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The By Nature Company is a subsidiary of the Blue Seal Feeds Company, which was launched in the 1800s as a horse feed manufacturing company. The company eventually ventured into the manufacture of other animal feeds as it grew. It manufactures several pet food brands including the By Nature brand. They have plants located throughout the United States including Londonderry where By Nature is made.
If you are considering feeing this blend to your cat, our By Nature 95% Chicken & Chicken Liver Cat Food review is designed to help you better understand the ingredients used.
The By Nature 95% Chicken & Chicken Liver Cat Food is comprised of 95% protein from chicken and chicken liver. According to the company, this is a formula that offers your cat a well rounded nutrition which is required for vitality and healthy growth.
While these claims are admirable, you cannot rely on claims made by the company to make your decision. We will dive right in and determine whether or not the By Nature 95% Chicken & Chicken Liver Cat Formula is a worthwhile blend for your cat.
Ingredients in By Nature 95% Chicken & Chicken Liver
Chicken, Chicken Liver, Chicken Broth, Calcium Carbonate, Sun-Cured Alfalfa Meal, Salt, Flax Seed, Potassium Chloride, Tricalcium Phosphate, Guar Gum, Carrageenan, Taurine, Choline Chloride, Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Magnesium Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Copper Proteinate, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Calcium Iodate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin Supplement (Vitamin B3), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), d-Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Riboflavin Supplement (Vitamin B2), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Biotin (Vitamin B7), Folic Acid (Vitamin B9), Vitamin D2 Supplement.
All ingredients are formulated to meet the AAFCO pet formula nutritional requirements.
Top 5 Ingredients Analysis
Chicken – Chicken is a very popular ingredient for pet food and in this case, they are referring to whole chicken. This is a very high quality meat source and we are pleased to see it listed. However, whole chicken loses about 80% of its content during the cooking process since the majority of whole chicken is water. After the cooking process is complete, the amount of whole chicken remaining is substantially reduced. Therefor, while whole chicken is a great source of meat protein, this ingredient alone is not enough to provide sufficient levels of meat protein in a cats diet.
Chicken liver – Here is another ingredient you probably wouldn’t want to see on your own dinner plate, but most cats seem to enjoy the taste of liver. Uncooked liver, or liver in very high quantities, can actually be toxic to cats. However, in this food, it is clearly provided well within safe limits. In fact, this ingredient is a pretty high quality ingredient overall. It provides a good source of vitamins, minerals, proteins, and other nutrients your cat can benefit from.
Chicken broth – This ingredient is used to enhance the flavor of the food and provide moisture. It is considered a better alternative to water. While it is not especially nutritious to your cat, there is nothing especially harmful about this ingredient.
Calcium carbonate – Calcium carbonate is a dietary supplement used when the amount of calcium taken in the diet is not enough. Calcium is needed for healthy bones, muscles, nervous system, and heart. Since many cat foods do not contain enough calcium in the food naturally, it is often added as a supplemental inclusion as seen in this food.
Sun cured alfalfa meal – Alfalfa is a rich mineral food that has trace minerals such as zinc, iron, and manganese. It also includes vitamin A, vitamin C, as well as other nutrients that are beneficial to cats such as chlorophyll. The reason this is listed as “sun cured” is because it has been dried naturally by the sun. For the most part, this is just a marketing gimmick.
Additional Ingredients Of Interest In By Nature 95% Chicken & Chicken Liver
Guar gum – This ingredient is also sometimes called guaran. It is primarily the ground endosperm of guar beans. The guar seeds are dehusked, milled and screened to obtain the guar gum. It is typically produced as a free-flowing, off-white powder. This ingredient is mostly used to thicken the food and give it more texture. It is an FDA-approved, all natural GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) ingredient used by the food and cosmetic industries. It also is used to improve the shelf life of the food and helps lower the glycemic index of food. Many cat food companies claim this ingredient also aids in digestion and weight loss. There is some minor debate about the benefits of this ingredient with some claiming negative impacts, but in general, this is thought to be a relatively non-nutritious yet safe ingredient.
Salt – Salt is necessary for a cats body to function properly, but too much salt can be dangerous and even deadly. Usually, salt is added to pet food in order to meet AAFCO nutritional requirements. Salt, or sodium chloride, is indeed necessary so cat food that doesn’t contain enough will have a bit of it included. Salt helps your cats cells move nutrients and waste products where they need to go, and it helps his or her tummy make the right amount of acid to digest food properly. According to the Journal of Nutrition, average-sized cats need about 21 milligrams of salt per day. Many cat foods have higher concentrations than that. The National Research Council recommends no more than 42 milligrams per day. Most of the time, salt in commercial cat food products poses no danger and does have some nutritional benefit.
Tricalcium phosphate – Dicalcium phosphate is a compound that is present in bone. It is a calcium salt. Usually, when people break their bones, the need to enrich themselves with this compound in order to help bone regeneration. For cat food, it is mostly used as a part of the processing of the food. While this ingredient sounds scary and doesn’t provide any nutrition for cats, it is considered safe and is usually included in very low levels.
Allergy Risks With By Nature 95% Chicken & Chicken Liver
The By Nature 95% Chicken and Chicken Liver cat food formula contains none of the common allergens found in some other cat formulas. There have been no widespread reports of allergic reactions linked to this cat food. While all cats are different and some may have unusual allergic reactions, this appears to be a very high quality food for cats with digestion issues and food allergies. We believe the allergy risk in this cat food is very low.
Poor Quality Ingredients Commonly Found In Cat Food
Corn – Unfortunately, corn is one of the most widely known food allergens for cats. If your cat does not have a pre-existing allergy to this ingredient, he or she should not experience any allergic reactions. However, this ingredient is also difficult for many cats to digest, so you should keep an eye on your cat for any digestion problems or stomach upset. And finally, this ingredient is normally used in cheaper cat food products as a filler ingredient. It will help make your cat feel more full and will also boost the protein percentage of the food. Since cats are obligate carnivores, however, they do not digest plant based proteins like they do animal based proteins. Overall, this ingredient is pretty lousy unless it is only included in smaller quantities. If your cat suffers from digestion issues or food allergies, do not feed this food to your cat.
Gluten – This ingredient is associated with causing allergies in cats. It is also known to raise sugar levels in cats. Over time, this can lead to diabetes. Gluten refers to the proteins found in wheat endosperm which is a type of tissue produced in seeds that’s ground to make flour. Many pet food manufactures will use this ingredient to help boost the protein percentage of the food.
Soy – Soy is another common food allergen for cats and is also known to cause gastric upset. This ingredient is considered a very low priced filler ingredient. While it will certainly help make your cat food more full, the full nutritional benefit in this ingredient is questionable at best. Many cat food brands will tell you the allergy risk is very low with soy, but it is one of the most well known food allergens that cats deal with in commercial pet food. Overall, this is a pretty low quality ingredient.
Artificial coloring – We find it quite irresponsible to include artificial coloring in pet food since the health concerns about these added colors are so controversial. Your cat does not care what color their food is and the only reason artificial coloring is added to this product is for marketing purposes. It makes the food look better to you YOU, the human consumer. Of course, many cat food brands are very defensive about their use of food coloring. Here is an example of how the Purina brand defends their use of fool coloring. Notice how even in their explanation, there is no perceived benefit to these ingredients other than changing the color. There is also a growing amount of evidence to suggest food coloring may be linked to cancer in not just dogs and cats, but also humans. Here is an article that explains a bit further. In short, since there is some controversy surrounding this ingredient, we find it a bit strange that cat food companies would spend money adding this ingredient into a product when at best, it has zero nutritional value for your cat and only has marketing value. At worse, it could pose health risks. It just doesn’t seem like the risk of including this ingredient is worth it.
Fortunately, none of these controversial ingredients are present in the By Nature 95% Chicken & Chicken Liver cat food formula.
Conclusion
The By Nature 95% Chicken & Chicken Liver formula is made from natural ingredients and seems to be of very high quality. So far, no major health complications have been reported with regard to this formula and cats seem to like the taste. While the price may be a major obstacle for many cat owners, we believe you get what you pay for. Judging by the ingredients alone, we have found this cat food blend to be significantly above average.
