Night Hunter: Cat Food

Although imported products account for the bulk of prepared foods on the shelves of our pet stores, domestic producers are also trying to keep up with their overseas counterparts. A prime example is Night Hunter, a cat food produced in Rostov by ProdKontraktInvest. According to the manufacturer, their products are excellent super-premium foods designed for daily feeding of pets. Well, let's find out if this is actually true or just a simple marketing ploy that pet food manufacturers love to exploit.

Company history

ProdKontraktInvest LLC is a leading Russian manufacturer of wet pet food. In addition to its desire to become a worthy competitor to foreign companies, this company has adopted a new approach: its food recipes weren't plucked from thin air, but developed in collaboration with the All-Russian Research Institute of the Meat Industry, meaning its nutrition meets all national standards and regulations.

Another compelling argument in favor of these diets is the quality of the raw materials used in their production. According to the manufacturer, the food contains only high-quality meat and by-products, and is free of GMOs and chemical additives, including flavorings and flavor enhancers. Whether this is true will be revealed when we take a closer look at the ingredients of Night Hunter dry cat food.

And the most important reason, according to the manufacturer, to consider this food is that it belongs to the super-premium pet food segment and can provide serious competition to established market players. Well, that's a pretty bold claim—we'll see if it's true.

Cost of feed

We reviewed all the largest online pet supply retailers and found the average prices for this company's food:

Wet food (regardless of flavor) – from 35 rubles for a 100-gram pouch, and from 95 rubles for a 400-gram jar.

Dry food for neutered and spayed cats – from 90 rubles for a 400-gram package, and from 290 rubles for 1.5 kg.

Dry food for adult cats with chicken and rice:

• from 110 rubles per 400 grams;
• from 320 rub. for 1.5kg;
• from 1660 rub. for 10 kg.

As we can see, the price of the food is quite low, which further confirms our suspicions about its class – it's not super-premium. High-quality raw materials and additives cost money, meaning the final product can't be cheap.

The Night Hunter range of food

The company produces both dry and wet food for consumers. The dry food line is divided into three main categories: for kittens, for adult cats, and a separate nutritional range for cats with special needs.

And while, for example, there is only one food for kittens, there are five flavors available for adult cats:

• Chicken with added rice.
• Seafood cocktail – with ocean fish and shellfish. Also claimed to contain crustaceans and invertebrates.
• Assorted meat containing chicken and beef.
• A diet based solely on chicken meat.
• Lamb with rice – for cats prone to allergies.

The manufacturer also offers a specialized line of nutrition for cats with special needs. This line includes just three products: food for animals prone to urolithiasis, food for animals prone to obesity, and food for neutered pets. Another type of food in this category is for senior pets over 7 years old.

As for wet food, the situation is as follows. All canned foods are divided into:

• Pieces of meat in sauce (100g pouch and 400g tin can).
• Pieces of meat in jelly (same packaging).
• Pieces in cheese and sour cream sauce (only 100 gram pouches).
• Pates (400g tin only).
• Special canned food for cats over 7 years old (400 gram can).
• Canned food for kittens (in 100g pouches).

1. As for flavors, Night Hunter wet cat food offers a wide selection. Chunks in gravy are available in the following flavor variations: beef, beef with liver, rabbit with heart, chicken (also available with chicken liver), fish platter with tuna, pike perch, and salmon, meat platter, veal with turkey, and lamb.
2. The pieces in jelly have all the same flavors, but now they also have pieces in shrimp jelly and a mix of veal and lamb.
3. Cats are offered rabbit, chicken and lamb in a cheese and sour cream dressing.
4. The variety of flavors in pâté is the same as in the pieces in sauce, and only lamb pâté is missing from the list.
5. For older animals, the range is also not very extensive: chicken, salmon with added chicken, lamb with chicken, and lamb with tuna.
6. Kitten pouches offer a choice of food with beef, chicken, veal and lamb, and rabbit and chicken meat.

This is the entire range of Night Hunter cat food. It seems like a solid selection, but it's worth noting that we quickly skimmed the ingredients and found that the flavors don't differ much in the contents of the cans. The only difference is the type of meat ingredients used by the manufacturer. The rest of the ingredients are virtually identical. Despite this, reviews of Night Hunter cat food indicate that cats have their own preferences. Therefore, there are still differences in nutrient content.

But we're not inclined to trust manufacturers' advertising slogans—we're focused on understanding the actual composition of a food so we can adequately assess its quality. Let's delve into the nutrient list of one of Night Hunter's products.

Composition of the Night Hunter food

To understand the menu of this manufacturer, we selected one of the most universal feeds for analysis: dry food for adult animals based on chicken meat.

So, according to the information on the package, this food contains:

• Chicken meat meal;
• Rice;
• Corn;
• Animal edible fat;
• Fish meal;
• Meat meal.

We already know that the ingredients in a food's composition are listed in descending order of their mass percentage. Therefore, it's safe to say that the first 5-6 nutrients constitute the food, and everything else listed after that is merely supplementary to the main ingredients.

Further down the list, we see sugar beet pulp, chicken liver extract, flaxseed, yeast, and soybean oil. That's essentially all the ingredients. But the manufacturer has made a small gimmick: the main ingredients list includes all the mineral and vitamin supplements. This was apparently done to make the list appear more complete and to include more items.

But we won't study every mineral and vitamin - it's enough for us to know that these substances are present in the composition, and they are most likely added in the form of a ready-made mixture in the required quantity.

Guaranteed analysis

Reviews of "Night Hunter" cat food claim that the ingredients are pleasing to pets and fully satisfy their needs. Let's examine the guaranteed ingredient list to determine if this is true:

• Proteins: 33%;
• Fats: 16%;
• Ash content: 7.5%;
• Fiber: 4.5%;
• Water: 10%;
• Calcium: 1%;
• Phosphorus: 1%.

As is common with inexpensive pet foods, the manufacturer "forgot" to list the carbohydrate content. This is perfectly legal. But a simple math calculation shows that this food contains approximately 25-30% carbohydrates.

In principle, the nutrient content is within the normal range and can provide a cat with energy. But let's analyze how each indicator is achieved.

Squirrels

The ingredients list chicken, fish, and meat meal as protein sources. That's all. This means there's no meat as advertised, nor any additional meat ingredients. Meat meal, like fish meal, is a highly processed product. The ingredients used are whole fish, as well as any animal or poultry parts. The result is a powder that contains nothing beneficial other than the protein itself. Such ingredients are often added to boost protein levels. In this food, they are the main protein component. This is more of a drawback than a benefit.

Fats

Animal fat and soybean oil are added to the diet as lipids. Soybean oil contains many beneficial omega-6 and omega-9 fatty acids, but it is considered a cheap substitute for corn or sunflower oil and is added to foods to reduce costs.

As for animal fats, they're a cheap and low-quality source of lipids for cats. We don't know the quality of the raw material, so we can't judge how purified this fat is or what impurities it contains. We also don't know what part of the animal this product comes from. This is more of a disadvantage than a positive factor for the diet.

Carbohydrates

Judging by the fact that rice and corn are listed second and third in the ingredients, there really is a lot of them here. Apart from a small amount of vegetable protein, which is practically indigestible by cats, these products offer no nutritional benefit. They are indigestible by cats, and therefore merely serve as a "cheapener" of the final product.

Additional ingredients

There's not much to analyze here—there are only four additional nutrients: pulp, yeast, and flaxseed. Chicken liver extract, a strong-smelling substance that promotes food consumption, is used as a natural flavoring.

Beet pulp is a source of fiber. It has no other beneficial properties and is essentially a byproduct of beet processing.

Yeast maintains healthy skin and coat and promotes proper digestion. However, the source material and the condition in which this product was added to the food are not specified. We are unable to assess the quality of this ingredient.

Flaxseed is a high-quality source of Omega-3, as well as vitamins and antioxidants. However, this ingredient is listed near the end of the ingredients, meaning it's very low. Still, it's a good ingredient, and deserves a solid thumbs-up!

That's the entire composition. It can be called premium food simply because it doesn't contain any obvious chemicals or harmful additives. So, the high-class status of this food is just a marketing ploy by the manufacturer, nothing more.

Reviews of Night Hunter food

We studied the main pet forums where breeders share their opinions on pet food and nutrition. Because this brand's food is affordable and accessible to virtually every consumer, reviews of Night Hunter dry cat food can be found on virtually every website. Having reviewed all the available information, we can conclude that there are both satisfied customers who love these diets and staunch opponents of these diets.

Let's read the most vivid reviews about Night Hunter food:

Zoya, a British cat breeder:

"My Baron isn't picky and eats everything. But I can't cook him porridge, so I decided to switch to commercial food. At the store, they recommended Night Hunter dry food. I decided to give it a try and supported the domestic manufacturer. To be honest, I was apprehensive, but as it turns out, I needn't have. He eats happily, looks great, and his digestion is fine. We're happy!"

Alina, owner of the cat Veniamin:

"Venyk never picked on his food—we picked him up on the street, and he must have had a rough time there—the poor thing was starving. I fed him Royal, but the urge to save money is ineradicable. I bought a bag of Night Hunter to try. Let's just say I'll never buy that crap again! He vomited and had diarrhea for two days after his first feeding. The vet said it was the food—we threw out the rest and returned the old food—Venyk's health is more important."

We also encountered reviews in which people complained about the presence of foreign matter in wet food, specifically claws, scraps of cattle skin, and other things that should not be in the food.

As for doctors' opinions on this food, veterinarians' reviews of Night Hunter cat food are generally typical: it's an acceptable food if it's suitable for your cat. It's not complete, as the manufacturer states (the website does recommend supplementing with vitamins and minerals once a week), but it won't cause any significant harm to your cat. It's best to switch to higher-quality foods from reputable manufacturers as soon as possible.

We wish your pets good health, and hope that we were able to shed light on the food of this manufacturer.

Read also:

• Felix cat food
• Eukanuba cat food
• Bozita cat food