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Naturea Cat Food Review

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Naturea pet foods were developed in Portugal and are made in the European Union. They use only certified European ingredients from European suppliers. They make both dog and cat foods. Learn more about Naturea cat food in our unbiased review.

The Cats.com Standard – Rating Naturea Cat Food on What Matters

We have analyzed Naturea cat food and rated it according to our standards here at Cats.com. Our grades are based on the species-appropriateness of the food, the quality of the ingredients, product variety, price, customer experience, and recall history. You can read more about our ratings here.

Here are our ratings for Naturea in these key areas:

Ratings

  • Species-Appropriateness – 9/10
  • Ingredient Quality – 9/10
  • Product Variety – 7/10
  • Price – 7/10
  • Customer Experience – 7/10
  • Recall History – 9/10

Overall Score: 8.0/10

We give Naturea cat food a 50 out of 60 rating (83.33) or an A grade.

About Naturea

Naturea is a Portuguese company founded in 2010. According to the company, their goal is to provide a global benchmark feed for pet diets. They seek to provide naturally appropriate pet food. This is the starting point for all of their formulas.

According to Naturea, the first ingredients in all of their formulas are meat or fish proteins, originally fit for human consumption.

The company makes dog and cat foods, both wet and dry, that are prepared for all life stages.

Sourcing and Manufacturing

Naturea states that their meat proteins include chicken, Iberian pork, lamb, salmon, turkey, tuna, duck, trout, wild boar, and prawns. Some of these meats/fish are relatively novel for cats so they can be good for cats with food sensitivities.

Other ingredients used in recipes include sweet potatoes, apples, eggs, cranberries, spinach, carrots, tomatoes, tapioca, pumpkins, seaweeds, sunflower seeds, and whole brown rice.

They use ingredients that are exclusively from European suppliers with their origins completely traceable.

All of Naturea’s products are produced in Europe so their suppliers must follow European Union guidelines. The company states that their wet cat foods are made in a cannery in Galicia, northern Spain. The plant uses energy from wind power and runs its own fishing fleet to ensure a sustainable fishing catch in the northern Atlantic. Naturea follows the Dolphin Safe Program Earth Island Institute.

We don’t have information about where the dry food is made. Naturea contributes to a Portuguese program of reforestation implemented after recent summer wildfires. According to the company, their care and standards reflects their efforts to be a responsible brand.

Has Naturea Cat Food Been Recalled?

We didn’t find any recall notices for Naturea online. However, we could only access English languages pages. Naturea is available in many countries. For this reason we can’t be absolutely sure that the brand has never had a recall anywhere globally.

What Kinds of Food Does Naturea Offer?

Along with dog foods, Naturea makes grain free dry cat food for cats and kittens (salmon); and Naturals dry food for cats and kittens (salmon, chicken); and wet foods. Their wet foods are available in 10 different recipes. They are formulated for all breeds and all life stages.

Naturea Wet Cat Foods

  • Chicken – 100% grain free – Suitable for sterilized and unsterilized cats and kittens
  • Tuna & chicken – 100% grain free – Suitable for sterilized and unsterilized cats and kittens
  • Tuna with prawns – 100% grain free – Suitable for sterilized and unsterilized cats and kittens
  • Chicken with rabbit – 100% grain free – Suitable for sterilized and unsterilized cats and kittens
  • Cod with fig – 100% grain free – Suitable for sterilized and unsterilized cats and kittens
  • Trout & salmon – 100% grain free – Suitable for sterilized and unsterilized cats and kittens
  • Hake with apple – 100% grain free – Suitable for sterilized and unsterilized cats and kittens
  • Tuna with papaya – 100% grain free – Suitable for sterilized and unsterilized cats and kittens
  • Tuna fillets with Mussels – 100% grain free – Suitable for sterilized and unsterilized cats and kittens
  • Tuna fillets with Quinoa – 100% grain free – Suitable for sterilized and unsterilized cats and kittens

In addition, Naturea makes treats for cats. All of their treat recipes are based on fresh fish and meat. Their treats also contain vegetables and seaweeds that are rich in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Their treats are suitable for all cats. All of their treats contain 88 percent fresh fish and meat.

  • Pork liver treats
  • Duck treats
  • Chicken treats
  • Fish treats
  • Turkey treats

Naturea Cat Food – Top 3 Recipes Reviewed

Product Name Food Type Primary Protein Calories Price Our Grade
Naturea Chicken Complete Wet Food for Cats Wet Chicken 86 kcal per 100g £7.41 per lb B+
Naturea Lands Grain Free Cat & Kitten Food Dry Salmon 3900 kcal per kg £5.66 per lb A-
Naturea Naturals Dry Food for Cats & Kittens (chicken) Dry Chicken 4200 kcal per kg £5.21 per lb A

#1 Naturea Chicken Complete Wet Food For Cats Review

We don’t find many cat foods from Portugal (the country imports most of its pet food from Spain and a few other European countries but pet food production in the country is developing. Naturea is one of the smaller companies at this time but it is growing.

Cat lovers who prefer naturally appropriate food for their cats will probably like many of Naturea’s recipes. Naturea emphasizes that they make grain free foods. Many of their foods are grain free.

Their wet cat foods are grain free but many wet foods are grain free since they don’t require the starches that dry foods need for extrusion. One of their wet foods contains quinoa which isn’t technically a grain but some people consider it to be an “ancient grain.” It’s actually an edible seed.

We wanted to take a look at one of their most popular wet foods – Naturea Chicken Complete Wet Food for Cats. This formula contains 60 percent fresh chicken, 39 percent water, and minerals and derivatives of vegetable origin according to the Naturea web site.

Along with being grain free, it is gluten-free and contains no GMOs (genetically-modified organisms). It has no preservatives and no artificial flavors.

The recipe doesn’t contain many ingredients but it seems to be high in quality.

We do need to point out that Naturea appears to use carrageenan in their wet foods, or they did back in 2016, even though it is not listed among the ingredients. We refer you to this online exchange from that time between a customer and the company. European guidelines concerning ingredient information sometimes allow for a certain vagueness. We don’t know if the food still uses carrageenan or not. The EU prohibits the use of carrageenan in infant formula but it is permitted in other food items at levels of 75 mg/kg body weight per day.

Note that we did find discrepancies in the guaranteed analyses between the percentages on the home web site and the food as sold through online retailers. The Naturea web site lists the food as having 11 percent protein and containing 60 percent chicken. Online retailers have the food listed as having 9 percent protein and 45 percent chicken. The remaining 15 percent of the chicken is chicken liver. We will use the percentages provided by retailers in the guaranteed analysis below.

You might chalk these issues up to errors, language problems, or one-time mistakes but we checked retailers in multiple countries, using multiple languages. Naturea lists their percentages as “Typical Analysis” instead of “Guaranteed Analysis” and there can be some slight differences between these percentages.

However, we checked different Naturea canned foods and their technical pages. There was a consistent pattern of differences between the guaranteed analyses and ingredients claimed on the web site and the information provided through retailers. We didn’t find these differences in their dry foods; only for the wet foods. Perhaps the company simply hasn’t updated their web site but this is something that needs to be addressed.

We were not able to find confirmed calorie information for Naturea’s wet foods anywhere online. We can provide an estimate.

Calorie Content (ME Calculated): 86 calories per 100 grams; 24 calories per ounce of food

Ingredients

Fresh Chicken: 45%, Water: 39%, Fresh Chicken Liver: 15%

Ingredients We Liked: Chicken, Chicken liver

Ingredients We Didn’t Like: It’s unknown if the food contains carrageenan at this time

Guaranteed Analysis

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Crude Protein: 9%
Crude Fat: 4%
Crude Fiber: 0.5%
Moisture: 81%
Ash: 2%

Dry Matter Basis

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Protein: 47.37%
Fat: 21.05%
Fiber: 2.63%
Carbs: 18.42%

Caloric Weight Basis

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Protein: 40.51%
Fat: 43.73%
Carbs: 15.76%

Pros

  • Chicken and chicken liver are good sources of protein and other nutrients
  • The food is grain free, gluten-free, GMO-free, and contains no artificial preservatives or flavors

Cons

  • The difference in information on the Naturea web site and from the retailers is a concern
  • The can size has been reduced from 85 grams to 80 grams recently

#2 Naturea Lands Grain Free Cat & Kitten Food Review

According to Naturea, their grain free cat food strictly follows their Naturally Appropriate concept. It is feed based on what cats really need.

Along with salmon meal, chicken meal, rabbit meal, and anchovies meal as the first ingredients, the food also contains sweet potatoes, fruit, vegetables, aromatic herbs and seaweed. Naturea says their foods are always low in carbs.

Tapioca is the fifth ingredient. It’s a starch from the cassava plant. It’s low in nutrients but it’s frequently used in grain free foods, especially when peas and legumes are not used. It is high in carbs but dry foods do require some kind of starch to hold the food together for cooking and extrusion.

Naturea states that this formula was created by vets and nutritionists. It is suitable for all kinds of cats, of all ages. They also say that the ingredients were approved for human consumption.

According to the company, the food contains 80 percent animal origin ingredients, specifically rabbit, chicken, salmon, and herring.

The food also contains Mannan Oligosaccharides (MOS) and Inulin (source of FOS). MOS are a source of prebiotics which is good for your cat’s gut. FOS are a soluble dietary fiber.

The food does contain lucerne (alfalfa) but it is the 8th ingredient. Lucerne/alfalfa is a member of the pea family but this far down the ingredient list it probably won’t pose a problem to many pets. Alfalfa does provide vitamin K and small amounts of some other nutrients.

Overall, this looks like a good food. Many grain free foods, even those for cats, are packed with peas, lentils, and legumes which can pose digestive and other problems for cats. However, this grain free food relies on tapioca and some potato for starch. These ingredients are found after the first four ingredients which are all good sources of animal protein.

We would recommend Naturea Lands Grain Free Cat & Kitten Food.

Calorie Content (ME Calculated): Metabolisable Energy 3900 kcal/kg

Ingredients

Salmon Meal, Chicken Meal, Rabbit Meal, Anchovies Meal, Tapioca, Potato, Chicken Fat, Lucerne, Hydrolysed Chicken Liver, Dried Tomato, Sunflower Oil, Cranberry, Seaweed, Mannan Oligosaccharides (MOS), Inulin (source of FOS)

Ingredients We Liked: Salmon Meal, Chicken Meal, Rabbit Meal, Anchovies Meal, Chicken Fat, Hydrolysed Chicken Liver, Cranberry, Mannan Oligosaccharides (Mos), And Inulin (Source Of Fos)

Ingredients We Didn’t Like: Potato

Guaranteed Analysis

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Crude Protein: 34.5%
Crude Fat: 20%
Crude Fiber: 2.5%
Moisture: 8%
Ash: 10%

Dry Matter Basis

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Protein: 37.5%
Fat: 21.74%
Fiber: 2.72%
Carbs: 27.17%

Caloric Weight Basis

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Protein: 31.92%
Fat: 44.94%
Carbs: 23.13%

Pros

  • Good sources of animal protein
  • Grain free without large amounts of peas, lentils, and legumes
  • Includes MOS (prebiotics) and FOS (soluble dietary fiber)
  • No artificial flavors or preservatives, gluten-free, no wheat, corn, or rice.

Cons

  • Tapioca can be a problem for cats that are obese or diabetic

#3 Naturea Naturals Dry Food for Cats & Kittens Review

If your cat likes dry cat food but prefers something besides Naturea Lands, he’s in for a surprise. Instead of a typical dry food with grains, Naturea has a dry food line called Naturals that features 75 percent fish or chicken.

Although this food and Naturea Lands grain free are both high in animal/fish protein, the recipes for the foods are quite different. For example, this dry food uses no tapioca.

The first ingredients in Naturea Naturals Dry Food (chicken) are: Fresh deboned chicken, dehydrated chicken, dehydrated potato, chicken fat, and hydrolyzed chicken liver. There is plenty of chicken protein in these first ingredients. The chicken liver is also a good source of protein, iron, folate, vitamin A, B vitamins, and other vitamins and minerals. Dehydrated potatoes provides the starch necessary for the extrusion process.

Brewer’s yeast has multiple uses in pet foods. It is used to improve taste and to add extra protein. In recent years it’s been found to also be beneficial for the microbiome in the gut.

Naturea Naturals dry food has a number of ingredients – most of them quite recognizable – that are good for cats like fish oil and dried whole egg. Plus, this is another grain free food that doesn’t contain lots of peas, legumes, and lentils. The food does contain carob, the pods that are sometimes used as a substitute for chocolate. (It is not chemically close to chocolate and won’t harm your pet.) Portugal happens to be the largest producer of carob. They are using carob here in some fashion, perhaps to add some sweetness to the food or it could be a thickener. Carob is a good source of fiber so that might be its purpose in the cat food. Carob seeds, in the form of locust bean gum, are sometimes used in wet pet foods, but it’s unusual to see carob in a dry pet food.

We found one reference to carob used in dog food here. Carob has also been used to feed livestock. You can visit this page for more information about different kinds of carob.

Overall, Naturea Naturals Dry Food for Cats & Kittens looks like a good food. It seems to be high in animal protein and the other ingredients appear to be healthy for cats. Both the salmon and chicken recipes are recommended.

Calorie Content (ME Calculated): 4200 Kcal/kg

Ingredients

Fresh Deboned Chicken, Dehydrated Chicken, Dehydrated Potato, Chicken Fat, Hydrolyzed Chicken Liver, Brewer’s Yeast, Carob, Apple, Calcium Carbonate, Dried Whole Egg, Fish Oil, Seaweeds, Cranberries, Blueberries, Tomato, Potassium Chloride, Yucca Schidigera

Ingredients We Liked: Fresh Deboned Chicken, Dehydrated Chicken, Chicken Fat, Hydrolyzed Chicken Liver, Brewer’s Yeast, Dried Whole Egg, Fish Oil

Ingredients We Didn’t Like: Dehydrated Potato

Guaranteed Analysis

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Crude Protein: 32%
Crude Fat: 18%
Crude Fiber: 2%
Moisture: 8%
Ash: 7.5%

Dry Matter Basis

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Protein: 34.78%
Fat: 19.57%
Fiber: 2.17%
Carbs: 35.33%

Caloric Weight Basis

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Protein: 29.57%
Fat: 40.4%
Carbs: 30.03%

Pros

  • High in animal protein
  • Gluten-free, no corn, wheat, or soy
  • No preservatives, no artificial flavors
  • Does not contain large amounts of peas, lentils, or legumes

Cons

  • Carob is a member of the pea family; it has been used to feed livestock but not a lot is known about its long-term use in cat foods

What Do Customers Think of Naturea Cat Food?

It was not easy to find customer reviews for Naturea cat foods in English. We’re posting what we found below.

Positive Review

“Yet another top premium brand supplied by Miscota, with high quality ingredients which are so important for the health of our lovely pets. If you could also stock the canned wet form of Naturea for cats that would be even better, thank you Miscota.” – by Sue F. reviewing Naturea Lands Cat & Kitten on 29 Dec 2014

This is the only customer review we found in English. We googled and checked many pages and retail sites. You can check the Naturea Facebook page. They do post pictures regularly but we didn’t see any customer comments.

How Much Does Naturea Cat Food Cost?

The price seems to depend on the country but shipping will greatly affect the costs.

At Vivapets.com, in Portugal, we found the Naturea canned chicken for $1.64 per can. A case of 12 costs about $20. The shipping to the U.S. costs more than the case of cat food.

For UK customers, we found a dedicated Naturea web site. A 2-kg bag of Naturea Naturals (chicken) is £22.99. A 7-kg bag is £54.99. The salmon is slightly higher. UK customers get free delivery with the purchase of £100 or more. Items are brought to your door free of charge in 3 to 4 working days.

Delivery is via UPS.

Overall, Is Naturea Cat Food a Good Choice?

Yes, we do think Naturea foods are a good choice for cats. We were especially impressed with the brand’s dry cat foods. So many grain free foods are stuffed with peas, lentils, and legumes, regardless of their effect on pets. It is refreshing to see a pet food company thinking outside the box to find other non-grain ingredients.

Naturea’s ingredients are human-grade. They are gluten-free and don’t contain wheat, corn, or soy. They don’t contain artificial flavors or preservatives. They also contain named meat proteins as the first several ingredients in their foods.

We do have some concerns about the wet foods. The foods appear to contain good quality ingredients but it leaves a bad impression for the company web site and retail sites to have different somewhat different nutrient percentages and ingredients. We hope this is something that Naturea will fix.

Overall, we would compare Naturea to Orijen and Acana cat foods.

How Do You Order Naturea Cat Food?

If you live in Europe, Hong Kong, Singapore, or one of the other countries where Naturea is sold, check with local pet food supply stores. You can also check with pet food retailers online in those countries.

Naturea provides a page of stores where they are sold. They also have online retailers that sell their foods.

Note: The values in our nutrient charts are automatically calculated based on the guaranteed analysis and may not represent typical nutrient values. This may lead to discrepancies between the charts and the values mentioned in the body of the review.
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About Carlotta Cooper

Carlotta Cooper is is a Certified NAVC Pet Nutritionist and long time animal lover. She's the author of The Dog Adoption Bible, a Dog Writers Association of America (DWAA) award winner. In addition, she is an American Kennel Club Gazette breed columnist and the author of several books about dogs and other animals. She has been reviewing pet foods and writing about dog food for more than 10 years.

8 thoughts on “Naturea Cat Food Review”

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  1. ana

    Hello 🙂 You compare this brand to Orijen and Acana but these two are much lower in your rating scale therefor I am a bit confused how can it be so highly rated and compared to Orijen and Acana. Thanks

    Reply
    1. Mallory Crusta

      Hello! We made the comparison based on the nutritional qualities of the food, while Orijen/Acana had a few points knocked off for customer experience issues, not things related to the food itself. We can also sometimes see discrepancies based on the individual writer’s interpretation of the Cats.com Standard. Overall, though, I think that the A grade applies to the wet foods from this brand.

    2. ana

      Thank you for your reply. 🙂 What is in your opinion, the healthiest dry food option in Europe?

  2. Stathis Kefaloudis

    Ok Sorry about that, but seriously i don’t get it!! Naturea has the top overall score 8.33. It’s the top score of all other food, but still it’s not in any of the lists like “The 10 Best Dry Cat Foods” or “The 10 Best Cat Foods” egt egt. How come a food that is A grade with 8.33/10 (Top of any other) isn’t in any of these lists?

    Reply