Periodically one finds an ingredient called Yucca schidigera extract on the label of a petfood—and not just on dog and cat food labels. You might even find it on ferret and rabbit food labels; and for those of you who consider your horse a pet, you may see it in horse feeds. This ingredient goes only by its Latin Linnaean name, which is sort of odd. Plus, it is not something you would ordinarily find on the grocery store shelf.
So, in our ingredient-name-obsessed industry, why is this odd sounding item in some of our petfoods? In the most delicate manner possible—it is there to help reduce fecal odor. That’s right, if you haven’t experienced it first hand, dog and cat poop smells. Of course, if you operate a kennel, cattery or shelter, or if you are the unlucky pooper-picker-upper in your pet home, you know this all too well.
