With wholesome nutrition essential for your cat, whatever their life-stage, it’s important to give them the best food formulated to support their good health. And with Simply Nourish, you get a good value cat food range that prides itself on the quality and nutritional benefits of its ingredients. A core brand from the pet store, PetSmart, Simply Nourish is based around a quality meat source and contains no meat by-products, artificial flavors or preservatives. With ranges that cater for adult cats as well as kittens, you can also buy grain-free and limited ingredient products for the more sensitive or allergy prone feline. To help you decide whether this is the cat food range for your kit’s feeding bowl, we take an in-depth look in our Simply Nourish Cat Food Review.
Simply Nourish Cat Food Review
Getting the right nutritional balance is essential for the development of your young kit and with Simply Nourish’s dry cat food for kittens, you can help give your fur baby a head start. There’s no overcomplicated recipe here, just simple, quality ingredients that work to satisfy your little pet, while supporting their growth and energy levels. Deboned chicken is the main ingredient, enhanced with chicken fat for a lip-smacking reaction from your hungry kitten. Simply Nourish have also added a ‘superfood’ blend of carbs, including pea fiber and dried cranberries as well as salmon oil for an essential antioxidants, vitamins and minerals hit. The kibble size of this Simply Nourish Kitten food is just right for those smaller mouths and with 100% wholegrains, gives them the sustained energy to live their kitty life to the full. Check out our guide on the best kitten foods for more info.
Kilocalories: 390 kcal/cup
Minimum crude protein: 38%
Minimum crude fat: 18%
Maximum crude fiber: 4%
Maximum moisture: 10%
Quality deboned chicken plus chicken fat for a delicious protein-packed meal
Carbs, fiber, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals to support growth and development
First five ingredients: deboned chicken, chicken meal, brown rice, oatmeal, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols)
- Brand: Simply Nourish
- Model: 172932
- Weight: 7 pounds
The first of the Simply Nourish wet cat food range in our review, this tender chicken recipe is a delicious alternative to dry kibble for your active kitten. With 82% moisture, the tender pieces of kitten-sized chicken are smothered in an irresistible gravy to tempt your young pet every mealtime. This recipe has just the right amount of calories for a growing kitten, is packed with all the vitamins and minerals he needs, including eye/heart/immune system boosting taurine, and is also free of corn, wheat and soy. With added menhaden fish oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols and an excellent source of essential fatty acid DHA) and no artificial nasties, what you get is a meaty, tasty wet cat food that’s easy to digest and will sustain your kitten during their busy day.
Kilocalories: 79 kcal/can
Minimum protein: 10%
Minimum crude fat: 3.5%
Maximum crude fiber: 1.5%
Maximum moisture: 82%
High quality chicken recipe served in a delicious chicken broth sauce
Essential vitamins, DHA fatty acids and minerals, including taurine
First five ingredients: chicken, chicken broth, chicken liver, dried egg white, potato starch
- Brand: Simply Nourish
- Model: 165482
- Weight: 3 ounces (pack of 24)
Our review premium pick is this high protein dry cat food recipe from the popular Simply Nourish Source cat food range. With white fish as its main protein, boosted by deboned chicken, the high protein recipe has been designed to support a healthy heart, lean muscles and body while satisfying your indoor adult feline’s carnivore instincts. With indoor cats less active that outdoor kits, the calories are managed to ensure sufficient nutrition without losing any taste or putting on weight. This quality dry food is also boosted by a delicious blend of fruits and vegetables, including potatoes and dried peas to pack a nutrition punch, with amino acids for strong muscles and biotin vitamin as well as B12 supplement top of the vitamin list. Easy to digest and grain-free for healthy digestion, your indoor cat’s energy levels and overall condition make this premium cat food an excellent investment.
Kilocalories: 367 kcal/cup
Minimum protein: 39%
Minimum crude fat: 16%
Maximum crude fiber: 8%
Maximum moisture: 10%
High protein ingredients, including fish, deboned chicken, chicken meal and chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols)
Biotin vitamin plus vitamin b12 as well as essential amino and fatty acids
First five ingredients: deboned whitefish, chicken meal, turkey meal, dried potatoes, dried peas
- Brand: Simply Nourish
- Model: 172732
- Weight: 11 pounds
If your cat is prone to allergies, then this grain-free recipe from the Simply Nourish adult range is both tasty and well-priced, making it the best value pick in our review. With quality ingredients and 100% free of grains or soy, this dry food is super easy to digest but doesn’t mean your hungry kit will lose out on essential nutrition or delicious taste. The chicken and pea recipe is simple yet highly nutritious, providing your cat with everything he needs for healthy muscles, strong immune system and all-round good health. Only quality deboned chicken is used, enhanced by chicken fat, preserved with mixed tocopherols, for a delicious meaty taste. Selected carbs including pea and cranberries as well as the vitamin B choline chloride, which is needed for metabolism, work to maintain your cat’s energy without irritating your pet’s stomach. You also get all the essential vitamins and minerals to keep your kit in tip-top condition and on the go.
Kilocalories: 386 kcal/cup
Minimum protein: 36%
Minimum crude fat: 16%
Maximum crude fiber: 5.5%
Maximum moisture: 10%
Quality ingredients with essential minerals and vitamins, including b12 supplement
Easy to digest and grain free, with no wheat or soy for optimum nutrition
First five ingredients: deboned chicken, chicken meal, dried potatoes, dried peas, chicken fat
- Brand: Simply Nourish
- Model: 172730
- Weight: 7 pounds
Not all cats enjoy dry kibble, preferring a wet formula that, particularly for older cats, is easier to eat and digest. And with this shredded chicken in gravy formula from the Simply Nourish essentials range, you get a delicious, moisture-rich meal that can also help to keep up your pet’s hydration. Deboned chicken is the number one ingredient, served up in a delicious chicken broth gravy to provide essential vitamins and minerals with every mouthful. Packed with taurine, biotin vitamin as well vitamin B12, for heart, eye and immune system health, you also get magnesium as well as those essential omega 3 & 6 fatty acids. Add in more good fats such as sunflower oil, that has been preserved with mixed tocopherols, and limited carbs, including cranberries, and you have a well-balanced, super-moist cat food that is delicious served with a dry mixer or on its own.
Check out our review of the best cat food for senior cats.
Kilocalories: 80 kcal/cup
Minimum protein: 9.5%
Minimum crude fat: 3%
Maximum crude fiber: 1.5%
Maximum moisture: 82%
Deboned chicken, served in a deliciously moist gravy
Essential vitamins and minerals, including taurine and fatty acids
First five ingredients: chicken, chicken broth, chicken liver, dried egg product, potato starch
- Brand: Simply Nourish
Simply Nourish Cat Food Review Buying Guide
Company Information
The Simply Nourish brand is part of PetSmart, one of the US’s largest pet retailers. PetSmart Inc. was founded back in 1986 and currently has around 1,600 pet stores, not just in the US but across Canada and Puerto Rico. In May 2017 PetSmart acquired Chewy, one of the largest and most popular online pet food retailers, which now operates as an independent subsidiary.
Simply Nourish first appeared on PetSmart shelves as one of its pet food brands in May 2011 and is manufactured by American Nutrition. American Nutrition operates out of three locations in Utah which all consistently meet the USDA and FDA standards while the wet food range is produced in Thailand. The brand focuses on providing optimum nutrition for both cats and dogs through ‘carefully sourced ingredients, real fruit and vegetables and deboned meat’.
The Simply Nourish range currently features both wet and dry food, in one of four lines – Whole Health for specific life stage needs, Limited Ingredients for food sensitive pets, Grain-free and Source, which focuses on high protein and reduced carb recipes.
To-date, the Simply Nourish range has had only one product recall, when their Biscotti with Beef and Sweet Potato dog treat was voluntarily withdrawn, due to a possible mold contamination. No other Simply Nourish products were affected.
Why Choose this Brand?
With the marketing reach of PetSmart and now Chewy, the Simply Nourish cat food brand has proved popular, for both the wholesome approach to its ingredients and also its good value price point, especially for the dry food. The quality of ingredients for the price is impressive and there are fewer ‘problematic’ ingredients than some other similarly priced cat food brands.
Simply Nourish is also recognized for their higher protein content, compared to carbs, making it an option to choose for active cats of all ages. And with an indoor cat range as well as products for younger cats and kittens, you can be confident in the appropriate levels of calories too.
As the range uses real meat and no meat by-products, the majority of the Simply Nourish cat food range is also either grain free or contains no corn, wheat or soy so a safe and nutritional meal to feed your cat if they are more on the food sensitive side.
Ingredient Analysis
Simply Nourish uses well-thought out and overall wholesome ingredients, with their recipes primarily based around a main protein source, supplemented with quality fruit and vegetables. To help you decide whether Simply Nourish is a good dietary fit for your kit, here’s our review round-up of the key ingredients used:
Protein: The primary proteins used are chicken, turkey, fish (predominately whitefish) and beef. All of the meat used is deboned, which means no leftover parts of the carcass is used. However, Simply Nourish does include organ meats, such as chicken and beef liver.
Good fats: Fats are essential in your cat’s diet, not just for taste, but for supporting their health, especially heart, joints and eyes. Chicken fat is a regular ingredient in the range, as well as salmon oil, which is a good source of omega 3 fatty acids. There is also sunflower and canola oil, preserved with mixed tocopherols.
Carbohydrates: Quality vegetables and fruit used in Simply Nourish include peas, potato, chicory root, tomato and cranberries.
Grain-free: Most of the range is free from corn, wheat and soy which are known potential irritants to the feline digestive system. You can also opt for some of the products which are totally grain-free.
You may also like our review of the Best Grain Free Cat Food.
Vitamins and minerals: The range is well managed when it comes to the balanced nutrition your kit needs, and provides all the essential vitamins and minerals, including vitamins A, C D3, E, vitamin B12 supplement and choline chloride, as well as L-carnitine and taurine.
Take a look at our guide on Vitamins For Cats.
Ingredients to be aware of: While overall the ingredients list for Simply Nourish is well-balanced, there are a few items to be aware of, especially if you have an allergic cat. Some ingredients which can cause food sensitivities include guar gum, flaxseed oil and canola oil as well as potato starch and tomato pomace. Most of the recipes also contain salt which may not be appropriate for cats with kidney issues.
Check out our review of the Best Cat Food for Kidney Disease.
Pros & Cons
- The ingredients are generally a higher quality than some other brands in the same price range
- The range focuses on real meat in all its recipes, and will only use deboned chicken, fish or poultry
- Working to the concept of superfoods, the recipes are nutritionally balanced to meet the varying needs of felines
- The Simply Nourish range is free from artificial colors, preservatives and flavors, as well as corn, soy or wheat, to keep your kit’s digestion happy and healthy
- With the Simply Nourish range split between adult cats and kittens, there is limited specialist choice for senior or pregnant cats
- The Simply Nourish wet cat food range is manufactured in Thailand, and the origin of the ingredients is harder to find than the dry food produced in the company’s Utah facilities.
