Feline Natural Lamb and Salmon – The Best Cat Food Reviews

Last Updated on June 17, 2024 by Indy the Cat

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History

Feline Natural is a popular cat food brand under the Natural Pet Food Group Company. Beginning in 2006 with their dog food line – K9 Natural, the Natural Pet Food Group brands have grown to be well recognized in the premium pet food space.

Their products span a variety of lines including canned/pouched wet foods, freeze dried foods, milk and even supplement oils (canines only at this time). As a New Zealand manufactured brand, they pride themselves in sourcing quality natural New Zealand ingredients, which is evident from the named ingredients in their products – for example, free range chicken and pasture raised animals.

Feline Natural also meets AAFCO standards and all their product lines follow the Natural Pet Food Group mantra of being GMO free, grain free, and free from artificial preservatives, fillers or flavours.

Recalls

To date, Feline Natural has not been recalled, however in 2018, K9 Natural voluntarily recalled some batches of their frozen raw food. In Australia, pet food recalls are only mandatory for brands that have decided to work within the Australian Standard for Manufacturing and Marketing of Pet Food (Standard AS5812:2017). All members of the Pet Food Industry Association of Australia comply with these standards and Natural Pet Food Group is a marketing member of the Association. 

Product Line Commentary

Today, we are looking at the Feline Natural Lamb and Salmon formula. This was the first all stages cat food that Indy added to his rotation diet alongside his kitten food – Wellness Core Kitten Pâté. The flavour was chosen for a few reasons.; it exposes my cat to two meat proteins and it is among the higher calorie formulas in the Feline Natural wet food lineup. Other higher calorie formulas include the two other red meat only flavours: Lamb Feast and Beef Feast.

Since flavours are frequently the same price, We do believe we are getting better value by choosing the higher caloric count food. But we digress… As mentioned earlier, Feline Natural is considered a premium brand of cat food and you are reminded of this by its steep price tag. Let’s dig a little deeper!

Setting the Standard for Premium Cat Foods

Going above and beyond the industry standard, Feline Naturals biggest advantage is the quality of their products. Each ingredient is clearly named and all meat sources are sustainably sourced from grass-fed or free range animals. When you read the ingredient list, you really do feel like your cat is eating better than you (or at least, we do).

The main proteins in this formula are lamb and salmon, and the ingredient list identifies specific organs such as lamb heart, lamb kidney and lamb blood. This also means that salmon makes up a good portion of the non lamb protein in this formula. As cats are obligate carnivores, it’s great that there are no vegetable sourced proteins in these foods. With next to no carbohydrate in the food, this is very species appropriate for our feline friends.

Having salmon in the food does have its pros and cons. Salmon is a great source of fish oils and omega-3’s. Both of which are great for feline health but we are always wary of feeding too much fish in my cat’s diet. In particular, salmon is often farmed and can contain PCBs which accumulate over time. For that reason, we feed this formula occasionally in Indy’s rotation diet.

Green Lipped Mussels? Sure, why not!

Compared to most of the competition, all of Feline Natural’s wet foods are unique as they lack conventional gelling agents. That’s right! No guar gum or controversial thickeners such as Xanthan Gum or Carrageenan. While most cats do not react negatively to these gelling agents, there have been studies that these additives can cause inflammation and other issues. The other signature ingredient in Feline Natural wet cat foods is the inclusion of New Zealand Green Lipped Mussels. This luxury ingredient is a great source of omega 3’s and can provide natural anti-inflammatory benefits.

Feline Natural Lamb and Salmon formula is a complete and balanced food that can be fed to all stages of cats including kittens. At 90kcal per 85g can, it has a slightly above average caloric count compared to typical wet foods in this size range. The breakdown shows it would be considered a well balanced high protein, high fat and very low carbohydrate cat food.

Guaranteed analysis

Crude Protein (min) – 8.5%

Crude Fat (min) – 7.5%

Crude Fibre (max) – 1.6%

Moisture (max) – 81%

Taurine (min) – 0.1%

Dry Matter Basis

Essential Vitamins and Nutrients Percentages

Calcium – 1.5%

Phosphorus – 1.2%

Potassium – 1.2%

Sodium – 0.4%

Chloride – 0.5%

Magnesium – 0.1%

Omega 3’s – 2.1%

Where to Buy and Cost

Most online pet stores carry Feline Natural wet cat food, but this specific formula may not be sold at all retailers. At the time of publishing, it can be found at leading retailers including: Petbarn, Pet Circle, Petpost, and Amazon.

Feline Natural is usually priced around $60/24 cans (85g) and $90/24 cans (170g). This comes it at an expensive price of $2.50/can (85g) and $3.75/can (170g). As mentioned earlier, given the price point, we eventually moved Feline Natural from a primary food to part of Indy’s occasional rotation.

This is one of the many benefits of having a rotation diet! You can still feel good about feeding premium food as part of their diet without constantly breaking the bank. After all, it’s not like we eat ribeye steak every night! That being said, a 170g portion can be split into 2 meals, which makes the costs a lot more reasonable for more cat owners.

Ingredient List

Lamb Heart, Water Sufficient for Processing, Salmon, Lamb Kidney, Lamb Liver, Lamb Blood, Flaxseed Flakes, New Zealand Green Mussel, Calcium Carbonate, Dipotassium Phosphate, Dried Kelp, Taurine, Vitamin E Supplement, Magnesium Oxide, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid

Nutritional Information

Lamb Heart – source of meat protein

Water – hydration

Salmon – source of protein

Lamb Kidney – source of protein and as an offal, it offers a natural form of essential vitamins/nutrients

Lamb Liver – source of protein and as an offal, it offers a natural form of essential vitamins/nutrients

Lamb Blood – hydration and a natural form of essential vitamins/nutrients

Flaxseed Flakes – source of fibre

Green Lipped Mussels – source of omega-3 fatty acids and can help reduce inflammation

Calcium Carbonate – source of calcium

Dipotassium Phosphate – source of phosphorous

Dried Kelp – source of magnesium, protein, vitamin A, iodine, bromine, and phosphorous. Minor source of fibre

Taurine – essential amino acid 

Vitamin E Supplement – source of Vitamin E

Magnesium Oxide – source of magnesium

Zinc Proteinate – source of zinc

Copper Proteinate – source of copper

Manganese Proteinate – source of manganese

Thiamine Mononitrate – source of thiamine

Vitamin D3 Supplement – source of Vitamin D3

Folic Acid – source of Vitamin B9

Indy’s Review

So does Indy the cat like it? 

Yes he loves it! This was his first all stages cat food and he added it to his rotation when he was 4 months old. He continues to eat this formula as transitioned to his adult diet.

As one of the best wet cat foods on the Australian market, it’s an easy recommendation to add this food to your cat’s rotation!

The good

• Excellent meat/protein sources with quality named ingredients
• Very species appropriate food with no non meat protein sources
• Grain free without similar substitutes 
• Well balanced with low carbohydrate
• No thickening agents
• Quickly adopted by Indy in terms of palatability 

The bad

• Very expensive
• Average caloric count
• Fish based food (We still consider this a con as we prefer not to feed fish frequently in Indy’s diet. Salmon may be farmed and contain contaminants which accumulate over time)

Rating 

• Species appropriate (weight 0.3) – 10 / 10
• Ingredients (weight 0.3) – 10 / 10
• Recall Track record (weight 0.2) – 9 / 10
• Price (weight 0.2) – 6 / 10

Average Score – 8.75 / 10

Weighted Score – 9 / 10

The Bottom Line: One of the best wet cat foods in all categories and luckily one of Indy the Cat‘s favourite too!

If you spot an error in this article, please do not hesitate to let us know!