Farmina Cat Food Reviews, Coupons and Analysis 2023

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Though your cat may look nothing like a lion, he comes from a distant line of wild ancestors and still wants to eat like one of them. Cats are carnivores by nature and require a diet rich in real animal proteins like meat, poultry, and fish. Though many pet food manufacturers understand the need for protein in a cat’s diet, some aren’t willing to spring for costlier animal proteins and try to pack their products with plant-based substitutes. Not Farmina.

Farmina is an Italian pet food brand that feeds pets according to Mother Nature. They use high-quality, natural ingredients and their recipes are formulated based on science. If you’re looking for a pet food brand that knows what your cat needs, this is one to consider.

Read on to learn more about Farmina as a brand and their cat food products.

Brand Name Farmina Pet Foods
Product Types  Dry cat food, veterinary diets
Headquarters Italty Founded 1965
Recipe Variety Ingredient Quality Availability Price Per Pound Recall History
10/10 8/10 7/10 4/10 10/10
Shop for Farmina on Chewy Shop for Farmina on Amazon

Overview of the Brand


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Family is everything for Farmina, an Italian pet food brand founded in 1965. The Farmina brand represents a 50-year-long history of innovation and a passion for animal nutrition.

The story of Farmina started in 1965 with Mr. Francesco Russo when he founded the Russo Mangimi company specializing in animal nutrition. Through his company, Mr. Russo passed on his values and his interest in animal wellness. As his family grew, so did the company and, in 1999, Dr. Angelo Russo, son of Francesco Russo, took over.

When Dr. Angelo Russo took over the family business, he set forth with the same commitment to animal wellness, but he chose to operate under a new perspective. Russo aimed to produce pet foods developed using the results of scientific studies on pet nutrition. To accomplish this goal, he started a collaboration with Farmina, an English company specializing in research and formulation for pet food. Together, they invested in technological research and development and created partnerships with leading independent research institutes.

Dr. Angelo Russo has acted as the chair of Animal Nutrition of the University of Naples Federico II and created Farmina Vet Research, a team of veterinarians and animal nutrition specialists who work together to create the best foods for the nature of pets.

Today, Farmina sends their customers the following message:

“We are a great family with an Italian heart and what unites us is the great dream that lives in the heart of anyone who loves their pet: make them happy because their happiness makes our own. Happy Pet, happy you.”

What You Need to Know About Farmina

When it comes to your cat’s diet, quality matters but so do the ingredients. Cats are obligate carnivores which means they have a biological requirement for meat in their diets. Farmina uses the foundational principles of nature and science to develop “the best natural and scientifically validated nutritional systems” for pets using first-choice raw materials.

At Farmina, every action is guided by science. The company is committed to research and development with the aim of keeping nature and science in perfect harmony.

Here are the top 5 things you need to know about the Farmina brand: 

1. What kind of products do they offer?

The Farmina brand offers pet food products for both dogs and cats. Their products are divided into two primary product lines:

  • Farmina Vet Life Natural Diet
  • Natural & Delicious (N&D)

The Farmina Vet Life line of products offers a “nutritional solution for the wellbeing of cats.” These products were created under the guiding principle of Farmina Philosophy which follows scientific research to develop ideal nutritional strategies for pets. These foods are designed to provide specific nutritional support for various health conditions such as diabetes, renal failure, obesity, and hairballs. They also offer formulas for neutered male cats and spayed female cats.

Farmina’s Natural & Delicious products are broken into three product lines:

  • N&D Prime Feline
  • N&D Pumpkin
  • N&D Ancestral Grains

The Farmina N&D Prime Feline product line consists of a handful of dry food recipes made with 60% high-quality raw animal ingredients. These recipes are low glycemic, grain-free, and free from artificial preservatives. You’ll find a variety of protein options including chicken, boar, lamb, and fish. The N&D Ancestral Grain dry cat food products are made with 70% high-quality animal ingredients along with nutritious ancestral grains like spelt and oats. Farmina also offers a small line of N&D Pumpkin dry food recipes which are made with pumpkin as a key ingredient.

When it comes to their canned foods for cats, Farmina offers a number of options in the product lines above as well as the N&D Ocean line which features wild-caught fish like herring and cod. Many of the same recipes you’ll find in dry food are also available in a wet food formulation.

2. How are their pet foods made?

Farmina is a company dedicated to science and technology. They have a long history of innovation which they put to work in both formulating and manufacturing their products. In producing their pet foods, Farmina uses two unique technologies:

  • Twin-Screw Extruder – Primarily used in human food production, a twin-screw extruder ensures optimal gelatinization of starches compared to single-screw systems. This results in lower denaturing of nutrients and increased digestibility of the final product.
  • Vacuum Coater – The Vacuum Coater system ensures better and more homogenous distribution throughout individual kibbles. It also allows Farmina to include vitamins at lower temperatures to increase the duration of their effectiveness.

In addition to utilizing unique technologies to improve the quality of their products, Farmina works to ensure freshness. Their Just In Time working method ensures that products are, on average, only four days out of production when distributed to resellers. Farmina also has an extensive quality control system in place to ensure nutritional quality and the safety of their products.

3. Where do they get their ingredients?

Farmina is an Italian company and they source many of their ingredients from Italy. Their chicken and eggs come directly from Italian chicken and their lamb is sourced from New Zealand. Farmina’s wild bour comes from Tuscan and Umbrian semi-wild herds while their fish (primarily cod and herring) is wild-caught rather than aquacultured.

When it comes to the fats in their recipes, Farmina uses primarily chicken fat and fish oil. Again, their chicken fat comes from Italian suppliers, and their fish oil from Scandinavia. The Farmina recipes which include grains primarily use spelt and oats. Farmina uses a wide variety of fibers including Italian beet pulp, pure cellulose, pea fiber, and dehydrated alfalfa.

4. Is the company environmentally friendly?

Conscious consumers are always on the lookout for eco-friendly brands, especially when it comes to pet food. You may not realize it, but the pet food industry as a whole isn’t particularly good for the environment. Roughly a quarter of the impact of meat production on the planet comes from the pet food industry. This raises a challenge because cats require a meat-based diet.

Farmina claims nature is their inspiration – it is “the biggest source of wealth and the reason why we preserve our feed’s characteristics using tools and methods Mother Nature gave us.”

What Farmina is talking about here is their use of natural antioxidants and their natural preservation methods. Their foods are packed in a protective atmosphere to prevent fats from oxidizing and to maintain the flavor and freshness of the product.

This company has a lot to say about how their processes are inspired by nature, but their website makes very little mention of the impact their products have on nature. Farmina sources many of their ingredients locally or regionally when possible but we couldn’t find a lot of specific information. Their website mentions “sustainably sourced fish from Europe” and their food cans are fully recyclable and BPA-free. That’s about it.

5. Does the brand have any product recalls?

When evaluating the quality of a pet food brand, it’s important to do your research. In addition to checking out the details you can find about the specific product you’re considering; you should also look into the brand as a whole – that includes their recall history.

A product recall happens when there’s an issue with the product. In some cases, it can be for something as simple as a labeling error but it can also be something serious – like contamination with food-borne pathogens. The FDA issues recalls based on testing and consumer complaints, but companies can issue voluntary recalls for problems they discover on their own as well.

The Farmina brand doesn’t seem to have had any recalls in their history. This is always a good thing, though one thing to consider here is that Farmina is an Italian company. Recalls may not work the same way as they do in the United States.

Farmina Cat Food Recipes

The Farmina pet food company offers both cat food and dog food. When it comes to their cat food recipes, they have a wide variety of options to choose from, both dry and wet. In addition to their traditional dry and wet food products, Farmina offers a line of veterinary formulas as well.

Here’s a list of some of the cat food products Farmina has to offer broken down by product category:

Dry Cat Food Recipes
Recipe Name First Ingredient C. Protein % C. Fat %
N&D Chicken & Pomegranate Kitten Feline Formula Boneless Chicken 44% 20%
N&D Chicken & Pomegranate Adult Feline Formula Boneless Chicken 44% 20%
N&D Boar & Apple Adult Feline Formula Boneless Wild Boar 44% 20%
N&D Fish & Orange Adult Feline Formula Herring 44% 20%
N&D Lamb & Blueberry Adult Feline Formula Boneless Lamb 42% 20%
N&D Ancestral Grain Chicken & Pomegranate Adult Boneless Chicken 36% 20%
N&D Ancestral Grain Codfish & Orange Adult Feline Codfish 36% 20%
N&D Ancestral Grain Lamb & Blueberry Adult Feline Boneless Lamb 36% 20%
N&D Ancestral Grain Chicken & Pomegranate Neutered Boneless Chicken 38% 10%
N&D Pumpkin Quail, Pumpkin & Pomegranate Feline Formula Fresh Quail 44% 20%
N&D Pumpkin Herring, Pumpkin & Orange Feline Formula Wild Caught Herring 44% 20%
N&D Pumpkin Venison, Pumpkin & Apple Feline Formula Boneless Venison 42% 20%
N&D Pumpkin Duck, Pumpkin & Cantaloupe Melon Feline Boneless Duck 44% 20%
N&D Pumpkin Quail, Pumpkin & Pomegranate Neutered Fresh Quail 46% 11%
N&D Ocean Herring & Orange Adult Formula Herring 44% 20%
N&D Ocean Herring, Pumpkin & Orange Adult Formula Herring 44% 20%
N&D Ocean Cod, Spelt, Oats & Orange Adult Formula Cod 36% 20%

 

Veterinary Cat Food Recipes
Recipe Name First Ingredient Crude Protein % Crude Fat %
Gastrointestinal Feline Formula Dehydrated Chicken Protein 33% 21.5%
Hepatic Feline Formula Spelt 26% 20%
Struvite Feline Formula Corn Gluten 34% 16%
Struvite Management Feline Formula Corn Gluten 33% 16.5%
Renal Feline Formula Rice 24.5% 20%
Obesity Feline Formula Dehydrated Chicken Protein 43% 9%
Diabetic Feline Formula Dehydrated Chicken Protein 46% 13%
Ultrahypo Feline Formula Hydrolyzed Fish Protein 28% 11%
Neutered Male Feline Formula Dehydrated Chicken Protein 37% 10%
Neutered Female Feline Formula Dehydrated Chicken Protein 33% 10%
Hairball Feline Formula Dehydrated Chicken Protein 34% 15%

 

Wet Cat Food Recipes
Recipe Name First Ingredient Crude Protein % Crude Fat %
N&D Prime Chicken & Pomegranate Wet Food Feline Formula Chicken 12.5% 4.5%
N&D Prime Boar & Apple Wet Food Feline Formula Boar 12% 5%
N&D Prime Lamb & Blueberry Wet Food Feline Formula Lamb 11% 6.5%
N&D Pumpkin Boar, Pumpkin & Apple Wet Food Feline Formula Boar 12% 5%
N&D Pumpkin Duck & Pumpkin Wet Food Feline Formula Duck 12.5% 4.5%
N&D Pumpkin Lamb, Pumpkin & Blueberry Wet Food Feline Formula Lamb 11% 6.5%
N&D Quinoa Functional Feline Digestion Wet Food Formula Lamb 10.5% 3.8%
N&D Quinoa Functional Feline Skin & Coat Duck Wet Food Formula Duck 11.5% 5%
N&D Quinoa Functional Feline Urinary Wet Food Formula Duck 10.5% 5%
N&D Ocean Cod, Shrimp & Pumpkin Adult Wet Food Cod 10.5% 4.5%
N&D Ocean Sea Bass, Sardine & Shrimp Adult Wet Food Formula Sea Bass 11% 4.5%
N&D Ocean Tuna & Shrimp Adult Wet Food Formula Tuna 12.3% 4.5%

How Much Does Farmina Cat Food Cost?

Pet owners spend billions of dollars on their pets each year and most of that spending is on food. When it comes to pet food, cost varies greatly from one brand to another and even among different products from the same brand. This being the case, cost isn’t the best way to shop for cat food.

Even so, we understand that cost is a factor for most pet owners. So, how much does Farmina cost?

We’d classify Farmina as a pretty expensive brand, considering most of their dry cat foods cost well over $5 per pound (the “average” pet food is about $2.25/pound). On Chewy, you can find Farmina dry cat foods in 3.3-pound bags for around $22 and 11-pound bags for about $55. Their canned foods generally come in cases of 12 cans (2.8 ounces each) for about $22, or about $0.65/ounce.

Where Can You Buy Farmina Cat Food?

Because Farmina is an Italian brand, you may not find it in your local pet store – you may not even find it at national chains. The best place to buy Farmina cat food is online from Chewy or Amazon. You can use the Farmina Store Locator on their website, but it seem to be limited to Farmina stores rather than retailers that sell Farmina cat food products.

Farmina Cat Food Coupons

Pet food can be expensive, and cost is often equated with quality. As a cat owner, you want to find the right balance between feeding your cat well and being able to afford your cat’s food. We recommend choosing the highest quality cat food you can consistently afford, even if it’s not a top-shelf product.

When shopping for cat food, it’s always a good idea to look for deals and coupons. Speaking of coupons, you can find Farmina cat food coupons HERE.

Farmina Recipe Highlight: Farmina N&D Prime Chicken & Pomegranate Recipe Dry Food

  • Food Type: dry
  • First 5 Ingredients: Boneless chicken, dehydrated chicken, sweet potatoes, chicken fat, dried whole eggs
  • Guaranteed Analysis: 44% protein, 20% fat, 1.8% fiber, 8% moisture
  • Calories/Cup: 412 kcal/cup
  • Price/Pound: $4.99/pound

This formula belongs to the N&D Prime Feline product line and features chicken as the primary ingredient and main source of animal protein. It features a nutritious mixture of grain-free carbohydrates including dried fruits and veggies with less than 3% total fiber.

Farmina N&D Prime Chicken & Pomegranate Recipe Dry Food is made with 98% protein from animal sources. The first ingredient is boneless chicken (fresh chicken) and the second is dehydrated chicken. This second ingredient likely corresponds with the chicken meal used in US-made foods. Both are high-quality sources of animal protein, though they are not the only source of animal protein. This recipe also includes fresh and dried herring along with whole dried eggs.

This recipe is grain-free, made with sweet potatoes as the primary carbohydrate with pea fiber and suncured alfalfa meal for fiber. You’ll also find dried fruits and veggies included as natural sources for vitamins and minerals to reduce the need for synthetic supplements.

The estimated carbohydrate content of this formula is under 20%. Given what Farmina says about their focus on nature, we would expect it to be less – closer to our preference of under 10%. That being said, we see many dry foods over 30% carbohydrate, so we can’t complain too much. We do appreciate that animal proteins are the first two ingredients and carbohydrate accounts for only one of the first 8 ingredients on the list.

Our Analysis: Overall, we like this Farmina N&D Prime Chicken & Pomegranate recipe. We appreciate the use of high-quality animal proteins and the limited inclusion of digestible, low-glycemic carbohydrates. The total carb content could be lower, but we have no major issues with the recipe.

Final Thoughts

Generally speaking, Farmina seems like a pretty good brand. It’s a little hard to tell with companies that aren’t made in the US, but Farmina claims to follow high quality control standards and they are very clear about where their ingredients come from.

We appreciate that Farmina uses plenty of animal protein in their products, though their dry foods are a little higher in carbohydrate content than we generally like to see. Their wet foods are much higher in protein and lower in carbs, as is commonly the case. We like their emphasis on animal-based fats and low-glycemic carbs as well as the fact that they do not use artificial additives.

One thing we’ll note about Farmina is that the quality of their N&D products seems to be much higher than their veterinary formulas, by our standards. Many of the veterinary formulas we viewed included corn ingredients, sometimes as the first ingredient. We understand the use of hydrolyzed proteins in veterinary cat foods, but we can’t abide by a product that includes more plant than animal ingredients.

Overall, if you’re looking for a high-quality cat food recipe and you don’t mind spending more to get it, Farmina could be a decent choice. Just stick to one of their lower carbohydrate dry foods or wet foods.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Can you buy Farmina cat food online? – Yes, you can purchase Farmina cat foods online at Chewy or Amazon.
  • Does Farmina have any product recalls? – No, Farmina has not had any product recalls. Keep in mind, however, that this is an Italian-made company so their products may not be regulated the same way as US products.
  • Is Farmina cat food made in the USA? – No, Farmina cat food is made in Italy.
  • Does Farmina use artificial additives? – No, Farmina uses natural ingredients including real animal proteins, ancestral grains, animal-based fats, and natural antioxidants.
  • Is Farmina cat food grain-free? – Farmina offers grain-free cat food as well as recipes made with ancestral grains like spelt and oats.

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