Natural Balance Original Ultra Whole Body Health Chicken, Duck Meal, Salmon Meal Formula For Kittens Review

This product is manufactured by Natural Balance Pet Foods. Natural Balance Pet Foods is a subsidiary of Big Heart Pet Brands. In addition to Natural Balance, Big Heart Pet Brands also owns Nature's Recipe, Milk Bone, Meaty Bone, Meow Mix, PupPeroni, Ally Cat, and several other brands.

According to our data, this Natural Balance recipe provides complete & balanced nutrition for growing kittens, pregnant/nursing mothers, and adult cats. In other words, this formula is AAFCO approved.

Natural Balance Original Ultra Whole Body Health Chicken, Duck Meal, Salmon Meal Formula For Kittens is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Cat Food Nutrient Profiles for growing kittens, pregnant/nursing mothers, and adult cats.

Ingredient Review

We'll begin this review of Natural Balance Original Ultra Whole Body Health Chicken, Duck Meal, Salmon Meal Formula For Kittens with a detailed discussion of the ingredients.

The first ingredient is chicken. Chicken is the most common meat ingredient used in cat food. It provides high-quality protein and fat. However, more than 60% of chicken is water.

The second ingredient is chicken meal. Chicken meal is produced by cooking chicken using a process called rendering. The rendering process dramatically reduces the natural moisture of chicken and thereby results in a highly condensed protein source.

The third ingredient is pea protein. Pea protein is produced by removing the starchy parts of peas. Pea protein is considered controversial because it provides a substantial plant based protein boost. This boost is undesirable because plant based protein is typically lower in biological value when compared to meat based proteins.

The fourth ingredient is pea. Peas are high-protein legumes which supply a healthy dose of dietary fiber and several important vitamins and minerals.

The fifth ingredient is chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), which is an excellent source of omega-6 fatty acids.

Because ingredients are listed in order of pre-cooked weight, the remaining ingredients in Natural Balance Original Ultra Whole Body Health Chicken, Duck Meal, Salmon Meal Formula For Kittens are not as important as the first five ingredients.

However, collectively they still have a significant impact on the overall quality of the product. Therefore, we'll continue discussing the remaining ingredients in this Natural Balance recipe.

Next we have dried brewers yeast. Dried brewers yeast is a by-product of the brewing industry. Brewers yeast is rich in various minerals and contains a notable amount of protein.

The next ingredient is duck meal. Duck meal is produced by a process called rendering. In short, the rendering process involves cooking duck until the moisture level falls below 10%. By removing the moisture, we're left with a concentrated protein powder made with duck (i.e. duck meal).

Then we have chicken liver. Organ meats like chicken liver are an excellent source of protein, fat, and essential vitamins and minerals. Although organs may not sound appealing, organs are an important component of a carnivorous animal's diet.

Moving on, we have salmon meal. Salmon meal is produced by cooking salmon using a process called rendering. The rendering process dramatically reduces the natural moisture of salmon and thereby results in a highly condensed protein source.

Moving on with this review, we have dried egg. Dried eggs consist of shell-free eggs which are easy to digest and contain high quality protein. Egg protein is often given the highest biological value (BV). The BV metric measures the usability of the ingredient's protein.

The next ingredient in this review is natural flavor. The sole purpose of natural flavor is to improve palatability.

Our next ingredient is brown rice. Brown rice is naturally rich in fiber and various minerals including manganese, phosphorus, and magnesium. Relative to other grains, brown rice is easy to digest.

menhaden fish oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols) is the next ingredient in this recipe. Menhaden oil is naturally rich in healthy long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, namely EPA and DHA. These omega-3 fatty acids provide many positive health benefits including the support of vital organs and cognitive functions.

The remaining ingredients in this Natural Balance Original Ultra Whole Body Health recipe are unlikely to affect the overall rating of the product.

Our analysis of the ingredients show that this product derives most of its protein from animal based sources. This is an excellent property because meat based protein contains all of the necessary amino acids required by cats. In our option, this is one of the most important properties to judge when reviewing pet food, therefore we believe this is an exceptional product in this regard.

Final Thoughts

In summary, we recognize that this product does not contain any artificial colors, artificial preservatives, or anonymous meat ingredients.

The official PawDiet rating for Natural Balance Original Ultra Whole Body Health Chicken, Duck Meal, Salmon Meal Formula For Kittens is 3.0 out of 5.