It's Not Good News on Your Cat's Favorite Chow

Your cat's dinner might come with a side of lead, mercury, and other contaminants, a new analysis suggests. CNN reports that a Clean Label Project investigation of 100 popular cat foods found heavy metals, pesticide and herbicide residue, and plastic-related chemicals in nearly all products tested, across 62 brands and every format: wet, dry, and air- or freeze-dried. Lead showed up in 99% of samples, cadmium in 96%, and arsenic in 94%. Dry food contained about three times more lead than wet or air-dried sustenance. Fish- and seafood-based recipes were strongly linked to mercury and cadmium levels, with seafood wet foods carrying nearly 28 times as much mercury as wet foods made from other meats.

Plant ingredients brought their own issues: The herbicide glyphosate appeared in 37% of products, and levels climbed as more plant items appeared in the top 10 ingredients. About half of the foods contained DEHP, a phthalate tied to health concerns and birth defects, especially in canned and pouch products. The Pet Food Institute says manufacturers follow strict safety protocols and that cat food is safe. The report doesn't prove any specific product harms cats, but experts suggest rotating proteins, favoring wet or air-dried over dry, limiting plant-heavy formulas, and asking manufacturers how often they test for contaminants.