Cat food pouches: what to read on the label
Advice · · Natural Code
You don’t have to choose a pouch by the picture on the pack. Everything that matters is on the label, and it’s quick to read. Here’s how it works with Natural Code pouches: 58% meat or fish and a few other ingredients — you can read the composition in five seconds and know exactly what’s in the bowl.
Composition: the first ingredient is the one there’s most of
In the composition, ingredients are listed by weight, starting with the one the food contains most of. A European regulation on feed labelling requires this. The manufacturer may also add percentages, and then you know exactly how much of each is in the pouch.
This is the whole recipe of the P01 Chicken pouch:
Chicken 58%, cooking water 40%, rice 2%.
Three ingredients, each with its share. All fourteen Natural Code pouches have meat or fish first, always 58%. The rest is cooking water, rice and at most three other ingredients.
Cooking water and moisture
With the meat or fish comes cooking water, 34 to 40% of the recipe. The meat or fish holds water too, which is why a pouch’s analytical constituents show moisture of around 80%.
That has a practical consequence: compare the figures in the analytical constituents only between pouches. Kibble contains far less water, so its percentages of protein and fat come out higher.
Analytical constituents: what each line means
“Crude” is part of the official name. It says nothing about quality.
| On the label | What it is | P01 Chicken |
|---|---|---|
| Crude protein | protein | 17.07% |
| Crude fat | fat | 0.46% |
| Crude fibre | fibre | 0.12% |
| Crude ash | mineral content | 0.58% |
| Moisture | water | 80.68% |
The energy value of Natural Code pouches is 65 to 73.5 kcal per 100 g, so one 70 g pouch has 46 to 51 kcal.
Complete or complementary feed
The label always tells you the type of feed too, and on pouches it is one of two. A complete feed is sufficient for a daily ration by reason of its composition. Under the European regulation, a complementary feed is sufficient for a daily ration only if used in combination with other feed.
Natural Code pouches and creamy sticks are both complementary feed. Serve them alongside a complete feed.
Daily amount and storage
A 70 g pouch is one portion for a 2 to 5 kg cat — no measuring, and nothing left open in the fridge. That is also its daily amount; a 6 to 9 kg cat gets two pouches a day. You can split the amount into several portions through the day, and always leave your cat plenty of fresh water. If there’s ever anything left over, keep the opened pouch in the fridge for no more than 24 hours. The pouches are for adult cats.
Every number has its full composition, analytical constituents and feeding guide on its own page: all cat food pouches. And which to try first? That’s what the overview of all fourteen numbers is for.