Complete V/S Complementary Meals: Cat Food 101

Learn what makes a cat food complete or complementary.

Know how you can ensure you are feeding your cat a well-balanced meal without being fooled by the marketing tricks on the label.

By Ayisha Roshan
5 min read
An orange tabby cat walking with a fish in its mouth

More Than a Meal: What Goes Into Your Cat’s Food? 

When we choose food for our cats, we usually ask a few simple questions: Does my cat like it? Is it nutritious? Is it suitable for them?

But there is another side to cat food that is worth looking at. Where do the ingredients come from? How is the food made? What does "complete" or "complementary" actually mean? And what happens to the pouch after dinner is over?

Because choosing cat food is not just about what your cat enjoys. It is also about understanding what they are actually being fed. 

Complete Food

AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) is an organization that establishes nutritional standards and guidelines for pet foods in the United States. According to AAFCO, a food described as “complete and balanced” contains all the nutrients required by a cat and provides them in the correct proportions for the life stage it is intended for. This includes essential amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and other required nutrients. A food can be considered complete and balanced when it meets the nutritional levels established by AAFCO’s Cat Food Nutrient Profiles. 

One particularly important nutrient is taurine. Cats cannot produce enough taurine themselves, so they need to obtain it through their diet which must be meat based and not plant based. Think of complete food as the main anchor of your cat's daily nutrition.

Complementary Food

A complementary food has a different job. It is designed to be given alongside a complete diet. It can add wonderful flavour, hydration, and variety, but it is not designed to provide all of a cat's daily nutritional requirements by itself. A cat can absolutely love a complementary broth or topper, but that does not make it a complete meal.

FEDIAF (European Pet Food Industry Federation) is the European trade association that represents the pet food industry and publishes nutritional guidelines for cats and dogs. Cat parents should care about what FEDIAF says because its guidelines help them understand whether a food is complete and balanced for daily feeding or complementary, meaning it is designed to be fed alongside other foods rather than as the sole diet. For example, FEDIAF defines complementary pet food as food that has a high content of certain substances but, because of its composition, is sufficient for a daily ration only when combined with other pet foods. 

FEDIAF divides complementary products broadly into three categories:

Type

What it does

Example

Energy-contributing

Provides a significant amount of energy but isn't nutritionally complete

Food intended to be mixed with other ingredients

Nutrient-contributing

Adds particular nutrients to the diet

A product providing extra omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids

Non-nutritional/occupational

Given mainly for chewing, occupation or enrichment

Chews

 

More Than Just a Wet Meal 

Cats are obligate carnivores, meaning their bodies are adapted to obtain their nutritional needs primarily from animal-based foods. They also evolved to get much of their water through their prey.

This is one reason wet food can be useful. Most wet cat foods contain a high proportion of moisture, often around 70% to 80%. This means a wet meal can contribute to a cat's daily fluid intake while also providing calories and nutrients. This can be particularly useful for cats who are not enthusiastic drinkers.

However, moisture alone does not make a food nutritionally complete. What matters is the overall formulation, the nutrients it provides, and whether it is appropriate for your individual cat.

Complete vs. Complementary: The Part Every Cat Parent Should Know

If you remember only one thing from this article, make it this: Check whether your cat's food is complete or complementary. These two words tell you very different things.

Nutrient / Component

Complete Meal

Complementary Meal

Animal protein

✓ Provides a significant source of essential protein

✓ Usually present, but may not provide enough of all essential nutrients

Taurine

✓ Provided

May be present, but not necessarily at complete-diet levels

Essential fatty acids

✓ Provided in appropriate amounts

May be present, but not necessarily sufficient

Vitamins

✓ Complete and balanced levels

✗ May not provide all required vitamins

Minerals

✓ Complete and balanced levels

✗ May not provide all required minerals

Water

✓ Especially high in wet food

✓ Often high in wet complementary foods

Energy

✓ Designed to meet daily nutritional needs

May provide calories, but is not nutritionally complete

Carbohydrates

Optional. Cats don't require them

May be present depending on the recipe

Can it be fed as the main diet?

Yes, when appropriate for the cat's life stage

No. It should be fed alongside a complete food


What’s Actually Inside These Pouches?

Examining ingredient lists helps us understand what we are feeding our pets beyond the marketing names on the front of the packet.

  • Water and Animal Proteins: In high-moisture wet foods, water frequently appears first as the primary base. Animal ingredients follow, though individual percentages of specific fish or meats aren't always explicitly broken down.
  • Texture and Functional Ingredients: Ingredients like modified starch, guar gum, and gelling agents help create and maintain the texture of gravies and jellies. Because cats have strong texture preferences (some prefer gravy, some prefer jelly), these play a practical role in meal acceptance.
  • Understanding "By-Products": The word "by-product" can sound alarming, but it does not automatically mean poor quality. Animal by-products can include nutritionally useful parts of an animal other than the muscle meat typically eaten by humans.
  • Vegetables and Fillers: Ingredients like pumpkin, carrot, or wheat gluten often appear further down the list. While vegetables can be included in a formulation, they do not replace the animal-derived nutrients that obligate carnivores require. Reading the order of ingredients reveals the fuller picture of what the recipe actually emphasizes.

What About Carbohydrates?

Cats are obligate carnivores, meaning they rely primarily on animal-based nutrients. They need protein, healthy fats and essential nutrients such as taurine, vitamin A and arachidonic acid. Cats can digest carbohydrates and use them for energy, but carbohydrates are not an essential nutritional requirement for cats.

Fun Facts : 

Image from https://europeanpetfood.org/pet-food-facts/nutritional-requirements/

Before You Serve His/Her Highness 

A pouch of cat food is a small part of a much bigger system: the health and nutrition of your cat, the sourcing of ingredients, marine ecosystems, and the packaging left behind.

For cat parents, the easiest place to start is the back of the packet. Check whether the food is complete or complementary, read the ingredient list, look at the order of ingredients, and understand what the product is designed to do.

At The Neko Store, we believe that understanding what goes into our cats' bowls is part of caring for them well. You don't need to memorize every ingredient or become a pet nutritionist overnight. Start with the label, ask questions, and know what you're feeding and why.

After all, your cat has already mastered the art of managing you - the best you can do is master the art of reading their menu. So take a peek at the back of the pouch, pour with confidence, and let your feline overlord enjoy their meal in peace!

References

The following are the resources we used to write this blog.


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