Short answer: the concern that has been circulating since 2018 is not about grain-free food as such. The research points at diets high in pulses — peas, lentils, chickpeas and beans — whether or not the food contains grain. It is mainly a dog story. Cats appear susceptible but less sensitive, and the evidence in cats is much thinner. The cause is still unknown. Below is what is actually established, what is not, and how to read your own cat's ingredient list.
Two different things get called "diet and heart disease"
Most of the confusion comes from mixing up two separate stories that are forty years apart.
The old one is settled, and it is specifically about cats. In 1987, Pion and colleagues published a paper in Science showing that cats fed diets low in taurine developed myocardial failure — and that it reversed when taurine was restored. Taurine is an essential amino acid for cats: unlike dogs, they cannot make enough of it themselves. That discovery is the reason every commercial cat food you can buy today has taurine added, and the reason taurine appears on the guaranteed analysis panel.
The new one started in 2018, and it is mainly about dogs. The US Food and Drug Administration opened an investigation into reports of dilated cardiomyopathy in dogs eating certain diets. Those diets were often marketed as grain-free, and the phrase "grain-free causes heart disease" stuck.
These are not the same problem. Tufts University's veterinary nutrition team, in their June 2026 update, states plainly that diet-associated DCM "does not appear to be caused by a lack of grains or a deficiency of taurine or other nutrients."
What the investigation has actually found by 2026
Three things are worth knowing.
The suspect is pulses, not the absence of grain. Tufts' 2026 position is that diet-associated DCM "appears to be associated with diets high in pulses (peas, lentils, chickpeas, beans)" — regardless of whether the food also contains grain. A food can be grain-free and contain no pulses. A food can contain grain and still be pulse-heavy. The label word "grain-free" tells you almost nothing about this.
The cause is still not known. More than thirty scientific studies have been published and none has identified the mechanism. The most recent lead is a urine biomarker found at higher levels in affected dogs, suggesting phospholipidosis — a disturbance in fat metabolism. That is a lead, not an answer.
The FDA stopped issuing public updates. It has said it will not publish further updates until there is more science. This is often read as "the FDA dropped it" or "it was debunked". Neither is accurate. The investigation page is still up; the agency simply has nothing new to report.
Does any of this apply to cats?
This is the part where we are going to be less definite than you might want.
Tufts states that cats are susceptible but appear less sensitive than dogs. The case reports and the research are overwhelmingly canine. We have not found a body of evidence that establishes a pulse-related DCM risk in cats at the level it has been described in dogs.
So we are not going to tell you that pulse-heavy cat food is dangerous, because we cannot show you that. What we can say is narrower and, we think, more useful: the ingredient that the research is pointing at is one you can look for yourself, on any bag, in thirty seconds.
How to read your own cat's food, whatever brand it is
This works on any bag in any shop. It is not about us.
- Read the first five to eight ingredients. Ingredients are listed by weight, so what sits at the top is most of the food. Look for peas, pea protein, pea starch, lentils, chickpeas, faba beans, or "legumes". If several of them appear high on the list, that is a pulse-heavy food — grain-free or not.
- Ignore the word "grain-free" on the front. It is a marketing category, not a nutritional one, and the current research says it is the wrong thing to be looking at.
- Check taurine is on the guaranteed analysis. Every reputable commercial cat food has it. Its absence from the panel is worth a question to the manufacturer.
- Do not panic-switch. An abrupt change of food causes gastrointestinal upset. Transition over seven to ten days, mixing an increasing proportion of the new food into the old.
- Symptoms are a vet visit, not a diet decision. Lethargy, laboured or rapid breathing, reduced tolerance for activity, fainting or collapse — none of those are things to manage by changing kibble. Diet-associated DCM can improve when the diet is changed, particularly if caught early, but it can also be fatal. That is a decision for a vet with an ultrasound, not for a blog post.
What is in ours
Since we are asking you to check ingredient lists, here is ours in full, in order, exactly as printed on the pack.
Ingredients: Fresh Chicken, Chicken Powder, Sweet Potato Flour, Fish Meal, Duck Oil, Potato Starch, Kelp Powder, Sugar Beet Meal Granules, Fish Oil, Pumpkin Powder, Carrot Powder, Broccoli, Beer Yeast Powder, Egg Powder, Dried Cranberry, Brewing Yeast Cell Wall.
There are no peas, no lentils, no chickpeas and no beans in this food. The carbohydrate comes from sweet potato flour and potato starch. Potatoes are not among the ingredients Tufts names.
Guaranteed analysis: Crude Protein ≥38% · Crude Fat ≥15% · Crude Fibre ≤6.0% · Crude Ash ≤10% · Moisture ≤10% · Taurine ≥0.2% · Calcium ≥1.2% · Total Phosphorus ≥1.0% · Water-soluble Chloride ≥0.3%.
What we have not done
We would rather you heard this from us than worked it out later.
We have not run our own laboratory analysis on this food yet. The figures above are the manufacturer's guaranteed analysis, printed on the bag. We have arranged independent testing — crude protein by assay, melamine, an amino acid profile, mycotoxins, heavy metals and salmonella — and we will publish the results on this page when they arrive, including if they disagree with the label. We publish the laboratory report for our cat litter and we intend to hold this food to the same standard.
We are not claiming this food prevents heart disease. Nobody knows what causes diet-associated DCM, so nobody can sell you protection from it. What we can show you is an ingredient list that does not contain the things the research is currently pointing at. That is a smaller claim, and it is one you can verify yourself in the paragraph above.
We are a pet supplies company, not a veterinary practice. We import and sell cat food. If your cat is unwell, please see a vet rather than a seller.
What nobody knows yet
- What causes diet-associated DCM. Over thirty studies, no mechanism identified.
- Whether pulses are causal or merely correlated with something else in those diets.
- How much pulse is too much. No threshold has been established, so "high in pulses" has no number attached to it.
- Whether cats face a meaningful risk at all, as opposed to a theoretical one carried over from the canine data.
If any of those change, we will update this page and say what changed.
Frequently asked questions
Is grain-free cat food bad for cats?
There is no established evidence that the absence of grain harms cats. The research on diet-associated DCM points at diets high in pulses — peas, lentils, chickpeas, beans — rather than at grain-free formulation. A grain-free food containing no pulses is not what the research is describing.
Did the FDA prove grain-free food causes heart disease?
No. The FDA opened an investigation in 2018 and has since said it will not publish further updates until more science is available. No causal mechanism has been identified.
Is this a cat problem or a dog problem?
Primarily a dog problem. Tufts University states cats are susceptible but appear less sensitive than dogs, and the published case reports are overwhelmingly canine.
What about taurine — isn't that the cause?
Taurine deficiency causes a different, well-established form of DCM in cats, identified by Pion and colleagues in 1987. It is why taurine is added to all commercial cat food. Tufts states explicitly that the modern diet-associated DCM seen since 2018 is not caused by taurine deficiency.
Should I change my cat's food because of this?
Not abruptly, and not on the basis of a blog post. Read the first five to eight ingredients on the bag you currently use. If you decide to change, transition over seven to ten days. If your cat has symptoms, see a vet.
Does Kopipets cat food contain peas or lentils?
No. The full ingredient list is published above. The carbohydrate sources are sweet potato flour and potato starch.
Sources
- Tufts University Cummings Veterinary Medical Center, Petfoodology — Update on Diet-Associated Dilated Cardiomyopathy, June 2026.
- US Food and Drug Administration — Investigation into Potential Link between Certain Diets and Canine Dilated Cardiomyopathy.
- Pion PD, Kittleson MD, Rogers QR, Morris JG — Myocardial failure in cats associated with low plasma taurine: a reversible cardiomyopathy. Science, 1987. PubMed 3616607.
Written by Kopipets, a pet supplies brand operated by Surplus Media Pte. Ltd. (UEN 202448810R), Singapore. Last reviewed 30 August 2026. We will date any future revision.
