Fancy Feast Gourmet Naturals (Wet) Review

Fancy Feast Delights Gourmet Naturals wet product range is made of 14 recipes which all receive the Cat Food Advisor rating, 3.5-stars.

The Gourmet Naturals line aims to offer a gourmet dining experience while using high-quality ingredients that are free from artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. The recipes in this line often feature real meat or fish as the primary ingredient, paired with vegetables or other wholesome ingredients.

The table below shows each recipe in the range including our rating and the AAFCO nutrient profile: Growth (kitten), Maintenance (adult), All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.

Recipe and Label Analysis

Fancy Feast Gourmet Naturals Natural White Meat Chicken Paté 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.

Ingredients Analysis

The first ingredient is chicken. Chicken 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 broth. Broths are of only modest nutritional value. Yet because they add both flavor and moisture to a cat food, they are a common component in many wet products.

The third ingredient is liver. Normally, liver can be considered a quality component. However, in this case, the source of the liver is not identified. For this reason, it’s impossible to judge the quality of this item.

The fourth ingredient is turkey. Turkey is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of turkey”. ²

Like chicken, turkey is also naturally rich in the 11 essential amino acids required by a cat to sustain life.

The fifth ingredient is fish. This item is typically sourced from clean, undecomposed whole fish and fish cuttings of commercial fish operations.³ 

Without more detailed information, it’s difficult to judge the quality of this particular ingredient

In any case, fish meat is naturally rich in the 11 essential amino acids required by a cat to sustain life.

The sixth ingredient is vegetable starch. Vegetable starch is used for the structure, texture and potential expansion of cat foods. Starches and texturizing ingredients are commonly seen in cat foods and their inclusion is not a detriment to the food.

The seventh ingredient is natural flavors. Natural flavors doesn’t give us much information about the particular ingredients included in this cat food for flavoring purposes. 

We’re pleased that the flavorings used are natural, but more details are required to give any further information about these natural flavoring ingredients. Flavorings are used to make the foods more appealing and tasty for our cats.

The eighth ingredient is vitamins and minerals. Here the details of the added vitamin and mineral sources are listed, used to balance the recipe against AAFCO guidelines.

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.

This recipe receives a 3.5-star rating.

Nutrient Analysis

Based on its ingredients alone, Fancy Feast Gourmet Naturals Natural White Meat Chicken Paté looks like an above-average wet product.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 40.9%, a fat level of 22.7% and an estimated carbohydrate level of 28.4%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 50.3% and a mean fat level of 18.9%. Together these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 22.9% for the overall product line, alongside a fat-to-protein ratio of 40%.

This means the Fancy Feast Gourmet Naturals wet product line contains above-average protein, below-average carbs and above-average fat when compared to typical wet cat food.

Has Fancy Feast cat food been recalled in the past?

No, Fancy Feast cat food has never been recalled, but other Purina brands have been recalled multiple times.

The last one was in July 2021 when cans of Purina Pro Plan Complete Essentials Tuna Entree in Sauce Wet Cat Food were recalled as they may have contained plastic. Full details here

In March 2019, Purina issued a recall of one of its Muse cat foods.

In 2012, a single lot of Purina Veterinary Diets OM Overweight Management Feline Formula was recalled due to low levels of thiamine. Production Code #11721159.

In June 2011, Friskies issued a small recall due to the potential risk of salmonella contamination. This recall only affected a small range of Friskies products, – the Friskies Grillers Blend dry cat food recipe in 3.15lb and 16lb bags with best-by dates of August 2012.

In the same year, some other Purina dry cat foods were recalled due to suspected salmonella contamination. The products affected were: Purina ONE Vibrant Maturity 7+ dry cat food, 3.5 lb. and 7 lb. bags, with a “Best by” date of May 2012 and Production Code #03341084 or #03351084 and Purina Cat Chow Naturals, 6.3 lb., Production Code #10331083 13, with “Best by” date of August 2012.

Read a complete list of all cat food recalls since 2021 on our recall page. You can also stay on top of any future cat food product recalls by signing up for our free email alerts.

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

Fancy Feast was created in 1982 and was likely the first cat food brand to capitalize on the gourmet concept, though it is now one of the cheaper brands on the market.

The brand is owned by Nestlé Purina PetCare which is an American subsidiary of the Swiss corporation Nestlé, based in St. Louis, Missouri. It produces and markets pet food, treats, cat and dog litter. 

The cat food brands owned by Purina are: Beyond, Breeze, DenaLife, Fancy Feast, Friskies, Kit & Kaboodle, Petivity, Purina Cat Chow, Purina ONE, Purina Pro Plan, Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets, Tidy Cats and Whisker Lickin’s.