How good is natural balance cat food?

NB is pretty good but not my favorite by far. Just some info I think you should consider. Cats were never meant to eat dry food, also known as cereals or kibble. We, humans, make them eat it for convenience to us. It has nothing to do with them or their nutritional needs. It’s completely species inappropriate.

All small domestic cats descended from desert cats. In the wild, desert cats derive their entire liquid intake from their prey. They do not have a thirst mechanism because they don’t need it when eating a species appropriate diet. They get all they need from what they eat. Additionally water was usually not available to them in their desert climate. So they do not often drink water. Regular ol’ house cats have descended from those same wild desert cats.

So in a home environment, your kitty does not get the moisture it needs from dry food and it’s almost always in a constant state of dehydration. Water fountains are encouraged to TRY to get your cat to drink more and your kitty may even enjoy it, but it will never meet its water intake needs drinking from a bowl.

Deadly feline illnesses such as diabetes, kidney failure, obesity, allergies, Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD), constipation, bladder stones, kidney stones, urinary tract blockages and Urinary Tract Infections (FLUTD), with and without deadly crystals run rampant these days. Cats are not taking in enough water to stave them off. Proper water intake through a species appropriate diet alone can prevent most of these conditions.

Overall, wet is all around better for any cats diet, be it canned or Raw and they should never be fed dry cereal kibble if we wish to most closely match their wild nutritional and dietary needs. Kibble meets our needs… not our cats.

I recommend varying the diet with a constant rotation of 2 to 4 different brands of canned foods that your cat enjoys. If you do this, and allow your cat the same assortment they would have in nature when eating mice, bugs, birds and rabbits, your cat’s digestive system won’t be so sensitive and you won’t have to run around looking for a specific brand when your store is out. You will have a nice variety to choose from instead.

Canned foods I recommend you consider for your rotation:

Nature’s Variety – http://www.naturesvariety.com/content.lasso?r=0829192&page=1172&-session=naturesvariety:D04EC9250c614143FDKiM2BA9520
Wellness Grain Free Formula’s – http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/cat_wellness_can_index.html
By Nature Organics – http://www.bynaturepetfoods.com/productpages/catmain.php
Organix – http://www.castorpolluxpet.com/store/organix/organix_organic_canned_formulas_for_cats
Evanger’s Holistic Pheasant – http://www.evangersdogfood.com/cat/20089.html
Evanger’s Organic Braised Chicken – http://www.evangersdogfood.com/cat/50103.html
Evanger’s Turkey & Butternut Squash – http://www.evangersdogfood.com/cat/50111.html

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It’s a fine food, but the dry is not grain free. Try Wellness Core (available at Petco) if you want a grain free dry. Better liked by my househould is Innova’s EVO, but that you’ll have to go to a non-chain pet store to get.

I’d stay away from the formula with fish – it can cause some issues with certain cats. They have a flavor called Ultra that my cats love, and it’s got very little grain in it.

You’re right to think that grains can cause issues with cats. They often do, corn especially.Rememberer though that it may take a couple of weeks before you see a difference, as the allergens or irritants need to work out of their system and that takes time. My lynx point Siamese cannot tolerate foods with even a trace of corn, and cannot eat fish either.

Good luck with them – I hope this works for you.

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