Sorghum

Milo is another name for sorghum seen on cat food labels. It is a gluten-free grain and an unnecessary carbohydrate source for cats.

Sorghum is a cereal grain, also sold as milo, used in some cat foods as a starch source. Tufts veterinary nutritionists say cats can digest and metabolize properly cooked carbohydrates, though adult cats have no specific requirement for carbohydrate. Sorghum contains no gluten. Ask your veterinarian about the food of a cat with a medical condition.

Source: sites.tufts.edu

Sorghum supplies starch for energy and helps kibble bind. Pettings notes that it releases its starch slowly compared with refined grains. A food that uses sorghum can leave corn and wheat off its ingredient list. It still takes up space in a recipe that meat and fat could fill, which is why Pettings scores it 2 out of 5.

Yes. Sorghum does not contain gluten, the protein group found in wheat, barley and rye. That puts it with rice, corn and millet among the gluten-free grains. It is still a cereal grain, though, so a food made with sorghum cannot be called grain-free.

Recipe makers choose a grain for cost, supply, texture and how the finished food is described on the bag. Sorghum grows well in hot, dry regions and is a major feed grain in the United States. In the kibble it does the same job corn does and supplies starch. A food that uses it can leave corn off its ingredient list.

Sorghum gets 2 out of 5 from Pettings, which lists it as a grain, potato or other carb source. It shows up on 6 of the 149 dry cat foods we list. Each food's page shows how the whole recipe scores, so one ingredient score is only part of the picture.