Dr. Tim’s Nimble Cat Food (Wet) Review And Nutritional Analysis

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Rating

  • Meat is the first ingredient – 1 Star
  • Uses some unnamed meats – 1 Star
  • Above average protein content – 0.5 Star
  • Less than 4 controversial ingredients – 1 Star
  • Catological Discretionary Rating – 0 Star

Here’s a few important points:

  • Meat is the first ingredient
  • The fillers used are all whole-food fruits and vegetables, which is better than most fillers
  • But, the carbohydrate content of this food shows us that a lot of these fillers are used (this food has above average carbs)
  • Extra vitamins and quality, proteinate versions of some minerals are added
  • It’s a pretty good recipe, but we wish there was more meat and fewer carbohydrates

Dr. Tim’s Nimble product line includes 2 wet recipes/flavors.

Each recipe below includes its related AAFCO nutrient profile when available on the product’s official webpage or packaging: Growth (G), Maintenance (M), All Life Stages (A), Supplemental (S) or Unspecified (U).

The star rating is a rough average of all of the flavors in a single line of food. If an individual recipe scored lower or higher, we will mark that below, next to the flavor.

dr tims nimble wet cat food can

Dr. Tim’s Nimble Chicken was selected to represent the other products in the line for this review.

Dr. Tim’s Nimble Chicken

Wet Cat Food

Estimated Nutrient Content
ProteinFatCarbs
Guaranteed Analysis9%5%NA
Dry Matter Basis41%23%25%
Calorie Weighted Basis34%46%21%

Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content

Protein

41%

Fat

23%

Carbs

-1%

Fiber (guaranteed analysis)

0.75%

Calories/100g

110

Is real, named meat the first ingredient?

Yes

Ingredients

Chicken Broth, Chicken, Chicken Liver, Ocean Fish, Dried Peas, Natural Chicken Liver Flavor, Agar-Agar, Carrots, Asparagus, Cranberries, Blueberries, Ground Whole Flaxseed, New Zealand Green Mussels, Eggs, Clams, Salmon Oil, Olive Oil, Tricalcium Phosphate, Sea Salt, Dried Kelp, Potassium Chloride, Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Calcium Sulfate, Choline Chloride, Betaine, Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Niacin, Vitamin E Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid

Ingredients in red are controversial or of questionable quality.

Ingredient Breakdown

The first ingredient in this cat food is chicken broth. Good.

Instead of using water for processing, chicken broth is added for moisture.

Broth may contain vitamins and nutrients from the original animal (chicken, in this case), that water would lack.

This is usually a sign of a high quality food.

The second ingredient is chicken. Good.

While quality of the individual ingredient can vary, chicken is a very good protein source for cats. It’s also important to note that chicken contains about 70% water, so when it is processed and cooked for use in cat food, it will become a smaller part of the total recipe.

The third ingredient is chicken liver. Good.

Liver is an important organ meat that your cat would eat in the wild to get extra protein, vitamins, and minerals.

This is usually a sign of a high quality food.

The fourth ingredient is ocean fish. OK, but with reservations.

While it is fairly common to batch multiple types of ocean fish in cat food, labeling it “ocean fish”, we do not approve of any animal ingredient that is not specifically labeled.

Without a name, it could be just about anything, and you can’t make an informed choice.

That being said, “ocean fish” are usually small, oily fish, with a very high protein content.

There is some concern that these are not sustainably fished.

The fifth ingredient is dried peas. Bad.

Peas are a quality carbohydrate, but cats don’t need much in the way of carbohydrates.

They are full of fiber, but also contain a fair amount of protein, which we should keep in mind when judging the meat content of this food.

There probably aren’t many peas in here, but there really doesn’t need to be any.

After natural chicken liver flavor, which is fine, the sixth ingredient is agar agar. Good.

Agar-agar is derived from a red seaweed, but is different from carrageenan.

It is used as a “gelling” substance, which helps keep food together.

Although they are both red seaweeds, it seems agar-agar does not suffer from the same potentially carcinogenic qualities as carrageenan.

Until we find research to prove that they are the same just because they both come from red seaweeds, we believe agar is a better gelling agent than most others used.

The seventh ingredient is carrots. Good.

The beta carotene in carrots turns into vitamin A, which is a useful antioxidant compound.

However, cats can’t turn much beta carotene into vitamin A like we can, so much of it is stored for growth or cell reprouction.

Therefore, carrots are most useful for kittens or senior cats.

This recipe includes a number of other ingredients, but once you get down this far, none of them will be in large enough quantities to make a real difference, except for the added vitamins and minerals. 

New Zealand Green Mussels come from the New Zealand coast, and are added to a number of high quality New Zealand-made recipes. They contain properties that help reduce inflammation, and support the repair of cartilage. Therefore, they are beneficial to your kitty’s joint health.

The minerals are presented in their proteinate form, which means they will be easier to digest and absorb, which is an indicator of quality.

To read a more in depth article about any of the ingredients listed here, check out our Cat Food Ingredient Wiki (currently under development).

The Catological Verdict on Dr. Tim’s Nimble Wet Cat Food

From top to bottom, this is an average wet product.

Meat is the first ingredient, and the “filler” ingredients are mostly whole-food fruits and vegetables, but there are too many of them to make this biologically appropriate.

We can tell this is the case by seeing the low-ish protein content, and the high carbohydrate content. The ingredients sound good, but are not present in appropriate quantities.

This is an OK example of the type of food you should be feeding your cat if you choose to feed a dry diet.

Meat is the first ingredient, but there are other non-meat protein and carb sources like peas. That means there is likely less meat in there than you’d think by just looking at the protein content on the label.

It’s probably a split meat- and plant-based food, which is not entirely appropriate for your carnivorous cat.

To review, on a dry matter basis, this food is 41% protein, 23% fat, and 25% carbs.

As a group, the brand has an average protein content of 39%, and average fat content of 23%, and an average carb content of 25%.

Compared to the other 2000+ foods in our database, this food has:

  • Below average protein.
  • Above average fat.
  • Above average carbs.

Because meat is the first ingredient, but unnecessary carbohydrate fillers are utilized and the macronutrient profile is not great, our rating for this brand is 3.5 stars.

Moderately recommended.

Dr. Tim’s Cat Food Recall History

We do not believe that a recall indicates a low quality food or company, and we respect the fact that sometimes things happen that cause a manufacturer to recall a food.

Usually these things are non-life-threatening, and we think it’s important to take a moment to be thankful about just how few recalls there really are in the industry, considering the enormous volume of food produced.

However, we do believe that a history of recalls may point to a larger issue with a company, and that discerning consumers want to know who they’re buying from, especially when it comes to something as important as the food you feed your beloved cat. 

Here is a list of recalls that have affected the Dr. Tim’s brand in the past:

  • We could find no instances of recalls in Dr. Tim’s history

If you want to stay up to date on the latest recall information affecting your cat’s food, sign up to our email list and receive an email every time a recall is announced. We’ll also let you know about any updated ratings, recipe changes, or new cat foods on the market. (Our alert system will be launched shortly, check back soon.)

Where To Buy Dr. Tim’s Wet Cat Food

We recommend purchasing your pet products from Chewy.com. They continually prove that they walk the walk while talking the talk, and I’ve never dealt with a more dedicated pet-parent base of people than those who work at Chewy. 

Plus, they offer 20% off and free shipping on lots of orders. 

Not convinced?

Check out our ratings and reviews of the best cat foods in our comprehensive, data-backed guide right here.

Emily Parker

Emily Parker is the Content Manager at Catological. She's passionate about helping cat parents love their cats better by providing the best information and recommendations about everything you'll need to know about your cat, from kitten to senior years. She believes natural, biologically-appropriate products are best...why wouldn't you provide the best for a member of your family?!