Temptations (Wet) Review

Temptations wet cat food is made up of four recipes which each receive the Cat Food Advisor rating, 3.5 stars.

This food comes in a variety of textures such as paté in gravy and bites in gravy and most of the recipes list quality animal meat as the first ingredient.

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

Temptations Seafood Medley Flavor Bites in Gravy 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 water, which adds nothing but moisture to this food. Water is a routine finding in most wet cat foods.

The second ingredient is 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 third ingredient is poultry by-products, an item made from slaughterhouse waste. This is what’s left of slaughtered animals after all the prime striated muscle cuts have been removed.

With the exception of hair, horns, teeth and hooves, this item can include almost any other part of the animal. ²

The fourth ingredient is animal plasma.

Plasma is what remains of blood after the blood cells themselves have been removed. Plasma is high protein and is highly digestible. Inclusion of animal plasma is often done for binding or improving the texture of wet foods, but plasma is highly palatable and improves the digestiblity of foods. It supports immunity, digestion, joint health, as well as the skin and coat health. We consider animal plasma as a nutritious addition.

Usually animal plasma is from Pork or Beef, however, since the declaration of animal plasma does not specify this, it can make accommodating particular ingredient sensitivities or allergies very difficult.

The fifth ingredient is wheat gluten. Gluten is the rubbery residue remaining once wheat has had most of its starchy carbohydrate washed out of it.

Compared to meat, glutens are inferior plant-based proteins low in some of the essential amino acids cats need for life.

This inexpensive plant-based ingredient can significantly boost the total protein reported on the label — a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this cat food.

The sixth ingredient is salmon, an oily marine and freshwater fish not only high in protein but also omega 3 fatty acids, essential oils needed by every cat to sustain life.

The seventh ingredient is tapioca starch, a gluten-free, starchy carbohydrate extract made from the root of the cassava plant.

The eighth ingredient is glycine. Glycine is an amino acid. This is usually included to improve protein quality of the food. Glycine is seen as a positive addition to this food.

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.

However this recipe does contain menadione sodium bisulfite complex, a controversial form of vitamin K linked to liver toxicity, allergies and the abnormal break-down of red blood cells.

Since vitamin K isn’t required by AAFCO in its nutrient profiles, we question the use of this item in any feline recipe.

Nutrient Analysis

Based on its ingredients alone, Temptations Seafood Medley Flavor Bites in Gravy looks like a slightly above-average wet product.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 50%, a fat level of 19.4% and an estimated carbohydrate level of 22.6%.

As a group, the brand features an above-average protein content of 46.1% and a mean fat level of 22.9%. Together these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 23.1% for the overall product line, alongside a fat to protein ratio of 50.7%.

This means this Temptations wet range contains higher than average protein, lower than average carbohydrate and higher than average fat, when compared to typical wet cat food.

Has Temptations cat food been recalled in the past?

No. Temptations has not had a product recall.

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

Temptations pet food is made by Mars Petcare which is part of Mars incorporated; an American multinational food processing, confectionery, and veterinary services corporation. 

Mars has headquarters in McLean, Virginia while Mars Petcare has headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee. It operates 22 factories in the United States and several plants in Canada, factories in the UK, and has operations in other countries.

Mars recently announced that it is making progress toward procuring 100 percent of the fish it uses from more sustainable sources.