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.
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, Rachael Ray™ Nutrish Chicken & Salmon Catterole's
most plentiful ingredient listed
is chicken,
which is considered a quality protein source.
It also contains salmon 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.
Please also be aware that this product contains guar gum and carrageenan, which
are additives that some experts claim may be possible contributors
to certain medical conditions in cats.
Allergen alert:
This product contains salmon which may
be problematic for cats who suffer from seafood food allergies.
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,
Rachael Ray™ Nutrish Chicken & Salmon Catterole has approximately
86 calories per 100g (24 calories/ounce),
which is an average amount of calories compared to the average of the other wet 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
May 5, 2019.
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:
Nutritional information as published by the cat food manufacturer.*
Protein:(min)
9.0%
Fat:(min)
5.0%
Fiber:(max)
3.5%
Carbs:(est)
3.5%
Ash:(est)
0.0%
Moisture:(max)
79.0%
Dry Matter Analysis
The manufacturer's published guaranteed analysis values normalized for moisture content.
Protein:(min)
43%
Fat:(min)
24%
Fiber:(max)
17%
Carbs:(est)
17%
Ash:(est)
0%
Calories:(est)
86/100g
*Note that some 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, moisture and ash in
addition to the minimum values of protein and fat contained within. Exact nutritional percentages are not
available and hence 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.
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.
