Natural Fish Flavor

Natural fish flavor is a flavoring made from fish without chemically synthetic processing, added so food tastes like fish. AAFCO allows a flavor to be named when a listed ingredient provides it. No authority we found flags it at typical levels. Fish is one of the most common food allergens in cats according to the Merck Veterinary Manual, so a cat with allergies or another medical condition should have its food chosen with a veterinarian.

Source: merckvetmanual.com

It is added to give dry food a fish taste and smell that many cats find appealing. Because the label names fish, you know the general source. It is used in small amounts for flavor. The main nutrition in the food comes from ingredients higher on the list.

Some are. The Merck Veterinary Manual names fish as one of the most common food allergens in cats, alongside beef. Food allergy in cats usually shows up as itching or skin problems, and sometimes as digestive upset. Merck says the reference test is an elimination diet trial of about 10 weeks, followed by a rechallenge, which a veterinarian should oversee.

Source: merckvetmanual.com

The label does not say. "Fish" names a group, so the flavoring could come from one or several species. FDA requires ingredients to appear by a common or usual name that describes the basic nature of the food, and this name leaves the species open. A flavor like "natural salmon flavor" names the species, which is more useful if you track a specific fish.

Source: fda.gov

Pettings gives natural fish flavor 2 out of 5 and lists it as a flavoring. It appears on 2 of the 149 dry cat foods we list. It tells you the general source, but it adds taste rather than nutrition and does not name the species. Each food's page shows how it scores overall.