Nutrience Grain Free
Rating: 
| Price: $$$ | Website
Nutrience Grain Free
Nutrience make some great dog foods, and I’m happy to say the cat foods are too. This review is for the Grain Free range, although they offer the cheaper Natural and Original ranges as well. Within the Grain Free range we are offered a choice of Turkey, Chicken, and Herring, or Ocean Fish. Both are of equal quality, although this review focuses on Turkey, Chicken, and Herring.
I’ll start by pointing out there are 5 animal protein sources in the top 10 ingredients, which is great to see. They’re good choices too, with the top 3 being deboned turkey followed up by chicken and turkey meals – all great, lean meats. Fantastic!
We find green peas and lentils in the top ingredients, as well as sweet potatoes as a source of carbs. These are good choices, as are whole eggs as an additional source of protein which is a solid inclusion in the food.
Salmon oil is included as a source of necessary omega fats, as is coconut oil which is a wonderful ingredient with numerous benefits (anticarcinogenic, helps arthritis and joints, good for coat, skin, and can balance the metabolism). Many vets are saying all cats should be given coconut oil, so it’s always great to see a food which includes it.
I really find this food hard to fault. All the ingredients are well considered and of a decent quality. It’s a great food. Period.
Oh, and it’s great value for money too!
Correspondence from Nutrience: “All our dog and cat grain free foods (turkey, chicken & herring, and ocean fish formulas) have received the Glycemic Research Institute’s confirmation that they have been certified Diabetic-Friendly as well as Low-Glycemic by the institute.”
That’s good to hear, and something for Nutrience to be proud of.
Where to buy?
What’s good about this food….
Excellent meat proteins, great ingredient choices, well balanced, and includes essential oils and the wonderful inclusion of coconut oil.
….and what’s not so good.
Nothing.
Ingredients:
Deboned turkey, chicken meal, turkey meal, green peas, sweet potatoes, lentils, tapioca, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), deboned chicken, deboned herring, whole eggs, sun-cured alfalfa meal, natural chicken flavor, chicken liver, salmon oil (source of DHA), coconut oil, pumpkin, butternut squash, carrots, spinach, broccoli, apples, pears, blueberries, cranberries, pomegranate, juniper berry extract, ginger, fennel, green tea extract, peppermint leaf, licorice root, turmeric, vitamins [vitamin E supplement, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), vitamin A supplement, niacin, calcium pantothenate, inositol, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid], minerals [zinc oxide, zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, ferrous sulfate, copper proteinate, copper sulfate, manganese proteinate, manganese oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite], potassium chloride, choline chloride, lecithin, DL-methionine, salt, chicory root extract, taurine, dried kelp, yeast extract, glucosamine hydrochloride, rosemary extract, yucca schidigera extract, L-lysine, chondroitin sulfate, L-carnitine, dried Lactobacillus plantarum fermentation product, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product, dried Bacillus subtilis fermentation product, dried Bifidobacterium animalis lactis fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus casei fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus helveticus fermentation product, dried Bifidobacterium longum fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product.
I wanted to know what you think of Merrick Limited Ingredient Diet grain free potato free thanks Pam
I wanted to know can this food cause urinary problems? Are the phosphorus 8% and is that to high?
Hi Pamela, 0.5% is the minimum required by AAFCO standards so a minimum of 0.8% is not unusual. It is a “minimum” though so doesn’t guarantee the levels of phosphorous in this food differ greatly from others.
Urinary problems can develop from any foods, and in any case it’s common for cats to have urinary or kidney problems. Dry diets (especially with lack of moisture) will more likely bring on these conditions than wet or fresh diets.
My cat had been eating this food for about 1 year when he developed difficulty urinating. The vet explained that in grain free food the carbs are replaced with minerals like phosphorus which is what is responsible for urinary problems in cats. He also explained that the amounts given in on the bag (.8% phosphorus) is the MINIMUM amount and the fact that the company does not post the MAXIMUM amount is because they know it is harmful. So I do not reccommend that anyone feed their cat this food unless they want $$$ vet bills to fix their cats urinary blockage.
I have seen this post word for word on all the websites where there are comments of this product and on all the products of this company…To be honest, it makes me wonder if it isn’t a competitor’s tactic..
Hi Sheri, sorry for the delay in replying to this. Most manufacturers state “min” for phosphorous, although 0.8% is relatively high compared to other foods. Certainly for a cat with urinary or kidney problems you need to feed a lower phosphorous food, but ideally you need to steer away from dry foods all together. Cats are extremely prone to these conditions especially in older years.
does Nutrience also make canned formula?
yes they do.
Hi Lisa, they don’t, but they do a great freeze dried range
I was excited to see a Canadian made food that was grain free but my excitement disappeared the moment I read the ingredients list. This company, like most others, obviously think of human nutritional needs and not that of cats. What’s with the peas, lentils, broccoli, sweet potatoes, etc? Why so many veggies? Then all the fruit. Apples, blueberries…..the list goes on and to top it off, tapioca. I know many people are ignorant in believing these ingredients are good, or even needed by cats, so companies throw in all those ingredients to sell their products. I was excited to see an offer for a free 2.27 kg bag of their Subzero line being offered at Petsmart but will not be picking one up. Pretty sad, really! Cats don’t need all those carbs and, in fact, carbs are bad for them.
When fruits and veggies are included in trace amounts it mimics a natural diet – what would normally be found in the stomach and intestinal tract of prey.
Hi!
I was thinking about switching my cats with nutrience since I always tought Royal canin was THE best for them and the more I read about it, the more I feel like i’m paying for the name… So! My question is lately nutrience realeased subzero grain free, since its new there is no review yet… Do you think you are going to do one? I want to do the best for them:s
SubZero is an excellent food. I’ll write a review in due course, but I’m currently away until after Christmas.
I first and foremost researched Canadian manufactures using local ingredients; grain free with as much animal meat as possible while staying within my budget.
We have two cats and the older Himalayan was sick to her stomach a few times, I reduced the initial mix percentage and within a month she was not only enjoying the new food both cats were looking forward to feeding times.
So they are both much happier on a better food. Switching to a high quality grain free food has also improved their health, breath and coat their appearance is noticeably better.
PS – I suffer vision issues and the light grey font is almost impossible for me to see and read, if your able a dark or black font so much more legible, thanks!
I emailed Nutrience asking about percentage of ingredients in order because I wanted to find out how much of good ingredients i.e. turkey, chicken etc. are actually in the food (Nutrience original and Nutrience grain free).
I was surprised that they refused to provide that information saying they cannot disclose it. Well, that’s a very disappointing and discouraging response! Why would they not share that simple piece of basic information is beyond my understanding. I consider Nutrience to be a good food, and wanted to buy it. Not so sure any more 🙁
Hi Mamoon, I’ve checked the Nutrience website and they state 78% premium animal ingredients, 22% fruits and vegetables for the Grain Free food. It doesn’t seem to have similar information for Nutrience Natural.
Pet food manufacturers aren’t required to state the percentages, so not many do.
I don’t think Orijen cat food has potato in it anymore. From what I’ve read about foods and the Glycemic Index,……potato is VERY HIGH on the glycemic index.
Hi Corinne, yes, Orijen have removed potato from their recipes which is great to see.
I think the main thing to consider with potato is that it’s about the quantity of potato in a food. Having potato included doesn’t necessarily mean the food is high GI. For example, if the food has a high meat content it will likely have more protein than carbs, giving us an indication of the amount of carbs (and potato) in the food.
This food has both sweet potatoes and tapioca for ingredients. Isn’t that too much sugar for cats?
Hi Jean – Nutrience have contacted me regarding your comment. I’ve added their feedback to the end of the review, showing their grain free foods have been certified as Diabetic-Friendly and Low-Glycemic by the Glycemic Research Institute.
That should give you peace of mind!
Hi Jean, both are common ingredients in grain free foods. I’m not concerned with the sugar levels of these ingredients as they’re relatively low down the list. When a food contains an ingredient with a high glycemic index doesn’t mean the food is high glycemic. Orijen for example, contains potato but is one of the few low-glycemic foods available, certified by the Glycemic Research Institute.
What about the original Nutrience food?
Hi Nadine, here’s a review of Original especially for you – https://www.petfoodratings.org/dry-cat-food/nutrience-original/
It’s not quite as good, but still very good as far as cat foods go.
Thanks so much for the response, I will check it out