Barley

Yes. Barley contains gluten, and it is also an unnecessary source of carbohydrate for a cat.

Barley is a cereal grain used in dry cat food as a source of carbohydrate and fiber. Tufts veterinary nutritionists say cats can digest and metabolize properly cooked carbohydrates, though adult cats have no specific dietary requirement for carbohydrate. Barley is cooked along with the rest of the kibble during manufacture. If your cat has a medical condition, ask your veterinarian about its food.

Source: sites.tufts.edu

Barley supplies starch for energy and some fiber, including a soluble fiber called beta-glucan. Tufts veterinary nutritionists say fiber in carbohydrate sources can nourish gut bacteria and improve stool quality. Pettings still scores barley 2 out of 5, because a grain takes up room in a recipe that meat and fat would otherwise fill.

Source: sites.tufts.edu

No. Barley is a cereal grain, so a food that lists barley is not grain-free. Some recipes use barley as their grain in place of corn or wheat, and their labels may describe the food as grain-inclusive or made with whole grains. If you want a grain-free food, check the full ingredient list rather than the front of the bag.

Barley is the grain, the seed of the barley plant, used as a starch and fiber source. Barley grass is the young green shoot of the same plant, cut before the grain forms and usually dried into a powder. Barley grass goes into cat food in much smaller amounts. Pettings scores both 2 out of 5 and keeps a separate page for each.

Pettings scores barley 2 out of 5 and lists it as a grain, potato or other carb source. We found it on 13 of the 149 dry cat foods in our list. The ingredient score is separate from a food's overall score, which you can see on each food's page.