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Tiny Tiger Cat Food Ingredients

According to our research, Tiny Tiger manufactures 28 cat food recipes using 105 unique ingredients. To evaluate the quality of ingredients used by Tiny Tiger, we've studied all 105 ingredients. In this article, we'll share our findings on Tiny Tiger ingredients.

Cat Food Recipes	28
Unique Ingredients	105
Artificial Colors	2
Animal By-Products	2
Anonymous Meats	4
Controversial	11
Harmful	3

First 5 Ingredients

Cat food ingredients in the United States are listed in descending order of pre-cooked weight. The first 5 ingredients typically constitute a significant portion of the recipe.

For Tiny Tiger, these are the most common ingredients found within the first 5 cat food ingredients.

fish broth
liver
liver
chicken
meat by-products

As you can see, the most common first ingredient in Tiny Tiger is fish broth. The most common 2nd ingredient is liver, followed by liver, chicken, and meat by-products.

Artificial Food Coloring Dyes

Our records indicate that Tiny Tiger does use artificial food coloring dyes. More specifically, we've identified 2 artificial food dyes used by Tiny Tiger.

Although these food dyes are classified as Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) by the FDA, we recommend avoiding them when possible.

According to the Center For Research In The Public Interest (CSPI), there are many potential health risks associated with the consumption of artificial food coloring dyes.

Given that most pets consume the same products for prolonged periods of time, these concerns should be taken seriously. In general, we recommend pet owners avoid feeding products which contain artificial food coloring dyes.

For more information regarding the CSPI's findings, read our artificial food coloring article.

red 3

1 Recipes

Red 3 is an artificial dye which the FDA has confirmed can cause cancer in laboratory animals.

The following recipes contain red 3:

Tiny Tiger Grain-Free Pate Salmon Recipe

added color

4 Recipes

The ingredient "added color" is ambiguous and may include various artificial dyes. Most artificial dyes have been linked to various chronic diseases.

The following recipes contain added color:

Animal By-Products

Tiny Tiger does indeed use animal by-products. More specifically, 2 animal by-product ingredients were found during our analysis of Tiny Tiger cat food ingredients.

According to AAFCO, by-products are defined as the non-rendered, clean parts, other than meat, derived from slaughtered mammals. In other words, animal by-products are the leftover ingredients that humans typically do not consume (lung, heart, tongue, stomach, intestine, blood, etc).

Many consumers have equated animal by-products with slaughterhouse waste. Animal by-products are still very controversial. Most premium brands have abandoned them in favor of specific named organ ingredients (duck liver, chicken heart, etc).

If you must feed a product with animal by-products, ensure that the specific animal source is specified. In other words, avoid ingredients such as meat by-products or poultry by-products.

meat by-products

18 Recipes

By-products are defined by AAFCO as the "non-rendered, clean parts, other than meat, derived from slaughtered mammals." Thus, meat by-products contain nearly all parts of the animal which are typically not consumed by humans. These parts include the liver, lung, spleen, kidney, stomach, blood, intestine, bone, etc.

This ingredient is marked controversial because the meat source is not identified. Anonymous ingredients such as meat by-products are typically very low quality additions. The most unpleasing property of this ingredient is that the animal source can contain any mammal, even dogs & cats.

The following recipes contain meat by-products:

chicken by-product meal

5 Recipes

Chicken by-product meal is produced by cooking chicken by-products using a process called rendering. By-products are defined by AAFCO as the "non-rendered, clean parts, other than meat, derived from slaughtered mammals." Thus, chicken by-products contain nearly all parts of chickens which are typically not consumed by humans. These parts include the liver, lung, spleen, kidney, stomach, blood, intestine, bone, etc.

Like other meat by-products, chicken by-products are considered controversial, mainly because they are inexpensive ingredients which consumers have equated with slaughterhouse waste. However, manufactures and many experts claim that animal by-products are unjustly criticized. Proponents state that "named" by-products, such as chicken by-products, supply many important nutrients required by cats.

The following recipes contain chicken by-product meal:

Anonymous Meat Ingredients

Anonymous meats are animal-based ingredients which do not provide the source animal's name. These ingredients are controversial because they can come from almost any animal.

In addition, anonymous animal-based ingredients are very inexpensive and often the lowest quality meats that are still allowed to be used in pet food.

In general, we do not recommend feeding any products which contain anonymous meats. When in doubt, always contact the brand's customer service desk for further clarification.

Unfortunately, we've identified 4 anonymous meat ingredients used by Tiny Tiger.

fish

4 Recipes

Fish is typically an excellent protein and fat source. However, the specific type of fish is not mentioned and therefore we cannot discuss any specific qualities of this ingredient. In general, anonymous ingredients are low quality inclusions when compared to ingredients such as mackerel, cod, salmon, etc.

The following recipes contain fish:

poultry

2 Recipes

Poultry is a controversial ingredient because the source animal is not specified. Anonymous ingredients such as poultry are typically low-quality ingredients in comparison to named protein sources (e.g. chicken, turkey, duck).

The following recipes contain poultry:

meat by-products

18 Recipes

The following recipes contain meat by-products:

poultry giblets

1 Recipes

Poultry giblets includes the heart, liver, gizzards, and other internal organs of poultry. Organs are nutritiously dense ingredients which provide high quality protein and fat. However, this particular ingredient is considered an anonymous meat ingredient because the type of poultry is not specified. In order words, "named" giblets such as chicken giblets or turkey giblets are preferred over poultry giblets.

The following recipes contain poultry giblets:

Tiny Tiger Grain-Free Pate Turkey & Giblets Recipe

Cereal Grains

Certain Tiny Tiger cat food recipes contain one or more grains. The specific ingredients are listed below.

For cats, we typically recommend choosing a grain-free recipe. Cats are obligate carnivores and therefore grains are not species appropriate.

The kibble production requires a binding agent. Grains are commonly used for this purpose in cat food. When purchasing grain-free cat food, grains are often replaced with another starchy source. This is also not ideal.

To avoid grains and other starchy additions, consider feeding wet or frozen recipes.

ground grain sorghum

1 Recipes

Ground grain sorghum is a gluten-free carbohydrate source. This cereal grain also provides a modest amount of B vitamins and minerals such as magnesium, iron, phosphorus, and manganese.

The following recipes contain ground grain sorghum:

Tiny Tiger Natural Indoor Recipe Chicken Flavored Food For Cats

corn gluten meal

5 Recipes

Corn gluten meal is a by-product from the production of various corn products (corn starch, corn syrup, etc). It's very high in protein (nearly 60% protein) and therefore can significant boost the protein content of the product. Because plant based proteins such as corn gluten meal are inferior to meat based proteins (lack many essential amino acids), they are not suitable substitutes.

The following recipes contain corn gluten meal:

ground corn

2 Recipes

Ground corn is a cereal grain which provides a modest amount of vitamins, minerals, and plant based protein. It also happens to be one of the most controversial ingredients in cat food.

Proponents of corn claim that corn is highly digestible and an excellent source of protein, energy, vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids.

Opponents however believe that positive claims in regards to corn are either half-truths or completely false, we'll discuss a few of the opposing arguments.

In regards to digestibility, the claims of "highly digestible" are only true if corn is processed into a meal or flour and subsequently cooked. In regards to the protein contribution, we must note that corn is a plant based protein which does not contain all of the necessary amino acids required by cats to sustain life. Therefore substituting corn for meat is an unsuitable substitution and actually degrades the overall protein quality of the product.

Finally, we'll discuss the claims about vitamins and minerals in corn. Although corn does provide many vitamins and minerals, it not necessarily an exceptional ingredient in this regards. There are many other ingredients which are more complete and biologically appropriate. Therefore the usage of corn as the primary ingredient in cat food should certainly warrant further questioning.

The following recipes contain ground corn:

brewers rice

5 Recipes

Brewer's rice is the small fragments of rice kernel that are separated from the larger kernels of milled rice. The fragments do not contain the same nutrition profile of the whole kernel and therefore brewer's rice is a lower quality grain. Brewer's rice is typically regarded as an inexpensive and low quality filler.

The following recipes contain brewers rice:

ground wheat

1 Recipes

Ground wheat is regarded as an inexpensive and low-quality filler in pet food. However, wheat does provide plant-based protein and makes pet food more affordable for consumers. It's important to note that plant based protein does not provide the same amino acid profile as meat based protein.

The following recipes contain ground wheat:

Tiny Tiger Natural Complete Recipe Chicken Flavored Food For Cats

Controversial Ingredients

In most cases, ingredients which are given the controversial classification can be substituted with higher-quality alternatives. You should evaluate each controversial ingredient independently to see if there is truly a valid cause for concern.

Keep in mind, certain sacrifices often must be made to produce cat foods at a reasonable price. In general, the more expensive the product, the fewer controversial ingredients you'll find.

In our analysis, we've identified 11 controversial ingredients inside Tiny Tiger products. These controversial ingredients are listed below. Click on each ingredient for more information.

corn gluten meal

5 Recipes

The following recipes contain corn gluten meal:

ground corn

2 Recipes

Ground corn is a cereal grain which provides a modest amount of vitamins, minerals, and plant based protein. It also happens to be one of the most controversial ingredients in cat food.

Proponents of corn claim that corn is highly digestible and an excellent source of protein, energy, vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids.

Opponents however believe that positive claims in regards to corn are either half-truths or completely false, we'll discuss a few of the opposing arguments.

The following recipes contain ground corn:

brewers rice

5 Recipes

The following recipes contain brewers rice:

ground wheat

1 Recipes

The following recipes contain ground wheat:

Tiny Tiger Natural Complete Recipe Chicken Flavored Food For Cats

caramel color

3 Recipes

Caramel color is a concentrated form of caramel, a natural food colorant. Caramel color has been linked to cancer in laboratory animals. Since our pets do not care about food color, caramel color is an unnecessary addition with possible health risks.

The following recipes contain caramel color:

poultry

2 Recipes

The following recipes contain poultry:

liver

18 Recipes

Liver is a controversial ingredient because the source animal is not specified. Anonymous animal ingredients are typically very low quality and may contain almost any animal, including dogs and cats!

The following recipes contain liver:

meat by-products

18 Recipes

The following recipes contain meat by-products:

poultry giblets

1 Recipes

The following recipes contain poultry giblets:

Tiny Tiger Grain-Free Pate Turkey & Giblets Recipe

chicken by-product meal

5 Recipes

The following recipes contain chicken by-product meal:

corn flour

3 Recipes

Corn flour a ground cereal grain which provides a modest amount of vitamins, minerals, and plant based protein. It also happens to be one of the most controversial ingredients in cat food.

Proponents of corn claim that corn is highly digestible and an excellent source of protein, energy, vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids.

Opponents however believe that positive claims in regards to corn are either half-truths or completely false, we'll discuss a few of the opposing arguments.

The following recipes contain corn flour:

Potentially Harmful Ingredients

Harmful ingredients are those which have been linked to adverse health effects. In general, we do not recommend feeding any product which contains any harmful ingredients.

There are certain situations where these ingredients may be necessary. We always recommend contacting Tiny Tiger for further clarification regarding any harmful or controversial ingredient.

We have identified 3 harmful ingredients used in certain Tiny Tiger recipes. To learn more, click on the ingredient's name.

red 3

1 Recipes

Red 3 is an artificial dye which the FDA has confirmed can cause cancer in laboratory animals.

The following recipes contain red 3:

Tiny Tiger Grain-Free Pate Salmon Recipe

added color

4 Recipes

The ingredient "added color" is ambiguous and may include various artificial dyes. Most artificial dyes have been linked to various chronic diseases.

The following recipes contain added color:

menadione sodium bisulfite complex

3 Recipes

Menadione sodium bisulfite complex is a synthetic version of vitamin K that has been linked to many health concerns. Research has suggested possible toxic reactions in liver cells and red blood cells among other serious problems. In fact, one large chemical supplier warns, "The substance is toxic to kidneys, lungs, liver, mucous membranes. Repeated or prolonged exposure to the substance can produce target organs damage."

The following recipes contain menadione sodium bisulfite complex: