title: Discrepancy between the composition of some commercial cat foods and their package labelling and suitability for meeting nutritional requirements.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate if the label information and nutrient composition of commercial cat foods are accurate and compliant with the Australian Standard (AS 5812-2011) and if they meet the nutritional requirements of an adult cat.
  
  
  METHODS
  A chemical analysis of 10 wet and 10 dry commercial cat foods labelled as 'nutritionally complete' for the adult cat was performed. The results were compared with the package composition values, the Australian Standard and the unique dietary requirements of the cat. In addition, the results of the chemical analysis were compared with the nutrient requirements published by the Association of the American Feed Control Officials and the National Research Council.
  
  
  RESULTS
  When compared with the Australian Standard, 9 of the 20 cat foods did not adhere to their 'guaranteed analysis' and 8 did not adhere to the standards for nutrient composition. Also, various deficiencies and excesses of crude protein, crude fat, fatty acid and amino acid were observed in the majority of the cat foods.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this study highlight a need for an improved method of ensuring that label information and nutrient composition are accurate and comply with the Australian Standard (AS 5812-2011) to ensure the adult cat's unique dietary requirements are being met by commercial adult cat food.
authors.affiliation: The University of Sydney, Faculty of Veterinary Science, New South Wales, 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: E C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Gosper
authors.affiliation: The University of Sydney, Faculty of Veterinary Science, New South Wales, 2006, Australia.|The Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Raubenheimer
authors.affiliation: The University of Sydney, Faculty of Veterinary Science, New South Wales, 2006, Australia.|The Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: G E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Machovsky-Capuska
authors.affiliation: The University of Sydney, Faculty of Veterinary Science, New South Wales, 2006, Australia. alex.chaves@sydney.edu.au.
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Chaves
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed / Q000032:analysis* / Q000592:standards*; D000824:Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D000818:Animals; D001315:Australia; D002415:Cats; D005515:Food Labeling; D009751:Nutritional Requirements
keywords: amino acids; cats; diet; fatty acids; nutritional geometry; pet nutrition