Published Jul 2, 2019
Petcurean says Now Fresh is “so fresh, it’s like eating off the kitchen counter”, but is it any better than other brands? Find out in our unbiased Now Fresh cat food review.
The Cats.com Standard—Rating Now Fresh on What Matters
We’ve analyzed Now Fresh and graded it according to the Cats.com standard, evaluating the brand on species-appropriateness, ingredient quality, product variety, price, customer experience, and recall history. Here’s how it rates in each of these six key areas.
Ratings
- Species-Appropriateness – 5/10
- Ingredient Quality – 9/10
- Product Variety – 7/10
- Price – 6/10
- Customer Experience – 8/10
- Recall History – 6/10
Overall Score: 6.2/10
We give Now Fresh cat food a 37 out of 60 rating or a B- grade.
About Now Fresh
Now Fresh is a cat food brand created by Petcurean, a Canadian pet food company founded in 1999. In addition to Now Fresh, the Petcurean lineup includes the Go! Solutions and Gather brands.
Sourcing And Manufacturing
Most of the ingredients in Now Fresh cat food are sourced from North America with a focus on Canadian ingredients. Though they’re made from human food ingredients, Now Fresh foods aren’t considered human-grade because they’re made in pet food manufacturing facilities.
Their dry recipes are manufactured in Ontario, Canada, while their wet food production is divided between facilities in Ontario and New Jersey. Their patés and stews are manufactured in Wisconsin. These production facilities are certified by multiple authorities, including the EU, FDA, and CFIA.
Has Now Fresh Cat Food Been Recalled?
Now Fresh has never been recalled, but Petcurean’s Go! Natural brand was recalled in 2003. It’s been over 15 years since that incident and Petcurean hasn’t issued any other recalls or market withdrawals.
What Kinds Of Cat Food Does Now Fresh Offer?
The Now Fresh lineup includes a variety of wet and dry foods. All of their recipes are grain-free, gluten-free, and made without any synthetic preservatives.
Now Fresh Cat Food – Top 3 Recipes Reviewed
| Product Name | Food Type | Price | Our Grade |
| Now Fresh Grain-Free Adult Recipe | Dry | $4.54 per lb | C- |
| Now Fresh Grain-Free Senior Weight Management Recipe | Dry | $6.87 per lb | B- |
| Now Fresh Grain-Free Pork Paté | Wet | $11.21 per oz | B- |
#1 Now Fresh Grain-Free Adult Recipe Dry Cat Food Review
Deboned turkey appears to be the primary protein source in this dry cat food.
In keeping with Now Fresh’s promise of no rendered ingredients, this food contains deboned turkey as the first ingredient with no meat meals or animal by-products. While it’s true that mystery meat and meals and by-product slurries tend to be of uncertain nutritional value, eliminating rendered meals isn’t necessarily a good choice.
Meat meals appear to be just as nutrient-rich and digestible as their fresh counterparts. Because they’re dehydrated, rendered meals are more nutrient-dense and richer in protein. In contrast to turkey meal, deboned turkey will lose a lot of water weight during processing. It’s likely that if the ingredients were weighed after cooking, turkey would drop a few spots down the ingredient list. Perhaps it would be replaced by one or two of the next few ingredients—potato flour, peas, potatoes, and pea fiber.
The food contains whole dried egg as a secondary source of protein. It also contains a small amount of deboned salmon and duck.
Coconut and canola oil are the food’s primary fat sources. The kibble is fortified with synthetic vitamins, minerals, and amino acids that make it nutritionally complete and balanced. It contains a variety of probiotics and prebiotics, which may support digestive health.
Overall, this dry food has moderate protein content with moderate fat and high carbohydrate content.
With its primary meat ingredient so water-heavy, its protein content so low, and its use of plant-sourced oils rather than animal fats, this appears to be a fundamentally plant-based cat food.
The food has 444 calories per cup.
Ingredients
De-Boned Turkey, Potato Flour, Peas, Potatoes, Pea Fiber, Whole Dried Egg, Tomato, Canola Oil (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Flaxseed, Natural Flavor, Coconut Oil (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), De-Boned Salmon, De-Boned Duck, Apples, Carrots, Pumpkin, Bananas, Blueberries, Cranberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, Papayas, Pineapple, Grapefruit, Lentil Beans, Broccoli, Spinach, Cottage Cheese, Alfalfa Sprouts, Alfalfa, Calcium Carbonate, Phosphoric Acid, Sodium Chloride, Lecithin, Potassium Chloride, Dl-Methionine, Taurine, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (a Source of Vitamin C), etc…
Ingredients We Liked: Deboned Turkey, Whole Dried Egg, Deboned Salmon, Deboned Duck
Ingredients We Didn’t Like: Potato Flour, Peas, Potatoes, Pea Fiber, Tomato, Canola Oil, Flaxseed
Guaranteed Analysis
Dry Matter Basis
Caloric Weight Basis
Pros
- Made without animal by-products
- Made from human-edible ingredients
- Free of artificial additives
- Cats love the way this kibble tastes
Cons
- High in carbohydrates
- Primarily made from plant ingredients
- Low protein content
- Contains canola and coconut oil instead of animal fat
#2 Now Fresh Grain-Free Senior Weight Management Recipe Dry Cat Food Review
Deboned turkey appears to be the primary protein source in this dry cat food.
This food is almost identical to the first one we reviewed. The only difference is that it’s geared towards senior cats over the age of 7, particularly those who need to lose weight. It has lower protein content, lower calorie content, and less fat.
It contains deboned turkey as the first ingredient, with eggs, salmon, and a little bit of duck further down the ingredient list. Starchy vegetable ingredients take up a lot of space early on the list, including potato flour, peas, and pea fiber. The food also contains potatoes, tomatoes, flaxseed, and apples.
Its primary fat sources are canola and coconut oil, which don’t deliver the spectrum of fatty acids that cats require.
In addition to a colorful variety of fruits and vegetables, the food contains synthetic vitamins, minerals, and amino acids that make each meal nutritionally complete. Finally, it’s enhanced with prebiotics and probiotics with a guaranteed probiotic content of at least 90,000,000 colony forming units per pound.
Overall, this food is low in protein with moderate fat and high carbohydrate content.
Like the last recipe, this food is a plant-based product. It’s got plenty of peas and potatoes near the top of the ingredient list, relatively low protein content, and relies on oils rather than nutritious animal fat. Though cats seem to love it, this Now Fresh recipe isn’t an ideal choice for most cats.
The food has 393 calories per cup.
Ingredients
De-Boned Turkey, Potato Flour, Peas, Pea Fiber, Whole Dried Egg, Potatoes, Tomato, Flaxseed, Apples, Canola Oil (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Alfalfa, De-Boned Salmon, De-Boned Duck, Natural Flavor, Coconut Oil (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Lecithin, Carrots, Pumpkin, Bananas, Blueberries, Cranberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, Papayas, Pineapple, Grapefruit, Lentil Beans, Broccoli, Spinach, Cottage Cheese, Alfalfa Sprouts, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Phosphoric Acid, Sodium Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Dl-Methionine, Taurine, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (a Source of Vitamin C), Niacin, Inositol, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Beta-Carotene, etc…
Ingredients We Liked: De-Boned Turkey, Whole Dried Egg, Deboned Salmon, Deboned Duck
Ingredients We Didn’t Like: Potato Flour, Peas, Pea Fiber, Potatoes, Tomato, Flaxseed, Apples, Canola Oil
Guaranteed Analysis
Dry Matter Basis
Caloric Weight Basis
Pros
- Made with fresh, high-quality ingredients
- Cats love the way the food tastes
- Can help cats lose weight
- Free of artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives
Cons
- High carbohydrate content
- Low meat content
- Made with plant-derived oils rather than animal fat
#3 Now Fresh Grain-Free Pork Paté Wet Cat Food Review
Pork appears to be the primary protein source in this wet cat food.
This paté-style food features deboned pork as the first ingredient with turkey bone broth its primary source of moisture. It’s great to see bone broth on a cat food ingredient list—this ingredient is intensely nourishing, with plenty of glucosamine, chondroitin, and nutrients. Later on the ingredient list, it contains a small amount of deboned salmon.
Potatoes, peas, tapioca, cranberries, sweet potatoes, and apples add to the food’s carbohydrate content. Like most Now Fresh recipes, it contains canola and coconut oil as sources of fat. While they may have some beneficial fatty acids for both cats and people, these oils are not as biologically available or nourishing as animal fats.
The food is thickened with xanthan gum. Though not harmful for all cats, xanthan gum is not a species-appropriate ingredient.
Overall, this food has low protein content with moderate fat and high carbohydrate content.
Though this food has some interesting qualities—bone broth instead of ordinary meat broth, fresh meat instead of mystery meals or animal by-products, and xanthan gum instead of potentially-carcinogenic carrageenan—it’s not the best paté you could feed your cat. With over 30% calories from carbohydrate, this food is definitely too starchy to qualify as part of a species-appropriate feline diet.
The food has 180 calories in each carton or roughly 28 calories per ounce.
Ingredients
De-Boned Pork, Turkey Bone Broth, Potatoes, Carrots, Peas, Tapioca, Cranberries, Sweet Potatoes, Apples, De-Boned Salmon, Tricalcium Phosphate, Flaxseed, Canola Oil, Xanthan Gum, Coconut Oil, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Choline Chloride, Taurine, Dried Kelp, Vitamins (Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement), Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Sodium Selenite).
Ingredients We Liked: Deboned Pork, Turkey Bone Broth, Deboned Salmon
Ingredients We Didn’t Like: Potatoes, Carrots, Peas, Tapioca, Sweet Potatoes, Apples, Flaxseed, Canola Oil, Xanthan Gum
Guaranteed Analysis
Dry Matter Basis
Caloric Weight Basis
Pros
- Made without animal by-products
- Contains only named meats
- Features nourishing bone broth
- Free of artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives
Cons
- High in carbohydrates compared to other wet foods
- Relies on plant-sourced oils rather than animal fats
What Do Customers Think of Now Fresh Cat Food?
Most customers like Now Fresh cat food. On Chewy, the popular Grain-Free Adult dry food has an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars and 95% of reviewers say they’d recommend the food to a friend.
To help you understand what people are saying about this brand, here are a few negative and positive reviews from Now Fresh customers.
Positive Reviews
“So, I did EXTENSIVE research. To find the Very best brand of cat food that was lower in phosphorous for my cat with the starting of kidney disease. This food is great! All 6 of my cats LOVE it, and the ingredients are the most wholesome of any brand. I get this one and the blue bag to variate. Love them. It may seem expensive, but do a calorie by calorie comparison to your other brand. This one packs a big punch and they don’t have to eat as much to get full and full of nutrients! I love it and my babies do too, meow!” – WiccanWitch420, reviewing Now Fresh Grain-Free Adult Recipe Dry Cat Food
This product works great for my senior cats who Had some teeth pulled. The kibble is very small and not as hard as other cat kibbles. She is able to digest this food easily, it breaks down nicely for her. She doesn’t need to loose weight now; she did loose weight with other foods because she was unable to digest the harder kibble. With some other foods, she throws up undigested kibble. This can be costly for some; however, if my cats eat NOW and are able to remain healthy with less vet visits it’s worth it. I highly recommend this cat food .” – Snarf, reviewing Now Fresh Grain-Free Senior Weight Management Recipe
Negative Reviews
“Nope sorry this food is loaded with starches. Keep looking for an orijen replacement. This one is not it.” – DebbieM, reviewing Now Fresh Grain-Free Adult Recipe
“Our cats generally like soft pate type foods and this one seemed to fit the bill. The container is nice and the food slides out cleanly. It was expensive but if the cats liked it – we would add it to the rotation. However, none of our cats really took to it. Pork is a protein choice that our cats are not used to so perhaps that had something to do with the rejection. Either way, we’re going to work our way through this case and not buy it again.” – callie13ly, reviewing Now Fresh Grain-Free Pork Paté Wet Cat Food
How Much Does Now Fresh Cat Food Cost?
Now Fresh food is priced somewhere between your typical grocery food and the most expensive products at the pet food store—it’s a midpoint between Purina and Tiki Cat or 9Lives and Fromm. Breaking it down in terms of daily feeding costs, Now Fresh dry food would cost about $0.52 per day if you’re feeding an average 10-lb cat. Their wet food is pricier at around $3.26 per day.
Overall, Is Now Fresh A Good Choice?
Now Fresh is only doing two things better than other brands—skipping artificial additives and featuring high-quality, fresh meats. Nothing else about this brand is outstanding. Its recipes contain oodles of plant ingredients, are high in carbohydrates, and often skimp on protein.
Now Fresh may be a good option if your cat likes it, but in general, it’s not among the most impressive brands we’ve reviewed.
Where To Buy Now Fresh Cat Food?
Now Fresh cat food is distributed through a network of pet specialty distributors and retailers around the world.
Click here to find a retailer near you in Canada or the United States. If you don’t live in Canada or the United States, click here to find an international distributor in your country.
Now Fresh food is also available online. You can buy it through Amazon, Chewy, and a variety of pet product retailers.