Calcium Chloride

It is used to adjust the balance between calcium and phosphorus in the food, while supplying calcium and chloride.

Calcium chloride is a calcium salt used in small amounts in foods. It supplies calcium, and in some products it also helps firm textures or gels. The Merck Veterinary Manual notes that calcium deficiencies are uncommon in cats eating complete and balanced diets. If your cat has a medical condition that affects calcium or kidney function, talk with your veterinarian about its diet.

Source: merckvetmanual.com

Calcium chloride is a salt made of calcium and chloride. It dissolves easily in water, which makes it useful in wet foods and in some processing steps. On a cat food label it counts as a source of both calcium and chloride, two minerals that are part of a cat's nutrient profile.

No. Table salt is sodium chloride. Calcium chloride contains calcium in place of sodium, so it adds calcium and chloride to a food without adding sodium. The two share a chloride part, which is why their names sound alike. Check the ingredient list to see which one a food uses.

Calcium chloride can help certain gums, such as some forms of alginate and carrageenan, set into a gel. In wet cat foods it may be used alongside these gums to firm loaves and chunks. In dry foods it is mostly a mineral source.

Pettings gives calcium chloride 3 out of 5 and lists it as a mineral. It appears on 11 of the 149 dry cat foods we list. Our How We Score page explains how ingredient scores are set. Each food's page shows how it scores overall.