Tiny Tiger Cat Food Ingredients
Tiny Tiger manufactures roughly 18 different cat food products.
Each product utilizes a unique set of ingredients to achieve a desired nutritional profile.
In this article, we'll explore Tiny Tiger ingredients and answer many of the most common questions.
As of right now, our records indicate that Tiny Tiger uses roughly
56 different ingredients.
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 is an artificial dye which the FDA has confirmed can cause cancer in laboratory animals.
The following recipes contain red 3:
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, 1
animal by-product ingredient was 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.
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.</p><p>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:
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 6 anonymous meat ingredients used by
Tiny Tiger.
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:
Meat broth provides both flavor and moisture; however, as with other broths, meat broth does not provide any notable nutritional contribution. In addition, we typically prefer the specific type of meat specified (lamb broth, beef broth, venison broth, etc), which is not done here.
The following recipes contain meat broth:
Ocean fish can refer to multiple species of fish, since the particular type of fish is not specified, it's difficult to discuss this ingredient. The nutritional contribution of ocean fish depends on the species included; however, fish generally provides high quality protein and fat.
The following recipes contain ocean fish:
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:
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.</p><p>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:
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:
Cereal Grains
For cats, we typically recommend choosing a grain-free recipe. Cats are
obligate carnivores and therefore grains are not species appropriate.
According to our data, Tiny Tiger cat food recipes do not
contain grains. In other words, all recipes are grain-free.
Please note, 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.
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 4 controversial
ingredients inside Tiny Tiger products. These controversial ingredients are
listed below. Click on each ingredient for more information.
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:
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:
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.</p><p>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:
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:
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 2 harmful ingredients used in certain
Tiny Tiger recipes. To learn more, click on the ingredient's name.
Red 3 is an artificial dye which the FDA has confirmed can cause cancer in laboratory animals.
The following recipes contain red 3:
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:
Tiny Tiger Cat Food Ingredient Lists
