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1st Choice Optimal Growth (Dry) Review

1st Choice Dry Cat Food Review

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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.

1st Choice Optimal Growth (Dry) includes the following:

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, 1st Choice Optimal Growth (Dry)'s most plentiful ingredient listed is fresh cod, which is considered a quality protein source. It also contains menhaden fish 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 fresh cod, menhaden fish meal, salmon meal and dried whey which may be problematic for cats who suffer from seafood or dairy food allergies.

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Nutritional Analysis*

Compared to the other 2849 cat foods in our database, 1st Choice Optimal Growth (Dry) has:

• an average amount of protein
• an average amount of carbohydrates
• more fat than average
• an average amount of fiber
• 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

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All the product information on this page is based on data collected from the manufacturer's product website as retrieved on May 22, 2022.

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

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Ingredients

Ingredients as published by the cat food manufacturer:

Fresh Cod, Menhaden Fish Meal (a Source Of Dha), Peas, Vegetable Oil, Lentils, Salmon Meal (a Source Of Dha), Potato Protein, Flaxseed, Dried Citrus Pulp, Tapioca, Natural Flavor, Lecithin, Choline Chloride, Pea Fiber, Calcium Propionate (as A Preservative), Sodium Bisulfate, Taurine, Salt, Dl-methionine, Ferrous Sulfate, Yeast Extract, Chicory Extract (a Source Of Inulin), Alpha-tocopherol Acetate (a Source Of Vitamin E), Zinc Oxide, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Kelp, Niacin, Dried Whey, Manganous Oxide, Zinc Proteinate, D-calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Manganese Proteinate, Vitamin A Supplement, Cholecalciferol (a Source Of Vitamin D3), Biotin, Sodium Selenite, Copper Proteinate, Suncured Alfalfa Meal, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Green Tea Extract, Turmeric, Dried Ginger, Dried Spearmint, Dried Parsley, Dried Pineapple, Calcium Iodate, Folic Acid.

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*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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