I have read that DL- Methionine should not be used in cat foods, is this true?

Methionine is an essential amino acid that cannot be produced by the body and needs to be consumed each day. If your cat is deficient in methionine their health will be compromised. Therefore, it is crucial that your cat consumes the required amount of methionine each meal to maintain proper health.

We believe that cats were meant to consume small pray animals and that the best nutritional model would be that of a juvenile mouse. It turns out that the mouse is made up of high levels of methionine. The nutrient profile of the typical mouse is: 52-58% protein, 22-28% fat and 3-6% starch.

The addition of methionine is necessary if we are to duplicate what we see in mice. This is why Young Again adds methionine to our foods. We believe that the mouse model is the best model when formulating foods for our cats.

Some companies use methionine to acidify their foods. By acidifying the food, they are able to acidify the cat’s urine. This practice is common when they are trying to dissolve struvite crystals. However, if your cat’s urine maintains too low of a pH, you run the risk of developing calcium oxalate crystals.

Because Young Again cat foods are already a balanced carnivore diet, they naturally maintain a balanced urine pH of 6.5. There is no need for us to modify the pH of the urine by adding additional methionine. We use just enough methionine to balance the amino acid profile of our foods to duplicate the mouse model. When your cat maintains a natural urine pH of 6.5, it is unlikely your cat will develop struvite crystals or calcium oxalate stones, the two most common crystals and stones seen in cats today. Click here for more information on crystals and stones.

All of our foods are nutrient-rich, carnivore diets, formulated as nature intended.