Chickpeas

Chickpeas, also called garbanzo beans, are legumes used in many grain-free dry foods as a starch source. FDA investigated reports of dilated cardiomyopathy, a heart muscle disease, in pets eating foods high in peas, lentils, other legume seeds or potatoes. Of 524 reports through April 2019, 9 involved cats. FDA has not named a cause. For a cat with a heart or other medical condition, ask your veterinarian about diet.

Source: fda.gov

Chickpeas replace grains as a starch source in grain-free kibble. Dry food needs some starch to hold its shape during cooking, and chickpeas also bring fiber and plant protein. That protein raises the protein percentage on the label without coming from meat. The Cornell Feline Health Center describes cats as obligate carnivores that rely on nutrients found only in animal products, so chickpeas cannot stand in for meat.

Source: vet.cornell.edu

Yes. Chickpeas and garbanzo beans are the same seed, and cat food labels may also list them as whole chickpeas. They belong to the pulses, the dried edible seeds of legume plants, along with lentils and dry peas. Tufts veterinary nutritionists use the word pulses when they discuss diets under study for diet-associated heart disease, and they note that cats appear less sensitive to it than dogs.

Source: sites.tufts.edu

Cats have only a limited need for carbohydrate. The Merck Veterinary Manual says cats are adapted to a moderate intake of complex carbohydrates and are normally in a state of continuous gluconeogenesis, making their own glucose from protein. Merck treats carbohydrate as a dietary need only for nursing queens, at a minimum of 10% of dry matter. In kibble, chickpeas mostly add starch.

Source: merckvetmanual.com

Pettings gives chickpeas 2 out of 5 and lists them as a legume. They appear on 24 of the 149 dry cat foods we list, sometimes under the label name Whole Chickpeas. They add fiber and raise blood sugar slowly, but their plant protein lifts the label protein figure without meat. Each food's page shows how it scores overall.