When I was first approached to review a new quality natural cat food product, I was pretty enthusiastic at the concept of a wholesome line of cat food intended for marketing in stores like Walmart, KMart and grocery store chains. Indeed, when I received a sample bag of The Goodlife Recipe food for cats, my cats eagerly scarfed it up. The bag is attractive, and advertises "with real chicken, brown rice, and garden greens" on the front, along with "no artificial flavors or preservatives - no fillers - taste guarantee." Sounds pretty good, right?
Taking a Closer Look at Ingredients
- Natural nutrient-rich vegetables
- Vitamins and Minerals
- Real natural chicken
- Healthy oils
- Natural whole grains
- Antioxidants
Ground corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, animal fat, chicken, whole grain brown rice, natural poultry flavor, dried peas, dried beet pulp, wheat flour, rice, brewers dried yeast, salt, potassium chloride, wheat gluten, choline chloride, titanium dioxide, calcium carbonate, dried spinach, dried tomatoes, dried carrots, skim milk powder...and a long list of vitamins and minerals.
Without the first four listed ingredients (by weight), I might be tempted to buy this food. Please note that the complete list of ingredients can be found on the product's web site, but it may take some searching on your part. I am forbidden by the Mars, Inc., legal policy to "deep-link" directly to the listed ingredients.
Mars, Inc. and the Pet Food Recall
In fairness, right off the bat, I'll mention that at the time I originally reviewed The Goodlife Recipe, its web site had a disclaimer right at the top of its main page that it was not part of the pet food recall or 2007, and that the FDA had "validated" the safety of foods not on the recall list. Only history will tell how effective that "validation" was.
The Bottom Line
