A feeding trial shows that BeneMeat’s cultivated hamster meat is well-accepted and digested by cats, who leave significantly fewer scraps than when they eat conventional chicken.
While cats may be viewed as obligate carnivores, cultivated meat doesn’t seem any different to them.
In a new feeding trial comparing cell-cultured hamster meat with conventional chicken, cats showed high acceptance of both products and encouragingly, the diet containing the former resulted in significantly fewer leftovers.
The test was conducted by Ghent University and Czech food tech startup BeneMeat, whose cultivated protein is registered as a feed material in the EU and can be sold as a pet food ingredient.
The results, published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science, show that cultivated meat could prove to be a well-accepted, adequately digestible, and well-tolerated ingredient for pet nutrition.
“This study represents an important step in evaluating cultivated ingredients for pet nutrition under standardised feeding conditions. The results confirm very good acceptance and digestibility of the tested ingredient in cats in comparison with the control diet,” said Simone Stringhetti, clinical studies coordinator at BeneMeat.
Cultivated meat shows comparable acceptance and digestibility
The researchers conducted a two-day, double-blinded, crossover acceptance test on 10 adult cats, eight of which were subsequently enrolled in a similar digestibility trial.
The wet cat food diets were identical in composition, except for the base protein source: the control diet contained 18.2% chicken breast meat, and the test diet was formulated with 24.4% cultivated hamster cell biomass.
These were combined with ingredients like pea grit, pumpkin, carrot, sunflower and linen oil, and brewer’s yeast, as well as a palatability enhancer. The diets were blended to achieve a mousse-like texture, and each contained over 50% crude protein and 21-22% fat.
The researchers observed optimal acceptance in 9 of 10 cats, with 17 of 18 meals consumed completely. For the remaining meal, the cat consumed 94%. In comparison, full consumption was observed in 17 out of 20 instances with the chicken, with cats eating at least 75% of the portion.
Further, the feeding trial showed comparable digestibility between the two meals, except for protein digestibility, which was “slightly but significantly” higher in the control diet. Both also led to stable body and muscle conditions in cats, as well as optimal faecal consistency.
High moisture content of cultivated meat could offer health advantages
One notable finding of the trials was the difference in moisture content. Conventional meat contains 54-75% water, whereas cultivated meat typically contains 75-90%. This means addiitonal water is required in the control diet to achieve comparable composition.
The control and test diets contained over 84% of moisture each, placing them at the upper end of the average range for wet cat food (60-87%). “This characteristic may offer advantages for formulations targeting urinary health, constipation or weight management,” the authors noted.
Unlike dogs, cats don’t fully compensate for a low-moisture diet, which can lead to reduced water intake and improper hydration. “Increasing dietary moisture promotes urine dilution, fecal water content, and satiety, thereby reducing the risk of lower urinary tract disease and constipation, and facilitating weight loss,” they added.
That said, higher moisture lowers nutrient and energy density, requiring compensatory formulation adjustments and potentially higher inclusion rates of cultivated protein. This could have economic implications, too – at the inclusion levels tested, the overall diet’s production cost is similar to that of super-premium pet foods.
“This study provides an early contribution to a broader research effort. While further studies are needed, the results so far are encouraging and highlight the potential of cultivated meat for pet food applications,” said lead author Federica Bortolazzi, a doctoral researcher in animal nutrition at Ghent University.
Palatability tests build momentum for cultivated pet food
A recent global survey found that 51% of cat owners considered at least one sustainable protein as an acceptable alternative to conventional pet food. Cultivated meat was the top choice (picked by 33%), over vegan or vegetarian diets.
However, for these pet parents to consider feeding their cats alternative diets, these products must improve pet health (a factor cited by 83% of respondents), be nutritionally sound (81%), and be highly palatable (76%).
Early palatability tests conducted by fellow cultivated meat startup BioCraft Pet Nutrition have shown “exceptional acceptance rates”. In fact, taste tests have demonstrated a strong preference for its product over conventional meat among felines. BeneMeat’s trial builds on these results.
The latter’s cultivated meat is now entering Europe through a collaboration with Italy’s Forza10, which has launched Coolty Meat, a dog food brand combining BeneMeat’s cultured hamster meat with plant-based ingredients. It is set to launch in Q3 this year, starting in Portugal and Spain.
Elsewhere, Meatly rolled out Chick Bites in the UK last year, blending 4% of its cultivated chicken with plant-based ingredients from The Pack. This month, it raised £10M ($14.1M) to build Europe’s largest cultivated meat facility and start delivering pet food products next year.
And in Singapore, Friends & Family Pet Food launched eight cultivated meat products this year, targeting different functionalities for cats and dogs, with another four set to be rolled out this month.
