Last Updated on June 17, 2024 by Indy the Cat
History
Blackcat isn’t a brand that you may have seen much in the cat food space. Namely because their original brand Blackdog operates in the canine nutrition space while cat treats and milk make up a small portion of their product line.
Now in their 22nd year, Blackdog Pet Food Company is an Australian privately owned pet food company focused on natural pet treats. Their philosophy is built around producing pet treats from high quality ingredients, minimal processing and additives. The cat treats, including this formula are manufactured in Australia with the vast majority of their ingredients being Australian sourced.
One interesting thing to note is their use of the language “natural”. On their website, they claim that they specialize in natural or near natural pet treats. It is quite rare to see a company acknowledge that pet food may contain unnatural ingredients or sources. We appreciate this transparency, but also recognize that some unnatural ingredients may pose a concern, even in their own products.
Recalls
To date, Blackdog cat treats have not been recalled. In Australia, pet food recalls are only mandatory for brands that have decided to work within the Australian Standard for Manufacturing and Marketing of Pet Food (Standard AS5812:2017). All members of the Pet Food Industry Association of Australia comply with these standards and at the time of publishing, Blackdog Pet Food is a certified manufacturing member of the Association.
Product Line Commentary
Today, we are conducting our first cat treat review and looking at the Blackcat Kangaroo Delites treats. Being a treat, we can expect a substantially shorter ingredient list to analyze. Let’s take a closer look!
What to Look for in a Treat?
Like any food, as cats are obligate carnivores, we want to look for treats that are meat first. Ideally, we prefer minimal ingredients beyond meat but additions such as taurine and other essential nutrients are okay. We would tend to avoid any treats that have ingredient lists that run off the page (up to 5 seems like a reasonable number).
We would also like treats to be lower in calories when possible. The general guideline is to never feed more than 10% of the cat’s caloric intake but honestly, 10% is actually quite a lot. Treats are exactly that. Treats. They should be given occasionally and to reward things like good behaviour or during special times like training. Over feeding treats (of any type) may cause your cat to become addicted and lead to behavioural problems. It also leads to increased calorie intake, which could create unexpected weight gain.
A Closer Look at the Ingredients
With all that being said, Blackcat Kangaroo Delites does have an ingredient list that is longer than 5 ingredients. While the first ingredients are meat – kangaroo meat followed by chicken meat. It is followed by flour, sugar, salt and vegetable glycerine. Potassium sorbate and colour (124) round out the list of ingredients.
Both the meat sources are named ingredients, so we know we’re getting proper kangaroo and chicken meat here. That’s good to see and a nice way to expose your cat to kangaroo as a protein source too. There’s no vegetable ingredients but we do have a few ingredients like flour, sugar and salt that help with binding, and flavour. Glycerine (albeit form a vegetarian source), is considered a more controversial ingredient. Its use is to bind water and give the treat its chewy texture. It is considered an unnatural product (a by-product of some commercial products in some cases) and has a considerable sugar content. Also note that sugar is already a named ingredient, so this is not ideal.
For those reasons, while it is deemed safe for pet food, some pet owners prefer to avoid them. Since the evidence is inconclusive of any negative effects, Indy is fed some foods which do include glycerine. As he rotates food/treats, it’s never his primary food/treat for long. The last notable ingredient is poassium sorbate, which is a synthetic preservative. We would prefer to see more natural preservatives used in treats or none at all where possible.
An Above Average Nutritional Profile for a Treat
The treat is available in 60g and 120g sizes with a calorie breakdown of 3140kcal/kg. This works out to approximately 188kcal for a 60g package. Being primarily meat based, we would expect each piece to come in at a few kcal, so you can safely feed a few pieces in a day without issue for most cats. Note that Blackdog only provides a typical analysis (an intended average), not a guaranteed analysis for this food. There is also a discrepancy between the packaging nutritional profile and the one online (We have gone with the packaging in this case alongside the additional info on fibre and salt). We have reached out to Blackdog for additional nutritional information, but did not receive clarification. We will update this article should more information become available.
Typical analysis
Protein (min) – 26%
Fat (min) – 11%
Fibre (max) – <1%
Salt < 2%
Where to Buy and Cost
Blackcat Kangaroo Delites can be found at a number of leading retailers including: Pet Circle and Pet Warehouse. They are priced around $7 for a 60g pack. Compared to other treats, they are considered affordably priced.
Ingredient List
Kangaroo meat, Chicken meat, Flour, Sugar, Salt, Glycerine (Vegetable), Potassium Sorbate, Colour (124).
Nutritional Information
Kangaroo meat – source of meat protein
Chicken meat – source of meat protein
Flour – for binding and texture
Sugar – increases palatability
Salt – source of salt
Glycerine – binder, gives food chewy texture
Potassium Sorbate – synthetic preservative
Colour – no nutritional benefit
Indy’s Review
So does Indy the cat like it?
Yes, Indy enjoys his Blackcat Kangaroo Delite treats which are used during his training sessions and for rewarding good behaviour.
While Indy likes the taste of the treats and will always eagerly want more, treats are meant to be fed on occasion and we recommend owners feed treats from time to time .
These treats also contain some ingredients that we would prefer not to see in cat food/treats, so we recommend purchasing this recipe only once in awhile.
The good
- First two ingredients are meat
- Meat sources for proteins with named ingredients
- Highly palatability for a treat
- Reasonably priced
The bad
- Added sugar
- Glycerine used for chewy texture. Prefer to see alternatives
- Contains synthetic preservative
Rating
- Species appropriate (weight 0.3) – 8 / 10
- Ingredients (weight 0.3) – 7 / 10
- Recall Track record (weight 0.2) – 10 / 10
- Price (weight 0.2) – 8 / 10
Average Score – 8.3 / 10
Weighted Score – 8.1 / 10
The Bottom Line: An affordable kangaroo cat treat with an above average ingredient list. Indy the Cat approved, but there are better treats from Blackcat. Try their Ocean Fish as an alternative.
If you spot an error in this article, please do not hesitate to let us know!
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