Gluten and grain free diets have surged in popularity for cats in recent years and choosing the best food for your cat is something to take seriously. This trend towards gluten free probably has a lot to do with the rise in humans eating gluten free, often for Celiac Disease - or intolerance to wheat and gluten.
Considering this increase in popularity, makers of cat food have caught on and begun formulating gluten free cat foods that are available in most stores. However, it’s good to know the facts before deciding if you cat should be gluten free.
Gluten is a protein found in certain kinds of grain (such as rye, barley, and wheat). However, not all grains contain gluten - so grain free cat food is not necessarily the same thing as gluten free cat food.
Most of the time, a cat does not need to be on a grain free/gluten free diet. Many cat owners believe that opting for grain free cat food is the best way to help a cat be on a low carbohydrate, high protein diet (excellent diets for diabetic cats). However, many grain free cat foods contain the same amount of carbs (or even more) as regular cat food, as grains are often replaced with potatoes or something similar.
While you may choose gluten free cat food to do your cat having a food allergy, grains are not among common allergens in felines. The most common allergens for cats are beef, dairy, and fish. Symptoms of a food allergy in your cat could include itching, hair loss, baldness, inflammation, sores/scabs, or hot spots. If your cat has these symptoms, experimenting with grain free cat food could lead to beneficial results. However, considering how uncommon it is for cats to have an allergy to gluten, these symptoms are most likely caused by something else.
Instead of simply settling for conventional cat food found at your local grocery store that could be full of contaminants, we recommend going with a super-premium all-natural cat food. At Snappy Tom, or number one priority is the health and well-being of your cat, and that’s why real chicken or fish is always the number one ingredient. Your cat is sure to fall in love!
Chances are, you don’t need to go out of your way to get gluten free cat food - that’s the bottom line. In very rare cases, you may have a gluten intolerant cat, but it is highly unlikely.