Review and description of the Almo Nature line of cat food

General characteristics of TM

Almo Nature is an Italian company producing medium and high-end pet food. It was the Italians who first began to use only natural ingredients in their products, taking care of the interests of their customers and the health of their pets. The company's staff develops food for cats that fully corresponds to the individual characteristics of the animal's body. Each sachet of Almo Nature can have a beneficial effect on your pet’s coat and claw development.

Did you know? You've probably noticed that your cat sniffs it for a long time before eating food. So, this is not at all picky, it’s just the cat’s way of trying to determine the temperature of the food, because no one wants burns.

During the production process, dry and wet food undergo 3 stages of testing:

• First, the composition of the finished food is checked: the norms of meat, vegetables, vitamins and minerals.
• Next, the processing intensity of the finished product is checked. The ingredients in each bag are subject to heat treatment, which allows you to preserve all the necessary beneficial substances in the product.
• At the last stage, the readiness and safety of the feed is checked.

Characteristics of Almo Nature cat food

Almo Nature products have a wide variety of products, and reviews about them are contradictory. The fact is that the composition differs greatly depending on the food line, although all feeds are presented as high quality products. When translating the composition into Russian, there are often inaccuracies and vague formulations, of which there are many on the Russian-language website https://www.almonature.ru. The original manufacturer's website https://www.almonature.com does not support the Russian language. There is a lot of information about the company's charitable programs and its mission to protect animals around the world, but there is no description of the composition of the diets, which does not inspire confidence in the manufacturer.

Manufacturer

This brand of food is produced by the Italian company Almo Nature, which appeared on the market in Genoa in 2000. It was founded and developed by Pier Giovanni Capellino, an Italian businessman, animal lover, owner of several pets. The name is translated from Italian as “gracious nature”. For the first time in the world, the company began to use high-quality raw materials suitable for human nutrition to produce its feed. This characteristic is indicated by the HFC (Human Food Chain) code on packaging and is widely used as an advertising strategy to promote a product. Note that, judging by the reviews, this strategy works successfully for domestic cat owners: many choose Almo Nature products for their conditional suitability for human food. But we must keep in mind that Almo Nature also has a PFC (Pet Food Chain) code, which marks food suitable only for animals.

Most Almo Nature wet food packaging states that it is made from ingredients suitable for human consumption, as evidenced by the HFC logo

In addition, three-stage quality control in food production, consisting of various analyses, is no different from that in human food factories, right down to assigning a product batch number, by which you can track the history of its production. The company constantly updates its range and produces food from a variety of meat, poultry and seafood to please the most capricious pets.

Judging by the reviews of the owners, picky cats are happy to try new flavors from Almo Nature, choosing their favorite ones

Another feature of Almo Nature production is minimal processing of ingredients during cooking to preserve their high nutritional value. For example, raw meat is placed in pouches and then thermally processed, which allows it to retain the maximum amount of vitamins.

Pier Giovanni Capellino, founder of Almo Nature, has several pets

Almo Nature tests its products on animals only on a voluntary basis: new products are offered to willing cat and dog owners throughout Europe, and they test the diets at home in agreement with the manufacturer, providing him with feedback.

Dry food is produced in Italy, wet food in Italy, Spain, Austria, France, Great Britain, Thailand and Uruguay.

Feed class

It’s not easy to decide on the class of Almo Nature food. The manufacturer itself indicates that most of its products belong to the super premium and holistic classes. Some dry food, for example from the Holistic line, can be classified as super premium, but the majority, due to their unclear composition with a predominance of carbohydrates, barely reaches the premium class.

In European legislation, the term “meat and meat derivatives” is defined as follows: “all parts of the flesh of warm-blooded terrestrial animals, fresh or suitably preserved, and all products and derivatives resulting from the processing of carcasses and parts of carcasses of warm-blooded terrestrial animals.” It is this ingredient that is often listed first in Almo Nature brand foods.

The composition of dry food for sterilized pets is characterized by extremely vague formulations

It’s even more difficult with holistic people. Difficulties arise from the lack of a clear understanding of the concept of “holistic” among food producers and animal owners. If we understand holistic food as complete and biologically consistent with the nature of the cat (that is, it is dominated by high-quality animal proteins), then only Almo Nature Alternative series food fits this definition. The rest of the diets involve a daily combination of dry and wet food in a percentage ratio of 40 to 60. This is also an innovation of the company, which thereby takes care of the health of cats. But the benefits of such a combined diet for the cat’s body have not been experimentally proven.

Pros of food

The advantages of Almo Nature nutrition include the following characteristics:

• availability of all types of ready-made food for cats (dry, wet food and treats);
• a wide selection of wet food flavors;
• the use of raw materials suitable for human nutrition in the production of many feeds;
• absence of synthetic dyes, flavors, preservatives;
• European certification and careful quality control throughout the entire feed creation process;
• the predominance of high-quality animal protein sources in many wet foods and treats;
• a large amount of broth in wet food is suitable for replenishing fluids in pets who drink little water;
• products can be easily found in stores.

My pets sometimes eat Almo Nature wet food. We periodically buy spiders from the Legend and Classic series. My old cat really loves wet jelly food, so I spoiled her with Classic bags of different flavors. She likes bags of chicken the most, fish (of any kind) least of all, but she still eats them, although not with such enthusiasm. She was in good health and had no digestive disorders. For my big cat with an excellent appetite, the broth-dominant bags (Classic) were “one tooth”, so I chose Legend spiders with 75% meat content for him. The cat really likes it, he literally shakes all over when he eats this food. In the manufacturer's contact group, I read reviews about the presence of bones in some jars of wet food. Thank God, we never came across anything extra in the bags, although I inspected the contents just in case, especially before feeding the old cat. For her, such a production “defect” could be fatal. By the way, cat owners who discovered bones wrote to the manufacturer and received an answer that bones in food are normal. But personally, I'm happy with everything except the price. It's a bit expensive to pamper your pets, so I don't do it that often. I want to try the Alternative series food, they have a very attractive composition, but I haven’t come across them on sale yet.

Cons of food

Ready-made food from Almo Nature also has disadvantages:

• too general and vague designations of ingredients or their incorrect translation into Russian;
• The percentage of components in the composition is not always indicated;
• there is no information about the composition on the official website (www.almonature.com);
• high price of products, forcing you to look for a better price-quality ratio from competitors;
• the composition of dry and some wet food (with a predominance of plant proteins and carbohydrates) is poor and sometimes harmful to the cat’s body;
• the need to combine dry and wet food for the cat to receive a complete set of nutrients, which not all domestic veterinarians approve of.

Storage conditions and periods

When using dry food, you must follow the expiration dates indicated on the packaging.

If your cat does not eat the entire portion of wet food, the leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Unopened wet food can be stored at room temperature (5 to 35 degrees) and normal humidity (up to 75%) until the expiration date. After opening the package, the contents should be stored in the refrigerator for no more than 48 hours.

Feeding rates depend on the cat’s weight and are indicated on the packaging and the manufacturer’s website.

Feed composition

The food can contain a variety of natural ingredients, it all depends on the category and type of line. The manufacturer has taken care of the quality of its feed, so they contain the following healthy products rich in vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, proteins and fats:

• chicken, turkey, beef, rabbit;
• tuna, salmon;
• brown rice, potatoes;
• offal, bone meal;
• various vegetables.

It should be noted that the products are divided into middle-class and premium-class feed. If we are talking about the middle class, then the composition contains bone meal and offal, and the amount of real animal meat is small. In premium products, ingredients from the fourth point are completely absent, but they are enriched with natural meat, vegetables and hydrolyzed proteins (the latter are easily digestible and do not cause allergic reactions).

Cat food to replace Almo Nature

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Video: how to understand the composition of food

Description of the line

On the shelves of pet stores and veterinary pharmacies you can find 3 types of Almo Nature cat food: dry, canned, pouches or treats. Each type of product differs in composition, purpose and pricing policy.

We advise you to read why the cat lost his appetite.

Dry food

The line of dry food is presented in the following variations:

• "Rouge Label" is a hypoallergenic food for your mustachioed companions, prepared on the basis of exclusively natural ingredients. The composition contains no preservatives, bone meal or by-products. Food for cats prone to allergic reactions includes the following foods: chicken or turkey, rice, potatoes. Only hydrolyzed protein is used, as it is better absorbed by the body. It is important to eat only one source of natural fats and carbohydrates, and this, in turn, minimizes the risk of allergies in the animal.

Important! It is best to create a diet for your pet after consulting a veterinarian.

• “Orange Label” - this type of cat food was created specifically for overweight and neutered pets. But if we talk about the quality of this product, it is significantly inferior to the previous type of food. Orange Label already contains bone meal, and the percentage of natural animal meat is minimized. Of course, this is reflected in the price, which is slightly lower than the price of the “Rouge Label”.
• “Holistic” is a premium dry food that contains 15–20% natural animal meat. Of course, this product, according to experts, is slightly inferior to “Rouge Label”, since it contains bone meal, offal, a lot of ash and other auxiliary ingredients. But, on the other hand, this food is completely balanced and allows you to cover your cat’s daily requirement of vitamins and minerals.

Canned food

Experts note that wet food and canned food from Almo Nature are of higher quality. The Italian company's canned food comes in the following variations:

• “Rouge Label” and “Orange Label” are a line of not only dry products, but also wet ones. The compositions are almost identical, but experts say that the wet food of these lines is of higher quality.
• “Azul Label” is a middle-class canned product that contains many “derivatives” of natural meat. Such canned food is often prepared on the basis of fish carcasses, and according to veterinarians, a significant amount of phosphorus is harmful to the cat’s body. In addition, Azul Label contains yeast, which is a highly allergenic product.
• Canned food “classic” , “jelly” and “legend” . This type of canned food can be classified as premium due to the large amount of natural meat products it contains. The manufacturer states that each can of food contains from 50 to 75% natural meat or sea fish carcasses. The line has a wide variety of flavors and compositions. The manufacturer has focused on the naturalness of the products, so there are slightly insufficient vitamins, but there is a whole complex of minerals. Moreover, such canned food does not contain flavorings or dyes.

Did you know? The first ancestors of modern cats appeared about 50 million years ago.

• “Daily Menu” - economy class products with a minimum amount of natural meat. These canned foods contain a lot of bone meal and corn gluten, which can undoubtedly cause an allergic reaction in cats, which are especially prone to it. Therefore, if you love your mustachioed friend, then it is better to avoid the “Daily Menu” line.

We recommend reading about proper feeding of kittens.

Treats

Sometimes you need to pamper your cat with something tasty and healthy at the same time. For such purposes, it produces special treats, which are presented on the world market in the following forms:

• “Green Label” is a high-quality delicacy prepared in accordance with all environmental standards. Raw pieces of natural meat are packed into pouches and then cooked. The finished product is very nutritious and aromatic, as it is cooked in its own juice. Thanks to this, the animal also consumes a sufficient amount of liquid. In addition, Green Label products contain a small amount of rice, but do not contain food additives in the form of flavors and colors.
• “Azul Label” is a delicacy whose quality is slightly below the level of the “green” label, although the pricing policy for these types of products is almost the same. Due to the fact that Azul Label treats may contain dyes and preservatives, it is better to choose Green Label.
• “Daily Menu” - middle-class delicacies that can be purchased at an affordable price. Contain various food additives and a minimum amount of natural meat and fish products.

About the pros and cons of nutrition

The debate about the positive and negative qualities of Italian products will continue forever, as people in search of the best food for their pets often open disputes and discussions on various forums. Below we have formulated lists of pros and cons of Almo Nature products, which are based on customer reviews around the world.

About the advantages

Italian cat food “Almo Nature” has a number of advantages:

• No chemicals, dyes, flavors or other harmful food additives in premium products. This fact has been confirmed by many veterinarians in laboratory studies.
• Dry food contains a rich vitamin composition.
• Almo Nature food is suitable for absolutely any breed of cat.
• A wide variety of foods that differ in composition, price, preparation method, etc. The company has created special labeling for its products to make it easier for customers to choose the optimal food for their pet.
• The latest feed preparation technologies make it possible to preserve all the necessary beneficial micro/macroelements and vitamins intact and safe.

Purina FortiFlora Probiotics are a dietary supplement for pets to improve digestion.