Natural Balance Original Ultra Whole Body Health Chicken, Salmon & Duck 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, Salmon & Duck 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, Salmon & Duck Formula For Kittens with a detailed discussion of the ingredients.

The first ingredient is chicken, which provides animal-based protein and important omega-6 fatty acids.

The second ingredient is chicken liver. Chicken liver is an excellent organ meat which provides high quality protein and fat. In addition, chicken liver provides many essential vitamins and minerals.

The third ingredient is chicken broth. Chicken broth provides both flavor and moisture; however, as with other broths, chicken broth does not provide any notable nutritional contribution.

The fourth ingredient is salmon. Although salmon is an excellent protein and omega-3 fatty acid source, raw salmon contains more than 60% moisture. After cooking, the relative meat contribution of salmon is dramatically reduced. Therefore, it's important to ensure that other meat sources are included within the first few ingredients to ensure the product derives most of its protein from meat.

The fifth ingredient is duck. Duck is another excellent protein source. As with other raw meats, duck contains a substantial amount of moisture and therefore the relative meat contribution of duck is dramatically reduced after cooking.

Because ingredients are listed in order of pre-cooked weight, the remaining ingredients in Natural Balance Original Ultra Whole Body Health Chicken, Salmon & Duck 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 pea. Dried peas are an excellent carbohydrate source, naturally rich in dietary fiber and protein.

The 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.

Then we have natural flavor. The sole purpose of natural flavor is to improve palatability.

Moving on, 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.

Moving on with this review, we have canola oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols). The usage of canola oil is controversial in cat food. Canola plant seeds are the product of selective breeding applied to rapeseed, which in turn is used to produce rapeseed oil. It is widely known that rapeseed oil is dangerous for human and animal consumption.

The next ingredient in this review is 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.

Our next ingredient is menhaden oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols). 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.

dicalcium phosphate is the next ingredient in this recipe. Dicalcium phosphate (misnomer for dibasic calcium phosphate) is commonly used in pet food and treats as a dietary calcium supplement. It can also be found in breakfast cereals, enriched flour, noodle products, pharmaceutical tablets, and toothpastes.

Next on the list is vitamin E supplement. Vitamin E is an essential vitamin required by cats.

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, Salmon & Duck Formula For Kittens is 5.0 out of 5.