What protein percentage is best for cats? Is grain-free food needed?

Question

What's an ideal protein percentage for cats? Is 40% to high or is it ok since cats are obligate carnivores? Also is grain free better for cats or is grains ok? Why or why not? Pet's info: Dog | Cavalier King Charles Spaniel | Female | spayed | 5 years and 3 months old | 17 lbs

Kevin Sanada, DVM · Accepted Answer

As long as the minimum Crude protein percentage is above 26%, it should be adequate for cats. However, you rarely need to worry about this, because cat foods have to meet this requirement in order to be approved by AAFCO standards. Here is a link to a short article that further explains how to choose the right cat food: https://www.petcoach.co/article/what-to-look-for-when-choosing-your-pet-s-food/ You are right that cats are carnivores, so the higher the percentage of protein, the better the food likely is for them. Grains are OK for cats and make contain some essential nutrients, so I wouldn't worry too much about them. Grain-free foods usually substitute the grain with some other source of carbohydrate, so it really would not make much of a difference which food was eaten. I, like many other veterinary professionals, find the grain-free movement quite misleading and unsupported by the facts. It's essentially just marketing and should not be taken seriously at this time. I hope that helps.

What protein percentage is best for cats? Is grain-free food needed?

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