Our Verdict
Simply Nourish With Grains cat food is made up of nine recipes with ratings that vary from 3 to 4. The average rating of the brand over all is 3 stars.
Pros
- Each recipe contains good quality animal protein
- First ingredient is listed as either animal meat, or fish
- Free from artificial additives
Cons
- Relatively high in carbohydrate
- Low moisture content
The table below shows each recipe in this range including our rating and the AAFCO nutrient profile: Growth (kitten), Maintenance (adult), All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.
| Product line | Rating | AAFCO |
|---|---|---|
| Simply Nourish® Original Cat Dry Food - Chicken & Brown Rice, Natural, With-Grain | 3.5 | M |
| Simply Nourish® Original Kitten Cat Dry Food - Chicken & Rice, Natural, With-Grain | 4 | G |
| Simply Nourish® Original Weight Management Cat Dry Food - Turkey & Brown Rice, Natural, With-Grain | 3 | M |
| Simply Nourish® Original Senior Cat Dry Food - Chicken & Rice, Natural, With-Grain | 3 | M |
| Simply Nourish® Original Indoor Kitten Cat Dry Food - Salmon & Brown Rice, Natural, With-Grain | 4 | G |
| Simply Nourish® Original Hairball Control Indoor Cat Dry Food - Salmon, Natural, With-Grain | 3 | M |
| Simply Nourish® Urinary Tract & Hairball Control Adult Dry Cat Food - Natural, Chicken | 3 | M |
| Simply Nourish® Urinary Tract Health Cat Dry Food - Chicken, Natural | 3.5 | M |
Recipe and Label Analysis
Simply Nourish® Original Kitten Cat Dry Food – Chicken & Rice, Natural, With-Grain recipe was selected to represent the other products in the line for a detailed recipe and nutrient analysis.
Label and nutrient data below are calculated using dry matter basis.
Simply Nourish® Original Kitten Cat Dry Food - Chicken & Rice, Natural, With-Grain recipe
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Protein
Fat
CarbsCarbohydrates
Deboned chicken, chicken meal, brown rice, oatmeal, poultry fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), pea protein, whole flaxseed, pea fiber, dried chicory root, dried cranberries, natural flavor, fish oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols) (source of dha), vitamins (vitamin E supplement, niacin supplement, vitamin A supplement, thiamine mononitrate, d-calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement, calcium iodate, menadione sodium bisulfite complex, folic acid, vitamin D3 supplement), taurine, potassium chloride, minerals (zinc sulfate, zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, ferrous sulfate, copper sulfate, copper proteinate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, manganese proteinate), dl-methionine, choline chloride, salt, citric acid (a preservative), mixed tocopherols (a preservative), rosemary extract
Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 4%
Red denotes any controversial items
Ingredients Analysis
The first ingredient is deboned chicken, which is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of chicken”.1
Chicken is naturally rich in the 11 essential amino acids required by a cat to sustain life.
The second ingredient is chicken meal. Chicken meal is considered a meat concentrate and contains nearly 300% more protein than fresh chicken.
The third ingredient is brown rice, a complex carbohydrate that (once cooked) can be fairly easy to digest. However, aside from its natural energy content, rice is of only modest nutritional value to a cat.
The fourth ingredient is oatmeal, a whole-grain product made from coarsely ground oats. Oatmeal is naturally rich in B-vitamins, dietary fiber and can be (depending upon its level of purity) gluten-free.
The fifth ingredient is poultry fat. Poultry fat is obtained from rendering, a process similar to making soup in which the fat itself is skimmed from the surface of the liquid.
Poultry fat is high in linoleic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid essential for life.
However, poultry fat is a relatively generic ingredient and can be considered lower in quality than a similar item from a named source animal (like chicken fat).
The sixth ingredient is pea protein, what remains of a pea after removing the starchy part of the vegetable.
Even though it contains over 80% protein, this ingredient would be expected to have a lower biological value than meat.
And less costly plant-based products like this can notably boost the total protein reported on the label — a factor that must be considered when judging the meat content of this cat food.
The seventh ingredient is whole flaxseed, one of the best plant sources of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Provided they’ve first been ground into a meal, flax seeds are also rich in soluble fiber.
However, flaxseed contains about 19% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this cat food
The eighth ingredient is pea fiber, a mixture of both soluble and insoluble dietary fiber derived from pea hulls. Aside from the usual benefits of fiber, this agricultural by-product provides no other nutritional value to a cat.
From here the list goes on to include a number of other items. But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to affect the overall rating of the product.
Nutrient Analysis
Based on its ingredients alone, Simply Nourish® Original Kitten Cat Dry Food – Chicken & Rice, Natural, With-Grain recipe looks like an average dry product.
The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 42.2%, a fat level of 20% and an estimated carbohydrate level of 29.8%.
As a group, the brand features an near-average protein content of 37.8% and a mean fat level of 15.8%. Together these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 38.4% for the overall product line, alongside a fat to protein ratio of 42%.
This means this Simply Nourish With Grains dry range contains near-average protein, higher than average carbohydrate and near-average fat, when compared to typical dry cat food.
Final Word
This range of food lists the first ingredient as good quality animal meat, or fish. It provides omega 3 and is supplemented with vitamins and minerals.
Has Simply Nourish cat food been recalled in the past?
No.
You can view a complete list of all cat food recalls since 2021 here.
To stay on top of any cat food product recalls, sign up for our free email alerts, here.
About
Simply Nourish was founded in 2011 in Seattle, Washington and is a subsidiary of Mars Petcare, one of the largest pet food companies in the world.
Its manufacturing facilities are FDA-registered and audited for compliance with the Quality Management System. They are also Safe Quality Food (SQF) certified, which is a rigorous global food safety and quality program.
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Article reviewed by
Pet Nutritionist
Laura studied BSc (Hons) Animal Science with an accreditation in Nutrition at the University of Nottingham, before working for eight years in the pet food and nutrition industry.
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