Single Source Animal Protein: Merrick LID

Do you have a cat with a sensitive stomach and/or allergies? Has your vet ever told you that you should feed your cat more protein? Do you need a food that may support healthy digestion and provide other nutrients for health and happiness?

The Need for Protein

Feline nutrition is very important for the general health of your feline. Domesticated cats' bodies have adapted to a protein and fat rich, carbohydrate-poor diet through the evolutionary process (Advanced Animal Care, 2020). Many of the wet foods we feed our cats a nutrient profile that mimics the kind of diet cats would choose in the wild, especially if the protein in the canned food is animal-based. Wet food also provides hydration, which is extremely important for cats. Cats are obligate carnivores, which means they need to eat meat because of the nutrients that are only found in animal products. When cats eat protein, they break dietary protein down into amino acids, which they burn for energy or to make new proteins (Buffington, 2017). A study in 2011 found that cats tended to select foods that contained 2.3 grams of protein per pound of body weight each day.

You've probably heard people talk about their cats being finicky. I had that problem with my previous Persian cat, Praline, because I only fed her one brand and protein for most of her life. When the company changed the formula/diet, I had a difficult time finding a food Praline would eat. For a long time, all I fed Truffle and Brulee was chicken and turkey. I thought that was the best protein to feed them. I fed them their first duck when Merrick® had Turdurken cat food and they loved it. I began reading that feeding your cats a variety of proteins may help prevent your cat from becoming finicky and only wanting one type/flavor/brand of food. I began trying a variety of proteins and textures of wet food with Truffle and Brulee. They don't really like beef or tuna, but will eat turkey, chicken, duck, rabbit, and recently, lamb. One word of caution to people trying a new food with your cats - be sure to introduce the new food slowly to avoid digestive upset.

Truffle eating her Merrick Limited Ingredient Diet duck recipe

Merrick® Limited Ingredient Cat Food

I've praised the cat food from Merrick for several years. For a long time, I fed them the Purrfect Bistro® recipes with success. Recently, I tried the Backcountry® recipes and the girls really liked the rabbit flavors. When I was at BlogPaws and Global Pet Expo, I talked with the representatives about their Limited Ingredient Diet recipes.

The Merrick Limited Ingredient Diet (LID) begin with a single source animal protein as the first ingredient and it only contains carefully selected essentials. The single source protein helps cats with sensitives and allergies. The LID includes pre/probiotics and easy-to-digest proteins and carbohydrates. In addition, organic alfalfa included that helps strengthen and support your cat's allergy resistance. There is also Omega-3 and 6 fatty acids, along with antioxidants for immune health. The Limited Ingredient Diet is grain-free, soy-free, and corn-free. This food is available in kibble and wet food. I prefer feeding the wet food to my cats. There are several recipes offered in the wet food:

Real Chicken Recipe Pate
Real Duck Recipe Pate
Real Salmon Recipe Pate
Real Tuna Recipe Pate
Real Turkey Recipe Pate

The cans are available in both 2.75 oz and 5 oz cans. All Merrick recipes are crafted in Hereford, Texas and cooked in the USA, in facilities that uphold strict FDA guidelines. The Grain Free Real Duck Recipe Pate is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Cat Food Nutrient Profiles for maintenance.

Brulee eating the Merrick Limited Ingredient Diet Duck Recipe Pate

Our Review

We received the Merrick Limited Ingredient Diet Grain-Free Duck Recipe Pate to review. I hadn't fed the girls duck as a single-source protein yet, so I was interested to see if they would eat it. As many of our readers know, Truffle will eat almost anything, but Brulee is our finicky feline. I wasn't sure if she would eat the pate because she eats her food by licking it and picking it up with her tongue, so she usually prefers wet food with gravy.

As you can see in the short video below, both Truffle and Brulee appeared to love the Real Duck Recipe. In fact, both cleaned their bowls, which is unusual for them.

I'm was so pleased that both girls enjoyed the Duck Recipe and will continue to rotate this protein with the chicken, turkey, lamb, and rabbit they eat. I'm finding that the more I vary their proteins and textures, the less finicky they are (especially Brulee).

Giveaway

The wonderful people at Merrick have generously agreed to allow us to host a giveaway for one of our readers to have the opportunity to win a case of Limited Ingredient Diet Cat Food (choice of recipe).

The giveaway is open to residents of the US, 18+ years of age, except where prohibited by law. The winners will be randomly selected randomly by Rafflecopter and contacted by email and will have 48 hours to claim their prize. Failure to do so will result in forfeiture of the prize and a new winner will be randomly selected by Rafflecopter. Please note that to qualify for a prize a comment must be left on this blog post. Giveaway closes May 3, 2020 at 11:59 pm Eastern Time.

a Rafflecopter giveaway