Feeding a cat isn’t just about feeding it, it’s about taking care of its long-term health. Cats are animals particularly sensitive to pesticides, additives and preservatives present in industrial foods and choosing a safe food is therefore essential to prevent digestive problems, allergic reactions or exposure to harmful chemicals.
Many owners believe that an expensive product is automatically safer or of higher quality, but the latest tests show that this is not always the case, even cheap foods can be free of dangerous residues, while some more popular products may contain substances to avoid.
The wet cat food test
The Swiss magazine K‑Tipp recently analyzed 15 wet foods for adult cats, with the aim of checking for the presence of pesticides, controversial preservatives such as BHA and BHT, and the humectant propylene glycol, sometimes used in feed.
The results in this case were reassuring: 11 out of 15 products did not contain problematic substances. Among these, many economical brands such as the M-Budget (Migros) and Prix Garantie (Coop) lines, popular in Switzerland, have demonstrated that it is possible to produce safe food even at a low price, without pesticides or preservatives.
On the contrary, 4 products showed the presence of pesticide residues (among these Purina Gourmet Perle delight in chicken flavor sauce), and one of them (Coshida in sauce – veal and turkey from Lidl) also contained an insecticide potentially toxic for small animals, which can interfere with the nervous system of cats causing agitation, tremors and in serious cases even paralysis.
The best products also available in Italy
Many of the foods analyzed are typical of the Swiss market and therefore difficult to find in Italian shops. However, among the best products without pesticides and preservatives, four brands are also found in Italy. These are:
Manufacturers’ replicas
After the laboratory identified pesticide residues in some foods, several companies involved wanted to respond. Lidl, for example, argued that the amount of pesticide detected in its product would be well within the legal limits set for cereals, therefore referring to the regulations in force for human foods and adding that, according to their assessment, the food would be safe for animals.
Similarly, Denner highlighted how there are no specific legal limits for pesticides in cat food: the current thresholds are established for human consumption, which can create gray areas in the safety criteria, but the company has also announced that it intends to deepen the traceability of the raw materials used.
Finally, Nestlé, manufacturer of Purina Gourmet Perle, explained that the piperonyl butoxide residue identified in its products derives from the raw materials themselves, defining it as a “technically unavoidable” residue in the production process.
How the test was conducted
For analysis, K‑Tipp commissioned a laboratory specializing in feed. Experts searched for hundreds of pesticides, including herbicides such as glyphosate and synthetic insecticides (pyrethroids) that are particularly dangerous to cats.
In addition to pesticides, the lab checked for the presence of BHA and BHT preservatives and propylene glycol, a humectant that can appear in wet foods. The instruments used allow the detection of very low quantities of residues, offering a precise picture of the safety of the products analyzed.
The results confirm that it is possible to produce quality wet food, safe for cats, without having to resort to unnecessary or potentially harmful chemicals.
