Nature's Variety Prairie Brand Chicken Meal & Brown Rice Cat Food Review

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By AskSusanPeters


Nature's Variety Prairie Brand Feline Chicken Meal & Brown Rice


Nature's Variety Prairie Brand Feline Chicken Meal & Brown Rice

Fresh meat is the first ingredient in each formula. Meat and organs make up nearly 40% of the ingredients in each production batch of Nature's Variety. Most dry, kibble diets are 25% to 30% meat or meat and bone products with some formulations even containing less than 10% or even no meat products. Formulated to meet the needs of all life stages. Our kibble provides an organic source of over 50 trace minerals. A colloidal silicate called montmorillonite supplies important trace minerals. Many pet owners insist that the supplementation of these colloidal silicate minerals have helped produce better coats, weight gain, increase in milk production, better conception, and overall better health.

Important Information:

Nature's Variety Prairie Brand Dry Kibble Diets are designed to be rotated freely for variety and optimal nutrition. Emphasis is put on fresh meat as the first and prominent ingredient of each diet. The grains present in these diets are only whole grains; never inferior grain fractions. All Nature's Variety products are naturally preserved with vitamins and herbal extracts, and sealed in oxygen limiting packaging.

CALORIES

450 / cup Ingredients:

Chicken Meal, Brown Rice, Oatmeal, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid), Menhaden Fish Meal, Flaxseed Meal, Montmorillonite Clay, Natural Chicken Flavor, Alfalfa Meal, Chicken Liver, Potassium Chloride, Sea Salt, DL-Methionine, Vitamins (Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Niacin Supplement, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Acetate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Biotin, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Beta Carotene, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Folic Acid), Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite), Taurine, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Inulin, Flaxseed Oil, Apples, Cottage Cheese, Chicken Eggs, Cranberries, Freeze Dried Chicken, Freeze Dried Turkey, Freeze Dried Turkey Liver, Freeze Dried Turkey Hearts, Pumpkinseeds, Ground Chicken Bone, Carrots, Butternut Squash, Broccoli, Lettuce, Spinach, Kelp, Salmon Oil, Apple Cider Vinegar, Parsley, Honey, Blueberries, Alfalfa Sprouts, Grapefruit Seed Extract, Persimmons, Olive Oil, Duck Eggs, Pheasant Eggs, Quail Eggs, Rosemary Extract, Sage, Clove Guaranteed Analysis %:CRUDE PROTEIN (min.) 34 CRUDE FAT (min.) 20 MOISTURE (max.) 10 OMEGA-6 FATTY ACIDS* (min.) 2.96 CRUDE FIBER (max.) 2.5 CALCIUM (min.) 1.72 PHOSPHORUS (min.) 1.27 OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS* (min.) 0.77 Extra Information:

VITAMIN E (min.) 97.51 IU/kg

VITAMIN C* (min.) 50 mg/kg

*Not recognized as an essential nutrient by the AAFCO Cat Food Nutrient Profiles.


Nature's Variety Prairie Brand Feline Chicken Meal & Brown Rice Cat Food Review and Rating

  • Animal Digest - Plus 1 point = No animal digest
  • Corn - Plus 1 point = No corn
  • Wheat - Plus 1 point = No wheat
  • Soy - Plus 1 point = No Soy
  • Gluten - Plus 1 point = No gluten
  • Extra Goodies - Minus 1 point = Natural Chicken Flavor, Sea Salt
  • By-Products - Plus 1 point = No by-products
  • Animal Fat - Minus 1 point = Chicken Fat
  • Pet Food Recalls - Plus 1 point = No Recalls for Nature's Variety Prairie Cat Food
  • Class Action - Plus 1 point = No Class Action - Nature's Variety Prairie Cat Food

Cat Food Rating for Nature's Variety Prairie Brand Feline Chicken Meal & Brown Rice Cat Food

Total Score = 8/10

Ask Susan Peters Cat Food Review

No junk, no fillers. Great stuff Nature's Variety Prairie Brand Feline Chicken Meal & Brown Rice Cat Food!

No Class action filed against Nature's Variety Prairie Brand Feline Chicken Meal & Brown Rice Cat Food.

No Pet food recalls against Nature's Variety Prairie Brand Feline Chicken Meal & Brown Rice Cat Food.

Use of corn, wheat, or soy which cause skin irritation, hair loss, fever, ear infections, kidney failure, liver failure. Dental disease, Obesity, Chronic digestive problems, Bloat, Heart disease, Hyperthyroidism.

Because manufacturers need to ensure that dry foods have a long shelf life (typically 12 months) to remain edible through shipping and storage, fats used in pet foods are preserved with either synthetic or "natural" preservatives. Synthetic preservatives include butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), propyl gallate, propylene glycol (also used as a less-toxic version of automotive antifreeze), and ethoxyquin.

Use of by-products. By-products are ingredients used which are not fit for human consumption. By-products are often floor sweepings from a rendering plant. "Animal by-product" is rendered product from animal tissues, exclusive of any added blood, hair, hoof, horn, hide trimmings, manure, stomach and rumen contents except in such amounts as may occur unavoidably in good processing practices." Pet food labels contain the words "meal" or "byproduct" on the ingredient label. Inedible byproducts such as bone, fat, heads, hair, feet and condemned offal are used in commercial pet food. These materials are sent to a rendering plant for processing into pet food products.

"Meat" is often rendered dogs and cats as well as other animals such as road-kill. When the source of the meat is known it will be listed as beef, poultry, chicken, turkey, etc. If the source of the meat is not known it is simply called "meat.

Rather than the wholesome pictures shown on the pet food packaging, rendering companies dispose of millions pounds of inedible waste each day including, heads, feet,stomachs, intestines, spinal cords, tails, restaurant grease, feathers, bones and dead or diseased animals rejected from slaughterhouses for use in manufacturing pet food. Amazingly, animals from research laboratories may be rendered into pet food as well.

Total Score = Ol' Roy dog food, which is considered one of the poorest quality dog foods on the market, scored 5 out of 10. Nature's Variety Prairie Brand Feline Chicken Meal & Brown Rice Cat Food scored 8 out of 10.

The life span of your pet should be at least 20 years. Your pet's diet strongly influences your pet's life expectancy. Always look for a quality pet food which scores 10 out of 10.

Nature's Variety Prairie Brand Feline Chicken Meal & Brown Rice Cat Food is a pet food I do consider to be a healthy choice in pet foods.

Ask Susan Peters Other Sites Of Interest:

Cat Food Review - Cat Food Ratings

Cat Treat and Snack Review

Cat Food Recall List

Cat Food Safe To Feed After The Cat Food Recall

Free Online Pet Food Recall Information - Buyers Guide - Understanding the Pet Food recall and why cats and dogs continue to get sick and die - written by Susan Peters

Dog Food Review

Dog Treat and Snack Review and Dog Food Ratings

Dog Food Recall List

Dog Food Safe To Feed After The Dog Food Recall

Comments

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Ann  says:
17 months ago

I see that Montmorillonite clay is one of the ingredients. I am not famillar with that one. What is your opinion of it?

AskSusanPeters profile image

AskSusanPeters  says:
17 months ago

Oh, Ann,

You have asked a really great question.  I'll bet you order a big plate of Montmorillonite clay on your next outing to the local cafe! (just kidding).  Ready for this?

Montmorillonite Clay – From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia – It is used in the oil drilling industry as a component of drilling mud, making the mud slurry viscous which helps in keeping the drill bit cool and removing drilled solids. It is also used as a soil additive to hold soil water in drought prone soils, to the construction of earthen dams and levees and to prevent the leakage of fluids. It is also used as a component of foundry sand and as a desiccant to remove moisture from air and gases.

  Similar to other clays, montmorillonite swells with the addition of water. However, some montmorillonites expand considerably more than other clays due to water penetrating the interlayer molecular spaces and concomitant adsorption. The amount of expansion is due largely to the type of exchangeable cation contained in the sample. The presence of sodium as the predominant exchangeable cation can result in the clay swelling to several times its original volume. Hence, sodium montmorillonite has come to be used as the major constituent in non-explosive agents for splitting rock in natural stone quarries in order to limit the amount of waste, or for the demolition of concrete structures where the use of explosive charges is unacceptable. This swelling property makes montmorillonite-containing bentonite useful also as an annular seal or plug for water wells and as a protective liner for landfills.

 

Whew!

Susan

Ann  says:
17 months ago

Well that sure doesn't sound like something that anyone should ever have a need to eat! For the life of me I can't understand why a company would make such an effort to produce a premium pet food, create a some what decent one and then sneak in something like this? Doesn't sound like there is really any need for that ingredient. Just with that one alone they have messed up any chance in my book of being considered a really healthy choice of pet food. That one little unnecessary ingredient voided all the other healthy stuff in the food.

Here is something else I located on their site...concerning the question regarding where does the poultry come from

Nature's Variety is committed to using high quality, safe ingredients from government-inspected slaughterhouses. Our natural ingredients are continuously inspected for quality and tested for analytical compliance

Are we to assume this is a USA government inspected slaughterhouse? According to their own information they do obtain the rabbit meat in one of their foods from China. http://www.naturesvariety.com/questions/5

This really bothers me because so far this was the best food I located. At least the ones that I thought needed improvement didn't contain Montmorillonite Clay.

Ann  says:
17 months ago

Do you have a category for this ingredient incase you would like to give it a minus?

AskSusanPeters profile image

AskSusanPeters  says:
17 months ago

Ann,

The review on this page is a "shopping list" type 10 point review. The reviews I have been writing of late are called Pet Food Danger Gauge which is a critical 30 - point review. The Pet Food Danger Gauge has a this awful clay figured in the total score. So far I have not rated many with this ingredient using the new Pet Food Danger Gauge.

Ann, sure makes one wonder if the ingredients are truely all that good or if Nature's Variety just has a good staff writer, doesn't it?

Susan

Susan  says:
17 months ago

Thanks Susan! You are doing such an awesome job!!! I wouldn't have learned about this ingredient or other problems if it weren't for you.

AskSusanPeters profile image

AskSusanPeters  says:
17 months ago

Susan,

Thanks for the support! Hearing from you and the Atta-Girl really helps.

Susan

Yuko  says:
16 months ago

Susan, you do a great job putting helpful pet food info together! Your guide and rating helps me to confirm which brands and products I would like to feed to my cat.

A comment on an importance of quality cat food -- I absolutely agree with you that food makes a big difference for my cat's health. I used to think that vommiting was not unusual for cats, but now I realize that it can be affected by a quality of food they eat. Years ago, I used to feed my cat dry food bought from a super market without knowing negatives about corns, animal digests, etc. I remember that she often vomitted food she just ate. I have a different cat since, and I had been feeding him this Prairie Chicken and Brown rice dry food. He does not vomit food (only hair ball occasionally) ever since he became our family 3 years ago. His eating habits, amounts, and schedules are predictable. He likes his food too. Now I am trying to identify if he has food allergies by ristricting his diet to fish and beef-based products. So far, his face itching and dander (it was a lot!) visibly reduced since I stopped feeding him chicken-based products. He likes California Natural Herring and Sweet potato dry food and Prairies Beef and Barley wet food. I am thinking to try Praries Salmon and Brown Rice dry food next.

I am willing to pay $20/month for quality cat food, and reduce time and cost for vet visits.

Yuko

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