There are many sites that have attempted to answer some of these questions, but few if any have been successful. For example, most of us have heard time and time again that corn is bad for dogs and cats. The usual justification for this information is that dogs have a difficult time digesting this ingredient. Also, many argue that corn is one of the leading causes of allergies in dogs and cats. Is this true?
Actual Answer: Yes and No
Yes, it is true that many of the pets that come into our stores that have skin problems benefit substantially from eliminating corn from their diet. Whole corn, corn by-product, or corn meal have virtually no benefit to cats and dogs and should not be in your pet’s food.
No, corn is not totally useless. Corn gluten meal has been found to help prevent cataracts in cats. It must be processed, however, in such a way that it is digestible for cats. To my knowledge, only Royal Canin has the ability to process in this manner and therefore contains corn gluten meal in some of its cat products.
Is corn gluten meal necessary? Not according to the majority of super-premium pet foods and I would agree. I think there are more problems than benefits from its inclusion.
More Information About Chicken Fat in Pet Food
There is some controversy over the use of chicken fat in pet food and whether it is an allergen or not to some dogs and cats. The fact of the matter is that fat in its purest form is not an allergen. Dogs and cats cannot be allergic to pure chicken fat even if they have a chicken allergy. The allergy comes from a reaction to the receptors on chicken protein. Unfortunately, not all pet foods “clarify”, or purify their chicken fat enough to eliminate all protein residues.
