And we're back to nibbles! They are definitely Cookie & Pippin's favourite to review - especially those that are extra meaty (& smell absolutely horrendous to my human nose) - I really do think that they awaken their inner wild animals, particularly in Pipps. She always gets these extra large owl eyes and starts pouncing from the bed to the wall and back on the cabinet and inside of the drawer and on my head.. she's unstoppable when she gets a waft of meaty treats! Today we have Wainwright's Mini duck nibbles on the menu.
🐥 Mini nibbles with over 50% duck by Wainwright's
Wainwright's is Pets at Home's very own high end pet food brand. This complete food is formulated in a way that it only contains a single type of protein (and there are multiple protein types available). They also omit frequent allergens such as eggs, wheat and dairy. This recipe makes their food hypoallergenic therefore should be ideal for sensitive tummies of both cats & dogs. These little heart treats (which are dead hard, like REALLY crunchy!) have added Omega 3 for healthy skin & coat, yeast (natural source of vitamin B) and also tapioca (natural source of iron & vitamin B).
I was impressed that the nibbles contain over 55% of duck - however after a brief examination I've figured out that it is duck meal, rather than just duck meat. Do you remember the problem I had with Harringtons? Duck meal is essentially mixed bits of duck (free from feathers, feet etc) which have been ground up and heated at high pressure to make a fine dry powder. This kind of intense processing and high heat destroys most nutrients present in the meat rendering it denatured. So this means the meat is probably not a great quality to start with and by the time it's added into the food it's not much better than a meat flavoured dust.
Next up on the list of ingredients is tapioca meal (again, not even an actual tapioca) which, apart from being delicious in human bubble tea, is often used as a cheap substitute of grain in pet food. And grain means nothing else than carbs. So the guess is that these treats contain some 55% of meaty dust and I'm guessing at least 30% of dusty carbs.
I ain't impressed Wainwright's, I ain't impressed. Even the official tasters in this family can tell the difference - Cookie is not particularly bothered about these, he treats these hearts like any other dry food that's just alright (it's good enough to be chucked in his toy but on it's own, not fussed). Pippi is slightly more enthusiastic about these treats however there's not much in terms of large owl eyes and gummy bear kind of jumping around.
Ingredients: Duck meal (min 55%), tapioca meal, molasses, brewer's yeast, glycerine
Analytical components: Protein 31%, crude oils & fats 7%, crude fibre 0.5%, crude ash 11%, moisture 18%
Price: £1.29 for 60g
You can get these treats at Pets at Home (here) however I would recommend saving your pennies and either making your own homemade treats or picking up some Natures Menu or Thrive which you can find right next to these on the shelf at Pets at Home!
To learn more about proper cat food you can grab a copy of Jenny's book Cats off the Carbs here - it's a great little guide if you're looking to start feeding your cat a proper food! And just to reiterate (and give you an example of what kind of information you can find in the book) - a good cat food is
High in animal proteinModerate in fatLow in carbohydrates
What are you feeding your cats at the moment?
Have you ever tried reading the labels & deciphering what they mean?
💭 I don't claim to be an expert in cat food - all my knowledge is gathered from Jenny's book, the internets and my own personal experience, however I'm genuinely hoping this series will help others understand the importance of proper cat food.
