Explanation of ingredients

The protein sources we use, chicken, turkey and beef, are all upper-end human edible foods. The chickens and turkeys, for example, are hormone-free with minimal use of antibiotics. Chicken gizzards and turkey necks contain cartilage, a natural source of glucosamine. The organ meat we use in the beef variety is from hormone and antibiotic free, free-range (or organic) beef.

Extract of chicory also called FOS, (fructooligosaccharide) is a prebiotic compound that selectively stimulates growth of bacteria beneficial to large bowel metabolism. FOS helps increase the bioavailability of minerals. It also reduces the odor of the feces.

Sardine, anchovy and flaxseed oils provide two different sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Real Food For Pets has a 1:3.1 omega-3 to omega-6 ratio. And dried kelp is an excellent source of highly bioavailable minerals.

The salmon we use in our cat food is a high quality, human-edible product. We have chosen to cook the salmon due to dog safety issues. Raw salmon from the Pacific Northwest harbor a bacterium that, while harmless to cats and humans, causes severe and often fatal neurological symptoms in canines. Dogs often raid cats’ food dishes when they share a house together. As such, we feel that it is a matter of time before a dog ingests our cat food, therefore, we have decided to use cooked salmon, which is free of the bacteria.  Please see "Why do we cook the salmon?"  below for further explanation.

Click below to see the ingredients for each of our varieties:

Dog

Chicken, turkey, beef

Cat

Chicken with salmon

Where does Steve's Real Food buy their ingredients from?

Contact information for suppliers.

Why is Steve's Real Food almost grain free?

The natural diet of dogs and cats contains little if any grains. If fact, dogs and cats do not have dietary requirements for complex carbohydrates (grains). Cats were originally domesticated to protect granaries because they would not eat grain. Grains are used in many commercial foods because they provide inexpensive calories and help hold the food together. Grains constitute less than 1% of Steve's Real Food for Pets.

Why do you use cooked bonemeal in your food?

In Steve's Real Food’s beef dog food and chicken cat food, we use the same high quality, human-grade bonemeal that you would find in your natural food store. It is the best bonemeal available. Bonemeal provides more than calcium and phosphorous, it also provides other essential nutrients.

Why do you use cooked salmon in your cat food?

To put it in a nutshell, because of dogs.

Salmon in the Pacific Northwest carry a trematode worm that they contract from eating amphibious snails, which eat bear poop; the bear eats salmon, etc. The trematode itself is harmless to dogs and cats. It is killed by the freezing procedures that we employ prior to processing. However, the trematode carries a Neorickettsial bacterium that may not be killed in the freezing procedures. (This bacterium is distantly related to the bug that causes Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in humans.) It doesn't affect cats or humans, but it does cause severe and usually fatal neurological symptoms in canines, resulting in oft-reported salmon poisoning.

To make a long story short, we were worried about the inevitability that a dog would consume our cat food. Salmon is present in our cat food primarily for reasons of palatability, and using cooked salmon does not compromise the nutrition and benefits obtained by feeding an otherwise raw diet.

What do you use to supplement omega-3 fatty acids?

We use Mighty Omega Plus from Enreco as our primary source of Omega-3 fatty acids. Enreco's business philosophy has always been to manufacture and supply the most innovative Omega-3 and natural antioxidant, premium ingredients and products dedicated to enrich the lives and health of people and animals alike.  Mighty Omega Plus has an abundance of three different Omega-3’s: ALA, (alpha linolenic acid, a medium chain Omega-3), EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid, a long chain Omega-3), and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid, also a long chain Omega-3). Mighty Omega Plus, consisting of stabilized flax seed oil, sardines oil, anchovies oil and rice bran and rosemary extract, also contains five natural antioxidants – lignans, carnosal, tocotrienols, tocopherols, and oryzanol. For more information about Mighty Omega Plus, please click here.

Why do you add taurine into your cat foods?

Taurine is a colorless, crystalline compound which is found in the free form in invertebrates and in the bile of mammals. It promotes the intestinal absorption of lipids (fats) as cholesterol.

Taurine is an important part of the feline diet and is essential in preventing a disorder in cats called "dilated cardiomyopathy" (which is a failure of the heart muscle whereupon the heart tissue itself swells to try to meet the animal's circulatory needs), as well as being very significant in helping feline reproduction and prevention of a progressive retinal disease called feline central retinal degeneration (FCRD) which will cause blindness if left untreated.

In queens that have taurine-deficient diets, there are more still births, fewer live kittens born, and ultimately fewer kittens that survive to the weaning stage.

In the wild, rodents formed a large part of the feline diet, and the rodents had significant levels of taurine in their brains.

When we began to domesticate cats and feed them commercial cat foods instead of their wild diets, taurine deficiency started appearing.

This was of great concern, especially in the 1970's, when it was proven that many commercial cat foods on the market at that time contained an inadequate amount of taurine.

Cats are different from other animals in that they cannot make enough taurine internally to meet their needs, and they must have enough taurine supplied to them in their food.

Since these studies came out, most major pet food companies revised their pet food formulas to include taurine. Interestingly enough, not all taurine is equal, and some commercial foods need to have even more taurine added to their formulas to allow for proper feline absorption and utilization of the taurine in their foods.

Why do you use rice bran?  

The natural diet of canines does contain about 1% to 2% grain.  Rice bran is present at approximately less than 1 part per million (less than 0.05%) in any form or formula of Steve's Real Foods.  There is not enough used with any formula to be close to being considered a filler.  It is sourced with our Omega's 3, 6 and 9, and we use rice bran for its natural antioxidant properties.  Rice bran is also a good source of fiber.  Rice bran contains tocotrienols, powerful phytochemicals with known health benefits.  Tocotrienols exhibit potent antioxidant activities and anticarcenogenic properties.  The natural antioxidants in rice bran (tocotrienols), also serve to protect the integrity of the high percentage and variety of the Omega-3 essential fatty acids (LNA, EPA and DHA) in all of Steve's Real Foods for Pets.