Open Farm Homestead Turkey & Chicken Cat Food Review

I was curious about Open Farm Homestead Turkey & Chicken cat food because their humanely raised poultry is one of the main ingredients of this formula. Humanely raised means that the farmers must keep their poultry living a natural life with access to pure and fresh sources of water, with reduced stress, and with a healthy diet that is free of animal by-products or hormones.

Main Features of Open Farm Turkey & Chicken

• 100% Certified Humane. The poultry is free-range raised in American family farms complying with the strictest standards, with a healthy vegetarian diet without antibiotics or growth hormones, and a stress-free environment that allows them to have a natural behavior.
• Grain-free
• No potato
• A good percentage of protein with fresh turkey and chicken.
• For indoor and outdoor cats.
• Non-GMO cranberries provide antioxidants, vitamin C, fiber and together with locally grown dandelion greens promote UTI health.
• Non-GMO pumpkin and carrot add fiber, aiding digestive health.
• Coconut oil provides lauric acid (a type of Omega-9 fatty acid). Excellent source of energy aids fat metabolism function.
• Turmeric is a natural anti-inflammatory that helps the cat’s digestive system.
• 100% traceable ingredients. The origin of every ingredient can be traced using the lot number on the bag.
• Made in the USA

Open Farm Homestead Turkey & Chicken Ingredients:

Humanely raised turkey, humanely raised chicken, ocean whitefish meal, herring meal, garbanzo beans (chickpeas), red lentils, coconut oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), ocean menhaden fish meal, green lentils, pumpkin, natural flavor, cranberries, dried chicory root extract, apples, choline chloride, salt, dandelion greens, taurine, turmeric, potassium chloride, dicalcium phosphate, dried yucca schidigera extract, mixed tocopherols (a natural preservative), calcium carbonate, zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, sodium selenite, calcium iodate, vitamin E supplement, thiamine mononitrate, niacin supplement, D-calcium pantothenate, biotin, vitamin A acetate, riboflavin supplement, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, rosemary extract.

Guaranteed Analysis

Crude Protein (min) 37% – Crude Fat (min) 18% – Crude Fiber (max) 3% – Moisture (max) 10% – Calcium (min) 1% – Phosphorus (min) 0.8% – Vitamin A (min) 9000 IU/kg – Vitamin E (min) 40 IU/kg – Taurine (min) 0.2% – Omega-6 (min) 4% – Omega-3 (min) 1.3%

Analysis of First 5 Ingredients of Open Farm Homestead Turkey & Chicken

• Humanely raised turkey (2 stars rating): This meat adds water weight that evaporates after being cooked. The real percentage after being cooked is less. Turkey provides less flavor than chicken.
• Humanely raised chicken (2 stars rating): Chicken is an ingredient that loses the water weight after being cooked, which means the protein percentage is much less.
• Ocean whitefish meal (4 stars rating): Good source of protein, but it loses the fatty acids after being cooked at a high temperature.
• Herring meal (4 stars rating): Good source of protein, but the oil is pressed out of fish, losing most of the fatty acids.
• Garbanzo beans (Chickpeas) (2 stars rating): It adds proteins and minerals to the formula, but chickpeas are low in amino acids and high in calories that could make your cat gain weight.

What are the Pros & Cons Of Open Farm Homestead Turkey & Chicken?

The ingredients of this formula have great benefits and also some “cons”:

PROS

• It lists all of 11 essential amino acids cats need to obtain from food because they can’t produce them themselves.
• Grain-free. Grains could cause health problems in cats, such as diabetes.
• Your cat gets good quality meats. The poultry is raised in a natural environment with a healthy diet and reduced stress.
• Herring and whitefish are good sources of proteins, add some fatty acids, and are low in mercury.
• No potato. This avoids high sugar peaks in the cat’s blood.
• Reliable formula. You can track the origin of each ingredient using the lot code of the cat food bag.

CONS

• This formula contains Dicalcium Phosphate. According to One Green Planet, this ingredient cannot absorb water and is insoluble. Over time it may create small deposits of calcium on soft tissues. It may also form kidney stones.
• Pumpkin ingredient only contributes to fiber since cats can’t convert beta-carotene into vitamin A.

Final Thoughts

Open Farm Homestead Turkey & Chicken is a recipe made with healthy meats all 100% Certified Humane. The fruits and veggies are all locally grown in the USA. The fact that you can track the origin of each ingredient using the lot number on the cat food’s bag, is a game-changer. My main issue is the ingredient “dicalcium phosphate”. I would not want to feed my cat this ingredient. Why? I believe that feeding the cat this food for years could calcify internal tissues in the cat’s organs. For this reason, I can’t recommend this cat food, unfortunately. I say unfortunately because I was very excited with the ingredients and the humanely raised poultry used in the recipe.

Bottom Line

The formula has good ingredients but I can’t recommend it because it contains “Dicalcium Phosphate”. Feeding a food with this ingredient in a long term could create a disruption in the mineral’s balance of the cat’s body. You can visit a comprehensive list of dry cat food reviews where you can find healthy brands and decide the best for your feline friend. Best of luck!