Feline Nutrition
The AAFCO Seal of Approval
By Kathy Fatheree
I have 3 cats – Maya, Miss Picasso and Phoebe. Maya is skinny, Miss P is just a little plump and Phoebe, well Phoebe is… um … clinically obese. She weighs a whopping 19.4 pounds. They all eat the same brand of food. I took both Maya and Phoebe to the vet for a check up, did the complete blood panel and heart checks and thankgoodness they checked out just fine. I hardly ever buy the food my vet sells (poor guy) and I showed him the food my cats eat, told him it was from the health food stores and he curiously read the label. To my surprise he said “The ingredients look great! AND it has the AAFCO seal of approval.” Well I had to admit that I never paid much attention to the AAFCO statement, I had just looked at the ingredients!
AAFCO stands for the Association of American Feed Control Officials. AAFCO is “an organization of state and federal feed regulators advised by industry representatives with the sole purpose of designing feed regulations that are fair and equitable to both consumers and industry.” Additionally they come up with policies for “regulating the manufacture, distribution and sale of animal feeds; resulting in safe, effective, and useful feeds.” Bottom line, when a cat food manufacturer includes the AAFCO statement, they are promising that the food meets the standards for feline nutritional needs.
For example, on the bag that my vet was looking at there is this statement: “Animal feeding studies using procedures from the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) substantiate that PetGuard® Premium Cat and Kitten food provides complete and balanced nutrition for All Life Stages.” On Phoebe’s new diet food, there is this statement: “Feline Nutrition Slim 38 is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Cat Food Nutrient Profiles for maintenance.” Check your cat food for the AAFCO seal or AAFCO statement.
On the Net: http://www.aafco.org
Disclaimer: Kathy Fatheree is not at all a medical expert. Contents of this web site are a collection of Kathy’s assist feeding experiences as well as the experiences of other cat owners who have assist fed their cats. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information, Kathy Fatheree or anyone associated with this web site cannot be held responsible for anything that may happen as a result of using the information on this site.