After hearing about this fresh cat food from other cat bloggers and seeing it multiple times on Facebook and Instagram, I finally decided to pull the trigger and give Nom Nom Now a shot. It’s not like my cat Java had any imperative reasons to switch to a different cat food – she’s healthy, maintains a great weight, and enjoyed the cat food she was already having.
The biggest reason for trying it out were the nutritional differences between Nom Nom Now and your typical wet canned cat food. Nom Nom’s cat food recipes have significantly more protein and less fat than average wet food brands like Purina and Instinct and tailors the amount of food to your cats nutritional needs. This is important, because research shows overfeeding is an important risk factor for cat obesity, especially with diets that are higher in fat.
Here’s how Nom Nom works
When you first sign up, they have you create a profile for your pet. This includes questions about your cat’s current weight, target weight, preferred meals (Chicken Cuisine or Fish Feast), and health issues like allergies or arthritis. You have to complete all of this before you can even get a quote for their food, since they decide the portions based on your answers.
After filling in the typical billing and shipping information they give you an opportunity to add on treats, then they finally reveal an overview of your pet’s meal plan and how much you can expect to spend each month. All plans start with a 2-week trial so that you can test out the recipes and see if they’re a good fit for your pet.
Pricing
Thankfully when I signed up for Nom Nom they were offering 2-week trials at 50% off their normal price. As of 6/14/2020, you can still get 50% off if you want to try them out yourself. Java was roughly 6 lb at the time and I said she was looking to gain a few pounds to reach her target weight, so they quoted me $31.31 for 2 weeks worth of cat food.
I didn’t like that it wasn’t easy to compare the price per serving of their meals versus canned alternatives, but I figured after testing it out I’d be able to fairly compare Nom Nom to a decent wet cat food. In Java’s case, we got 14 90g chicken meals and 14 70g fish meals, which means their meals cost roughly $.71/oz.
They’re are plenty of great wet cat foods on the market that meet AAFCO standards and could be used for this comparison, but I think Purina Beyond offers the best intersection between quality and price. It’s available for prime shipping on Amazon, exceeds AAFCO standards, and doesn’t contain any of these 10 major ingredients that shouldn’t be seen in cat food.
“We’re All About Cats” rated Nom Nom with an overall score of 8/10 and Purina Beyond with an overall score of 6.8/10, which is closer than I thought the comparison would be. In terms of cost, Purina Beyond can be bought on Amazon for $17.76/case which translates to ~$.25/oz. That makes Nom Nom about three times as expensive as an average wet cat food alternative.
For me personally, it’s hard to justify spending three times as much on a food brand that only ranks slightly better than wet cat foods that meet AAFCO standards and contain only safe ingredients.
My Experience With Nom Nom Now Cat Food
The box arrived as promised 2 weeks after ordering, full of individually sealed meals that were kept fresh with two huge, reusable cooling packs. There was also a handy instruction booklet that included nutritional information and tips for transitioning my cat to the Nom Nom diet.
Honestly, I thought Java would be a huge fan considering she was never a picky eater. Before Nom Nom I was feeding her a variety of canned wet food from Purina and Instinct and thought she would eat anything. To my surprise, she never really took a liking to Nom Nom and rarely finished her food.
I thought the temperature of the food might be the issue, so I tried serving it in a variety of methods to get the temperature right – warming the package in warm water, leaving it out at room temp before serving, mixing in boiled water to heat the food directly. This seemed to help a bit, but alas, she still was never as excited about meal time as when I fed her canned cat food.
This also made it considerably less convenient than canned cat food. I had to keep some Nom Nom packs frozen in the freezer, make sure some were dethawing in the fridge, and finally try to warm the food to a temperature she was okay with when serving.
Java and I made it through the two week trial, and I’m sad to say we’ve now switched back to canned cat food. Canceling her subscription was fairly easy . Unfortunately, it can only be done by email or phone, but they replied quickly to my email request and I didn’t have any issues cancelling.
Final Thoughts
Although my experience may lead you to think Nom Nom isn’t worth it, that’s not my intention. Java can be picky at times, and just because she didn’t like the food doesn’t mean your cat won’t. There are dozens of consumer reviews that rave about how much their cats love Nom Nom. As far as cost goes, I do think it’s a bit overpriced when compared with the alternatives. For my one cat alone, Nom Nom costs almost $1000 more per year than a diet of Purina Beyond. Nom Nom is clearly much healthier than your average canned cat food, both in terms of ingredients and macros, but it’s hard to justify spending three times more.
If finances weren’t a factor, I might have spent more time trying to get Java to like her food, because I do think Nom Nom is the healthiest cat food option on the market. BUT, I also know that by working with my vet, feeding Java a healthy amount of quality wet cat food, and monitoring her weight, she’ll still be a super healthy cat.
The Pros
- Macros are significantly better than most wet cat food
- Food is prepared fresh every week
- They support local adoption centers through their Adoption Program
- Customer service was responsive and understanding
The Cons
- Expensive
- Limited choices for cat meals
Are you feeding your cats Nom Nom Now?
- Does your cat enjoy eating Nom nom Now?
- Do you prefer feeding your cats another food brand over Nom Nom?
- Are you thinking about trying Nom Nom?
My thoughts and opinions are based on personal experience, research and secondhand accounts, but I am by no means a professional cat expert or licensed in any way. I would love to hear what your personal experiences with Nom Nom have been and I’m sure other cat parents would appreciate learning from your experience as well!
Let me know in the comments below!
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