Nutro Cat Food Review 2025

Nutro has been in the pet food industry for almost a century. Despite undergoing numerous changes of hand, controversy, and recipe additions, Nutro has become part of the largest pet food conglomerate in the world. Nutro emblazons all its products with its “Pet Pledge” stamp, which assures customers they only use carefully sourced, high-quality ingredients, and we want to see if their products live up to this claim. 

We give Nutro cat food 3.5 out of 5 paws up. Nutro deserves praise for including real meat in its recipes. It also avoids using fillers like corn, soy, and wheat. However, it loses out on a higher rating due to its use of some lower-quality ingredients and its inclusion of grains in all its dry foods. 

Read on for your full Nutro cat food review, where we analyze different product lines, ingredient quality, and recalls to help you decide if Nutro is right for your feline friend. 

Nutro’s cat food range can be split up into two categories. The first is the Wholesome Essentials dry food range, and the second is Nutro’s range of wet food options. 

All Nutro cat food varieties are "complete and balanced," meeting then Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) nutrient profile guidelines for all life stages, maintenance (adults), or growth (kittens).

Nutro Wholesome Essentials Dry Food

Nutro’s Adult Formula with Salmon & Brown Rice Recipe starts strong with salmon as the main ingredient, a great source of protein and omega fatty acids, which add shine to the coat and help with skin health. Chicken meal, essentially processed and powdered chicken meat, is the main secondary protein source. Other leading ingredients include rice, pea protein, chicken fat, and ground alfalfa. A few of alfalfa’s benefits for cats include being high in fiber, magnesium, and antioxidants like vitamins C and K!

If your kitty is mostly sedentary, you may want to look for a more calorie-conscious indoor recipe like Nutro’s Adult Indoor Formula with Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe. This recipe closely follows the same ingredient pattern as the salmon and brown rice recipe, except the first two ingredients are chicken and chicken meal.

The first few ingredients in Nutro’s Adult Formula with Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe are chicken, chicken meal, split peas, whole grain sorghum, and whole grain brown rice. At 381 calories per cup, this recipe is great for fueling an outdoor cat's active lifestyle. The addition of whole grains and peas will help regulate blood sugar levels and leave your kitty satisfied after meals.

Nutro’s Adult Hairball Control Formula with Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe is a high-fiber recipe with psyllium husk, oat fiber, and a variety of grains to help hairballs pass through the digestive tract.

If your kitty has a sensitive tummy, Sensitive Adult Formula with Chicken, Rice & Peas Recipe isn't the best dry food for cats with sensitivities and allergies. Poultry is a common allergen in pets, so we would prefer to see a more novel protein (like duck or rabbit) in recipes designed for kitties with food sensitivities.

When comparing Nutro’s Kitten Formula with Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe with their adult formula, we see that it's higher in protein and fat and a slightly higher percentage of omega-3 fatty acids. It also has added DHA, which is essential for your kitten's developing brain! 

Nutro’s Senior Formula with Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe is designed for kitties over the age of 7. It's virtually indistinguishable from Nutro’s other chicken recipes ingredient-wise, except it's higher in protein (which is essential for preventing muscle loss that comes with aging.) 

Nutro Wholesome Essentials Adult Dry Foods contain average protein levels (36.6% as dry matter) and slightly above average fat levels (17.4% as dry matter) compared to standard dry cat foods.

Nutro Wholesome Essentials Dry Food flavors:

• Adult Chicken & Brown Rice
• Adult Salmon & Brown Rice 
• Adult Hairball Control Chicken & Brown Rice 
• Adult Indoor Chicken & Brown Rice
• Sensitive Adult Chicken, Rice & Peas 
• Kitten Chicken & Brown Rice
• Senior Chicken & Brown Rice 

Nutro Perfect Portions Grain-Free Wet Foods

If your kitty is a wet food connoisseur, Nutro offers 10 different grain-free wet options in two textures: shreds in gravy and their classic patés. Nutro packages all their wet foods in two-compartment plastic containers, available for purchase individually and in variety packs. 

Each "perfect portion" package has two 1.32-ounce servings and averages between 37 and 45 calories each. Nutro recommends feeding four to five of these compartments daily. 

Nutro Paté

We were very impressed by the overall ingredient quality in Nutro Paté. All three recipes have a named meat source like chicken or fish as the leading ingredient, with some varieties featuring liver as the secondary protein source. All recipes include 78% moisture to help prevent dehydration. 

Each recipe is similar, with just a handful of ingredients aside from nutritional supplements. Nutro Paté's protein sources are followed by various natural thickeners like tapioca starch and guar gum, finished off with a vitamin and chelated mineral blend. 

Nutro Paté cat foods contain above average protein (52.5% as dry matter) and above average fat (24.9% as drey matter) compared to standard wet cat food. 

Nutro Paté cat food flavors:

• Chicken 
• Turkey 
• Chicken & Liver 
• Salmon & Chicken
• Salmon & Tuna Soft 
• Chicken & Shrimp 

Nutro Cuts in Gravy

Nutro Cuts in Gravy recipes are formulated a little differently from its patés, with meat broth as the leading ingredient, followed by at least one named protein. Each recipe consists primarily of broth, a cut of muscle and/or organ meat, tapioca starch, and nutritional supplements. 

Some recipes contain animal plasma; however, it isn't clear which animal it's derived from, which is an issue for cats with allergies. Blood plasma isn’t a completely unwelcome addition since it is a powerhouse of proteins, vitamins, minerals, and amino acids—we just wish they were more specific about where it was sourced.

Nutro Cuts in Gravy cat foods contains average protein (40% as dry matter) and above average fat (20.6% as dry matter) compared to standard wet cat foods. 

Nutro Cuts in Gravy flavors:

• Tuna (only available in a variety pack)
• Chicken & Salmon 
• Chicken
• Beef 

Let's talk about what Nutro gets right with their recipes. 

Real animal proteins are always the first ingredient

The first thing we look at when analyzing the quality of a recipe is the first ingredient. Ideally, recipes will have a named meat source first on the ingredients list since this means it is the primary ingredient in the recipe. You can rest assured knowing your cat is getting nutritionally rich meal, as Nutro recipes use real premium cuts of meat like chicken and salmon instead of highly processed animal by-products.

No questionable additives or low-quality fillers

You won’t find corn, wheat, or soy protein in Nutro recipes! We love this because corn, wheat, and soy can be problematic for kitties with grain and soy sensitivities.

You’ll be happy to know that Nutro recipes are free from artificial dyes and preservatives, too. Studies have linked artificial preservatives like benzoates to allergic reactions and potassium sorbate to skin, eye, and respiratory irritation. There is speculation that artificial dyes and preservatives can cause other more serious problems like neurotoxicity and cancer. 

Sustainable production practices

Nutro uses zero-waste factories to produce their foods. That means you can rest easy knowing that no operational refuse from their facilities is adding to the waste crisis. What’s more, their facilities are entirely wind-powered!

Nutro Satisfaction Guarantee

If you’re not 100% satisfied with any Nutro product, Nutro’s Satisfaction Guarantee means you can contact the manufacturer for a complete refund or replacement.

Affordable

Nutro is a reasonably affordable pet food brand. For example, a 14 lb bag of Nutro Wholesome Essentials Indoor Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe retails for around $45 (or $3.22 per lb) from online retailers. This means it’s an option worth considering if you’re on a tight budget.

Related: Best budget-friendly cat food

Here are few things to bear in mind before you buy Nutro cat food for your purring pal. 

No grain-free dry food options

If your kitty is sensitive to grains or gluten, we have bad news. Nutro does not offer any grain-free dry food recipes for cats at this time. We hope that Nutro will join other Mars Inc. pet food brands in the future and release a grain-free dry line.

No added probiotics

We were pretty surprised to see that none of Nutro’s recipes contain added probiotics. Probiotics are great for gut health and can even help with bad breath.

Recipe changes over the years

When reading the reviews, we noticed a recurring complaint. Nutro seems to have a history of adding and changing ingredients in their recipes without notifying customers. This can be especially problematic for parents of pets with food allergies and sensitivities. One particular reviewer had a cat with a fish allergy and found out the hard way that Nutro had updated the recipe to include fish oil.

Recall history

Nutro has been the subject of a few recalls in the past, which may concern some pet parents. Check out the recalls section further down the page for more information.

Some controversial ingredients

There are some other ingredients used in Nutro products that may be controversial in the eyes of some pet parents. For example, wet recipes commonly contain guar gum, which can potentially contribute to digestive issues such as IBD.

“The ingredients should say it all. Our cat would not eat ANY other cat foods over a 5 year span. I ended up giving full bags away to people. His fur is so soft, no digestion problems, and eats twice a day now. Have been using this product for about 2 years. What a blessing.”

“I followed protocol to introduce Nutro Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe to my three cats. At first the cats seemed to like the new kibble however after three days all three of the cats have refused to eat the Nutro kibble. One cat is 7 years old and the other two are 5 years old.”

“Anyone out there who bought this product for their feline friend with fish allergies be aware. The soybean oil has been replaced with fish oil. It is near impossible to find s good fish free dry cat food or at least one that is somewhat healthy and reasonably priced. After reading way too many ingredient lists on way to many dry cat food products, it appears a new and upcoming ingredient is cellulose. Otherwise known as wood pulp. Need I say more? Good luck to you.“

Read more reviews on Chewy.

There's some debate about exactly when Nutro was founded. It's believed to be over 90 years old, having been established in the 1920s or 1930s, making it one of the world's oldest pet food brands. 

As of the early 1930s, John, Herman, and Albert Saleen owned Nutro. During this period, the Saleen family operated a fox farm and produced another dog food called Kal Ken. James Saleen took control of Nutro in 1947 and filed a trademark for the Nutro Dog Food Company in 1952. 

In 1975, John Saleen's friend Ed Brown bought Nutro for a reported $300,000, leaving him as the sole owner. Brown headed the Nutro until 2005 when Bain & Associates purchased the company.

Mars Incorporated, the conglomerate that owns pet food giants like Iams, Whiskas, and Royal Canin, purchased the business as a multi-brand deal in 2007. Nutro has remained a Mars pet food company since the acquisition.

Nutro cat food have been several times recalled before—some of these recalls were voluntary or precautionary and weren't recorded by the FDA. 

On March 16, 2007, Nutro was one of over 60 pet food brands involved in a nationwide recall by manufacturer Menu Foods. This recall was one of the biggest in US history and was due to a potential melamine contamination of some ingredients. Numerous Nutro recipes were affected by this recall.

On May 21, 2009, Nutro issued recalls of Natural Choice Complete Care Dry Cat Foods and its Max Dry Cat Foods with use-by dates between May 12, 2010, and August 22, 2010. This recall was due to incorrect zinc and potassium levels due to an error by Nutro's premix supplier.