There are many brands of cat and dog food today: Whiskas, Friskies and more. So when and by whom were these formulas invented?
Cat foods are specially developed foods for cats. Cat foods, which contain the amino acids and vitamins they need, contain all the necessary ingredients for a healthy and balanced diet. When we look at the past history of cat food, it is seen that it dates back to the discovery of dog food. The reason for this is mostly seen as the hunting character of cats and the success of finding their own food.
French writer Mauny de Mornay, who first came up with an idea for cat food, thought in 1837 that special meals should be developed for cats.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the first commercial cat food manufacturer was Spratt. Stating that they used horse meat in their advertising slogan, the company was also producing biscuits for dogs. Advertising slogans were: “Cats fed boiled horse meat are perfectly healthy and active!”
The story of the food industry began in London in 1860 when electrician James Spratt invented the first dog biscuit. This relatively primitive product was made from vegetables, cow's blood, wheat and beet root. Spratt enjoyed the advantages of being a monopoly for many years. After seeing dogs being fed biscuits left over from a ship, Spratt formulated the first dog biscuit: a mixture of wheat flour, vegetables, beetroot and beef blood.
Cats are carnivores by nature, they want to act according to their hunting instincts to taste freshly killed meat. It is very difficult for a cat who is kept at home alone to satisfy this instinct.
Cat foods developed for this reason contain taurine and arginine amino acids that their bodies cannot synthesize. Cats lack the ability to absorb nutrients from vegetables and herbs. For this reason, it is imperative that cat foods consist of meats with high energy and protein sources. There are two types of cat foods, which are called pet foods, as wet cat food and dry cat food.
Dry cat foods are cooked by rolling under high heat and pressure.
In the United States, some cat food manufacturers produce vegan and vegetarian types of food to ensure that cats get the nutrients they need from plants.
The size of the world pet food market was estimated at around US$ 76.5 billion in 2016.