Rachael Ray Cat Food Review in 2021

Let’s get a deeper look at Rachael Ray cat food ingredients, manufacturing, and recipes to have a better understanding if it’s good for your pet.

Ratings

  • Species appropriate diet: 3/5
  • Quailty of ingredients: 3/5
  • Variety of recipes: 3.5/5
  • Pricing: 4.5/5
  • Customers experience: 4/5
  • Recalls history: 2/5
3.5/5

What Is Rachael Ray Nutrish Story?

Rachael Ray Nutrish recipes are inspired by a famous host on Food Network and an author of recipe books Rachael Ray. Her fans can also enjoy her lifestyle magazine “Rachael Ray Every Day” as well as her signature line of dinnerware, cookware, knives, and food ingredients.

With a desire to provide her Pit Bull Boo and other pets with super premium quality food, Rachael partnered with Ainsworth Pet Nutrition experts in 2008. She was shocked that many dogs died because of poor quality meals made of fillers, so Rachael aimed to provide pet parents with a healthy and 100% safe alternative produced from simple and natural ingredients.

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The same year, Rachael established Rachael’s Rescue to help dogs in need. She donated her revenue to no-kill shelters all over the USA to provide pets with food, medication, and proper care.

For about 6 years, Rachael Ray Nutrish had been the manufacturer of dog food only and in 2014 it launched the first cat line-up, both in dry and wet variety. All the meals were promised to be without by-products, flavors, preservatives, and other artificial substances.

Nutrish had become the fastest-growing pet food brand. In April 2018, the J.M. Smucker Company purchased the Rachael Ray Nutrish brand from Ainsworth Pet Nutrition.

What Is Manufacturing Facility Location?

According to the Rachael Ray Nutrish website, their dry cat food is made in the USA. J.M. Smucker company owns manufacturing facilities all over North America. Wet cat food recipes are crafted in Thailand. The brand explains that it wanted the best production conditions for its recipes and found them in Thailand. Those facilities meet the FDA standards for human and pet food, so all the foods are safe.

All the ingredients used in Rachael Ray cat food come from trusted suppliers. They carefully pick every ingredient to ensure your feline eats healthy and balanced meals.

What Is Rachael Ray Nutrish Recall History?

There is only one Rachael Ray cat food recall that took place in June 2015 due to the elevated level of Vitamin D.

However, I would also like to warn you about some other Rachael Ray cat food problems. The company was involved in a lawsuit filed against Ainsworth Pet Nutrition in 2018. Rachael Ray Nutrish was accused of adding undisclosed glyphosate, known as a toxic herbicide that was linked with the rise of pet cancer.

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However, the lawsuit was dismissed twice, and the judge announced that the company’s products contain less glyphosate than the FDA’s limit.

Besides, FDA included Rachael Ray Nutrish in the list of 16 dog food brands that might potentially be the reason for heart diseases among dogs. The company openly speaks about this investigation on its website and keeps its customers in the know about the situation. Currently, all we know is that the FDA hasn’t proved the role of the diet in DCM (dilated cardiomyopathy) cases yet. They work with their in-house experts as well as consult industry partners and the FDA to fix this problem.

What Kind of Cat Food Does Rachael Ray Nutrish Offer?

Rachael Ray Nutrish cat food is inspired by nature. Since cats should rely on proteins in their diet, the brand manufactures meals that are packed with animal proteins. All the recipes feature meat as the first ingredient to give felines what they crave. You won’t find by-products, fillers, or other junk as only wholesome ingredients are used in these formulas.

The recipes are enhanced with essential nutrients, minerals, and vitamins to maintain and promote the cat’s overall health. The company is committed to using only simple and natural ingredients; however, they add some synthetic essential vitamins like taurine that can’t be gained in a natural way. Anyway, even these Rachael Ray cat food ingredients meet the highest quality standards and support the cat at any stage of their life due to the neatly formulated and balanced formulas.

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If you go with Rachael Ray cat food, you’ll find a huge assortment of recipes and lines. The pet food brand offers a variety of flavors for both dry and wet recipes, including chicken, turkey, beef, tuna, duck, salmon, and more. The recipes are formulated for cats at any life stage. There are formulas for kittens, adults, and seniors having a balanced amount of nutrients and minerals in every meal.

You’ll also find recipes for different nutritional needs. There are formulas for indoor felines and cats with sensitive stomachs. You can also choose between grain-, soy-, corn-, and wheat-free meals to ensure your feline gets only the food that nourishes and benefits them.

Read Rachael Ray cat food reviews below to learn more about the quality of the ingredients and the overall composition of these feline recipes.

Rachael Ray Dry Cat Food Review

Rachael Ray Nutrish dry cat recipes are distinguished by sophisticated taste and quality ingredients. These are premium quality feline foods that are designed to make a balanced and nutrition-rich diet for every pet.

There are ten products in the dry food category, which are then split into three line-ups:

  • Nutrish
  • Nutrish PEAK
  • Nutrish Zero Grain

Nutrish cat food formulas are balanced meals for felines with meat or fish as the first ingredient. These recipes are also enhanced with grains, chickpeas, vegetables, or fruit to deliver natural vitamins and essentials through the diet. 5 dry formulas are available out there, including Rachael Ray indoor cat food with chicken, salmon & lentils, longevity recipe with chicken, salmon, and chickpeas, and many more.

Nutrish PEAK is protein-rich recipes that are also packed with other essential nutrients. They do not contain grains and are based on animal proteins required for cats’ health. This diet will help build lean muscles and support natural feline’s cravings, which is proven by many Rachael Ray dry cat food reviews.

And last but not least, Nutrish Zero Grain recipes are formulated for those felines that do better on a grain-free diet. As you probably know, not all cats tolerate grains equally. Some do well when eating meals with rice, oatmeal, and other wholesome grains, while others suffer from stomach issues. Rachael Ray Nutrish has crafted recipes specially for those pets that do not tolerate grains but still need to have a balanced and delicious diet.

I hope you won’t mind if I continue this article with Rachael Ray zero grain cat food reviews since this food series was the last on the list. There are two products in this line-up, so I would pick the recipe that seems the most appealing to my fur babies and me - Rachael Ray Zero Grain Chicken & Potato Recipe. This formula is suitable for indoor cats and is made without adding grains, as the product series name implies. That is why it will perfectly do for those felines that have a hard time digesting grain-inclusive diets.

Ingredients:

Chicken, Chicken Meal, Dried Peas, Pea Flour, Turkey Meal, Whole Dried Potato, Chicken Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Dried Plain Beet Pulp, Pea Protein, Pumpkin, Fish Meal, Whole Flaxseed, Natural Flavor, Tapioca, Salt, Dried Egg Product

This grain-free recipe is primarily made from chicken and chicken meal. Chicken meal has three times more proteins than regular meat, so this is a quality source of essentials for your pet. Carbs are obtained through vegetables like potatoes, peas, tapioca, and others. Pumpkin is added to promote healthier digestion.

Warning!

The carbohydrate content is high, so you’d better stick to the feeding instructions not to overfeed your cat.

Good Stuff About This Rachael Ray Zero Grain Chicken & Potato Recipe:
  • No fillers, by-products, grains
  • Chicken is the first ingredient
  • Free of gluten
  • Cats like the flavor
  • Affordable
What You Might not Like About This Rachael Ray Zero Grain Chicken & Potato Recipe:
  • Too many carbs for indoor cats

Rachael Ray Wet Cat Food Review

Rachael Ray Nutrish wet food for cats comes in a variety of textures and flavors to appeal even to the most finicky cats. All wet recipes are broken down into four series:

  • Nutrish
  • Nutrish PEAK
  • Nutrish Purrfect Broths
  • Nutrish Purrfect Entrees

Rachael Ray Nutrish wet recipes come in trays. These are chunks of chicken, beef, seafood, and other types of meat in a savory sauce. These are moisture-rich formulas that contain the optimal amount of water and broth to help your cat stay hydrated.

Nutrish PEAKformulas are protein-packed meals made without grains, soy, corn, gluten, or by-products. There are only four products from this line-up, but they are all delicious with pieces of tuna, beef, chicken, duck, and fish in a rich sauce.

Purrfect Broths are natural foods for felines meant to supplement a cat diet. These will work great as toppers for kibble or just treats between meals. There are three tastes to choose from, and they all come in a rich gravy with high moisture content.

Finally, Nutrish Purrfect Entrees are culinary-inspired cat recipes that have been designed to pamper pets with something delicious and healthy. They are grain-free formulas crafted with some special ingredients like yellowfin tuna, white meat chicken, and wild-caught salmon in a mix with veggies in classic sauces.

The Rachael Ray Nutrish Purrfect Entrees Fin-Tastic Primavera™ is a balanced and healthy formula that would enrich your cat with all the nutrients, minerals, and vitamins. This meal is packed with tuna and vegetables to be a delicious feeding option your furry baby will definitely love. Chunks of real tuna mixed with vegetables and generously poured with a culinary sauce will make your feline lick the plate clean.

Ingredients:

Fish Broth, Yellowfin Tuna, Sardine, Mackerel, Vegetable Oil, Carrots, Tomato Concentrate.

This fish-based formula is cooked with delicate yellowfin tuna, sardine, and mackerel pieces to be a primary source of proteins and fats. Veggies, like carrots, tomatoes, spinach, are added to add nutritional value to the meal. Thanks to the specially selected ingredients, the recipe is not packed with carbs and is great for those cats that are on a diet or are not active enough to release all the energy they gain with high-carbohydrate meals.

Warning!

As this is wet cat food, its leftovers should be stored in the fridge to stay fresh for a longer time.

Good Stuff About This Rachael Ray Nutrish Purrfect Entrees Fin-Tastic Primavera:
  • Quality ingredients
  • A high moisture level
  • No grains and fillers
  • Organic vegetables
What You Might not Like About This Rachael Ray Nutrish Purrfect Entrees Fin-Tastic Primavera:
  • Some cats don’t like the taste
  • Too many plants

Is Rachael Ray Nutrish Good For Your Cat?

In general, I would say that Rachael Ray Nutrish is a great budget option. I found no red-flag ingredients in the products I looked through. All their recipes also do not include questionable by-products, soy, corn, wheat, glutens, and other stuff your feline does not need in a diet.

This company is transparent about what is going on around it, and it does not hide anything from people. You can find information about the FDA investigation on the website as the company openly displays this on its website. Some would say that this is strange, but for me, it’s a sign that they have nothing to hide, and they are open to any changes if it turns out that their food harms pets. After all, they are on a mission to provide healthy and balanced food for cats and dogs, so they are supposed to act like that.

What Are Pet Owners Saying About Rachael Ray Nutrish?

It’s never easy to define whether this or that brand is better. That’s why I am here sharing my opinion on the Rachael Ray cat food brand.

But my point of view is not the absolute truth, and you might want to know somebody else's point of view. So I’ve gathered Rachael Ray cat food reviews Reddit, and other resources to help you see what other folks think.

In general, people love Rachael Ray cat food and say it’s good for many reasons. Entrees seem to be the fav meals of the customer’s cat. The feline loves the texture of the recipe with the chunks of meat and veggies in a delicious sauce.

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A Chewy buyer is happy because he has found the kibble both cats love. The pet parent says that one of his felines is very picky when it comes to dry food, but the Rachael Ray recipe seems to taste good to both of the pets. The price is also attractive and the ingredient list looks impressive for the food in a budget segment.

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MissKutty also loves that the Rachael Ray cat food fits her budget. The buyer also enjoys the variety of flavors, so she could rotate them to ensure her three cats don’t get bored with a single taste. The small size kibble is what her girls love because they can easily chew and crunch every piece without any problems.

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But there are some flaws in the Rachael Ray Nutrish cat food. One pet parent switched to this brand harboring hope that its food will be a healthier alternative to other options on the market. But the cat started acting weird over time and even stopped eating meat from these recipes, ending up just licking the gravy.

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Another customer says that he found a chicken claw in the food several times. There is no doubt, he is not happy with the quality of the food offered by Rachael Ray, and says that he will stop buying this product.

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Finally, the most common problem is that felines do not like the taste of the food. CatMama6 is very disappointed because none of her 6 cats would touch the PEAK kibble.

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Is Rachael Ray Worth Trying?

Of course, there are better options on the market of cat food if you don’t consider the price. But once you apply the price filter to all the brands available out there, you’ll quickly understand that this is one of the best feeding solutions for your feline.

Of course, the Rachael Ray cat food is not perfect. Some recipes are too high in carbohydrates, while others are just not much appreciated by cats. Either way, what can you expect from the budget food?

Anyway, Rachael Ray Nutrish does its best to provide pets with balanced and natural meals cooked from simple ingredients. And if you are on a budget, this cat food might be the best alternative to those pricey cat meals.

So, you want to try Rachael Ray cat food where to buy it? You can buy these products locally or shop online through your favorite marketplaces, like Amazon, Chewy, Walmart, PetSmart, Petco, Giant Eagle, and more.

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