Commercial cat treats have become increasingly popular over the years, with pet owners looking for convenient ways to provide snacks and rewards to their feline companions. However, many mass-produced treats contain artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives that may not align with cat owners' desires to feed their pets natural, healthy foods. This article will examine the types of artificial additives used in cat treats and potential associated health risks, as well as reasons why homemade treats without these additives are a better option.
Common Artificial Flavors and Colors in Cat Treats
Artificial flavors are compounds added to cat treats and other pet foods to enhance or mimic natural flavors. They may be derived from natural sources or created synthetically in a lab. Common artificial flavors found in cat treats include beef, fish, chicken, liver, cheese, and milk. While the flavors sound appetizing to humans, cats have a much weaker sense of taste than people do. Their flavor preferences are driven by smell rather than specific taste sensations. So artificial flavors are more for owner appeal than palatability for cats.
Artificial colors are also added to many cat treats. Colors like Red 40, Yellow 5, and Blue 2 provide eye appeal for pet owners when choosing treats. But cats do not perceive colors as vividly as humans do, so the dyes do not enhance treats from a cat's point of view. Some studies indicate cats may only see shades of grey, blue, and yellow. So artificial colors cater more to owners' expectations of how treats should look versus improving treats for cats.
Potential Health Risks of Artificial Ingredients
While artificial flavors and colors may seem harmless, some studies have linked them to potential health risks to your furry family friend. Specific concerns include:
- Cancer - Controversy exists around whether certain dyes and preservatives could potentially cause cancer. Groups like the Center for Science in the Public Interest have called for warning labels on foods containing some dyes. More research is still needed, but it raises questions around long-term exposure for pets eating treats with these additives regularly.
- Allergies and skin irritation - Some cats may have sensitivities or allergies to artificial dyes and other additives. Reactions can include itchiness, gastrointestinal upset, or skin irritation. Dyes like Red 40, Yellow 5, and Blue 2 are common allergens in humans and may produce similar reactions in pets.
- Immune system stress - Preservatives like BHA and BHT help extend shelf life but are suspected endocrine disruptors and may cause oxidative stress that could weaken immunity over time.
- Behavioral changes - Links between additives and behavior issues are not proven conclusively but some cat owners and vets suspect artificial colors may contribute to hyperactivity or aggression in sensitive animals.
The cumulative effect of years of exposure to various artificial additives is impossible to measure definitively. Long-term controlled studies looking at the lifelong impact of food dyes, preservatives, and synthetic flavors have not been done in cats or dogs. This leaves pet owners and veterinarians to extrapolate from limited research on laboratory animals and humans.
Given the relatively short average lifespans of cats and dogs compared to people, even moderate health risks from additives could be magnified over the course of a pet's life. The average lifespan of an indoor cat is 15-20 years, while dogs average 10-14 years depending on breed. Humans have an average lifespan of 71-81 years globally. This means a pet may experience a compressed version of long-term effects that would take decades to manifest in humans.
Some research gives pause regarding artificial ingredient exposure over many years. For example, one study found mice fed a mixture of common food dyes over 18 months had a significantly higher risk of liver cancer than control mice. Another study showed mice fed food dye mixtures for just 9 weeks exhibited altered immune responses. Male mice in the test group also had changes in neurotransmitter levels in the brain.
Such findings to pets suggests that even ingesting small amounts of artificial additives daily may plausibly impact health in ways that compound over time. Because pets' lives are relatively short, a cautious approach to anything with suspected long-term toxicity makes sense for owners looking to optimize their pet's wellbeing. Eliminating controversial additives like artificial colors and flavors errs on the side of caution while posing no risk to pets' health.
In light of the limited but concerning research, many pet nutrition experts recommend avoiding unnecessary artificial additives whenever possible. The precautionary principle advocates taking preventative action even when definitive evidence of harm is lacking. Given pets' compressed lifespans, a precautionary approach seems especially warranted for their diet. The worst-case scenario of avoiding certain additives is simply maintaining the status quo of the natural pet diet, while the potential upside is reduced risk of chronic disease later in a pet's life.
Benefits of Homemade Cat Treats Without Artificial Ingredients
For cat owners looking to avoid artificial additives, homemade treats offer a simpler, more transparent option. Some benefits of homemade treats include:
- Complete control over ingredients - Cat owners can choose healthy, natural ingredients tailored to their pet's dietary needs and preferences. Common options are real meat, fish, eggs, cheese, wheat flour, oats, and fruits/veggies.
- Avoidance of controversial additives - Home cooking allows exclusion of any preservatives, flavors, dyes, or other additives the owner wants to avoid.
- Use of recognizable, pronounceable ingredients - Owners can more easily understand what is going into treats when they are crafted from a short list of whole foods.
- Ability to accommodate allergies or intolerances - Common feline allergens like fish, chicken, wheat, and more can easily be left out of customized home recipes.
- Healthier ratios of protein, fat, and carbs - Many commercial treats are heavy on carbohydrates but homemade recipes can have more balanced macronutrient profiles.
- Economical in the long-run - While homemade treats take more effort than grabbing a bag off the shelf, over time bulk ingredients prove cheaper per treat.
- Fun bonding activity - Cooking treats together provides quality time between pets and owners. Cats may show more interest and excitement in treats they see being prepared.
- Adds variety alongside commercial treats - For owners not ready to replace all treats, homemade ones make healthy additions to commercial ones in a cat's diet.
With a little research into safe recipes, equipment like molds and cookie cutters for shaping, and proper storage, homemade treats can become a regular part of any cat's diet. Even mixing homemade and commercial treats is better than relying solely on mass-produced ones with ingredients of questionable health impact. Cat owners wanting to take an active role in providing the safest, healthiest diet possible for their pets should strongly consider preparing homemade treats on a routine basis.
Conclusion
Commercial cat treats certainly offer convenience for pet owners, allowing quick purchase of snacks and rewards for cats. However, this convenience comes with some potential downsides. Many mass-produced treats contain controversial ingredients like artificial preservatives, colors, and flavors. They may also have mystery ingredients of questionable nutritional value, as well as imbalanced nutrient profiles biased toward carbohydrates.
Specifically, preservatives like BHA and BHT keep treats shelf-stable but have raised health concerns in some studies, being linked to cancer and organ damage in animals. Artificial colors like Red 40 provide visual appeal to owners but no benefit to cats, while exposing pets to potential allergens and compounds with hormonal effects observed in lab research. And artificial flavors merely mimic flavors that appeal to human taste preferences rather than enhancing flavor for feline senses.
So while artificial additives make treats more convenient for owners and manufacturers, they may negatively impact cats' health over time without any upside for the animals themselves. The cumulative impact of ingesting these compounds daily over years is impossible to determine definitively, but animal studies give reason for caution and avoiding unnecessary additives.
Homemade treats allow cat owners to take control over every ingredient that goes into snacks for their pets. Owners can focus on wholesome ingredients like real meat, fish, eggs, wheat flour, cheese, and produce. All potentially concerning preservatives, artificial colors and flavors can be left out of recipes entirely. Homemade recipes can also be tailored to exclude any individual allergens a cat may have.
Beyond avoiding unwanted additives, homemade treats have other benefits. Recipes can focus on nutrient-dense ingredients and achieve healthier balances of protein, fat and carbohydrates compared to many commercial treats. Owners also know exactly what is going into each treat, rather than mysterious "meat by-products" or other questionable ingredients in mass produced foods. Making treats from scratch is more labor intensive initially, but ultimately costs less than purchasing bags of treats repeatedly. And the process of making treats together provides engaging bonding time for pets and owners.
As awareness increases among pet owners about potential health risks from artificial additives, more cat owners are exploring homemade options to take greater control over their pet's diet. Even adding some homemade treats into a cat's rotation alongside commercial ones can maximize health and minimize exposure to additives of concern. Although it requires more effort, making one's own treats avoids any risky ingredients and focuses on natural, recognizable foods that provide optimal nutrition. Given felines' relatively short lifespans, maximizing health with homemade treats is an easy change cat owners can make to promote their pet's well-being over a lifetime.
