Why isn’t there mouse-flavored cat food?

There isn’t mouse-flavored cat food because the FDA holds pet food to most of the same safety regulations as it does for human food and the pet food industry was created as a byproduct of the agricultural food industry. Due to this, pets generally eat the same foods that are processed for humans. Think about the ingredients in your pets food: Chicken, turkey, tuna, salmon, beef, etc. Humans consume these meats as well. You can buy whole, frozen rats and mice for feeding to animals but processed mouse cat food isn’t available.

It also wouldn’t be very cost-effective to be a mouse rancher. You would need to house, feed, and maintain a clean environment for millions of mice, which would be extremely expensive. I would assume most people wouldn’t be willing to pay the significantly higher prices for a can of mouse cat food. It’s a lot more cost-effective for pet food manufacturers to buy the leftover meat byproducts (fatty tissue, stomachs, intestines, organs, etc.) from slaughterhouses to include in their pet food products.

This post only answers why there isn’t pet food made with mice and doesn’t answer why there isn’t cat food flavored to taste like mice. The reason for this is simple: Customers aren’t demanding mouse-flavored cat food.

INTERESTING FACTS

1. There is no evidence showing that premium pet food is healthier than cheaper cat food for our pets.
2. The “natural” on food labels isn’t tightly regulated and doesn’t mean much.
3. The ingredients on a food label are listed in the same order as their relative weight in the recipe.

INTERESTING VIDEO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFISdgcfkvI

INTERESTING REFERENCES

1. HuffPost.com – ‘Why Don’t They Make Mouse Flavored Cat Food?’
2. MentalFloss.com – Why Isn’t Cat Food Mouse-Flavored?
3. TheDailyMeal.com – Why Isn’t Cat Food Mouse-Flavored?