This is a review of Purina Cat Chow Naturals cat food.
As a feline Nutritionist and pet owner, I have bought various types of foods for my cats. My main concern always was how to provide the best nutrition for my pets.
I believe that our pets deserve the best possible food that we can provide.
In this article, I aim to show:
- what ingredients are in branded pet food
- how this affects your loved cat
So you can make an informed choice if particular cat food is best for your pet.
With so many options available on cat food shelves, it is easy to be overwhelmed, which is the best cat food overall.
I have researched Purina Cat Chow Naturals cat food products in-depth to help you determine if this cat food brand is the best diet for your cat.
Purina Cat Chow Naturals is a dry cat food brand, which provides balanced nutrition for most cats.
Purina is a brand created in 1904 specializing in adult cat and dog food, treats, and supplements. They are a global company and pride themselves on a quality product for your pets.
All Purina Cat Chow Naturals are made in the USA. Most ingredients used in Purina products are sourced in the U.S. Like other food companies, they source a limited amount of components from other countries. These ingredients are primarily essential nutrients that are not commonly available in the U.S. in the needed quantities. For example, Vitamin B is sourced from China.
This comprehensive cat food review will analyze this brand’s ingredients and nutritional content. We will also discuss customer reviews, possible recalls, and potential alternatives for this pet food from Purina Cat Chow Naturals.
Keep reading for more details.
Purina Cat Chow Naturals Cat Food Overview.
Purina Cat Chow Naturals cat food is a dry food product.
Each Purina® Cat Chow® recipe is designed to deliver the nutrition and taste your cat needs, so you and your cat can be stronger and happier together. Find the one that’s right for you. (1)
This cat food line consists of dry food explicitly formulated for indoor, sensitive stomach, kitten, senior, hairball control, grain-free, Dentalife needs for cats.
All formulas meet AAFCO Guidelines for pet food.
Here are their most popular options for Purina Cat Chow Naturals cat food:
- Cat Chow Naturals Original Dry Cat Food
- Cat Chow Naturals Indoor with Real Chicken & Turkey Dry Cat Food
- Cat Chow Naturals Grain-Free with Real Chicken Dry Cat Food
- Kitten Chow Naturals Dry Cat Food
We select Cat Chow Naturals Original Dry Cat Food for detailed analysis.
This cat food is designed for adult cats.
Also, the Cat Chow Naturals Original Dry Cat Food Formula is the most popular option in the Cat Chow Naturals food range.
Label Analysis
Below we have a detailed analysis of the Cat Chow Naturals cat food label.
Cat Chow Naturals Original Dry Cat Food
Ingredients list: Chicken, Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken By-product Meal, Rice, Soybean Meal, Ground Yellow Corn, Ground Whole Wheat, Beef Tallow Preserved With Mixed-tocopherols, Salmon, Natural Liver Flavor, Calcium Carbonate, Phosphoric Acid, Salt, Natural Flavor, Dried Spinach, Choline Chloride, Taurine, Vitamins [Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin (Vitamin B-3), Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B-5), Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B-1), Riboflavin Supplement (Vitamin B-2), Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B-6), Folic Acid (Vitamin B-9), Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Biotin (Vitamin B-7), Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Vitamin K)], Minerals [Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite], Potassium Chloride. H452120.
Guaranteed Analysis:
| Crude protein | 34.0% min |
| Crude fat | 13.0% min |
| Crude fiber | 3.0% max |
| Moisture | 12.0% max |
Total caloric content:
398 kcal/cup
Ingredients Analysis
This recipe features high protein levels for strong and lean muscles, healthy carbohydrates for increased energy levels, essential fatty acids for a beautiful, shiny coat, and vitamins and minerals intended to support and strengthen your cat’s immune system.
Chicken:
An excellent quality real meat as the first ingredient provides lean protein for your cat’s balanced nutrition.
Lean meats provide all necessary for a strong heart, good vision, and a healthy reproductive system.
Corn Gluten Meal:
This is a by-product of processed corn (corn syrup and sweeteners) used by the pet industry as an inexpensive protein source and kibble binder for pet foods.
It is made from corn proteins and does not have gluten.
Chicken By-product Meal:
This is made up of chicken that has been ground and cooked, reducing the fat content to create a protein-rich ingredient.
It’s high in protein and amino acids to help strengthen and maintain your pet’s muscles. It’s also a high-quality source of glucosamine for joint health.
Rice:
Rice is a carbohydrate.
It is one of the approved “human foods” to give to your cat. If you are feeding a colony of stray cats, bland rice and bits of chicken could keep your costs down. However, this might miss all the essential vitamins, minerals, and amino acids cats need to be healthy.
Soybean Meal:
Soybean meal is the by-product of the extraction of soybean oil. It is an excellent source of protein, and it is cheap to come by. It might be the financial aspect of why pet food manufacturers add this to their products.
Soy and its products have got a bad name in the press relating to pet food. This comes from the notion that cats are obligate carnivores and do not need plants to have complete nutrition.
Some advice is not to feed cats this as it can cause allergies and digestive issues. However, some prescribed veterinary diets for cats have soy as one of the ingredients.
Ground Yellow Corn:
The cornmeal consists of dried corn kernels that have been ground into a fine or medium texture.
This product has a high level of starch. Starch can provide nutritional value for digestive health, specifically in the gut.
This can help with glycemic response, improving stool and the microbiome.
Ground Whole Wheat:
Whole wheat contains whole grain. Whole wheat is a nutritious alternative to regular wheat and is rich in antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber.
As cats are obligate carnivores, high meat and fat content are a must in their diet. In nature, cats eat the whole prey they have caught, the stomach contents included. This means that some content of the grain is consumed and might be necessary for a healthy cat.
Beef Tallow Preserved With Mixed-tocopherols:
Tallow is a rendered form of beef fat.
- Great energy source,
- It helps transport nutrients and other substances across the body,
- Keep your cat’s skin and coat healthy.
Mixed-tocopherols are a natural form of Vitamin E.
Essential vitamin for cats.
- It helps maintain optimal health,
- Antioxidant to protect cells from damage (helps add oxygen to the cell body),
- Improves immune system and fertility,
- Heart health.
Salmon:
An excellent protein source for cat nutrition.
Benefits:
- Healthy skin and coat,
- Reduce inflammation,
(research shows a diet high in omega-3s can help protect against inflammation-related diseases)
- It can improve the body’s blood flow and oxygen circulation.
Natural Liver Flavor:
The liver flavor is a palatability enhancer made from hydrolyzed livers. It is a natural product with great nutritional value for your cat.
Benefits:
- Eye vision, especially night vision,
- Skin and fur health,
- Bone formation,
- Immune system support,
- Overall support from over oxidation.
Calcium Carbonate:
Ground limestone is an easy-to-use, safe, effective, and economical source of calcium fortification for cat diets.
Some research shows that this can be beneficial for cats with kidney and urinary tract issues.
Phosphoric Acid:
Improves food palatability.
Serves to maintain the ideal urinary pH.
Dangers might surface if a cat is fed more than its needed daily amount. Some studies found that cats could develop kidney damage, especially if they are seniors.
Salt:
Salt is a source of essential minerals needed for maintaining good health and the proper metabolism in cats.
It is composed of sodium and chloride, which are two essential minerals for cats. They maintain the balance of body fluids.
Salt can be added to canned food to make the food taste better. Added salt might increase thirst and water consumption. But not to worry, extra salt is excreted in cats’ urine.
Natural Flavor:
It is made from nutritional yeast and usually is glutamic acid (flavoring that enhances meaty flavors). This makes a lot of foods delicious to cats.
Dried Spinach:
High in vitamins and minerals: A, K, B6, B2, E, and C.
Beneficial for eye health, constipation and can protect against age-related macular degeneration.
Should not be given to cats with urinary and kidney problems.
Choline Chloride:
A building block for the nervous system, however too much of it can have adverse effects like vomiting in your cat.
Taurine is a critical amino acid for your cat.
Essential for:
- normal vision,
- digestion,
- heart muscle function,
- maintaining normal pregnancy and fetal development,
- healthy immune system.
Vitamins and minerals are essential for your cat’s overall wellbeing and healthy body.
Vitamins [Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin (Vitamin B-3), Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B-5), Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B-1), Riboflavin Supplement (Vitamin B-2), Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B-6), Folic Acid (Vitamin B-9), Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Biotin (Vitamin B-7), Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Vitamin K)], Minerals [Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite], Potassium Chloride. H452120.
Nutrient analysis
Purina Cat Chow Naturals cat food is made with quality meat protein as its first ingredient.
Additional benefits include: High-Protein, Weight Control, Indoor, Natural.
Crude protein 34.0% min
Kittens will need around 30%- 40% crude protein in their diet per day. They are growing fast, so they need as much lean protein as possible to maintain good bone and muscle health. High energy output requires higher protein, minerals, vitamins, and amino acid foods.
Adult cats require 35%- 40% protein in their diet.
But is it possible to feed too much protein to a cat? Generally, if a cat has a shiny coat, is alert, has normal stool and skin, ideal weight. It probably means that the food is okay.
Senior cats
It can be a bit tricky to determine how much protein a senior cat needs. The difficulty is in the fact that elderly cats might develop kidney disease. A high protein diet could harm the kidneys further. On the other hand, a low protein diet will mean muscle mass loss.
The best things to do in this case:
- See your cats veterinarian for a kidney check-up
- Focus on quality rather than quantity in protein.
For example, if your cat’s food label has chicken as the first ingredient. This means that your cat is getting quality lean protein.
- Change your cat’s diet to a lower protein diet.
(do it gradually as cats do not like change in diet).
Crude Fat 13.0% min
Cats get their energy from protein and fat and favor a meal where protein and fat are high.
Some owners might be tempted to feed a cat a low-fat diet to ensure obesity is not a problem. However, cats need more fat content and tend to overeat low-fat food to meet their nutritional needs.
Look for actual animal fat in your cat’s food label. In Purina Cat Chow Naturals, there is beef fat as described in the ingredients overview.
Crude Fiber 3.0% max
The fiber in cat food has become somewhat a controversial topic. It might seem that cats in the wild only eat meat, but actually, they eat all the animals with their prey’s skin, hoves, intestines, and stomach contents.
This could mean that our felines do need a bit of fiber content in their meals.
Your veterinarian might prescribe a low or high-fiber diet if your cat is experiencing digestive problems.
For example, a high fiber content can help a diabetic cat, and a low fiber diet can help with small intestine problems.
It is always important to speak to your veterinarian for advice on your cat’s diet if digestive problems occur.
Purina Cat Chow Naturals Cat Food Reviews:
98% of cat owners on Chewy would recommend Purina Cat Chow Naturals formula. Over 900 reviews give the product 4.7 out of 5 stars.
Most reviews share that the food is:
- A bit pricey,
- Easy switch to Purina from the previous brand,
- Non-re-sealable bag, need to get a special container,
- Picky eaters, but loved the new Cat Chow Naturals instantly.
“This is the only dry kitty food that Miss Picky Face will consistently mow down without looks of complete disdain. She was pretty well starved when she showed up on my doorstep. Between the Purina Natural, Greek Yogurt, and scrambled eggs, she is thriving. Easy to chew. Nutritional without adding ingredients I can’t pronounce. Until they cheapen the formula, it’s all I’m going to give Miss Kitty. Highly recommend it.”
You can read more on:
Cat Chow Naturals Original Dry Cat Food
Recalls
There is no current recall of this product.
The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) require that all animal foods, like human foods, be safe to eat, produced under sanitary conditions, contain no harmful substances, and be truthfully labeled. In addition, canned pet foods must be processed in conformance with the low acid canned food regulations to ensure the pet food is free of viable microorganisms. (2)
You can find a complete list of FDA recalls here.
Alternatives
Suppose you think that Purina Cat Chow Naturals cat food is not the ideal choice for your cat. There are a few alternatives to consider.
Blue Buffalo Wilderness Chicken Grain-Free Canned Cat Food
Blue Buffalo is a High Protein Grain Free, Natural Adult Pate Wet Cat Food.
Quality protein is the first ingredient like chicken, meat, or fish.
Designed for all stages of your cat’s life with specific formulas for kittens and older cats included.
Stella & Chewy’s Chick Chick Chicken Dinner Morsels Freeze-Dried Raw Cat Food
Stella and Chewy’s freeze-dried raw cat food is one of the favorites among cat owners when commercial freeze-dried raw food is mentioned.
Never contains grains, gluten, fillers, artificial preservatives, or colorings.
Instinct Limited Ingredient Diet Grain-Free Recipe
Instinct limited ingredient formula is great if your cat develops sensitivity or food intolerance.
Never contain any grain, dairy, eggs, chicken, beef, fish, sweet potato, potato, chickpeas, corn, wheat, soy, artificial colors, or preservatives.
In Conclusion
We recommend Purina Cat Chow Naturals for owners looking for a balanced nutrition product for their pets.
This review shows that Purina Cat Chow Naturals is a cat food brand loved by other cat owners and their cats. With real protein as the first ingredient to start with. They also pride themselves on the promise that their recipes are: High-Protein, Weight Control, Indoor, Natural, Pea Free.
Quality ingredients and Formulas designed for each stage of your cat’s life with added hairball and weight control measures.
Speak with your cat’s veterinarian today to determine if Purina Cat Chow Naturals cat food would be an excellent option for your cat.
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