Nutro Chunky Loaf Adult Cat Food (Wet) Review And Nutritional Analysis

Our review process is unbiased and based on extensive research. If you buy through the links on our site, we may earn a commission.

*** Unfortunately, the Nutro Soft Loaf and Chunky Loaf Cat Food Lines have been discontinued. This review is left here for reference. ***

Nutro Chunky Loaf Adult Chicken is one of our top 5 choices for best wet cat foods overall.

Here’s a few important points:

• Packed with meat
• Uses organ meat for a more natural, vitamin-rich meal
• No added carbohydrates
• Near-perfect macronutrient profile

Nutro Chunky Loaf Adult 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.

• Nutro Chunky Loaf Adult Chicken (M)
• Nutro Chunky Loaf Adult Salmon & Tuna (M) 4.5 stars

Nutro Chunky Loaf Adult Chicken was selected to represent the other products in the line for this review.

Ingredient Breakdown

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

While quality of the individual ingredient can vary, chicken is a 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 second ingredient 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 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 pork broth. Good.

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

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

This is usually a sign of a high quality food.

Ignoring natural flavors, which are fine, the fifth ingredient is guar gum. OK, but with reservations.

Guar gum comes from guar beans, and is a thickening agent. 

In small quantities, like those in cat food, it should be a harmless ingredient. 

However, some research has shown that including guar gum in a commercial cat food “had a significant negative effect on apparent protein digestibility in many of the cats and tended to depress apparent fat and energy digestibilities.”

While not heavily substantiated beyond this study, it might mean your cat needs to eat more protein to make up for the lower digestibility. 

The sixth ingredient is sodium phosphate. Good.

Sodium phosphate is both an emulsifying agent, and used to acifidy the urine and lower urinary calcium concentrations.

It could reduce rashes and ammonium odor in the urine.

The seventh ingredient is fish oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols). Good.

Mixed tocopherols are a natural preservative, and better than synthetic options. 

Fish oil can help to improve skin, coat, joint, and heart health in your kitty, because they contain EPA and DHA, two essential fatty acids. 

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. 

However, there are still a few things you should know about. 

This recipe uses the proteinate form of some minerals, which means that they should be easier to digest for your cat, and be more readily available for her body to use to maintain her health. This is usually a sign of a quality food.

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 Nutro Chunky Loaf Adult Wet Cat Food

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

From the abundance of meats, including organs, to the lack of carbohydrates, to the addition of important minerals and vitamins, this just ticks all of the boxes.

This is a perfect example of the type of food you should be feeding your cat.

Since meat shows up frequently, and right at the top of the ingredient list, we can assume that this is a meat-based cat food, with enough meat to make it biologically appropriate for a cat’s dietary needs.

To review, on a dry matter basis, this food is 55% protein, 27% fat, and 0% carbs.

As a group, the brand has an average protein content of 55%, and average fat content of 27%, and an average carb content of 0%.

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

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

Because it is full of quality meat products and biologically appropriate, our rating for this brand is 5 stars.

Highly recommended.

Nutro 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 Crave brand in the past:

• December 2015 – Potential of mold contamination – 1 recipe affected
• September 2009 – Plastic found in production line (from worker’s hat) – 2 recipes affected
• May 2009 – Potentially incorrect zinc and potassium levels – 7 recipes affected
• March 2007 – Potential melamine contamination – 6 dog food recipes affected

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 Nutro Chunky Loaf Adult 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.