The scores
Nulo FreeStyle Adult Trim Salmon & Lentils Recipe: B/82 — Good. Deboned salmon first, turkey meal at two, chicken meal at three, whole peas at four, lentils at five. Three animal proteins fill the top three slots, with deboned cod at six.
Instinct Original Kibble Real Chicken Recipe: B/78 — Good. Chicken first, chicken meal at two, turkey meal at three, menhaden fish meal at four, peas at five. Its raw coating is freeze-dried pollock — the brand’s signature differentiator.
How the ingredients compare
The top five ingredients:
Nulo Cat: Deboned Salmon, Turkey Meal, Chicken Meal, Whole Peas, Lentils
Instinct Cat: Chicken, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Menhaden Fish Meal, Peas
Both formulas put a named animal protein first — deboned salmon for Nulo, chicken for Instinct — and both carry chicken meal and turkey meal in the top three. Instinct’s fourth ingredient is a third animal-protein source, menhaden fish meal; Nulo moves to whole peas and lentils at four and five, then returns to animal protein with deboned cod at six.
Instinct’s freeze-dried raw coating — freeze-dried pollock — coats the kibble as an outer layer. Instinct also brings in cranberries, apples, carrots, dried tomato pomace, and a Bacillus coagulans probiotic. Nulo’s deeper list adds sweet potato, taurine, dried chicory root, and a Bacillus coagulans probiotic — clean and dense but without Instinct’s freeze-dried raw outer-coating signature.
Where Nulo pulls ahead
Cleaner rubric architecture without sacrificing protein density. Nulo carries deboned salmon, turkey meal, and chicken meal in positions one through three and reinforces with deboned cod at six. The formula achieves premium nutritional density without relying on the freeze-dried-coating add-on, which some cats with sensitive digestion don’t tolerate. Shop on Amazon →
Where Instinct holds its own
Freeze-dried raw outer coating. Instinct’s signature production approach coats the kibble with freeze-dried pollock, a fish, listed after the vitamins and minerals.
Animal protein through the top four. Instinct’s top four reinforce chicken with turkey meal and menhaden fish meal before peas at five; Nulo reaches whole peas at four. Shop on Amazon →
The bottom line
Nulo wins B/82 to Instinct B/78 under the KibbleIQ Cat Food Rubric — a 4-point gap. Nulo FreeStyle Adult Trim Salmon & Lentils Recipe is the pick on rubric architecture. Instinct Original at B/78 is 4 points back but offers a freeze-dried raw coating of pollock and an all-animal top four. Both sit in the B tier; the choice depends on whether you weight ingredient-list architecture or the freeze-dried-coating upgrade more heavily. For more premium cat picks, see our best cat food for indoor cats guide.
Corrected 2026-10-19: we removed study and guideline citations we could not verify, and claims we could not support; we corrected factual errors, and grades and score comparisons that did not match our current scores.