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Urinary tract cat food
Urinary tract cat food, or UTK, is a form of cat food based on meat such as chicken, beef, turkey, or rabbit, that is specially designed to be absorbed and used by felines with kidneys.
History
1950s–1990s
The use of such cat food was pioneered by veterinarian and professor Frank L. Gossage who established the first veterinary kidney formula in the 1950s. He began giving a special prescription to cats that had undergone nephrectomies. This product was used primarily as a protein supplement for his patients and not specifically as a food for cats that were ill or recovering from nephrectomy. In the 1970s, many veterinarians began using it as a food. Although it was not as popular as canned cat food at the time, it became better known after a 1970 feature article in The New Yorker by writer Patricia Marx titled "My Cats", and included a picture of the writer's cat eating a bowl of Gossage kidney formula, and in an ad campaign featuring actor and model George Hamilton, with a picture of his cat eating it. Cats' needs had not been a well-studied subject.
2000s
By the 2000s, there was renewed interest in kidney formula cat food. In February 2004, the first book dedicated to kidney food cat food was published in hardcover.
Manufacturing
In the 1960s, Dr. Gossage developed the recipe for his kidney formula which was in the form of a powder. He used dried, shredded chicken from his pet shop and mixed it with a variety of herbs, minerals, and vitamins. The mixture was marketed under the brand name "Cat's Paw", and contained 50% dry chicken, 46% water, 3% salt, and 1% fat. After several years, he added a portion of ground beef and a little bacon to his formula to make it less unpalatable for cats. This changed the flavor to beef flavored.
Other formulas
At one point, Dr. Gossage also sold an all-vegetable formula for cats. According to Patricia Marx, there were at least ten of these formulas on the market.
References
Category:Cat food brands
Category:Cat health
Category:American brands
Category:Dog food brands
