Recommended Protein Amount in Cat Food

As with anything in life, there rarely is a cut and dried, one-word answer that fits every single situation. Kittens have different needs than adult cats. Elderly cats with failing kidneys have other problems. However, as a baseline statement, cats need protein. Cats are meant to eat protein. In the wild, the primary energy a cat is meant to live on is protein - i.e. mice, birds, voles, etc.

Just like with humans, the quality of the protein matters. Protein doesn't just come in one form. There are 22 different amino acids (protein building blocks) that cats need for various body functions. Just as you, a human, would do poorly if you ate hot dogs and nothing but hot dogs all month long, a cat needs a complex set of protein types to fit his or her needs. Some amino acids you might have heard of include taurine and arginine. Cats who are deficient in certain amino acids can develop problems as a result.

It's important to feed your cat high quality protein, vs a ton of "bad" protein. For example, beef has a lot of nutrition in it. If your cat got a small amount of beef in a food, that could end up being far better than eating a meal that was all ground up feathers - so a ton of protein, but no nutrition.

In general. the AAFCO recommends cats get 26% of their daily intake from protein. If you are using a wet food, remember to do the calculations to discount the water, before you determine what the protein value for your cat is. Read Calculating Nutritional Content in Wet Food

Protein and Kidneys

It's not that protein causes kidneys to fail. It's that damaged kidneys have trouble properly processing protein. If your cat has kidney problems, your doctor will discuss with you how much protein would be OK to include in the daily diet.

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Lisa Shea Author


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