Beets

Foods with beets call for caution in cats that have had calcium oxalate urinary stones, because beets contain oxalate.

Beets are a root vegetable, and in cat food they show up as small amounts of dried or ground beet. They contain fiber and folate, and their red color comes from a pigment called betanin. We found no FDA or Merck guidance specific to beets in cat food, and cat studies are limited. If your cat has a medical condition, your veterinarian can tell you whether ingredients like this matter for its diet.

Beets are added as a vegetable source of fiber and color. Whole beet is different from beet pulp, the fiber left after sugar is pressed out of sugar beets, which is far more common in pet food. A label that says beets means the root vegetable itself, usually in small amounts.

Beets are the whole root vegetable, while beet pulp is the fibrous material left after sugar is extracted from sugar beets. Beet pulp is used mainly as a fiber source and contains little sugar. Whole beets keep their natural pigment and sugar. The two are separate entries on an ingredient list and on Pettings.

Yes, beet pigment can tint urine or stool red or pink in some animals and people, a harmless effect often called beeturia in humans. The small amount of beet in dry cat food makes this unlikely. Red urine in a cat can also signal blood or a urinary problem, so a cat with red urine should be seen by a veterinarian.

Pettings gives beets 3 out of 5 and lists it as a fruit or vegetable ingredient. It appears on 1 of the 149 dry cat foods we list. The page describes beets as a root vegetable with a red antioxidant pigment called betanin. Each food's page shows how it scores overall.