Northwest Naturals Cat Food Review 2021 ? Recalls & Customers Rating

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Ratings

Species appropriate diet: 4.5/5
Quailty of ingredients: 4.5/5
Variety of recipes: 2/5
Pricing: 4/5
Customers experience: 5/5
Recalls history: 3.5/5

4/5

What Is Northwest Naturals Story?

Northwest Naturals is an Oregon-based company producing raw pet food for the sake of providing felines and dogs with species-appropriate and life-prolonging meals.

This pet food brand is owned by Morasch Meats, a family-owned company that started its story back in 1956. At first, the organization specialized in delivering meat processing products to restaurants, groceries, and retailers. Later, as they got inspected and certified by USDA, Morasch Meats was asked to manufacture private-label pet food.

After more than 20 years of experience in the pet food industry, Morasch Meats established its own brand of raw pet food - Northwest Naturals.

These days, the company has a modest line-up of frozen raw pet food and is convinced that this diet type is exactly what a carnivore is supposed to eat daily to stay healthy and happy.

What Is Manufacturing Facility Location?

Morasch Meats has two manufacturing locations in Portland and Oregon. By the way, their facility was the first production building certified by USDA to produce raw frozen pet food. All cat recipes are made in the same premises used for making meat products for people, so you can be sure that your feline gets the best raw meat meal.

Northwest Naturals stands for eco-friendly manufacturing, so it upgrades technology and facilities to produce quality raw cat food without contaminating the environment. They recycle metals, plastics, office supplies and stick to energy efficiency programs.

Northwest Naturals cat food is made of ingredients that are mainly sourced from the USA. However, some of the meat types come from New Zealand (lamb and mussels) and France (duck). It is dictated by the desire to use only the highest quality Northwest Naturals cat food ingredients that would allow producing exceptional and safe raw pet food.

What Is Northwest Naturals Recall History?

That’s the first time I see that the company showcases the recall of the products on its website. But that’s the way it goes, and it just means to me that Northwest Naturals is transparent in its production processes with customers.

There was only one Northwest Naturals cat food recall in February 2018. The recall involved the raw recipe for dogs with chicken and salmon flavor, 5 lb. The organization initiated the recall due to the potential Listeria monocytogenes contamination. As they claim, that could have led to the infection of pets and humans. Luckily, there were no registered cases of illnesses or deaths due to the food.

What Kind of Cat Food Does Northwest Naturals Offer?

Northwest Naturals is dedicated to bringing a natural carnivore diet for cats and dogs. Since wild cats are not supposed to eat highly-processed or carb-dense meals in the wild, the company manufactures the cat food from raw meat and then freezes it to lock all nutrients in food.

All the recipes are very simple, but they deliver all the essential elements that processed cat food sometimes lacks. Northwest Naturals uses muscle meat, organs, and raw ground bones of the same fish or animal species without any fruit or vegetables. In this way, your feline eats natural meals inspired by its wild spirit.

Since the formulas contain bones, you might be worried about the mineral content. In particular, the phosphorus level, which is a critical parameter for senior felines or ones with kidney issues. Northwest Naturals food contains a moderate phosphorus level, so it’s safe for cats that are in the kidney failure risk zone. However, you’d better ask your vet if they approve of this diet.

If you are concerned about the longevity of raw food, Northwest Naturals uses high-pressure processing to extend the shelf life of the raw food without changing its properties. The pressure reduces common foodborne pathogens, like Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria, so the package could be stored much longer without breaking amino acids, proteins, enzymes, and other components.

Northwest Naturals offer two product line-ups:

Frozen cat nibbles
Freeze-dried cat nibbles

All these recipes are made in the form of small bites called nibbles. They are easy for felines to digest and chew. However, they are cooked by following slightly different procedures. So let’s get a better vision of these two categories and see the difference between these cat foods.

Northwest Naturals Frozen Cat Nibbles Review

Frozen cat nibbles by Northwest Naturals are pieces of blended meat, organs, bones, and other ingredients, minerals, and vitamins that come in the pre-sized kibble form.

The peculiar feature of this frozen cat food is that all the ingredients are mixed and then blended into a uniform consistency. Then the mass is poured onto trays, gets frozen and cut into smaller pieces.

These recipes are made of the same meat you can find in your grocery stores, so the available flavors are chicken, turkey, duck, rabbit, and whitefish. They never mix protein sources and use all the meaty ingredients from a single species.

The Northwest Naturals Frozen Chicken Nibbles are one of the bestsellers and are loved by cats. This is high-quality frozen raw food that offers plenty of nutrients for the feline in the bowl. Since this food doesn’t undergo processing at high temperatures, all the essentials are locked into the food and are waiting till the time they arrive at a cat’s tummy to be distributed over the whole body.

Northwest Naturals Frozen Cat Nibbles Review

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Ingredients:

Chicken, Chicken Necks, Chicken Hearts, Chicken Liver, Egg, Gelatin, Water, Dulse Powder, Dried Kelp, Ground Flaxseed, Organic Psyllium Husk Powder, Salmon Oil.

This Northwest Naturals recipe harnesses dietary values of chicken muscle meat and organs, like necks, hearts, and liver, to deliver high-quality animal proteins and fats into the cat’s body. Instead of using gums, the company thickens food with gelatin that promotes healthy body tissues, skin, digestion, and other stuff. Carbs are received from dried kelp rather than grains, so problem-free digestion is guaranteed. Ground flaxseed and salmon oil enhance fat and amino-acid levels for shining coat and healthy skin.

Warning!

Before serving this frozen food, thaw the portion in your fridge overnight in a container or 20-30 mins at room temperature.

Good Stuff About These Northwest Naturals Frozen Chicken Nibbles:

Less processing ensures greater nutritional value
High-pressure processing prolongs the shelf life of the meal
Made of quality proteins like chicken meat and organs
No gums, grains, artificial additives

What You Might not Like About These Northwest Naturals Frozen Chicken Nibbles:

Gets easily spoiled
Expensive

Northwest Naturals Freeze Dried Raw Cat Food Review

Northwest Naturals uses the same ingredients for the manufacturing of freeze-dried recipes for felines. Their meals include only one protein source with adding muscle meat, organs, and bones to nourish the feline with quality essentials. There are no fillers, carb-dense grains, by-products, or gluten in all the formulas.

The manufacturing procedure is similar to the frozen recipes, but with one significant difference - the nibbles are dehydrated to extend the shelf life of the raw food (24 months if stored in a dry place) and let it be stored at room temperatures without taking too much space in your fridge. Thanks to this, you can take this food on the go and use it during your vacation or any other trip.

So, the moisture level of Northwest Naturals freeze-dried food is only 5% (compared to 72% in the previous product category). You can easily rehydrate these nibbles by adding some water to the package if you serve the whole pack or mix the portion with water directly in the bowl.

The Northwest Naturals Freeze-Dried Turkey Recipe is another hit among pet parents and their felines. It is a raw dehydrated cat food that contains high levels of animal proteins, fats, quality carbs, and fiber to make the most organic pet’s diet you could ever think of. One of the perks of this meal is that you can store it at room temperatures without getting it spoiled. There’s about 50% of proteins, 26% of carbs, 4% of fiber, and 5% of moisture. Even though the carbohydrate level is pretty high, it is derived from quality ingredients like dried kelp.

Northwest Naturals Freeze Dried Raw Cat Food

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Ingredients:

Turkey, Turkey Neck, Turkey Hearts, Turkey Liver, Egg, Gelatin, Water, Dulse Powder, Dried Kelp, Ground Flaxseed, Organic Psyllium Husk Powder, Salmon Oil

Turkey meat and organs make the most of this food and serve as great protein sources. Protein is also derived from eggs along with amino acids that are proved to be easily digestible by cats. Ground flaxseed and salmon oil provide the pet with fatty amino acids for glossy fur and healthy skin.

Warning!

All the recipes contain egg, which is a common allergen. If your cat is intolerant to this ingredient, you’d better avoid this food.

Good Stuff About This Northwest Naturals Freeze-Dried Turkey Recipe:

Ingredients are mixed and frozen to keep more nutrients
The kibble is dried, and thus, convenient to store and use
One source of proteins
No grains, fillers, vegetables, and by-products

What You Might not Like About This Northwest Naturals Freeze-Dried Turkey Recipe:

$2.27 per ounce, which might be expensive

Is Northwest Naturals Good For Your Cat?

If your feline doesn’t have any health conditions that forbid your cat to eat raw food or your pet already sticks to the raw diet, you should give Northwest Naturals frozen food a try.

Based on the above Northwest Naturals cat food reviews, this company produces delicious cat raw meals by following safety and quality standards. They add organic ingredients and avoid any GMO- or antibiotic-based products.

All Northwest Naturals products are made of the only meat protein source, like chicken, turkey, duck, rabbit, and whitefish. Of course, you won’t find a great assortment of flavors in this brand, but the quality of the existing ones is more critical, in my humble opinion. So, all the recipes are made of muscle meat, protein-rich organs like lungs, hearts, livers, and are enhanced with eggs, kelp, salmon oil, and ground flaxseed to bring the essential elements that meat lacks.

The company doesn’t add fillers, grains, vegetables, and fruit and completely relies on meat and minerals to build a balanced and nutritionally-rich cat’s diet.

What Are Pet Owners Saying About Northwest Naturals?

The best way to learn about Northwest Naturals cat food problems and benefits is to investigate customer reviews. This is a time-consuming process, but when it comes to the health of your feline, you definitely do not want to hurry.

Actually, you don’t even have to. I have done the tough part of the job for you. I have run through Northwest Naturals’ feedback on various channels and polarized everything accordingly so that you don’t have to do all the tedious work on your own.

So, what I’ve noticed from the reviews is that Northwest Naturals is a well-respected raw cat food brand with a loyal following.

Let’s start with the inspiring Coco story that survived thanks to the Northwest Naturals raw diet. The poor baby refused to eat any food, and her owner decided to introduce raw food and see whether it would work. Luckily, that had worked, and Coco renewed her initial vitality power. Coco’s family was grateful for the transformation.

The freeze-dried turkey recipe by Northwest Naturals is a hit among felines and their owners. Cats love the flavor and eat these rehydrated pieces with pleasure. So, if you have a finicky eater, this recipe might work for your feline.

The Northwest Naturals raw freeze-dried chicken recipe is the easiest dehydrated formula that comes rehydrated with adding some warm water, according to the Amazon customer. Besides, his cat doesn’t tolerate any food with grains and is a picky eater with an early stage of kidney disease, and this raw food is the only one the feline tolerates.

But this raw cat food is not suitable for all felines. Those pets that are allergic to eggs or have kidney issues and are not allowed to consume phosphorus-rich products should stay away from this food. Pet owners feel sorry that the brand doesn’t release egg-free options with fewer bones.

Another customer is concerned about the size of the pieces. They seem to be too big for the cat. The cat owner has also spotted too much powder in the package, and he was not happy with the fact.

Some cat owners “were lucky” to find 2” plastic pieces in the turkey recipe. That happened in 2017, quite a long time, but this still poses a lot of questions regarding the quality control of all the foods that leave the manufacturing facility.

Also, because these recipes are raw and frozen, they get easily spoiled if stored improperly. Perhaps, that was the case for this customer, or that was just a bad batch, but I found several complaints within the same time range about kibble of different color and some different qualities of the food they used to order for a long time.

Is Northwest Naturals Worth Trying?

Of course, there are many pros and cons of raw cat food. If you are inclined to believe in only the positive sides of the raw diet, Northwest Naturals might be a good brand to go with.

Northwest Naturals recipes are all organic and contain the meat and organs of only one animal species, which makes the digestion process much easier for felines. Besides, there are no grains, fillers, or vegetables that might be hard to digest. Thus, this cat food is known to be a remedy for tummy issues and can be a great diet for pets who do not tolerate grains and gluten.

The company offers the same recipes in two different manufacturing variations: just frozen and dried-freeze. The first one requires special storage conditions and has a limited shelf life. Because of this, the food gets spoiled once you do not stick to the temperature regime or do not use the opened package within 3 days. These inconveniences turn away many customers, and they switch to dried-freeze options because they might be stored at room temperatures and have a much longer expiration period. As these meals are dehydrated, you need to add some water to bring back the moisture level.

So, once you feel like it’s a good idea to switch to Northwest Naturals cat food where to buy it? The company encourages its buyers to support businesses during these trying times of pandemic and shop locally. You can find a store near you using their website. But you’d better shop online, these foods are available on Amazon, PetGuys, and some other online retailers.

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