The Good: Nothing bad in it, Gollum loves it, Smells surprisingly good
The Bad: Comparatively expensive
The Basics: My cat Gollum endorsed Nature’s Recipe Chicken with Beef Recipe in broth catfood after only one container.
It seems that whenever I have the chance to splurge on my cat, it is always on wet catfood. I’m not sure how fair it is that I often acknowledge that Gollum, my aging black cat, loves most wet catfoods, but I can’t afford the expense. Gollum gets lots of dry catfood, plenty of water and play/pet time. But when I have the extra bucks to spend, I do try to pick him up a treat – usually that is on sale – from the wet catfood department. Our latest outing for Gollum yielded a container of Nature’s Recipe Chicken with Beef Recipe in broth cat food. Given that real chicken was the #1 ingredient, it was a fair bet that Gollum would enjoy this catfood quite a bit.
Nature’s Recipe comes in a plastic 2.75 oz. single serve container. Supposedly, Gollum for his weight and age should eat two to three of these cups per day! Even on sale, that would be a pricy endeavor, but when I did open the container, Gollum came running for it. Gollum completely gorged himself on this catfood, not saving any for later. This was one of the strongest reactions I have seen from Gollum in a long time. He did not save any for later; he was was vigorous in his consumption of it.
The Chicken with Beef Recipe in broth opens up easily enough in the 2.75 oz. can. The small can has a thin plastic lid that easily pulls off. Opening the container reveals the food inside. Nature's Recipe Chicken with Beef Recipe in broth looks like a little blocks of ground up chicken with carrots mixed into it. This looked more like a paste with a few carrot chunks as opposed to a food that is meat chunks. This pastelike catfood may be dispensed into a cat's food dish by either smacking it against the bottom of the dish or spooning the contents out into the dish. Alternatively, this wet cat food may be eaten right out of the can as there are no sharp edges on the plastic.
As for the Chicken with Beef Recipe in broth itself, the catfood smells delightfully like chicken. Given how Gollum reacts to fresh cooked chicken, it is absolutely unsurprising that Gollum would eagerly eat this chicken paste. Gollum ate it all up as if it was made of fresh-cooked chicken as well.
The Nature's Recipe Chicken with Beef Recipe in broth claims to be the perfect balance of nutrition and taste and it has nothing noticeable bad in it (I'm not a Chem student, so I can't speak for all of the preservatives). But considering that the primary ingredients are chicken, chicken broth, and beef, Nature’s Recipe seems to have its act together on making an essentially good product. According to the guaranteed analysis on the container, there is a minimum of 10% crude protein and 2% crude fat and no more than 1.5% crude fiber, 3% ash, and 82% moisture. This is makes no statement about whether or not it is wheat-free.
The recommended serving size is two (2.75 oz.) cans per day, but I cannot afford to give Gollum this regularly. Hard catfood also has clear dental benefits that the Nature's Recipe Chicken with Beef Recipe in broth does not have. When the cats chew (to split into bite-sized pieces) their hard catfood, it scrapes plaque and tartar off their teeth. There is no such physical operation going on with this catfood. Gollum's mouth smelled like chicken for an hour after he licked up the gravy and ate this food.
Finally, the 2.75 oz. container is the least efficient and environmentally sound way to purchase this catfood. In addition to being the most proportionately expensive way (buying by the single can always is), the sheer amount of waste this generates in plastic containers and the foil wrappers is stifling to anyone with an environmental conscience.
That said, because Gollum absolutely loves this food, it is very easy for me to splurge on it for him!
For other cat foods, please visit my reviews of:
9 Lives Daily Essentials Salmon, Chicken & Beef Cat Food
Purina Pro Plan Seafood Stew Entree
Purina One SmartBlend Salmon And Tuna Cat Food
9/10
For other pet product reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!
© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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