I recently reviewed Merrick’s Purrfect Bistro line, and mentioned at the end of that review that I was excited about their brand new Limited Ingredient Diet line, which wasn’t available yet at the time. Why was I so excited about it? Because it is made by a company who, in my opinion, does almost everything right when it comes to pet food sourcing and manufacturing, with one exception: the Purrfect Bistro line contains carrageenan. The new Limited Ingredient line does not.
Sourced and manufactured in the USA, no ingredients from China
All of Merrick’s diets are manufactured in the United States (in Hereford, TX.) The majority of ingredients are sourced from family farms across the country unless not regionally available. Merrick does not source any ingredients from China. Somehow, Merrick manages to do all this with fewer warehouses and distributors, so that the ingredients make it from farm to your cat’s bowl fresher and faster. It is difficult to find a food that meets all of these conditions.
Premium ingredients
All of Merrick’s formulas are free of corn, soy, wheat and gluten. They do not contain any by-products or artificial preservatives.
Optimal nutrition from the fewest, most essential ingredients
The Limited Ingredient Diet line is formulated for cats with food sensitivities with a limited number of carefully selected ingredients. All recipes contain a single source of animal protein and easily digestible carbohydrates. The formulas do not contain grains, corn or gluten. The canned formulas come in chicken, turkey, duck and salmon flavors. They do offer two dry formulas, but I do not recommend any dry food for cats.
The taste test
But the real test of any food is whether your cats will eat it, right?
I don’t feed fish flavors to Allegra and Ruby, so we tested the chicken, turkey and duck varieties. It’s hard to say which flavor was the favorite: the girls both inhaled all of them. The foods are paté style. They are a bit softer than the Purrfect Bistro line, and contain a bit more “gravy,” which the girls really liked. Even Ruby, who can be a bit fussy at times, didn’t hesitate to scarf up all the varieties.
Single protein, no carrageenan
I love that this line uses single proteins and is carrageenan free. It’s a little lower in protein than I like to see, but the limited ingredients, palatability, and sourcing and manufacturing practices make this a food I am comfortable recommending.
Please visit Merrickpetcare.com for more information.
*FTC Disclosure: I received this product for review at no charge. I also received a fee for writing this review. Receiving the free product and the fee did not influence my review. All reviews on The Conscious Cat will always reflect my honest and unbiased opinion. Or, as the case may be, Allegra and Ruby’s honest and unbiased opinion.
