Is cat and dog food fit for human consumption?

Cunfaro

Don't ask me how but I have come by about 50 tins of various types of dog and cat food. One problem is that I don't own any pets!

A friend of mine has stated in categorical terms that people can eat the meat that is in cat food and dog food and that if anything it has to be of a higher standard than actual food for humans.

A few minutes of research on the internet suggests that much pet food is not the horse or bull you might think but possibly lean cuts of beef and pork. However other articles suggest that eating pet food may damage the human immunity system.

Is it safe to eat? My friend tells me that when he was a student he and his flatmates regularly ate stuff like Pal and Kitecat etc and it went a long way.

Any suggestions?

QuincyBella

I wouldn't but I can't imagine it'd do much harm in moderation

faerie~spangles

Cunfaro wrote: »

Don't ask me how but I have come by about 50 tins of various types of dog and cat food. One problem is that I don't own any pets!

A friend of mine has stated in categorical terms that people can eat the meat that is in cat food and dog food and that if anything it has to be of a higher standard than actual food for humans.

A few minutes of research on the internet suggests that much pet food is not the horse or bull you might think but possibly lean cuts of beef and pork. However other articles suggest that eating pet food may damage the human immunity system.

Is it safe to eat? My friend tells me that when he was a student he and his flatmates regularly ate stuff like Pal and Kitecat etc and it went a long way.

Any suggestions?

Of course it is.
Humans taste it before it goes on the market.

kizzie_nikita

It's perfectly fine, and you're correct in saying it has good cuts of beef etc in it, it has too.

I wouldn't eat it, but if you're inclined to do so, you can :-)

EycplUK

Just remember that when the Canine teeth and your hair start to grow alarmingley fast and you have the urge to get close to a lamp post it may be time to cut back a bit !

VfM4meplse

There is moneysaving and then there is just meanness, out of the abundance of incredible food we have access to, you're actually considering eating pet food??!

If you don't know anyone with any pets why don't you just share the love on freecycle?

rufydoofyM

VfM4meplse wrote: »

There is moneysaving and then there is just meanness, out of the abundance of incredible food we have access to, you're actually considering eating pet food??!

If you don't know anyone with any pets why don't you just share the love on freecycle?

I agree
Why not donate it to the blue cross or a local animal shelter since they are more in need with so many people dumping their cats and dogs due to financial hardship.

robpw2

i believe legally it has to be suitable for human consumption, however i wouldn't eat it

Iris_Blue

Why would you even think about eating it whether it's safe or not? Yak!

It's just so wrong.

As others have said, donate it. Do a good deed.

dibuzz

Try it and if you feel ruff afterwards give it away

Haffiana

It doesn't contain 'good cuts' of beef etc. What it has is meat, sinew and connective tissue that is blasted off the bones of animal/poultry carcasses after all the meat for human consumption has been removed, and after all the meat for cheap, processed human meat products (eg chicken nuggets, cheap pie filling) is removed. The meat is blasted off by high pressure water jets to remove the last shreds, and the resultant watery meat slurry is cooked. According to the grade of tinned cat/dog food, the reduced slurry is then diced, or shaped into fake meaty lumps, or left more or less as it is. The correct vitamins and additives are added (different for cats and dogs as they have different requirements), jelly/gravy is added and it is canned.

All that said, it will be perfectly edible, but not appetising. The protein content will be listed on the tin. If it is dog food it will also have a proportion of cereal added. As I said, there are chicken nugget type foods made more or less the same way although they have far more additives than animal food, and some people seem to manage to eat those, or feed them to their children at any rate.