Nutrisca Cat Food Ingredients

Nutrisca manufactures roughly 14 different cat food products. Each product utilizes a unique set of ingredients to achieve a desired nutritional profile.

In this article, we'll explore Nutrisca ingredients and answer many of the most common questions.

As of right now, our records indicate that Nutrisca uses roughly 78 different ingredients.

First 5 Ingredients

Cat food ingredients in the United States are listed in descending order of pre-cooked weight. The first 5 ingredients typically constitute a significant portion of the recipe.

For Nutrisca, these are the most common ingredients found within the first 5 cat food ingredients.

1. tuna broth
2. tuna
3. shrimp
4. sunflower oil
5. tapioca

As you can see, the most common first ingredient in Nutrisca is tuna broth. The most common 2nd ingredient is tuna, followed by shrimp, sunflower oil, and tapioca.

Artificial Food Coloring Dyes

Nutrisca does not use any artificial food coloring dyes. According to our records, none of the 14 Nutrisca cat foods contain artificial food dyes.

Artificial food coloring dyes are unnecessary and potentially harmful ingredients. In general, we not not recommend feeding any pet foods that contain artificial dyes.

In 2010, the CSPI raised serious concerns regarding the safety of many artificial dyes. Most of the studies referenced by the CSPI involved prolonged or excessive consumption. Since most cats consume the same foods throughout their lives, concerns raised by the CSPI are alarming to say the least.

To read more about Artificial Food Dyes, click here.

Animal By-Products

According to our records, Nutrisca does not contain any animal by-products.

Animal by-products are basically the leftover parts of the the carcass after its been processed for meat. AAFCO defines by-products as the non-rendered, clean parts, other than meat, derived from slaughtered mammals.

Although by-products are still fairly nutritious ingredients, consumers have equated them with slaughterhouse waste. Therefore, most premium brands, including Nutrisca have decided to remove by-products and instead use named organ meats (beef liver, chicken gizzards).

For further reading on the controversy over animal by-products, click here.

Anonymous Meat Ingredients

Anonymous meats are inexpensive low-quality ingredients that can come from practically any animal. These type of ingredients are often used to produce very inexpensive cat foods.

In general, we prefer ingredients which specify the animal source used to derive the ingredient. For example, ingredients such as duck fat are much better than animal fat or poultry fat.

In our analysis, we've looked through all 78 Nutrisca ingredients. According to our data, Nutrisca does not contain any anonymous animal-based ingredients.

Cereal Grains

For cats, we typically recommend choosing a grain-free recipe. Cats are obligate carnivores and therefore grains are not species appropriate.

According to our data, Nutrisca cat food recipes do not contain grains. In other words, all recipes are grain-free.

Please note, kibble production requires a binding agent. Grains are commonly used for this purpose in cat food. When purchasing grain-free cat food, grains are often replaced with another starchy source. This is also not ideal.

To avoid grains and other starchy additions, consider feeding wet or frozen recipes.

Controversial Ingredients

In most cases, ingredients which are given the controversial classification can be substituted with higher-quality alternatives. You should evaluate each controversial ingredient independently to see if there is truly a valid cause for concern.

Keep in mind, certain sacrifices often must be made to produce cat foods at a reasonable price. In general, the more expensive the product, the fewer controversial ingredients you'll find.

In our analysis, we've identified 2 controversial ingredients inside Nutrisca products. These controversial ingredients are listed below. Click on each ingredient for more information.

Potentially Harmful Ingredients

Harmful ingredients are those which have been linked to adverse health effects. In general, we do not recommend feeding any product which contains any harmful ingredients.

There are certain situations where these ingredients may be necessary. We always recommend contacting Nutrisca for further clarification regarding any harmful or controversial ingredient.

We have identified 1 harmful ingredient used in certain Nutrisca recipes. To learn more, click on the ingredient's name.

Nutrisca Cat Food Ingredient Lists