By Nature Cat Food Ingredients
According to our research, By Nature manufactures 2 cat food recipes using 67 unique ingredients. To evaluate the quality of ingredients used by By Nature, we've studied all 67 ingredients. In this article, we'll share our findings on By Nature ingredients.
| Cat Food Recipes | 2 |
| Unique Ingredients | 67 |
| Artificial Colors | 0 |
| Animal By-Products | 0 |
| Anonymous Meats | 0 |
| Controversial | 3 |
| Harmful | 0 |
First 5 Ingredients
Cat food ingredients in the United States are listed in descending order of pre-cooked weight. The first 5 ingredients typically constitute a significant portion of the recipe.
For By Nature, these are the most common ingredients found within the first 5 cat food ingredients.
- salmon
- turkey meal
- yellow pea
- lentil
- whitefish meal
As you can see, the most common first ingredient in By Nature is salmon. The most common 2nd ingredient is turkey meal, followed by yellow pea, lentil, and whitefish meal.
Artificial Food Coloring Dyes
By Nature does not use any artificial food coloring dyes. According to our records, none of the 2 By Nature cat foods contain artificial food dyes.
Artificial food coloring dyes are unnecessary and potentially harmful ingredients. In general, we not not recommend feeding any pet foods that contain artificial dyes.
In 2010, the CSPI raised serious concerns regarding the safety of many artificial dyes. Most of the studies referenced by the CSPI involved prolonged or excessive consumption. Since most cats consume the same foods throughout their lives, concerns raised by the CSPI are alarming to say the least.
To read more about Artificial Food Dyes, click here.
Animal By-Products
According to our records, By Nature does not contain any animal by-products.
Animal by-products are basically the leftover parts of the the carcass after its been processed for meat. AAFCO defines by-products as the non-rendered, clean parts, other than meat, derived from slaughtered mammals.
Although by-products are still fairly nutritious ingredients, consumers have equated them with slaughterhouse waste. Therefore, most premium brands, including By Nature have decided to remove by-products and instead use named organ meats (beef liver, chicken gizzards).
For further reading on the controversy over animal by-products, click here.
Anonymous Meat Ingredients
Anonymous meats are inexpensive low-quality ingredients that can come from practically any animal. These type of ingredients are often used to produce very inexpensive cat foods.
In general, we prefer ingredients which specify the animal source used to derive the ingredient. For example, ingredients such as duck fat are much better than animal fat or poultry fat.
In our analysis, we've looked through all 67 By Nature ingredients. According to our data, By Nature does not contain any anonymous animal-based ingredients.
Cereal Grains
Certain By Nature cat food recipes contain one or more grains. The specific ingredients are listed below.
For cats, we typically recommend choosing a grain-free recipe. Cats are obligate carnivores and therefore grains are not species appropriate.
The kibble production requires a binding agent. Grains are commonly used for this purpose in cat food. When purchasing grain-free cat food, grains are often replaced with another starchy source. This is also not ideal.
To avoid grains and other starchy additions, consider feeding wet or frozen recipes.
Rice hulls, also called rice husks, are the outer layer of grains of rice. This ingredient is regarded as an inexpensive and low quality by-product. Rice hulls are high in fiber and mostly serve as fillers in pet food.
The following recipes contain rice hulls:
Controversial Ingredients
In most cases, ingredients which are given the controversial classification can be substituted with higher-quality alternatives. You should evaluate each controversial ingredient independently to see if there is truly a valid cause for concern.
Keep in mind, certain sacrifices often must be made to produce cat foods at a reasonable price. In general, the more expensive the product, the fewer controversial ingredients you'll find.
In our analysis, we've identified 3 controversial ingredients inside By Nature products. These controversial ingredients are listed below. Click on each ingredient for more information.
Rice hulls, also called rice husks, are the outer layer of grains of rice. This ingredient is regarded as an inexpensive and low quality by-product. Rice hulls are high in fiber and mostly serve as fillers in pet food.
The following recipes contain rice hulls:
Pea protein is produced by removing the starchy parts of peas. Pea protein is considered controversial because it provides a substantial plant based protein boost. This boost is undesirable because plant based protein is typically lower in biological value when compared to meat based proteins.
The following recipes contain pea protein:
Specific vegetable oils are typically positive ingredients; however, this ingredient does not specify which vegetable(s) were used to produce the oil.
Without this information, it is impossible for us to make any specific statements. With any fat source, it is important to know the omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acid ratio, a property which cannot be determined with this ingredient. Thus, we have marked vegetable oil as a controversial ingredient.
The following recipes contain vegetable oil:
Potentially Harmful Ingredients
Harmful ingredients are those which have been linked to adverse health effects. In general, we do not recommend feeding any product which contains any harmful ingredients.
During our review, none of the By Nature ingredients analyzed were classified as harmful by our system. The absence of harmful ingredients is indicative of a relatively premium cat food brand.
By Nature Cat Food Ingredient Lists
By Nature
Super Fusion
Chicken & Turkey Meal Recipe For Cats
By Nature
Super Fusion Chicken & Turkey Meal Recipe For Cats
First Five Ingredients
chickenturkey meal
yellow pea
lentil
whitefish meal
By Nature
Super Fusion
Salmon & Menhaden Fish Meal Recipe For Cats
By Nature
Super Fusion Salmon & Menhaden Fish Meal Recipe For Cats
First Five Ingredients
salmonmenhaden meal
yellow pea
lentil
whitefish meal
