DL-Methionine. What is it? And why is it in my pet’s food?
Dr. Greg Aldrich, pet food industry advisor, writes “Methionine is one of the 10-plus essential amino acids that are required by both the cat and dog.” The methionine supplement is called DL-Methionine.
Methionine can be found naturally in meat and fish pet food ingredients. Dr. Aldrich states “At the whole-animal level, methionine is part of body proteins and is important for skin and coat condition, eye health, heart health and more. It serves as a precursor to other amino acids like cysteine which can then be converted into taurine. Methionine can also be converted into glutathione, an important physiological antioxidant, and into the cat pheromone felinine. It is an amino acid that is vitally important to the long-term health of the dog and cat.”
So if methionine is found in meat and fish pet food ingredients, why would the supplement DL-Methionine be added to pet foods? “For diets that contain minimal amounts of meat proteins, are heavily weighted to vegetable proteins like soy or are low calorie foods diluted with inert ingredients such as cereals and cellulose, there may be a need for supplemental methionine.”
Dr. Aldrich also states some pet foods add DL-Methionine “to help promote the palatability of the diet, as cats have been reported to have an “appetite” for methionine.” (or could it be that cats have an ‘appetite’ for meat?)
How is the supplement DL-methionine made? More from Dr. Aldrich…“There are numerous companies and locations around the world that produce DL-methionine commercially; and there are hundreds of patents that describe the subtle nuances regarding DL-methionine synthesis and purification. The starting materials for production of DL-methionine are acrolein (a 3-carbon aldehyde) derived from propylene (a petroleum derivative), methyl mercaptan derived from methanol and various sulfur sources and hydrocyanic acid (HCN). Acrolein and methyl mercaptan are reacted to form a relatively stable intermediate, 3-methylmercaptopropionaldehyde, known as MMP. The MMP is then reacted with HCN to form a rudimentary mix of DL-methionine and contaminants which is further refined through clean-up steps.”
Is this supplement needed? Well, since methionine (the natural amino acid not the supplement) is found in meats and fish, you’ll have to decide if a supplement in your pet’s food is better than meat and/or fish.
Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author, Buyer Beware
Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
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Connie
June 4, 2014 at 10:08 am
I have been told that l-methionine is better than dl-methionine.. can you address that?
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NOWILIN JAMES
September 22, 2014 at 10:42 am
Hallo,is it the dl methionine works for animals only or it can works on human as well?
Connie
September 22, 2014 at 11:23 am
DL methionine is a lower quality version of L methionine. L methionine is sold at most health food stores and supplement stores, so I am assuming it has a purpose in human health since it is an amino acid. I think if you want answers as to what it does for humans, you would be better off to ask a human health / supplement website.
Jacqueline
January 17, 2022 at 3:02 pm
Humans are alkaline. Adding an acidifier would be detrimental. DL Methionine is added to urinary care foods to increase the acidity of a cats urinary system to prevent the formation of struvite Crystals. It has no flavor. It helps as an acidifier.
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Marge
February 23, 2016 at 10:50 am
DL-methionine, from reading Dr Mark Peterson’s blog about idiopathic hypercalcemia, is one of the suspected causes. To AVOID the vet recommended Fosamax treatment (my doctors recommended this for osteoporosis, and I refused it ), I sought out information about the condition. As a result, I have ELIMINATED chow completely, not just for the cat with this Dx and his sister (all kinds, grain free or not, that I checked contain this “stuff”). Reading in more detail here about what it is and how it is made, I am VERY happy to get this out of my house! The cat in question has been tested over the course of two years and at last check the vet said I do not need to test him anymore. Of even more concern, there are companies adding this to CANNED food. I was using a combination of frozen raw cat food and canned food until I discovered one has this, recently added as I have some older cans that do not list it. Another was an Rx food (I dislike them as well, consider them almost garbage, but used it briefly treating another cat for a different disorder). This finally pushed me to using a recipe Dr. Lisa Pierson posted on her website to make my own cat food. Then I know this “stuff” and other “stuff” that is usually unpronounceable will not be in our food. The full transition is still in progress, but several have taken to the home made food and prefer it! I realize this is not for everyone, but we all as pet care-givers need to be fully informed. Obviously we still need to work with our vets, but read up, be informed!
Dianne Rackin
August 27, 2018 at 7:06 pm
I need to know the truth about what’s in my cats diet
Maf
April 16, 2021 at 3:55 pm
Yes! When I removed dl-methionine from my Olive’s diet, her hypercalcemia DISAPPEARED. She was headed for kidney destruction. The most knowledgeable people don’t seem to know this.
Kristen
December 13, 2018 at 8:13 pm
Marge, have you been able to find a dry food without this dL-methionine? My cat was diagnosed as hypercalcemic and changing her diet to canned food that doesn’t contain this has helped relieve all her symptoms so far. I would really like to find a dry food that I can use though
Marge
February 25, 2019 at 10:51 am
Kristen – VERY happy to hear that switching to canned food has also helped your kitty!! I do believe all the dry foods have this “ingredient”. If you read Dr. Peterson’s blog, it was a formula change to add acidifiers because so many kitties were have other urinary issues. Cure this, cause that! This link “https://endocrinevet.blogspot.com/2012/11/nutritional-management-of-idiopathic.html” discusses feeding/nutrition options, but also includes a link to the original article. I highly recommend reading both.
What is disturbing, as noted in this article as well, Methionine occurs naturally in meat, so WHY does this synthetic manufactured stuff have to be added? Even worse, some are adding it to CANNED food (found one previously and another today that I was going to try – nope!)
I have not searched for any dry food not containing this “ingredient” as dry food is about the worst thing you can feed your cat(s). Again, it appears likely that ALL dry foods will include this. You can always check the ingredients listed on the cans’bags and online offerings – they seem to all list their “ingredients”. I do also highly recommend reading Dr. Pierson’s website (catinfo.org) – there IS a lot, but start with the main page and explore when you have time. It can be very illuminating!
Going forward (it has been about 5 years now), I will NOT buy dry food for any cats in my care (currently 11, all of good weight, no real medical issues other than one old-age about 20yo girl). By eliminating the chow for that first cat, the hypercalcemia went away. Next was to eliminate it for everyone. As a bonus, doing this cleared up nasty BMs for two girls adopted at age 4 from a shelter. They had issues at the shelter too! I do wish they would eat the home-made recipe Dr Pierson listed – I need to give this another try, since the brand they were all eating has been discontinued!
So, hopefully you can avoid dry food. It is best in the long run!
Nigel Jessen
May 21, 2019 at 6:08 pm
On the other hand, he also seems to acknowledge that the role of DL-M (and presumably any acidifier) is a little speculative, and that dose (and the dietary context of that dose, e.g., magnesium level) can be as important as the mere presence of a specific compound:
https://endocrinevet.blogspot.com/2012/11/nutritional-management-of-idiopathic.html?showComment=1454335491305#c3688453139383238719
Marge
May 22, 2019 at 10:38 am
1. Note in my original post I did say DL-Methionine “…is one of the suspected causes…”
2. I still question the need to add a SYNTHETIC version if Methionine is naturally occurring in meat.
3. NO cat food, commercial or home made, will be the same as what is eaten in the wild, but DRY food will never mimic “natural” food.
4. If a cat has idiopathic hypercalcemia, trying a dietary change before resorting to drugs is preferable.
5. I repeat again, if cat food has sufficient meat, why the need to add this synthetic ingredient? Most recently I find that NVI raw bites is now “Made with 85% real meat and organs and 15% fruits, vegetables and vitamins and minerals” AND they have added DL-Methionine. The quote is from THEIR website and DL-Methionine is listed in the ingredients. Previously this product was 95% meat/organ and 5% other, plus did NOT have DL-Methionine. I have one of the older bags, so I can confirm this. You do the math there.
6. I am not dictating what anyone should feed their cat, just trying to inform people so they have options and can make choices.
The formula changes made in dry food was an attempt to reduce the number of other urinary tract problems it appeared to cause. So, perhaps the changes eliminated/reduced those issues, but introduced another?
While there is no direct evidence as to what the underlying cause of idiopathic hypercalcemia is, dry food IS bad for cats and should be avoided if possible. Are there cats who live long uneventful lives on dry food? Sure. Buy why take that chance (or if your cat is having issues, why not take the chance that getting rid of it might help)? Changing to a canned food (avoid starting with Rx diets as they may not help or be needed!) is a relatively inexpensive easy way to treat a cat. If it works, you have a kitty who is better and haven’t spent a fortune treating it AND won’t have to “pill” it. If it doesn’t work, there are other options, but I and others have had good results by doing this. I do believe starting with a dietary change is Dr. Peterson’s recommendation in that blog (and he discusses some of the Rx options and why he would not start with those.) One must STILL monitor this with their vet, to ensure the change is working. BTW, in questioning the need for this with MFGs, they insist it is minimal… Maybe for now, but I would rather it be natural Methionine vs a synthetic (how good is man’s attempts to produce synthetics???) If they make the food with sufficient good quality meat, there should be no need to add a synthetic.
Sorry, but MFGs are more concerned with the bottom line ($$$) and if they are reducing meat to save money and adding crap like this, I want nothing to do with it. This is how dry foods (and some canned) ended up with GRAINS – keeps the protein value up, but cats do not need grains and their bodies are not designed to process grains. This can lead to obesity, diabetes, kidney issues and more. Now all the foods that have eliminated grains proudly proclaim their food is “Grain Free” – it should have been all along! I have the same question as in this article: “So if methionine is found in meat and fish pet food ingredients, why would the synthetic supplement DL-Methionine be added to pet foods?” I also warn people not to be duped by those dry foods that now proudly proclaim the food contains RAW. Dry is dry. Raw is raw. Despite adding freeze dried raw to dry foods, it is NOT a water-rich raw diet. Raw diets and home made diets are not for everyone. To each their own, but getting rid of dry food, as easy and convenient as it is, would be doing your cats a world of good. I do also find it funny that people who are vehemently opposed to raw food cite pathogens – read Dr. Pierson’s comments about dry foods (mold, bacteria, toxins, etc that exist/build up in dry foods sitting in factories, warehouses, stores and your home). Also note that when I look up recalls, the majority are dry foods and canned foods. Do commercial raw foods get recalled? Yes, but not as often as other forms of pet food.
Additional note: The primary canned food being fed here for years has been discontinued. In the process of trying to find another food that I find acceptable and that most if not all here will eat, I find that many of the “premium” brands, promoted as “Grain Free”, are adding things like various starches and potatoes, along with other veggies and ingredients I do not want in cat food served here. Others are also adding DL-Methionine. Sorry, but my cats don’t need fruits, veggies and synthetic ingredients. Meats, organs, bone, vitamins and minerals. I don’t even care for the 5% NVI adds, because they are playing to PEOPLE knowing that things like blueberries are good for PEOPLE. Cats are not out there picking blueberries. There is NO need for any of this garbage in cat food. Dr. Pierson’s home made recipe has NO fruits and veggies. While I am still supplementing here with canned and commercial raw, I have had some success with the home made – I would prefer they all eat it, but one step at a time.
Maf
April 16, 2021 at 3:57 pm
Yes! When I removed dl-methionine from my Olive’s diet, her hypercalcemia DISAPPEARED. She was headed for kidney destruction. The most knowledgeable people don’t seem to know this.
If you need a dry food, Orijen Regional Red is acidifier free. But Olive mostly gets wet.
Marge
April 16, 2021 at 5:47 pm
Maf – Yay for Olive!!!! I can agree that even vets aren’t always aware of this. Mine suggested drugs. When losing the dry food cleared it up, she planned to suggest this to the other clients! Sadly I can’t update on my guy, because we lost him to, of all things, a dental cleaning. BUT, he was definitely clear of hypercalcemia long before that. Have had other issues hit us, but not food related. My oldest, who was about 20 in 2019 when I first posted, almost made it to age 22. She was first identified as being in “early” CKD about SIX years prior to losing her. It was also about the same time I eliminated dry food in the house. While her numbers did slowly get worse, which is NATURAL, her kidneys were still functioning, right to the end. About 2.5 years before losing her, imaging showed lung spots. Given her age, CKD numbers, weight loss while on thyroid meds (vet scared me away from the radioIodine, but the weight loss sent me there!), I didn’t opt for lobectomy, which might have extended her life, if she survived the surgery. Still pretty good long life. Breathing never seemed to be an issue, so it likely spread elsewhere. The car trip was always hard on her, so she had no more vet visits. Just eat, use litter, sleep and hang with me! She was content (except for a short period of “sun-downing” like those with dementia get! OY!)
So, for others, whether it is the Dl-Methionine or not, for most cats eliminating dry food could be the best thing you do for your cat (and your wallet!) It is harder to feed when working, but it can be done. Some cats are hard to transition, but it still can be accomplished in most cases. Luckily I used both canned and dry at the time. Weaning wasn’t working, so it was cold turkey for everyone! No signs of kidney issues, obesity, diabetes here. Range is about 4yo to about 15yo. One of the older ones is on BP meds, but her 2 brothers (if I’d known about them, I might have adopted them too!) passed a while ago, still in the shelter, and her sister passed about 1.5 years ago due to carcinomatosis. She’s the last of the litter! Everyone else is healthy!
Best of luck to Olive
A
December 10, 2019 at 12:59 am
Very informative..
Thank you…
Dina
November 25, 2022 at 3:38 pm
Without Dl-Methionine added to the food your pets wont be able to make cystine and by that not be able to make taurine. This is why we have the DCM outbreak. Same thing happen to cats in the late 70’s and 80’s they were going blind and had heart disease from lack of Dl-Methionine to produce the precursors of taurine. Its why pet food makers add Dl-Methionine to foods now, if you dont see that on a dry food label along with L-carnitine then your animal is at risk for DCM. Yes pet foods suck but at least inform yourself as to what the ingredients do, cutting out Dl-Methionine will put your pet at risk for dcm. And Methionine is destroyed by the rendering process so it has to be added back into the food.