Truthful Natural Balance Cat Food Review: Is It Worth It for Your Feline?

Cat's nutrition is every feline parents' priority. That is why various brands have come up with their versions of cat food, and each of them claims to be the best and most appropriate for our beloved cats.

In this article, Natural Balance cat food review, we will give you an in-depth review of one of the most popular mid-range cat food available in the market today.

Natural Balance Cat Food Reviews

1. LID Grain-Free Duck & Green Pea Recipe

This dry cat food limited ingredient product is mixed specially crafted to support your cat’s overall well-being with a focus on simplicity and quality.

Made with duck as the first and only animal protein source, this formula is ideal for cats with food sensitivities or allergies.

It uses a limited number of easily digestible ingredients to help reduce the chance of digestive upset while still delivering complete and balanced nutrition.

The inclusion of green peas provides a gentle source of fiber to support healthy digestion.

Free from wheat, soy, and grains, this grain-free recipe is designed for cats who thrive on a cleaner diet.

Enriched with omega-3 and 6 fatty acids, it also promotes a healthy skin and coat, making it a smart, nourishing choice for your feline companion.

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2. Limited Ingredient Chicken & Green Pea Recipe

This is a wholesome, grain-free option thoughtfully designed for cats with food sensitivities.

This limited-ingredient formula features lean, premium-quality chicken as the top ingredient, offering a delicious source of protein that supports strong muscles and overall health.

The succulent, meaty taste satisfies your cat’s cravings while helping to avoid common allergens.

Made with real broth, this wet food provides essential hydration, especially beneficial for cats who don’t drink enough water.

Fortified with key vitamins and minerals, it delivers balanced nutrition in every bite, making it a gentle yet nourishing choice for even the most sensitive felines.

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3. Fat Cats with Chicken Meal, Salmon Meal, Garbanzo Beans, Peas & Oatmeal

Next we have a thoughtfully formulated, grain-inclusive recipe designed to help manage your cat’s weight without compromising on nutrition or taste.

Featuring high-quality proteins, it starts with chicken meal as the first ingredient and includes salmon meal and pea protein to support lean muscle maintenance across all breeds.

This lower-calorie kibble is ideal for cats needing to slim down or maintain a healthy weight, while still enjoying a satisfying meal.

Packed with fiber-rich ingredients like garbanzo beans, peas, and oatmeal, it helps increase feelings of fullness and curb begging between meals.

Enriched with essential vitamins, minerals, omega fatty acids, and taurine, this complete formula supports overall well-being—from skin and coat health to heart function.

Plus, it’s made without any artificial flavors or colors, so you can feel confident about what’s in your cat’s bowl.

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4. Ultra Protein Chicken & Chicken Meal Kitten Recipe

This meal is crafted to fuel your growing kitten with premium, protein-rich nutrition.

Featuring a savory combination of chicken and turkey, this grain-free recipe includes real chicken liver and chicken hearts for added flavor and essential nutrients.

The first three ingredients are real animal proteins, contributing to an impressive 40% protein content that helps support your kitten’s strength, energy, and healthy development.

Packed with natural ingredients and fortified with vital vitamins and minerals, it promotes whole-body health—from muscle growth and immune support to skin and coat vitality.

Free from corn, wheat, soy and animal byproduct meals, this clean formula delivers everything your kitten needs and nothing they don’t, making it a smart start for a healthy life.

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5. Platefulls Indoor Formula Salmon, Tuna, Chicken & Shrimp in Gravy

This product is a gourmet, grain-free wet food crafted to satisfy your cat’s cravings while supporting their indoor lifestyle.

This delicious recipe features a medley of five premium protein sources—including fish broths, salmon, tuna, chicken liver, chicken and shrimp—for rich flavor and balanced amino acids.

Each pouch is loaded with wholesome vegetables like spinach, carrots, potatoes, peas, and dried kelp to provide natural fiber and essential nutrients.

Formulated with limited carbohydrate sources for easily digestible energy, it also includes balanced omega-3 and 6 fatty acids to nourish your cat’s skin and coat.

Fortified with vital vitamins, minerals and taurine, this complete and balanced meal supports overall feline health.

Proudly packed in the USA, it's made without grains, corn, soy, wheat, artificial flavors, colors or bleached ingredients—just clean, nourishing food your cat will love.

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6. Ultra Premium Indoor Chicken Formula 

Next we have a high-protein wet food crafted to support the unique needs of indoor cats.

Made with lean, premium-quality chicken as the first ingredient, this flavorful recipe also includes wholesome salmon, oats and cranberries for a nutritious boost.

It’s packed with complex carbohydrates to provide sustained energy and features balanced omega-3 and 6 fatty acids to help maintain healthy skin and a shiny coat.

Fortified with essential vitamins, minerals and taurine, it delivers complete and balanced nutrition for adult cats and kittens alike.

Whether served as a full meal or used as a tasty topper over dry kibble, the savory chicken broth adds moisture to support hydration and palatability.

This versatile, nutrient-rich formula offers everything your cat needs with the taste they’ll love.

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7. Ultra Premium Tuna with Shrimp Formula 

This is a flavorful, high-protein wet food crafted to nourish your cat with quality ingredients and mouthwatering taste.

The top ingredients—tuna, fish broth, chicken liver, shrimp, chicken and ocean fish—provide a rich source of animal protein to support strong muscles and overall vitality.

Each tender, juicy bite is enhanced with wholesome brown rice for easily digestible energy and balanced nutrition.

Made with real fish broth for added hydration and irresistible flavor, this recipe is fortified with essential vitamins, minerals, taurine and omega fatty acids to promote heart health, immune function, and a glossy coat.

It's a complete and satisfying meal that brings together the best of land and sea to delight your cat at every serving.

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8. L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Green Pea & Venison 

This is a thoughtfully crafted kibble designed for cats with food sensitivities or special dietary needs.

This limited-ingredient, grain-free recipe features lean, premium-quality venison as its single and unique animal protein source, making it an ideal choice for cats with allergies or intolerances to common proteins.

Paired with green peas and other select, limited carbohydrate sources, it delivers highly digestible energy without unnecessary fillers.

Each crunchy bite is packed with essential vitamins, minerals, taurine, and omega fatty acids to support your cat’s overall health, from heart and vision to skin and coat.

Gentle on sensitive stomachs yet full of flavor and nutrition, it’s a clean, balanced diet you can feel confident serving every day.

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Natural Balance: How It All Began

In 1989, two entertainers Dick Van Patten and Joey Herrick, shared their love for animals over a casual conversation.

Their passion for feline animals led them into building a pet food company called the Natural Balance. This company was the first to offer organic and filler-free meals for pets and tagged their company as “Food for the Lifetime.”

Years later, the company merged with the multinational company called Del Monte and was later on acquired by J.M Smucker together with other pet food manufacturers, the Big Heart Pet Brands. The brand is also known for producing several zoological formulas, which are all given to captive animals.

The company gets its supply from various sources, such as France, India, New Zealand, United States, and Canada. The company set up its factories in multiple areas in the United States to meet the various demands of consumers.

What does it offer?

This brand is a mid-range cat and dog food product packed with ingredients high in quality. The brand offers a full option of wet and dry cat food as well as for dogs, subdivided into various ranges. These products have a healthy premium ratio to deliver optimum nutrition balance to your pets.

To make it painless and effortless, the Natural Balance has the Cat Food Selection Calculator, which was engineered to choose a diet based on the personalized need of your cat.

The calculator will provide selection based on the age, meal preference, and other special needs of your fur animal, which will make choosing the best product for your feline friend easier and accessible.

What are the main ingredients of Natural Balance cat food?

There is a wide range of meal products for cats offered by Natural Balance. Each of these products is carefully created to meet the various needs of our pets. The formulation used is carefully developed depending on the purpose of the food. Most of the formulas used on their cat diets are derived from high-protein meat and high-fiber vegetables and fruits.

Some meals that are not grain-free use potato and rice as the source of carbohydrates and vitamin complex. All of the cat food Natural Balance offers do not use any preservatives, coloring, and any additives.

Recall History

Just recently, May 20, 2021, U.S. Food and Drug Administration posted a voluntary recall notice by Natural Balance Pet Foods, Inc. of San Diego, CA, cat food products due to possible contamination with Salmonella.

Products were distributed nationwide in the U.S. via both retail and online distribution. No customer complaints or illnesses have been reported to date, and no other Natural Balance Pet Foods, Inc. products are impacted by this recall.

In 2007, the United States issued melamine recalls to various companies. Many have reported that the Natural Balance venison-based foods cause sickness to their pets, thus prompting them to conduct several laboratory tests.

The results have shown that several products from the Natural Balance company contain traces of melamine, which was pointed at the abundant protein concentrates found in their products.

The recall was later on expanded and found traces of melamine on several canned dogs and cat food products.

Unfortunately, these products have high protein concentrates, which were not enumerated in the ingredients list, nor the company itself was not aware of.

The company pointed fingers at the manufacturer, American Nutrition Incorporated, as accountable for adding such ingredients without the company's knowledge.

All these debacles have led to withdrawing sixty trucks worth of its pet meal products, which amounted to a hundred thousand dollars in compensating the customer's hospital bills.

In the latter part of the same year, the company voluntarily had their second wave of recall. It recanted some of its products due to the botulism outbreak that involved their manufacturing partner, Castleberry's Food Company.

Since the waves of recall, Natural Balance has upgraded its food safety laboratory and added several modern pieces of equipment.

The brand established the “Buy with Confidence” tagline, giving their buyers access to the laboratory results of their pet food products. No other pet food company offers this imitable service to its customers.

Our Take: Why We Should Buy It

All the food Natural Balance pet meal generally offers aims to provide balanced nutrition to our feline friends. Although waves of recalls happened to their products years ago, the brand has remained authentic to its guiding principle – to provide food for the lifetime.

The company's strict safe-testing program gives us peace of mind that we are only feeding our cats with the healthiest and safest meal they could have.

It is also safe to say that this brand tastes excellent, as many have shared that their cats happily consumed the Natural Balance products. Many also shared reviews that the coats and the muscle tone of their fur babies improved just by eating this brand of cat food.

As a whole, despite the tad bit costly tag of some of their products and a few complaints about the level of carbohydrates found in some meals for cats, most Natural Balance cat food review states that this brand is successful in providing our cats high nutrition and delectable snacks. This is a highly recommended cat food brand, both dry and wet variations.