Rate this cat food

cjandbilly

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I bought some MAXXIMUM Nutrition Kitten Formula for CJ (pregnant, about to be nursing. P.S. YAY!) and Billy.
It's ingredients are:

Ingredients

Chicken, chicken meal, brewers rice, fish meal, corn gluten meal, beef tallow preserved with mixed-tocopherols (source of Vit. E), corn meal, egg product, beet pulp, animal digest, phosphoric acid, potassium citrate, salt, dried whey, potassium chloride, calcium carbonate, choline, chloride, taurine, zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, vitamin supplements (E, A, B-12, D-3), riboflavin supplement, niacin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, biotin, thiamine mononitrate, folic acid, copper sulfate pyridoxine hydrochloride, citric acid, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), calcium iodate

Guaranteed Analysis

Crude Protein 36%
Crude Fat 22%
Crude Fiber 2.5%
Moisture 12%
Taurine .17%


So, on a scale of 1 - 10, what would you rate MAXXIMUM Nutrition Kitten Formula?

Thanks!

Cassie

(I voted as 7 just because... LOL)
 

pat

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Sorry, can't vote without the ingredients list - please post them?

Thanks.
 
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cjandbilly

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I have to get some sleep right now, so I'll post them in the morning.
 

sharky

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It is walmarts premium brand... lots of corn a few byproducts and some digest ... I gave a three, they arent the first ingrediants... if i remember correctly
 

starlie

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I did a search to find information, ingredients, company info and was only able to find a short list of ingredients. Based on the lack of info available to consumers, and what I saw on the ingredient list, I rated it a 1. There are much better "premium" brand in the market.
 

maylin

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Ingredients

Chicken, chicken meal, brewers rice, fish meal, corn gluten meal, beef tallow preserved with mixed-tocopherols (source of Vit. E), corn meal, egg product, beet pulp, animal digest, phosphoric acid, potassium citrate, salt, dried whey, potassium chloride, calcium carbonate, choline, chloride, taurine, zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, vitamin supplements (E, A, B-12, D-3), riboflavin supplement, niacin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, biotin, thiamine mononitrate, folic acid, copper sulfate pyridoxine hydrochloride, citric acid, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), calcium iodate

Guaranteed Analysis

Crude Protein 36%
Crude Fat 22%
Crude Fiber 2.5%
Moisture 12%
Taurine .17%

The first ingredient is chicken, but that still doesn't mean chicken outnumbers the carbohydrates. Take a look at next few ingredients... brewers rice + corn gluten meal + corn meal very likely adds up to more than the chicken. I don't believe that corn is one of the better carbs to use, as it's one of the most sugar laden grains out there. Whether or not it's less digestable and an allergen is debatable, but I prefer to just stay away from it. What I am sure of is that the cats don't need it and that it is usually used as filler.

Also don't be fooled by the guaranteed analysis. 36% protein does not mean that 36% of that protein comes from meat. Rice and corn also have protein, but since cats are carnivores and not made to eat grains, they're less able to use that protein than if it really was just from the chicken.

There are many worse brands out there, but these guys are being deceptive by using multiple grains broken down into smaller parts to make it look like it is mostly meat. For this I give it a 3, since there's no way to tell that it isn't mostly corn, and something makes me think that wal-mart's primary concern isn't about using the highest quality ingredients for optimum pet nutrition.
 

pat

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I gave it a 6...for not having as much junk as many, though I wish it didn't have animal digest. While there are better on the market, this isn't a horrid choice (imo - and reviewing cat foods is something else I do in my spare time...lol!). If you can afford better, something without the animal digest, that doesn't have corn meal or use corn gluten meal as a proein source (albeit only one protein source), I would do so, but I think this is a solid choice.
 

deputyjessica

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From being in the pet food industry, I know that beef tallow is not that great of a fat source. Also, there is a lot of disease going around in beef. Unfortunately, pet food companies are not held to standards comparable to food for human consumption. Actually, if you are shipping in to the EU or Asia, the food cannot contain any beef products. Most premium brands use chicken fat, and preferably you'd want that preserved naturally. Our brand preserves with natural mixed tocopherols and citric acid. Also, it looks like the food could use a better vitamin premix. A lot of cheaper brands can afford to be sold a cheaper partly due to skimping on the vitamins.

Corn is commonly believed to be used as filler. But let me try to explain something to you. The corn, as it is used in pet food, is not the same corn that you and I would eat. In the way it is used in pet food, especially after going through extrusion, it is an excellent source of minerals and nutrients and, surprisingly enough, it's more digestible that rice. When formulating a dry diet, it's necessary to have carbs included. Carbs help to balance protein and they have a direct correlation in formulation. Corn gluten is actually comparable to chicken meal in protein, and can be used to bring some of the ash values down in the chicken meals.


Um... I'll quit rambling (I just love my job!) I gave the food a 2.
 
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cjandbilly

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Thanks for your input, everyone! Just to clarify, CJ and Billy are not on a pure dry food diet... they get both dry and wet canned food.
 

nern

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I gave it a 4 because of the addition of corn gluten meal and beef tallow.
 
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