The KatKin Nutrient Mix

All cat foods contain some level of vitamins and minerals. But look closely, and you’ll find serious differences in amount and quality. It’s baffling for any cat-parent, when all you want to do is give your cat the best health.

Many brands say they’re “complete and balanced” (meaning they claim to have all the nutrients your cat needs). But studies from 2017-2021 show that often, supposedly “complete and balanced” wet and dry foods don’t have all the nutrients legally required.

At KatKin, we don’t take shortcuts. We do things the right way—even if it’s the hard way—so you can rest easy knowing you never have to compromise your cat’s health. Let’s talk about the KatKin Nutrient Mix and how we ensure every pouch of our food is complete and balanced.

Some pet-food companies will just use an “everything and the kitchen sink” approach: food full of plant-based fluff that isn’t natural for carnivore cats—but they throw in vitamins and minerals afterwards to make it seem nutritious.

At KatKin, we have a different approach:

From a regulatory standpoint, cat-parents should know that pet-food makers have certain standards they’re meant to follow. In Europe these are the European Pet Food Industry Federation (FEDIAF) guidelines.

Most cat foods require some supplementation to meet these guidelines (even if the ingredients are very nutrient-rich, like KatKin’s carefully selected human-grade foods). Over time, some of these regulatory guidelines change as more information becomes available—and they’re reviewed by teams of nutritionists.

At KatKin we design our Nutrient Mix to complement our natural ingredients.

This is carefully balanced and unique to each recipe. We use a combination of calcium carbonate and dicalcium phosphate, depending on the particular recipe. We might need one or the other, or a combination, to achieve the correct balance of calcium and phosphorus in a particular diet based on what is provided by the fresh meats.

As carnivores, cats need pre-formed vitamin A (retinol, retinyl esters). While our 100% real meat is a rich source, we provide this as an additional safety factor.

This is an essential amino acid in cats—they can’t produce it themselves, so they need to consume it. It helps with normal bile function, heart health, and vision. We have added an additional safety factor beyond the adequate amounts in our natural ingredients.

This nutrient doesn’t get the attention it deserves, but it’s critical for cell membranes, for neurotransmitters, and for moving fats around the body.

This fat-soluble vitamin protects cells from oxidative damage, and is also required in higher-fat diets—like some of those in the KatKin range.

This B-vitamin helps with a number of reactions in the body and maintains normal red blood cells. Cats with certain conditions need a lot of it—but all cats do need some.

The level of Vitamin D in organ meats can vary from batch to batch, so we add a small amount of this critical vitamin for bone health.

Again, these minerals vary naturally in our meats. We’ve topped up our formulas with just the right amount to ensure consistency. These four are critical to the production of cells, biochemical reactions, and the health of many tissues in the body.

This critical nutrient is necessary for thyroid hormone production, which regulates your cat’s metabolism. While hyper-thyroidism in cats is prevalent, iodine restriction is not appropriate for all cats and would cause issues in healthy cats. We carefully monitor and control iodine levels for thyroid health.

Not all nutrients are created equal. Some forms of a mineral can be less digestible than others. For instance, certain forms of iron may be highly absorbed whereas others are less so. We only use the highest-quality nutrients.

But that’s not always the case elsewhere. When creating a nutrient blend, many mainstream cat-food makers also use inactive ingredients for a variety of purposes—such as preventing clumping and ensuring uniform composition in the mix. These inactive ingredients may not be labelled and are extremely common in blends made for the pet-food industry.

We do things differently. No fluff. Nothing lurking that isn’t on the label. The KatKin Nutrient Mix is carefully mixed by a human supplement manufacturer, ensuring the highest-quality human-grade sources of vitamins and minerals in absorbable forms for cats, without any unlabelled ingredients. We carefully mix concentrated vitamins and minerals into each batch of fresh food, then test to ensure uniform distribution.

Cats are unique animals. They’re carnivores—hypercarnivores, in fact—and that means their needs are different from dogs or any other pets you feed.

At KatKin, we’re focused on the science of cat nutrition. That’s why our fresh food uses the best ingredients, and supplements with only the nutrients needed for your cat’s 100% best health. And with vet formulation and thorough testing at every step, we do it all within regulatory guidelines—backed by the latest research on what cats need.

Which is why you can rest easy knowing that our food is complete and balanced for your cat’s best nutrition.

If you have questions about the nutrient mix or how it applies to your cat’s diet (e.g., if your cat has health conditions, is a kitten, or might need a special formulation), our Cat Experts are here to help.