Health News Article:
Natural & Premium Cat Food Ratings
(See “Key to Chart” below)
The following list is provided with permission from Earth Animal.com, providing natural animal care and nutrition for dogs and cats. It was printed in their newsletter, Love of Animals , February 2000 by Dr. Bob and Susan Goldstein. They have since come out with their own brand of quality cat food. To learn more, please visit them at www.earthanimal.com.
Brand (Dry) |
Protein |
Carbs |
Fats |
Preservatives |
Minerals |
Other |
Intuition |
Rating |
Cornucopia (Chicken) |
1 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
20 |
Fancy Feast (Beef) |
2 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
14 |
Felidae |
3 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
3 |
27 |
Flint River Ranch |
2 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
19 |
Friskies (Beef Stew) |
2 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
13 |
Iams (Chicken & Rice) |
3 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
17 |
Innova Cat (Lite) |
5 |
4 |
3 |
5 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
27 |
Lick Your Chops (Chicken) |
4 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
26 |
Natural Life (Chicken) |
4 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
25 |
Nature's Recipe (Feline Senior) |
3 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
21 |
Nutro Natural Choice (Adult) |
4 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
20 |
Old Mother Hubbard (Beef) |
2 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
18 |
Pedigree (Beef) |
1 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
14 |
PetGuard (Fish & Chicken) |
4 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
25 |
Precise (Chicken) |
4 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
25 |
Purina Pro Plan (Natural) |
3 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
15 |
Science Diet (Maintenance) |
3 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
16 |
Sensible Choice (Adult) |
3 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
18 |
Triumph (Adult) |
2 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
16 |
Waltham (Adult) |
3 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
19 |
Wysong (Vitality) |
3 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
26 |
Brand (Canned) |
Protein |
Carbs |
Fats |
Preservatives |
Minerals |
Other |
Intuition |
Rating |
Cornucopia (Poultry) |
2 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
20 |
Fancy Feast (Beef) |
2 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
14 |
Friskies (Beef Stew) |
2 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
13 |
Iams Chicken (Less Active) |
3 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
16 |
Innova |
5 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
25 |
Lick Your Chops (Chicken) |
4 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
26 |
Natural Life (Chicken) |
4 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
25 |
Nature's Recipe (Chicken) |
4 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
21 |
Nutro Max (Senior) |
3 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
19 |
Pedigree (Beef) |
1 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
14 |
PetGuard (Chicken & Wheat Germ) |
4 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
25 |
Precise (Senior) |
4 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
26 |
Sheeba (Beef) |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
8 |
Science Diet (Maintenance) |
3 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
16 |
Triumph ( Turkey ) |
2 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
16 |
Waltham (Adult) |
3 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
19 |
Key to Chart and Scoring Foods Not Listed:
Protein: 1: Byproduct meal; 3: Animal meal; 5: Fresh meat (i.e. chicken, turkey, or lamb).
Carbohydrates: 1: Byproducts: (Middlings, hulls); 3: Processed grains (brewer's rice, white flour); 5: whole grains (i.e. brown rice, whole ground wheat, whole barley, ground oats).
Fats: 1: Saturated animal fats, poultry fat, beef tallow. 5: Unsaturated vegetable fats, corn, sunflower, sesame oils.
Preservatives: 1: Chemical (BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin); 5: Natural (vitamin E, vitamin C, rosemary).
Minerals: 1: Inorganic (mononitrates, sulfates, oxides); 5: Chelated (amino acid chelates, proteinates).
Other Ingredients: 1: No beneficial nutrients added; 5: Beneficial nutrients (herbs, fruits and vegetables, enzymes, probiotics, nutraceuticals (i.e. garlic, carrots, potatoes).
Goldstein Intuition: What we know about the company and how we feel about the food. Insert your own value here if you wish, or adjust final score. Scores between these numbers result from combinations of ingredients. For example, a food that has both chicken and chicken meal would receive a protein score of 4.
Scoring:
28+ Ideal. You'll notice that there are no foods rated ideal. Every food on the market right now cuts corners somewhere.
19 – 27 Acceptable. There is still room for improvement. Be sure to keep your animal on the Goldstein Food Plan, and add plenty of other whole foods and supplements to keep your animal in peak health.
18 and below: Unacceptable. Either this food contains too many unacceptable ingredients, or your animal is not getting the necessary nutrition from this food.
