Monday, January 7, 2013

Another Failure From Dick Van Patten’s Cat Foods: Natural Balance Alpha Cat Balanced Protein Trout, Salmon Meal & Whitefish Formula Cat Food Flops!


The Good: Very nutritious, Made with great ingredients.
The Bad: Does nothing for urinary tract health, Gollum absolutely refuses to eat it!
The Basics: Gollum surprised me by completely avoiding Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance Alpha Cat Balanced Protein Trout, Salmon Meal & Whitefish Formula Cat Food, despite the quality of the ingredients.


It always saddens me when I feel some of my reviewing might be redundant. Recently, I picked up some of Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance Green Pea & Salmon cat food (reviewed here!) and Gollum actually loathed it. He more or less refused to eat it, even when there were no other options available to him. So, after reviewing that and finding it to be such a negative experience for Gollum, it makes me sad to have to review the Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance Alpha Cat Balanced Protein Trout, Salmon Meal & Whitefish Formula cat food essentially the same way. This cat food is another one that Gollum despises.

To be fair to Dick Van Patten’s cat food consortium, the ingredients are great, though when one is buying this for real, it is pretty expensive, but the fact that Gollum adamantly refuses to eat this, even when he is given no other options (he will cry for food, sitting at his food dish filled with this food rather than eat it!), makes is pretty worthless as a cat food.

Basics

Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance Alpha Cat Balanced Protein Trout, Salmon Meal & Whitefish Formula Cat Food is a cat food formulated for adult cats. The Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance Alpha Cat Balanced Protein Trout, Salmon Meal & Whitefish Formula Cat Food catfood regularly comes in a ten pound resealable plastic bag that is priced in stores over $35. As a cheapskate and poor person, I tend to insist that if I am paying that much for cat food, my cat will at least eat it!

The Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance Alpha Cat Balanced Protein Trout, Salmon Meal & Whitefish Formula Cat Food comes with fairly uniform oval pieces. The brown mealy discs are approximately 5/16” in diameter and 1/8” thick.

Ease Of Preparation

Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance Alpha Cat Balanced Protein Trout, Salmon Meal & Whitefish Formula Cat Food is a hard catfood that comes in a large bag, so preparation only involves opening the bag and measuring out the proper serving size for your cat, as determined by its weight. For Gollum, that means a 3/4 - 1 cup serving and that lasts about a month at that rate of consumption.

Gollum’s Reaction

This cat food smells very fishy. The Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance Alpha Cat Balanced Protein Trout, Salmon Meal & Whitefish Formula Cat Food has an aroma that is more fishy than any other cat food I’ve had for Gollum in recent memory, which makes it shocking that Gollum does not run for it each time I got it out for him. Gollum absolutely refuses to eat Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance Alpha Cat Balanced Protein Trout, Salmon Meal & Whitefish Formula Cat Food, no matter how hungry he is!

Nutrition

The Trout, Salmon Meal & Whitefish Formula Cat Food is a rather nutritious cat food, or it would be if Gollum actually ate it. The guaranteed analysis of it indicates that it has a minimum of 35% crude protein and 12% crude fat. With no more than 3.5% crude fiber and 10% moisture, this is a food that is very balanced. Always have adequate water near your cat’s feeding area!

As well, those who are concerned about what goes into their pets will be pleased by how this is a mostly natural cat food this is, with only the bottom half of the ingredients are chemicals. The main ingredients, however, are trout, chicken meal, and potatoes. While only the end of ingredient list is a chemistry equation I can barely read, the primary ingredients are recognizable. Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance Alpha Cat Balanced Protein Trout, Salmon Meal & Whitefish Formula Cat Food could be a lot worse. It does is hard enough to have the basic dental benefits of physically scraping plaque and tartar off cat’s teeth. There are not, however, any urinary tract benefits built into the formula. It is, however, grain free.

Overview

Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance Alpha Cat Balanced Protein Trout, Salmon Meal & Whitefish Formula Cat Food is smelly and, apparently, inedible. Gollum steadfastly refuses to eat this cat food, making it an impossible sell.

For other cat foods, please visit my reviews (with Gollum's help!) of:
Purina Cat Chow Healthy Weight Cat Food
NutriSource Cat Senior/Weight Management Chicken & Rice Formula
Fromm Surf & Turf Cat Food

0/10

For other cat products, please be sure to visit my Pet Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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