Original Kibble Real Chicken Recipe
Instinct Original Kibble Real Chicken Recipe is a grain-free dry adult cat food. Its first ingredients are chicken, chicken meal and turkey meal. It has an Ingredients score of 86/100, a Nutrition score of 10/10 and nothing on our Avoid List. The lowest price we found is $4.09/lb (11 lb bag at Chewy).
Label checked Oct 27, 2026 · Price checked Oct 27, 2026
How It Scores
The first 5 ingredients count for 70%, the rest for 30%.
- Chicken
- 5 / 5
- Named animal protein
- Chicken Meal
- 5 / 5
- Named animal protein
- Turkey Meal
- 5 / 5
- Named animal protein
- Menhaden Fish Meal
- 5 / 5
- Named animal protein
- Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols)
- 4 / 5
- Named animal fat
- Other ingredients
- 3.1 / 5
- Average of the other 18 ingredients
Avoid List
0The label lists none of the additives we count.
The number of unwanted additives on the label, counted separately from the two scores: 0 is best. How we score
Adult targets. Values as listed on the label.
- Protein 41%
- 5 / 5
- Full points between 35% and 45%
- Fat 21%
- 5 / 5
- Full points between 15% and 22%
- Carbohydrates 19%
- 5 / 5
- Full points between 15% and 25%. Our estimate: the label does not list ash.
- Fiber 3%
- not scored
- Shown for information.
What Is in It
Dry matter means the food with the water taken out. It lets you compare foods with different moisture fairly.
| On the label | Dry matter | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein (min) | 41% | 45.1% |
| Fat (min) | 21% | 23.1% |
| Fiber (max) | 3% | 3.3% |
| Ash | not listed | - |
| Carbohydrates (estimate) | 19% | 20.9% |
| Moisture (max) | 9% | - |
| Calories | 4,300 kcal/kg · 505 kcal/cup | |
Label numbers are limits, not exact amounts: protein and fat are minimums, fiber and moisture are maximums.
Labels do not list carbohydrates, and this one does not list ash either. We estimate carbohydrates by assuming 7% ash, a typical value for dry cat food, and subtracting everything else from 100.
First 5 Ingredients
Ingredients are listed by weight, heaviest first. The first few usually make up most of the food.
All Ingredients (Label Order)
Chicken, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Menhaden Fish Meal, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Peas, Tapioca, Natural Flavor, Dried Tomato Pomace, Montmorillonite Clay, Carrots, Apples, Cranberries, Choline Chloride, Salt, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Biotin), Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Ethylenediamine Dihydroiodide), L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate, Freeze-Dried Pollock, Taurine, Pumpkin Seeds, Dried Bacillus coagulans Fermentation Product, Rosemary Extract
Estimated Monthly Cost
By your cat's weight, using the maker's daily amount and the cheapest bag. Your cat may eat more or less.
The maker gives the daily amount as a range by weight. We worked out the amount for each weight from that range, so it is an estimate.
Bags and Stores
Prices were checked by hand on the date shown and may have changed. Store links may earn us a commission at no cost to you. How this works
Similar Price, Better Ingredients
Same age group, a higher Ingredients score, a Nutrition score no more than 0.5 lower and no more unwanted additives, at most 20% more per pound.
Data source: The feeding chart uses 5, 10 and 15 lb rows; amounts for our weight bands are interpolated between them.
Last checked: Oct 27, 2026 ·Maker's page ·Suggest a correction