Will Taiwanese silkworm pet food prove to be the cat’s whiskers?
- Pet food made from pupae, a by-product of the silk-making process, can help clean up the animals’ intestines and reduce the odour from their faeces
- The discovery could be a lifeline for struggling silk farmers who need to diversify their businesses
Licking its lips imperiously, a ginger cat mops up every last morsel of food from its curly whiskers, clearly undaunted by its supper’s rather unusual base ingredient – silkworm pupae.
The 15 feline residents of the Mao Thai Thai cat cafe in Taiwan are among the taste testers sampling a new cat food developed by silkworm experts.
As well as making use of what was previously just a by-product of silk production, the scientists say the food eliminates harmful intestinal bacteria – with the added bonus of reducing the odour of the cats’ own by-products.
“They have more energy and less smelly faeces, which is more than I expected,” says the cafe’s manager Rosa Su.
The food comes in various normal-sounding flavours – tuna and milkfish, beef and chicken – but the main protein component of the pink gloop is insect.