taste rather than much nutrition. Each food's page shows how it scores overall.
How Foods With Animal Digest Compare
Animal Digest is on the label of 2 of the 149 dry cat foods we list.