Fussie Cat Kitten Chicken with Pumpkin in Goat Milk Puree

4 ingredients in this list are ones we hold sourced evidence on , and 2 of them are genuinely contested rather than merely unpopular online.

• Potato · ingredient 6ContestedA starchy tuber used as the carbohydrate base in many grain-free foods (it is a vegetable, not a cereal grain). The FDA's open 2018 investigation into diet-associated canine DCM listed potatoes 'in various forms' as main ingredients of interest alongside pulses such as peas and lentils.
• Generic "Meat" (unspecified species) · ingredient 3Worth knowingThe unqualified term 'meat' names no species. AAFCO defines 'meat' as the clean flesh of slaughtered mammals but does not identify which mammal, so the source can differ between batches and the ingredient cannot be used to avoid a specific-species allergy.
• Fish oil (EPA + DHA omega-3) · ingredient 9Well supportedMarine-source omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) from fish oil. A randomized, double-blinded controlled trial (Roush 2010) found improved weight-bearing in dogs with osteoarthritis, and a 2022 meta-analysis identified clear clinical analgesic efficacy for omega-3-enriched diets and supplements.
• Taurine (supplemental) · ingredient 14NeutralA sulfur amino acid that dogs can normally synthesize from methionine and cysteine, so it is not classically essential for them. However, some breeds (e.g., golden retrievers) and some diets are linked to low taurine status and dilated cardiomyopathy: an observational study (Ontiveros 2020) associated non-traditional, largely grain-free diets with taurine deficiency and DCM-consistent echocardiographic changes in golden retrievers, though causation and mechanism remain under investigation.