Animal Fat in dog and cat food

Is it OK for dogs and cats?

Dogs

Animal fat supplies energy and essential fatty acids in dog food. What matters is the food's overall fat level, since very high-fat, very low-protein foods have been linked with pancreatitis in dogs. FDA found low pentobarbital residues in some dry dog foods bought in 1998 and 2000. The link was most strongly with animal fat, and FDA judged adverse effects highly unlikely and found no dog or cat material. It still treats any amount of pentobarbital in pet food as a violation.

Cats

Fat from meat and poultry supplies arachidonic acid, which cats must get from their diet and which vegetable oils lack. FEDIAF's minimum fat level for cats is 9 g per 100 g dry matter, higher than the 5.5 g it sets for adult dogs. FDA's pentobarbital surveys covered dog food only.

How settled this is: Depends on the amount

What animal fat is

Fat from land animals. The EU Catalogue of feed materials defines 'animal fat' as fat from land animals, including land invertebrates such as insects. If the fat is extracted with solvents, the EU entry allows up to 0.1% hexane. The name itself does not say which species the fat came from. When the catalogue name is used on a label, the EU says it shall be supplemented, as appropriate, with details such as the species processed (for example porcine, ruminant, avian or insect), the material processed or the process used. In the US, FDA groups animal fat with ingredients that are rendered or hydrolyzed from animal sources.

Why it is in pet food

Fat adds a lot of calories to a finished food, and the wide range of fat levels in pet foods lets makers match different energy needs, such as growth, work or lactation versus maintenance. Dietary fat also helps the body absorb, store and transport vitamins A, D, E and K, and it supplies essential fatty acids.

What it does in the food

Dogs and cats both need linoleic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid. Cats also need arachidonic acid, which is found in fat from meat, poultry and eggs but not in vegetable oils. Unlike dogs, cats cannot readily make it from linoleic acid. FEDIAF recommends minimum fat levels of 5.5 g per 100 g dry matter for adult dogs, 8.5 g for growing dogs and 9 g for cats at all life stages. FEDIAF also recommends arachidonic acid for cats at all life stages, but for dogs only during growth and reproduction. Merck notes that adult dog foods usually contain 5–15% fat on a dry-matter basis. As much as 60% of a cat's calories may come from fat, and cat diets with 8–40% fat have been fed successfully. FEDIAF notes that fat itself is not essential as long as essential fatty acid needs are met; for dogs it adds that there must also be enough fat to absorb fat-soluble vitamins.

Safety and limits

Fat level: FEDIAF says dogs on foods with normal protein levels may tolerate very high fat levels, giving sled dogs as an example. However, very high-fat foods with very low protein have been linked with adverse effects in dogs, mainly pancreatitis, and FEDIAF says more studies are needed. Freshness: fat can oxidise and go rancid, and pet foods use antioxidants such as mixed tocopherols to prevent this. Pentobarbital: in surveys of dry dog foods bought near its Maryland laboratory in 1998 and 2000, FDA found low pentobarbital residues in some samples. In the first survey, the association between a rendered ingredient's place on the ingredient list and pentobarbital appeared strongest for animal fat. FDA tested the positive samples from the 2000 survey, plus some negative ones, and found no material from dogs or cats. It assumed the residues came from euthanised, rendered cattle or horses. FDA concluded it was highly unlikely that dogs eating dry dog food would have adverse effects at the levels found. It also cautioned that the samples were not representative and cannot predict what is in food today. That work covered dog foods and dogs only. In 2018, FDA reported that a manufacturer's test confirmed pentobarbital in the tallow ingredient of some canned dog foods, which were recalled. FDA's preliminary evaluation judged the level unlikely to pose a health risk. FDA also said pentobarbital should never be in pet food and that any amount makes a product adulterated. It noted that pets eating pentobarbital can show signs such as drowsiness and loss of balance, and that high levels can cause coma and death.

What depends on the amount and the recipe

How much fat the whole food contains relative to its protein and calories; how well the fat is protected from oxidation by antioxidants and storage; species and life stage, since cats need arachidonic acid and FEDIAF sets different fat minimums; and the source of the fat, which the generic name 'animal fat' does not identify.

Not the same as

• Chicken fat — Fat from one named species (chicken); it has its own page.
• Beef tallow — Fat rendered from cattle, a named-species fat; FDA's surveys recorded it separately from animal fat.
• Fish oil — Oil from fish, not land animals; the EU catalogue lists it as a separate feed material.
• Animal digest — Made by breaking down (hydrolysing) animal tissue, not a fat; FDA's surveys recorded it as a separate ingredient.
• Vegetable oils (e.g. sunflower oil, canola oil) — Plant oils that supply linoleic acid but no arachidonic acid.

Sources

1. Commission Regulation (EU) No 68/2013 on the Catalogue of feed materials, consolidated text of 24.07.2022 (entry 9.2.1 Animal fat and chapter 9 footnote 2) — Publications Office of the European Union, 2013 (consolidated 2022). Animal fat is fat from land animals, including invertebrates; up to 0.1% hexane if solvent-extracted; when the name is used for labelling it shall be supplemented, as appropriate, with species processed (e.g. porcine, ruminant, avian, insect), material or process; fish oil is a separate entry (10.4.6).
2. Food and Drug Administration/Center for Veterinary Medicine Report on the Risk from Pentobarbital in Dog Food — U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Veterinary Medicine, 2002. 1998 and 2000 surveys found pentobarbital in some dry dog foods; 2000-survey samples tested showed no dog or cat material; residues assumed to come from euthanised, rendered cattle or horses; FDA concluded adverse effects in dogs highly unlikely at the levels found.
3. Appendix - Dog Food Samples Used in CVM Pentobarbital Surveys and Analytical Results — U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Veterinary Medicine, 2002. Animal fat and animal digest are listed among ingredients rendered or hydrolyzed from animal sources; in survey #1 the association with pentobarbital appeared strongest for animal fat; samples were not representative and do not predict today's foods; beef tallow recorded as a separate ingredient.
4. FDA Alerts Pet Owners About Potential Pentobarbital Contamination in Canned Dog Food — U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2018. Firm's test confirmed pentobarbital in a tallow ingredient and products were recalled; FDA's preliminary evaluation judged the level unlikely to pose a health risk; pentobarbital should never be in pet food and any amount makes a product adulterated; signs in pets and that high levels can cause coma and death.
5. Nutritional Requirements of Small Animals (Merck Veterinary Manual, professional version) — Merck & Co. (Merck Veterinary Manual), 2024. Role of fat (calories, fat-soluble vitamins, essential fatty acids); dogs and cats need linoleic acid; cats need arachidonic acid, found in fat from meat, poultry and eggs but not vegetable oils; typical fat ranges for dog and cat diets; mixed tocopherols prevent oxidation and rancidity of fat.
6. FEDIAF Nutritional Guidelines for Complete and Complementary Pet Food for Cats and Dogs — FEDIAF (European Pet Food Industry Federation), 2025. Minimum fat and arachidonic acid levels for dogs and cats; dogs on normal-protein foods may tolerate very high fat; very high-fat, very low-protein foods linked with pancreatitis in dogs; fat per se not essential once essential fatty acid needs are met.

Checked against these sources on 2026-10-15. Definitions are in our own words. This is a reading aid, not veterinary advice: a vet who knows your animal comes first.