Talentail Cat Food Review

What I like most about the Talentail cat food formulas is the emphasis on animal ingredients.

When most dry cat foods have a significant amount of grains or other starches, you have to wonder why they are formulated this way for your pet carnivore cat.

There are two formulas on offer, with both being “all life stage” which means they meet the nutritional needs of a kitten or senior cat as well as adulthood. One is chicken, the other fish, and you may want to rotate between the two to offer your cat some variety.

In this review we’ll focus on the Talentail Ultimate New Zealand Chicken dry cat food formula, but consider the Pacific Ocean Fish formula on par.

Talentail Ultimate Dry Cat Food

What the marketing says

There aren’t many marketing claims on the packaging of Talentail Cat food. That’s refreshing, and makes the claims easier to cover:

• Grain Free – That’s great, as your cat doesn’t need grains.
• No Artificial Colours or Flavours – Your cat doesn’t need these either.
• 75% Chicken and Oils (Premium recipe to provide the best nutrition for your pet) – This statement is a little open to interpretation. Although 75% chicken and oils (i.e. fats) is a good thing, note this is “wet weight” inclusive of moisture which is cooked off in the kibble making process. The statement “best nutrition for your pet” is subjective, with the question being “in relation to what?”
• Kakadu Plum (Australian native superfood, and antioxidant powerhouse and extremely rich in Vitamin C) – I see ingredients such as this beneficial in a cat’s diet, but there’s always a question of how beneficial. In reality ingredients such as this are a very small part of the formula, yet are often used to sell you the product. That said, it’s a nice inclusion, and quite unique for a cat food.
• 100% Premium Ingredients (Carefully selected and sourced from New Zealand and Australia to ensure the best quality) – The word “premium” is often used in marketing pet foods, but it’s nice to see all ingredients are sourced from Australia and New Zealand. That probably matters to you, and it should have assurances with quality.

What the ingredients really say

I’ll start with the guaranteed analysis which shows the Talentail cat foods to be around 37% protein (minimum) and 13% fat (minimum). That’s really good for a dry cat food, and really beneficial for your cat.

There’s a decent amount of meat in the food, which is what your cat wants.

We find some other nice “animal” inclusions as well, such as green lipped mussels and beef and fish hydrolysate. Green lipped mussels support your cat’s joint health and wellbeing, and hydrolysed meat and fish simply means a form which is more digestible and better for cats with sensitivities.

When it comes to dry cat foods you’ll always find carbohydrates, and in Talentail they’re low (I estimate around 32% or less). It also matters what ingredients those carbohydrates come from, and in my experience it’s far better if they come from a range of healthy ingredients which provide other nutrients rather than a load of wheat or cereal grains.

The carbs in Talentail cat food come from lentils, peas, and some tapioca, which is better than some of the cat foods you find in the supermarket which are made from “wheat” or “cereals/cereal by-products” – next time you’re in the supermarket make sure you read some of the cat food ingredients panels, and ask yourself if they’re suitable for your pet carnivore!

When we consider the Talentail cat food formulas overall, it’s clear the ingredients and nutrients are well considered, and it stacks up as a really decent cat food.

At the time of writing the review, Talentail isn’t readily available (I think Petso is where you’ll most likely find it). Hopefully we’ll see this cat food more readily available in future months.

Where to buy Talentail cat foods

Talentail Ultimate are available at a few retailers. Expect to see the brand available at larger retailers in the future.

Talentail Cat Food Ingredients

The ingredients of Talentail Premium New Zealand Chicken Dry Cat Food:

Chicken Meat, Poultry Meal, Whole Lentils, Whole Peas, Potato Protein, Tapioca Starch, Poultry Fat, Beef Hydrolysate, Fish Hydrolysate, Sugar Beet Pulp, Calcium Carbonate, Yeast Extract (MOS), Green Lipped Mussel, Fish Oil, Sodium Chloride, Taurine, Choline Chloride, DL-Methionine, Potassium Chloride, Natural Citric Acid, Natural Acetic Acid, Vitamin C, Fructooligosaccharide (FOS), Chicory Root Powder, Vitamin E, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Ground Pumpkin, Dried Sweet Potato, Ground Carrot, Kakadu Plum, Natural Mixed Tocopherols, Zinc, Ground Turmeric, Rosemary Extract, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Copper, Vitamin B1, Iron, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B6, Manganese, Vitamin A, Iodin, Folic Acid, Menadione, D-Biotin, Vitamin B12, Selenium, Vitamin D3.

Note: Ingredients may differ.

Talentail Cat Food Guaranteed Analysis

The guaranteed analysis of Talentail Premium New Zealand Chicken Dry Cat Food: