L'il Bite of the Day - Ergonomic Kibble Seems Kinda Silly

Breed-specific diets - including those that boast "ergonomic" kibbles (I kid you not) specifically engineered for different breeds of cats - are a marketing gimmick. 

Just for kicks a few years ago, I spent a little quality time dissecting the claims made on some of the pet food company websites that began aggressively marketing "breed-specific" diets. Just a handful of the implicit and explicit conclusions one is led to draw from the ‘technical articles’ and explanations they offer:

• All breeds are quite fine eating nothing but dry food.
• The shape of the kibble is paramount to ensuring that each cat gets what it needs. Maine Coons, for example, ostensibly benefit from especially large-sized kibble, according to one company, whereas Persian cats do best with kibble that’s shaped like an almond.
• Corn gluten meal is a perfectly reasonable primary ingredient in the diet of an obligate carnivore.
• Chicken meal is appropriate as the primary ingredient for all cats.
• Outdoor cats, perhaps owing to the “greater stress they face,” have a greater need for corn gluten meal.
  

Our cats don’t need a specially-shaped kibble and they never have. All they’ve needed is a diet that respects the fact that they’re carnivores. 


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