Nutro Cat Food Review of 2026: Recalls, Pros & Cons

Nutro Cat Food Review Summary

Founded in the 1920s, Nutro is an American pet food manufacturing company and a subsidiary of Mars Inc., which also manufactures other pet food brands, including Whiskas, Royal Canin, and Iams, and is now headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee. The brand was the first to gain the American Feed Industry Association certification.

Its cat food range includes Nutro MAX, Nutro Original, and Perfect Portions, and its wet food ranks as being well above average, though its dry food is not as good. Besides food designed for adult cats, it has specialist ranges for kittens and senior cats.

Like most good pet food manufacturers, the company does avoid artificial ingredients and meat by-products. It also fortifies its food with extra vitamins and minerals.

Overall, Nutro cat food is good quality food that we would recommend to cat owners. However, it does have a questionable history of recalls that are worth noting and have caused us to rate it a little lower.

At a Glance: The Best Nutro Cat Food Recipes

Image	Product	Details
	Adult Salmon & Brown Rice	No GMO ingredients No GMO ingredients Salmon and chicken are primary ingredients	Check Price
	Hairball Control Chicken & Rice	Real chicken as the very first ingredient Natural fiber blend Non-GMO ingredients	Check Price
	Chicken & Rice Kitten Food	36% protein Suitable for kittens No GMO ingredients	Check Price
	Grain-Free Paté Salmon & Tuna	No GMO ingredients No artificial ingredients Excellent source of meat protein	Check Price
	Grain-Free Turkey & Chicken	Grain-free food Contains no artificial flavors Soft, smooth texture	Check Price

Nutro Cat Food Review

Who Makes Nutro Cat Food and Where Is It Produced?

Nutro Cat Food was first formed in 1926, when American businessman John Saleem bought a British pet food manufacturing company and renamed it Nutro Products. The company has undergone several changes in ownership since then but was bought by Mars in 2007. It has remained under their ownership since and joins a long list of other pet food brands, including Whiskas, Royal Canin, Sheba, and Iams.

All Nutro Cat Food is produced in the U.S.A. Its dry food is manufactured in North Carolina and California, while its wet food ranges are made in Ohio, Arkansas, and South Dakota.

Which Types of Pets Is Nutro Cat Food Best Suited For?

Nutro has a broad range of cat foods. It sells adult foods that are suitable for general adult cats. It also sells grain-free recipes, though these are mostly wet foods. It also has many foods that are geared toward kittens or seniors, as well as those for sensitive stomachs and to assist in controlling hairballs. As such, there is likely a range of Nutro cat food to suit your cat’s stage of life and nutritional requirements.

Our recommendation

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Discussion of the Primary Ingredients (Good and Bad)

Nutro produces a varied range of foods. Different lines and different flavors contain different ingredients.

Chelated Minerals

Nutro cat foods, like most pet foods, contain additional vitamins and minerals. These are included for a variety of reasons and in the case of Nutro, it includes chelated minerals. Chelated minerals are bound to protein, which means that they are more efficiently digested by the body. They have greater bioavailability than non-chelated minerals.

Non-GMO Ingredients

Nutro food does not contain any GMO ingredients. Some people believe that GMO foods are potentially dangerous, as their side effects are not fully understood yet. Some pet foods are known to contain canola oil, which may be made from genetically modified rapeseed oil, though this is not always true. Regardless, none of these ingredients are present in Nutro pet foods.

Cheap Fillers

The ingredients found in Nutro foods are generally good quality and serve a purpose. The foods are primarily meat-based, which is also good, and most of the lines are species appropriate. However, some of the foods do contain inappropriate fillers, such as alfalfa meal. Alfalfa meal is most commonly found in horse feed, and it is only added to food because it is cheap and readily available. It is a source of protein, but meat protein is considered much higher quality and more beneficial.

A Quick Look at Nutro Cat Food

Nutro Cat Food Recalls

Nutro pet food has been recalled several times, especially in the past 15 years. In 2015, its dog treats were recalled due to mold contamination of its apple chewy sweets. However, it isn’t just its dog foods that have been recalled. The following recalls have been initiated for Nutro cat foods:

• In 2007, several Nutro foods were recalled because they had melamine-contaminated ingredients from China. Nutro was one of a large number of suppliers caught up in this particular recall.
• In 2009, Nutro cat food was recalled because of inappropriate and incorrect levels of zinc and potassium. Several pet owners had reported their cats and dogs falling ill after eating Nutro pet foods.
• In the same year, Mars recalled several of its brands of pet food because of reports that there were small pieces of melted plastic found in the food.

Reviews of the 3 Best Nutro Cat Food Recipes

Although Nutro does manufacture several recipes, we have taken a closer look at three of its most popular ones.

1. Nutro Wholesome Essentials Adult Salmon & Brown Rice Dry Cat Food

The Wholesome Essentials Adult Salmon and Brown Rice recipe is a dry cat food that lists salmon and chicken meal as its primary ingredients, followed by brewers rice, pea protein, and whole brown rice.

Brewer’s rice is a low-quality grain, which itself is considered lower quality than meat or another ingredient. It is an inexpensive filler. Pea protein is similarly low quality and boosts the food’s protein ratio without really offering benefit to the cat.

The Nutro Wholesome Salmon and Brown Rice food boasts 33% protein, and it does contain additional chelated minerals, but it also includes alfalfa meal and dried plain beet pulp, which are low-quality ingredients that would ideally be replaced by meat ingredients in a premium food.

Calorie Breakdown:

2. Nutro Perfect Portions Natural Wet Cat Food

The Nutro Perfect Portions Natural Wet Cat food is a wet food designed for adult cats of all ages. The actual ingredients do vary depending on the flavor you buy, but taking the salmon and tuna recipe as a guide, its primary ingredients are salmon, chicken, chicken liver, pork broth, chicken broth, and tuna.

This means that the vast majority of the 12% protein in these trays is derived from meat, which means that Nutro Perfect Portions are among some of the best wet foods available. With that said, this food does contain some controversial ingredients, including menadione sodium bisulfite complex. Although this is a known source of vitamin K, it is controversial because it has been linked to a number of health complaints, including kidney problems. It is potentially harmful to dogs and cats.

The food also contains carrageenan, which is another controversial ingredient because it is believed to cause inflammation and toxicity in animals.

Calorie Breakdown:

3. Nutro Wholesome Essentials Chicken & Brown Rice Dry Kitten Food

Nutro Wholesome Essentials Chicken & Brown Rice Dry Kitten Food is a food designed for kittens under 12 months. The primary ingredients in this food are chicken and chicken meal, followed by pea protein. It also contains chicken fat, brewers rice, whole brown rice, and potato protein.

The food has 36% protein and does not contain any GMO ingredients. It is also free from any artificial additives and only uses natural ingredients.

With the primary ingredients being meat-based, Nutro Kitten Food gets a good majority of its protein and nutrients from healthy sources. However, it does contain a lot of inexpensive and low-quality fillers, including alfalfa meal, pea protein, and dried beet. It is considered an average dry food.

While it shouldn’t cause your kitten harm or lead to illness, there are better quality foods out there.

Calorie Breakdown:

Is Nutro a Good Cat Food: What the Users Are Saying

Conclusion

Nutro, which is part of the Mars parent company, manufactures a wide range of foods. Besides adult dry food, it also supplies kitten food and manufactures senior food. You will find Nutro food ranges that are geared toward cats with sensitive stomachs and those that produce a lot of fur balls.

Although the wet food is considered much higher quality than the dry food, Nutro is known for using natural ingredients and it does not use GMO foods. It incorporates vitamins and minerals into its recipes, ensuring that your cat’s food is fortified and healthy.

While the dry food would benefit from having fewer filler ingredients, there isn’t anything likely to cause harm or toxicity to your cat, making the full range a good choice for owners and cats alike.

Related Reads: 

• Rachael Ray Nutrish Cat Food Review

• Pure Harmony Cat Food Review

Featured image credit: Chewy