Dried Cranberries

Dried cranberries are cranberries with most of their water removed, used in small amounts in some cat foods. Dried cranberries sold as snacks for people are often sweetened, which is a separate product from the dried fruit used as a pet food ingredient. We found no FDA or Merck guidance specific to cranberries in cat food. If your cat has a medical condition, ask your veterinarian about its diet.

Dried cranberries are used because they keep well and blend into dry kibble. Makers add them for the same reasons as fresh cranberries, mainly the fruit's link to urinary health in people. The Pettings page notes there is no strong evidence that cranberry prevents urinary tract infections in cats.

Cranberries on a label usually means whole or ground fruit, while dried cranberries means the fruit was dehydrated before it went into the recipe. Since ingredients are listed by weight as they are added, the Merck Veterinary Manual explains, a dried fruit can rank differently from the same fruit added fresh. Pettings lists the two names as separate ingredients.

Source: merckvetmanual.com

Not necessarily. Snack dried cranberries for people are often coated in sugar, but a pet food ingredient list must name each ingredient, so added sugar would appear on the label as its own entry. Check the full ingredient list. The cranberries themselves contain natural sugars, but the small amount in dry food adds little.

Pettings gives dried cranberries 3 out of 5 and lists it as a fruit or vegetable ingredient. It appears on 4 of the 149 dry cat foods we list. The page describes cranberries as a fruit often linked with urinary health. Each food's page shows how it scores overall.