Wellness Cat Food Ingredients
Wellness manufactures roughly 100 different cat food products.
Each product utilizes a unique set of ingredients to achieve a desired nutritional profile.
In this article, we'll explore Wellness ingredients and answer many of the most common questions.
As of right now, our records indicate that Wellness uses roughly
137 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 Wellness, these are the most common ingredients found within the first
5 cat food ingredients.
- chicken
- water sufficient for processing
- water sufficient for processing
- potato starch
- dried egg whites
As you can see, the most common first ingredient in Wellness is
chicken. The most common 2nd ingredient is
water sufficient for processing, followed by water sufficient for processing,
potato starch, and dried egg whites.
Artificial Food Coloring Dyes
Wellness does not use any artificial food coloring dyes. According
to our records, none of the 100 Wellness cat foods
contain artificial food dyes.
Artificial food coloring dyes are unnecessary and potentially harmful ingredients. In general,
we not not recommend feeding any pet foods that contain artificial dyes.
In 2010, the CSPI raised serious concerns regarding the safety of many artificial dyes. Most
of the studies referenced by the CSPI involved prolonged or excessive consumption. Since most
cats consume the same foods throughout their lives, concerns raised by the CSPI are alarming
to say the least.
To read more about Artificial Food Dyes,
click here.
Animal By-Products
According to our records, Wellness does not contain any animal by-products.
Animal by-products are basically the leftover parts of the the carcass after
its been processed for meat. AAFCO defines by-products as the non-rendered,
clean parts, other than meat, derived from slaughtered mammals.
Although by-products are still fairly nutritious ingredients, consumers have equated them with
slaughterhouse waste. Therefore, most premium brands, including Wellness have
decided to remove by-products and instead use named organ meats (beef liver, chicken gizzards).
For further reading on the controversy over animal by-products,
click here.
Anonymous Meat Ingredients
Anonymous meats are inexpensive low-quality ingredients that can come from practically any
animal. These type of ingredients are often used to produce very inexpensive cat foods.
In general, we prefer ingredients which specify the animal source used to derive the ingredient.
For example, ingredients such as duck fat are much better than animal fat or poultry fat.
In our analysis, we've looked through all 137 Wellness
ingredients. According to our data, Wellness does not contain any
anonymous animal-based ingredients.
Cereal Grains
Certain Wellness 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.
Barley is a nutritious carbohydrate source, naturally rich in dietary fiber and various minerals. Unlike pearled barley, regular barley contains the entire grain.
The following recipes contain barley:
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:
Oats are an excellent carbohydrate source with considerable nutrients in addition to dietary fiber. More specifically, oats are rich in B vitamins and various minerals including manganese.
The following recipes contain oats:
Oatmeal is simply coarsely ground oats and therefore contains the entire oat grain. As with regular oats, oatmeal is rich in dietary fiber, B vitamins, and various minerals.
The following recipes contain oatmeal:
Rice is a gluten-free carbohydrate source. As long as the bran and germ of the grain are intact, rice can provide a notable amount of fiber and nutrition. However, because the type of rice ("brown" or "white") is not specified, we cannot make this determination.
The following recipes contain rice:
Ground brown rice is naturally rich in fiber and various minerals including manganese, phosphorus, and magnesium. Relative to other grains, ground brown rice is easy to digest.
The following recipes contain ground brown rice:
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 6 controversial
ingredients inside Wellness products. These controversial ingredients are
listed below. Click on each ingredient for more information.
Dried tomato pomace is a by-product of tomato manufacturing. It's considered a controversial ingredient because many people believe it is an inexpensive low quality filler. However, tomato pomace provides a notable amount of dietary fiber, B vitamins, Lycopene, and vitamin A. Although it is a very inexpensive ingredient, it is not nutritionally empty.
The following recipes contain dried tomato pomace:
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:
Pea protein is produced by removing the starchy parts of peas. Pea protein is considered controversial because it provides a substantial plant based protein boost. This boost is undesirable because plant based protein is typically lower in biological value when compared to meat based proteins.
The following recipes contain pea protein:
Canola oil is a plant-derived oil from the seeds of canola plants. Although fat is an essential component of any diet, canola oil is controversial in pet food. Proponents claim that canola oil provides a better fat profile in comparison to other plant based oils. However, opponents claim that canola oil is typically produced with genetically modified rapeseed and that rapeseed oil has multiple adverse health affects.
The following recipes contain canola oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols):
Canola oil is a plant-derived oil from the seeds of canola plants. Although fat is an essential component of any diet, canola oil is controversial in pet food. Proponents claim that canola oil provides a better fat profile in comparison to other plant based oils. However, opponents claim that canola oil is typically produced with genetically modified rapeseed and that rapeseed oil has multiple adverse health affects.
The following recipes contain canola oil:
Tomato pomace is a by-product of tomato manufacturing. It's considered a controversial ingredient because many people believe it is an inexpensive low quality filler. However, tomato pomace provides a notable amount of dietary fiber, B vitamins, Lycopene, and vitamin A. Although it is a very inexpensive ingredient, it is not nutritionally empty.
The following recipes contain tomato pomace:
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 Wellness for further clarification regarding any harmful or
controversial ingredient.
We have identified 2 harmful ingredients used in certain
Wellness recipes. To learn more, click on the ingredient's name.
Menadione sodium bisulfite 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:
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:
Wellness Cat Food Ingredient Lists