Are these treats nutritionally sound?

[yourmine]

I just spent about an hour in the pet store trying to find some decent treats for Zeek. I found these two in the cat section. Do they seem appropriate as treats (not to be used as a main food source)?

Nutro Natural Choice Complete Care Weight Management Chincken and LIver Chunks in Gravy: This is a wet food that comes in 3 oz pouches as well as cans

IngredientsChicken Broth, Chicken, Chicken Liver, Wheat Gluten, Turkey, Rice Flour, Beet Pulp, Dried Egg Product, Herring Meal, Glycine, Defluorinated Phosphate, Guar Gum, Sunflower Oil, Menhaden Fish Oil, Potassium Chloride, Brewers Dried Yeast, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Proteinate, Manganous Sulfate, Potassium Iodide, Sodium Selenite, Sodium Ascorbate (source of Vitamin C), DL-Methionine, Taurine, Chicory Extract, Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Niacin, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Biotin.

Guaranteed AnalysisCrude Protein (minimum) 6.50%
Crude Fat (minimum) 2.00%
Crude Fat (maximum) 3.50%
Crude Fiber (maximum) 1.00%
Moisture (maximum) 82.00%
Ash (maximum) 2.50%
Linoleic Acid (minimum) 0.65%
Magnesium (maximum) 0.022%
Zinc (minimum) 50 mg/kg
Vitamin E (minimum) 50 IU/kg
Taurine (minimum) 0.036%
L-Carnitine (minimum)* 20 mg/kg
Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) (min.)* 0.012%
Ascorbic Acid (minimum)* 10 mg/kg

Bil-Jac Cat Treats Chicken Flavor: These are moist cat treats

Ingredients:
Chicken Liver, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Flour, Chicken, Glycerin, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Wheat Flour, Phosphoric Acid, Salt, Calcium Propionate and Potassium SOrbate and Citric Acid and BHA (Preservatives), Titanium Dioxide.

Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protien (Minimum) 25%
Crude Fat (Minimum) 10%
Crude Fiber (Maximum) 2%
Moisture (Maximum) 30%

[Pippin'sMom]

The first one sounds fine the second one, no. BHA is used as a preservative, definately stay away from that.

[yourmine]

I was wondering about the BHA, what exactly is that?

[Ododad]

I was wondering about the BHA, what exactly is that?
You mean you actually understand what the rest of that stuff is? :laugh:
I'm sorry, I'm not helping much am I? :rolleyes:

[yourmine]

You mean you actually understand what the rest of that stuff is? :laugh:
I'm sorry, I'm not helping much am I? :rolleyes:

Actually, in that second one, that was the only ingredient I wasn't familiar with. I guess I spent too much time reading food labels huh? :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

[paris26]

BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole)

BHA and the related compound butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) have been used for years, mostly in foods that are high in fats and oils. They slow the development of off-flavors, odors, and color changes caused by oxidation

http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/fdpreser.html

[yourmine]

Thanks for that link! Yeah, if it promotes cancer I sure don't want to feed it to my hedgie! They're too prone to cancer as it is!

[PrettyHate]

I didnt go to the link but BHA, BHT and Ethoxyquin are all things to stay away from. All of them are used as preservatives and like you said, they have been linked to cancer! Not only that, but the levels of these preservatives can be up to 300 times higher in pet foods than foods that are "fit" for human consumption.

The thing that I find disturbing is that it is getting harder and harder to find HUMAN foods on the shelves that do not contain BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin. While reading lables one morning ( I read food lables while eating....it gives me something to do) I found that most of the cereals and crackers in our house contain at least one of those preservatives. And these we what I would consider to be good cereals (like Vector...mmm). It is no wonder that the rates of cancer in both humans and animals has been going up in the past years. It sickens me what can be put into foods- both those of humans, and pets!

On a side note, that second cat treat also contains by-products. Not life threatening, but kinna icky just the same!