We’re always on an ongoing adventure to find Kalista foods to rotate into her diet so this week we tried Natural Balance Chicken & Liver Paté Formula. This is the second flavour of Natural Balance, the first being Natural Balance’s Ultra Premium Indoor Chicken Formula. I’m going to compare the two a bit with each other by ingredient, but I won’t overlap too much, so make sure to click the link if you’re interested in the other food.
The Smell
Immediately after opening this can of food I told my partner: I would eat this, it smells really good. I wouldn’t say it was as good as Caru’s food, but it was really good smelling at food that actually smelled like meat. I was sure that Kalista would like the smell and would eat the food right away, and I was right. Similar to the other blend, you could tell that this food was made of chicken and I was happy to see it was consistent with the other blend.
Consistency
I feel like this blend was a bit wetter than the other, and we didn’t actually add too much water to this mix. I mean, things are going to change from batch to batch and I’m not going to be able to tell until I open more cans of it, but I was happy with the moisture content in the can. It wasn’t as dense as the other blend and was easier to break down.
Guaranteed Analysis
This Product’s Guaranteed AnalysisCrude Protein (Minimum) 9.0% |
Guaranteed Analysis of IndoorCrude Protein (Minimum) 9.0% |
The guaranteed analyses are fairly similar, although it’s good to know that this product has more fat in it and the other has more fibre. Higher fibres tend to be seen in indoor formulas, and so is reduced fat since cats tend to exercise less than outdoor cats. Both are sufficient for indoor or outdoor cats, but we should look at ingredients to see what really makes something indoor versus “outdoor.”
Ingredients
Ingredients in this BlendChicken, Chicken Liver, Chicken Broth, Carrots, Brown Rice, Natural Flavor, Dried Egg, Dicalcium Phosphate, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Niacin, Vitamin A Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid, Biotin), Guar Gum, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Iron Proteinate, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, Manganese Proteinate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite.), Menhaden Oil (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Cranberries, Taurine, Choline Chloride, Carrageenan, Magnesium Chloride, Rosemary Extract |
Ingredients in Indoor BlendChicken, Chicken Meal, Brown Rice, Oat Groats, Salmon Meal, Oat Hulls, Chicken Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Lactic Acid), Natural Flavor, Pea Fiber, Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Dried Egg, Dried Potato Products, Potato Protein, Brewers Dried Yeast, Flaxseed, Menhaden Fish Oil (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Salt, Potassium Chloride, Spinach, Parsley, Carrots, Inulin, Choline Chloride, Taurine, Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Iron Proteinate, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, Manganese Proteinate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite) Dl-Methionine, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid, Biotin), L-Carnitine, Dried Kelp, L-Lysine Monohydrochloride, Cranberries, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Citric Acid (Preservative), Rosemary Extract. |
My thoughts on the Ingredients:
You can easily see why this blend seemed wetter than the other blend since there’s actual broth in this blend. Now, they actually don’t include any Salmon, so if you’re not comfortable with feeding Salmon or any fish, this may be the blend for you. It also includes carrots instead of peas (as a source of fibre) and although the other blend used some carrots, you can really see them inside of this blend. I’m interested to know why this blend uses Guar Gum as a binding agent as the other blend didn’t seem to have a binding agent. It could potentially just be the fact that the ingredients bind easier in the Indoor Blend while the C&L blend (using fewer ingredients) doesn’t bind seamlessly without it. A little bit about Guar Gum: it’s actually great for your cat. It has benefits for diabetic and overweight cats since it lowers cholesterol and triglycerides and actually increases glucose tolerance. There are other benefits such as improving glycemic control, lowers the rate of digestion, reduces gastrointestinal pain, cramping, diarrhea, soft stools, nausea and reduces the amount of notorious… cat farts! I’m glad to see this in the mix, but wonder why they didn’t add it in the other. Otherwise, the other ingredients seem pretty standard.
So which do I like more?
I actually like this blend a lot more than the other. It seems like they’ve cut out a bunch of the fillers like potatoes and yeast and that this blend is a lot more streamlined than the other. I’m not super worried about the increase of fat and decrease of fibre as my little ones don’t really have problems with their #2, but with the addition of Guar Gum it’s a pretty great trade-off.
Extra Benefits
Similar to the other product the following are the benefits of feeding Natural Balance:
- All products are tested for Aflatoxin, Cyanuric Acid, Don (Vomitoxin), Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia Coli (STEC), Fumonisin, Melamine, Ochratoxin, Salmonella SPP and Zearalenone. (Which you can actually call them out on and they will send you the tests.
- The foods were developed by both vets and animal nutritionists
- There are no artificial colours or bleached ingredients
- The foods are meant to support digestive health & muscle tone
- They are all life stages foods
- They have high sources of protein
- There are no artificial preservatives
Kalista’s Final Say
Kalista actually went for this food immediately. She had no problems eating it until it was refrigerated. Unfortunately, that was a bit tricker and we had to give her a bowl of kibble next to her wet food to get her to eat it again. Now, this isn’t a big deal for us since that’s super common with other brands of food for her, but she did happily eat the full can after about 2 sittings. I would give this blend a full 5/5. I’m happy with the ingredients, I’m happy that she liked it and I’m happy to say that I’m liking Natural Balance a lot already. I still have more flavours to try out with Kalista (mostly being Chicken, since it seems like the only thing she will touch), but maybe if we get similar cans with base ingredients she will go for different proteins!
So Pet Parents, have you ever tried this blend before? What did you think?
Ellen Pilch says
July 22, 2018 at 6:56 pmMy kitties like this brand in venison.
Johnny Salib says
July 22, 2018 at 7:41 pmMmmm venison sounds super tasty!
The Island Cats says
July 22, 2018 at 5:28 pmWe’ve eaten the Natural Balance foods in the past but aren’t as interested in them anymore. Glad Kalista liked it!
Johnny Salib says
July 22, 2018 at 5:30 pmGlad they liked it when they did! I wish they could tell you what it is about food that they like and don’t like. It takes so much observing and trial/error.
Eastside Cats says
July 22, 2018 at 4:26 pmWe used Natural Balance canned food for years; they have a limited ingredient line, and it worked well for our Chuck. When Da Boyz came to us, they were eating something completely different, so I haven’t tried to guide them back to Natural Balance. But, to me, NB is my go-to brand.
Johnny Salib says
July 22, 2018 at 4:49 pmGlad to hear it! And yeah, I was really interested in the L.I. line, it’s just a few dollars more expensive for the food, so it’s not really the greatest in the wallet right now. I am, however, really interested to see if Kalista prefers it in the future, but I’d be happier (at least for now) if she’s eating a cheaper but still high quality food.
What are Da Boyz eating these days?
Crystal and Daisy Mae says
July 22, 2018 at 11:03 amIf Kalista doesn’t like it cold do what we do for Daisy Mae our cat and that is let the food sit out on the countertop until it reaches room temperature or gets warm. Daisy Mae likes her Pate and and canned food warm.
Johnny Salib says
July 22, 2018 at 2:24 pmI still have to try that. Beau’s just such a sneak and would try to knock over the Tupperware so I may have to lock him in a room while it gets warmer.