Merrick Backcountry - Raw Infused - Kitten Recipe Review

Merrick Dry Cat Food Review


Quick Analysis

Ingredients:

Nutrition:

Potential Allergens: seafood

Est. Calories: 353 cal/100g

Price: $$$$


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Overall, Merrick Backcountry - Raw Infused - Kitten Recipe is a significantly above average cat food, earning 8 out of a possible 10 paws based on its nutritional analysis and ingredient list. For more information on our cat food analysis techniques, please click here.


Ingredient Analysis

When evaluating a cat food, the first five ingredients can tell you a lot about the quality of a product as they make up the bulk of the product. Ideally, you're looking for quality protein sources with a minimum of cheap starches, fillers or by-products. Continuing down the ingredient list, look for ingredients that resemble real food with a minimal number of unpronounceable chemicals - the same as you would for human food.

Merrick Backcountry - Raw Infused - Kitten Recipe includes the following:

Quality Ingredients

  • deboned chicken
  • chicken meal
  • turkey meal
  • salmon meal
  • deboned turkey

Questionable Ingredients

None

Potential Allergens

  • salmon meal
  • salmon oil

Note - a bolded ingredient in the above tables indicates it is one of the first five ingredients listed by the product manufacturer.

In this case, Merrick Backcountry - Raw Infused - Kitten Recipe's most plentiful ingredient listed is deboned chicken, which is considered a quality protein source. It also contains chicken meal and turkey meal as additional quality protein sources.

Additionally, it's worth noting that this product does not list either by-products nor bulk-adding fillers within its top ingredients. By-products are considered inferior, lesser quality ingredients. Common fillers typically used to add bulk to the product are not required in your cat's diet. Together, their combined absence may be indicative of a higher quality product.

Allergen alert: This product contains salmon meal and salmon oil which may be problematic for cats who suffer from seafood food allergies.



Nutritional Analysis*

Compared to the other 2877 cat foods in our database, Merrick Backcountry - Raw Infused - Kitten Recipe has:

  • more protein than average
  • an average amount of carbohydrates
  • an average amount of fat
  • less fiber than average
  • significantly less moisture than an equivalent wet food
In general, cats have been shown to do better with a higher protein, medium fat, lower carb diet with sufficient moisture. However, specialty diets as recommended by your veterinarian may prioritize a different nutritional breakdown.

Calorie Breakdown

Using the calculations provided by the AAFCO, Merrick Backcountry - Raw Infused - Kitten Recipe has approximately 353 calories per 100g (100 calories/ounce), which is an average amount of calories compared to the average of the other dry cat foods in the CatFoodDB.


All the product information on this page is based on data collected from the manufacturer's product website as retrieved on January 29, 2023.

The authoritative source for ingredient lists and nutritional analysis for any pet food is always the pet food manufacturer.


Ingredients

Ingredients as published by the cat food manufacturer:

Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Potatoes, Peas, Natural Flavor, Salmon Meal, Potato Protein, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Sweet Potatoes, Deboned Turkey, Salmon Oil (source of Omega-3 fatty acids), Dried Yeast Culture, Salt, Organic Dried Alfalfa Meal, Choline Chloride, Minerals (Iron Amino Acid Complex, Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Sodium Selenite, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Copper Amino Acid Complex, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Proteinate, Cobalt Carbonate), Phosphoric Acid, Taurine, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin A Acetate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride), Dried Bacillus coagulans Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus casei Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product.


Guaranteed Analysis

Nutritional information as published by the cat food manufacturer.*

Protein: (min)
42.0%
Fat: (min)
15.0%
Fiber: (max)
3.5%
Carbs: (est)
22.5%
Ash: (est)
6.0%
Moisture: (max)
11.0%

Dry Matter Analysis

The manufacturer's published guaranteed analysis values normalized for moisture content.

Protein: (min)
47%
Fat: (min)
17%
Fiber: (max)
4%
Carbs: (est)
25%
Ash: (est)
7%
Calories: (est)
353/100g

*Note that nutritional percentages reported are only estimated values, and are indicated as such as (est). Each cat food manufacturer is required by law to publish a Guaranteed Analysis, which defines each product's maximum values of fiber and moisture in addition to the minimum values of protein and fat contained within. Optionally, manufacturers may also publish a product's ash content. When they are not published an average of 3% ash for wet food, and 6% ash for dry food, will be used. Because exact nutritional percentages are not available and all calculated values (including carbohydrate percentages and calorie amounts) are determined using these minimum and maximum published values and therefore may differ from actual values. Any other manufacturer published values in a product's Guaranteed Analysis is done at the manufacture's discretion, and is not used in any of the calculations done by CatFoodDB.

Although a high score may be indicative of a higher-quality product it is not a guarantee. Similarly, a low score may or may not indicate an inferior product. The best food for your cat is the one that meets their individual needs.


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