Chicken Heart

It shows that the manufacturer is aiming for a formula close to a cat's natural diet.

Chicken heart is a muscle organ that cat foods use as a named animal protein. The Merck Veterinary Manual explains that taurine is a dietary requirement for cats and that plant proteins lack it, so cats need animal protein or added taurine. Heart muscle is a natural source of taurine. For a cat with heart disease or another medical condition, ask your veterinarian about its diet.

Source: merckvetmanual.com

Chicken heart adds protein that is similar in quality to muscle meat, since the heart is a muscle that works all the time. It contains more taurine than red muscle meat, plus iron, zinc and B vitamins. Recipes that list heart are usually trying to come closer to the mix of organs and muscle a cat would get from whole prey.

Cats cannot make enough taurine on their own, so it has to come from food. The Merck Veterinary Manual states that taurine deficiency can cause dilated cardiomyopathy, a heart muscle disease, and central retinal degeneration in cats. Plant proteins lack taurine, which is why cat foods rely on animal protein or add synthetic taurine. AAFCO nutrient profiles set a minimum for it.

Source: merckvetmanual.com

The difference is only in how the heart was processed. Chicken heart on a label is the fresh organ, which is mostly water. Freeze-dried chicken heart has had the water removed at very low temperature, so the same weight holds much more protein. Pettings counts Chicken Hearts, Freeze Dried Chicken Heart and Freeze-Dried Chicken Heart as the same ingredient.

Pettings gives chicken heart 5 out of 5 and lists it as a named animal protein. It appears on 7 of the 149 dry cat foods we list, counting its freeze-dried forms. The score reflects the ingredient only. Each food's page shows how it scores overall.