Ninety-eight percent meat. Virtually zero carbohydrate. Muscle, organ, bone and blood in the proportions a cat would get from actual prey.
On paper Feline Natural is about as close to a wild feline diet as anything you can buy in a bag or a can.
It is also among the most expensive cat food in existence, which makes this a question about budget rather than about quality.
Everything Chewy stocks here is canned, at $64.99 for 12 six-ounce cans, about 90 cents an ounce. That puts Feline Natural just above Ziwi Peak’s cans at about 83 cents and makes it one of the priciest wet foods reviewed on this site. Two of the pate listings call the food freeze-dried, which looks like a copy error: they are sold as canned wet food.
For allergy trials, check the full label. The Lamb & Venison and Chicken & King Salmon pate listings both name green-lipped mussels, so they are not single-protein foods, however novel the headline protein.
Why almost zero carbohydrate matters
This is the genuine nutritional argument for the brand, and it is stronger than most premium marketing claims.
Cats are obligate carnivores. Unlike dogs or people they have no dietary requirement for carbohydrate at all, and they metabolise protein and fat far more efficiently. Typical dry cat food runs 30 to 45 percent carbohydrate because grain, potato and legumes are cheap bulk and because extrusion needs starch to hold a kibble together.
Feline Natural’s freeze-dried range contains virtually none. That is only possible because freeze-drying removes water rather than cooking and shaping, so no binding starch is needed.
Where this genuinely helps: overweight cats, and cats with diabetes, where carbohydrate load directly affects blood glucose. Feline diabetes is strongly associated with obesity and high-carbohydrate diets, and low-carb feeding is a recognised part of management. That is a conversation for your vet rather than a decision to make from a bag, and the Cornell Feline Health Center covers feline diabetes in detail.
Whole prey, and what organs actually contribute
Feline Natural includes organs, bone and blood alongside muscle meat, and this is where the nutritional work happens rather than in the headline percentage.
A cat eating a mouse does not get a fillet. Taurine concentrates in heart tissue, and taurine is an essential amino acid for cats, with deficiency causing dilated cardiomyopathy and retinal degeneration. Liver supplies vitamin A, which cats cannot convert from beta-carotene the way many animals can. Bone provides calcium and phosphorus in roughly the right ratio.
A food built this way needs fewer synthetic vitamins added back, because the nutrients arrive in the ingredients. That is the same logic behind Orijen and Acana, both of which do it at a lower price per serving.
The price problem, honestly
There is no way around this, so here it is plainly.
- Even the cans sit at the top of the market. At about 90 cents an ounce, they cost more than Ziwi Peak’s cans.
- Compare per serving, not per case. The food is dense and portions are small, which narrows the gap somewhat but does not close it.
- It works well as a topper. Using it to boost a cheaper complete food captures much of the benefit at a fraction of the cost, and this is how many owners actually use it.
- Not a therapeutic diet. Cats with kidney disease need controlled protein and phosphorus set by a vet, and a 98 percent meat food is not that.
All six recipes cost the same, so here is what separates them: the proteins each listing names.
| Recipe | Main proteins | Also named in listing | Pick it if |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken Feast | Cage-free chicken | None listed | You want the least adventurous place to start. |
| Lamb Feast | Free-range lamb | None listed | You want one uncommon protein. |
| Beef & Hoki Feast | Grass-fed beef, hoki | None listed | Poultry and common fish are already ruled out. |
| Lamb & King Salmon Feast | Lamb, king salmon | None listed | You want red meat with an oily fish. |
| Lamb & Venison Pate | Lamb, venison, organs | Green-lipped mussels | Your cat reacts to common proteins. Check the label with your vet. |
| Chicken & King Salmon Pate | Chicken, salmon, organs | Green-lipped mussels | Your fussy cat needs a familiar flavour. |
Should you spend this much on Feline Natural?
Buy it if you have one cat, budget genuinely allows, and you want the closest thing to a prey diet without handling raw meat. It also suits cats with multiple protein sensitivities, since venison and lamb are proteins most cats have not met, though check the label for green-lipped mussels.
Skip it if you feed several cats, or if your cat has a condition requiring a controlled diet. Consider using it as a topper instead, which is the sensible compromise. Compare with our best wet cat food picks and the main cat food guide.
On formulation this is about as good as cat food gets. Ninety-eight percent meat, whole prey composition including organs and bone, virtually no carbohydrate, and New Zealand sourcing throughout.
The price is the entire argument against it, and for most households it is decisive. If you want to try it, Feline Natural Chicken Feast Grain-Free Canned Cat Food, 6-oz, case of 12 is the least adventurous starting point, and using it as a topper over a good complete food is the pragmatic way in. This article is educational rather than veterinary advice.
Feline Natural questions
Q: Is Feline Natural a good cat food?
Feline Natural is among the highest quality cat foods available. It contains 98 percent New Zealand meat, fish and organs, uses whole prey formulation including bone and blood, and has virtually no carbohydrate. Its main drawback is a very high price.
Q: What does 98% meat mean in Feline Natural?
It means 98 percent of the recipe comes from animal sources including muscle meat, organs, bones and blood, with only 2 percent from other ingredients. Typical dry cat food contains far more plant material and carbohydrate.
Q: Who makes Feline Natural cat food?
Feline Natural is the cat arm of K9 Natural, both owned by Fresh Pet Food Holdings, based in Christchurch, New Zealand. The company was founded in 2006 and pioneered freeze-dried raw pet food there.
Q: Is Feline Natural worth the price?
It is among the most expensive cat foods sold. Compare cost per serving rather than per case, since the food is dense and portions are small. Many owners use it as a topper over a cheaper complete food, which captures much of the benefit for far less.
Q: Is Feline Natural good for cats with allergies?
Its lamb and venison recipes use proteins most cats have never eaten, though the Lamb & Venison pate also contains green-lipped mussels, so check the full label before using it in an elimination diet. Any food trial should be run under veterinary supervision to produce a usable answer.
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