If you’re looking for a cat food product that has an optimal blend of natural protein sources, nutrient-dense ingredients, and added vitamins/minerals, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better product than Natural Balance Salmon canned cat food.
Even though it might seem like just your typical run-of-the-mill cat food, you’d be surprised to learn that there are many underlying aspects that make this particular product one of the better options for your cat.
Before we delve into the various reasons as to why this brand of cat food is one of the better options currently on the market, let’s first establish exactly what type of nutritional profile is optimal for cats.
In the following sections, we’ll go into detail about which nutrients your cat needs the most, which ingredients are the highest quality, and then finally why Natural Balance salmon cat food (canned) offers one of the more complete nutritional profiles available.
Optimal Nutrition for Your Cat
One of the most unique aspects of feline nutrition is the fact that cats are carnivores. Unlike dogs (as well as people), cats require that all of their nutrients be sourced from animals. Dogs, on the other hand, can be fed diets more like those of humans (i.e. vegetables, carbs, etc.), but this does not apply to cats at all.
Modern domesticated cats evolved from wild cats (similar to lions, tigers, panthers, etc.). Hunting is ingrained into your cat’s DNA, which is why you might occasionally catch them hunting mice or birds. How does this play into your pet’s nutrition, though? Why is it important to feed them a diet that’s aligned with their genetic past?
Cats must receive a high-quality diet that’s rich in animal-based protein and fats. Mostly protein, along with some fats. Very minimal carbs should be ingested. While some cats might be able to hand some carbs, it’s not a part of their natural diet (which means carbs should be avoided).
What does this mean for your cat’s dietary guidelines? This means that your cat should be fed a high-quality brand/product that contains mostly protein and fat (sourced from quality animals). Avoid products that contain carbs, fillers, by-products, etc., as these will only be detrimental to the health of your furry little ball of love.
Specific Overview of Required Nutrients
Cats don’t only require protein. While it’s true that they’re pure carnivores, that doesn’t mean they can only be fed protein and be healthy. In fact, cats need many other nutrients, including the following:
- Fatty acids
- Numerous vitamins
- Minerals
- Healthy fats
You’ll notice that carbohydrates are missing from that list, the reason for which we already covered in the previous section. The important thing to realize here is that cats need to receive these nutrients from animal-based sources. While dogs might be able to get a lot of their nutrients from plant-based ingredients, cats should absolutely only receive their nutrients directly from animal-based foods.
In the next few sections, we’re going to delve a bit into why this particular brand of cat food offers one of the more complete nutritional profiles on the market. We also cover why you need to consider the quality level of the ingredients in the cat food your purchase (not just the nutrient ratio).
Why Natural Balance Salmon Cat Food Is a Good Choice
We’ve already touched on why it’s important to feed your cat a high-quality food that’s rich in animal-based ingredients. What we haven’t covered is what type of ingredients you should be looking for.
Yes, it’s obviously important for your cat to be ingesting an optimal ratio of nutrients. But, what about the quality level of the actual ingredients? If a cat food has the best ratio in the world, but uses sub-par ingredients, at the end of the day that’s still going to be a sub-par product.
Your cat should be fed with the highest-quality ingredients that you can afford. Luckily, brands such as Natural Balance have been able to strike a balance between affordability and quality. This specific product contains numerous high-quality ingredients, including the following:
- Salmon
- Chicken
- Chicken liver
- Whitefish
- Countless vitamins
- Numerous minerals
While these aren’t the only ingredients, there are few others (and these are the most important, anyways). Contrary to other brands, Natural Balance doesn’t like to include a lot of fillers or by-products. If you took a look at some other products (manufactured by different brands), you’d most likely find a lot of fillers, vegetable oils, and other nasty additives listed in the ingredients.
Dry Food vs Wet Food
This has been one of the most prevalent debates in the cat food world for a while now. Which one is better? Is it dry food? What about wet food? I heard wet food has added hydration, is that true?
The truth is this: everything can be boiled down to what your cat tolerates the best. If it’s healthy for your cat, and your cat doesn’t have any adverse reactions, that’s what you should be feeding it. All cats are different, and some might be able to tolerate dry food (but not wet food), and vice versa.
The important thing to remember is that your cat needs to be fed high-quality ingredients. That’s the number one thing to keep in mind about dietary guidelines for cats. You need to be feeding your pet the highest quality food you can afford. Most health problems stem from poor diets, and most of the time these health issues can really be traced to poor ownership standards.
Your cat is a natural carnivore, a hunter, it evolved from thousands of years hunting wild game. Feed your cat properly; high-quality protein, fats, minimal carbs, and no fillers.