Vital Essentials Freeze-Dried Raw Duck Entree & Mixer Soft Nibs Cat Food, 12-oz bag

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At a Glance

  • Raw
  • Grain-Free
  • Gluten Free
  • Natural
  • Limited Ingredient Diet
  • High-Protein
  • Immune Support
  • Skin & Coat Health
  • Made in USA
  • All Lifestages

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About This Item

Details

  • These freeze-dried soft nibs are packed with extra protein from premium, butcher-cut duck and offer complete and balanced nutrition for your cat.
  • Made in the USA using high-quality proteins sourced from trusted American and European farms.
  • Premium raw muscles and organs provide a natural source of vitamins and minerals to support energetic play, healthy skin, a shiny coat, strong teeth, and essential gut health.
  • Vital Essentials cat food and treats are crafted with farm-raised, humanely harvested proteins, going above industry standards to preserve their natural flavor and nutrients.
  • Made with whole animal protein and no additives, fillers, dyes, flavorings, artificial preservatives, legumes, grains, or rendered by-products—perfect for picky eaters and pets with allergies.

Ingredient Information

Feeding Instructions

The Raw Truth

Just 20% raw can boost your pet’s health, and Vital Essentials makes it easy! Made with whole animal Butcher Cut Protein, these entrees contain no fillers or artificial additives. Feed as a meal or mixer for simple, complete raw nutrition.

Even 20% Makes A Difference

Every pet deserves the benefits of raw protein. Add raw meals weekly, mix with kibble, or offer as a treat. Even a small amount—just 20% of their daily intake—can make a big difference in their health.

No Shortcuts. Only Butcher Cuts.

Butcher Cut Protein is made with carefully sourced, farm-raised meats. It’s ground once and freeze-dried a full 48 hours at Vital Essentials’ state-of-the-art USA facility to lock in the nutrients your pet deserves.

Today’s Special: Lifelong Vitality

Support your pet's health with Vital Essentials. These protein-rich diets promote strong muscles—ideal for active pets. The recipes also help boost immunity and heart health and come in a range of delicious options.

About Vital Essentials

Vital Essentials creates healthy, delicious, and biologically appropriate food using real, ethically sourced meat and premium ingredients. Made right here in the USA, because your best friend deserves nothing less.

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Questions & Answers

2 Customer Questions

What is the phosphorus percentage in this food on a dry matter basis?

How are the animals which are used as this pet food produce - raised, fed, farmed and pharmaceuticaled (aka are they administered hormones, antibiotics or other drugs during their lifespan)?

Answer by Chewy • Oct 13, 2025
The animals used in Vital Essentials diets are farm-raised and pastured as appropriate for the species. They do not require that all of their animal ingredients be raised 100% cage-free or free-range in order to ensure their protection against pests, predators, and disease. All animals are given an adequate environment with proper space, feed, water, shelter, and regular veterinary care. Vital Essentials takes great pride in sourcing the highest quality ingredients available through a network of carefully vetted suppliers. Some of the animal ingredients may be raised with vaccines and/or antibiotics, as the use of vaccines and antibiotics is considered standard care for prevention and treatment of disease. Regarding hormones, it's important to note that the use of hormones in poultry is prohibited by federal law, so none of their poultry is raised with added hormones. It's also important to note that there is a federally required withdrawal period for hormones, antibiotics, and vaccines in all food animals in the United States. All of our ingredients comply with the FDA-required withdrawal period before harvest.
Reviews
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3.9
Rated 3.9 out of 5 stars
25 Ratings
Terms & Conditions

22 Customer Reviews

Rated 1 out of 5 stars
By Jayson on Dec 29, 2025

Too big for automatic feeder

The formula went from just one of the nib sizes which was perfect for the feeder to a soft and a crunchy, but no other description sizing so I can’t use these for

The formula went from just one of the nib sizes which was perfect for the feeder to a soft and a crunchy, but no other description sizing so I can’t use these for my feeder as they are too large

Rated 3 out of 5 stars
By Beckett12 on Oct 7, 2025

Ok but Cats not thrilled

I was trying to just find something different for my cats to eat if for nothing else but variety. One of my boys did seem to like it and other one did not. Same

I was trying to just find something different for my cats to eat if for nothing else but variety. One of my boys did seem to like it and other one did not. Same thing for the chicken flavor of this brand so I took it off my autoship and will stick with other brand that they seem to like better.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars
By Gayle on Dec 10, 2025

Styrofoam

It smelled like old fish and crumbled like styrofoam. My cats looked at me like I was crazy and walked away.

It smelled like old fish and crumbled like styrofoam. My cats looked at me like I was crazy and walked away.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars
By CJ on Jun 5, 2025

Good but has large bone fragments

The pellets are actually not that soft and need to be crumbled with your fingers and dehydrated. As I am doing that, something sharp stabs my finger as I'm crumbling

The pellets are actually not that soft and need to be crumbled with your fingers and dehydrated. As I am doing that, something sharp stabs my finger as I'm crumbling it. In almost every pellet, there are sharp bone fragments including one that looked like a claw? Could be dangerous for my cat so I remove the bones. Also one pellet had red on it, maybe blood from the production line? My cat likes this but I feel like the QC is not there and it kind of gross.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars
By VitEss on Apr 18, 2025
Received Free Product

Quality Product. Picky Cats.

Vital Essentials has clean clear packaging showcasing thier raw food philosophy, ingredient profile and feeding guidelines. The pellets are peanut size and I initially

Vital Essentials has clean clear packaging showcasing thier raw food philosophy, ingredient profile and feeding guidelines. The pellets are peanut size and I initially gave one pellet to each cat (Billie the Kitten - 5yrs 19lb wild child & Ralphie Pants - 9yrs 17lb snugbug) . They were VERY interested in the stinky duck smell pellet but turn thier noses up without even a nibble. The bag doesn't give much "instruction" besides guidelines on transitioning to Raw. Theres one blurb "crumble and hydrate for moisture boost" . So crumbling and hydrating and mixing with thier food still didnt convince them to taste it... but they're Cats!! Not surprising. I was hopeful though. I only took 1 star because my cats are normal picky eating cats 🐈 😻

Rated 5 out of 5 stars
By Kleokatt on Apr 15, 2025
Received Free Product

Fantastic, healthy snack for cats and dogs.

I was worried about the size of the pieces, at first, since they seem large for cats, but the texture is super soft and airy. My younger cats were able to easily

I was worried about the size of the pieces, at first, since they seem large for cats, but the texture is super soft and airy. My younger cats were able to easily chew the bits apart, and I was able to crush them up with my hand for my older cats. I even mashed a few and added water to make a wet food. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed them, even my two dogs. The simple ingredients make this a great, protein-rich snack for between meals.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars
By Liana on Jun 7, 2025
Received Free Product

Great food!

I really like this food and all 5 of my cats do too. I use it mixed in with their kibble and they definitely prefer this over the kibble (unfortunately my wallet

I really like this food and all 5 of my cats do too. I use it mixed in with their kibble and they definitely prefer this over the kibble (unfortunately my wallet doesn't agree lol). The ingredients are simple and it's not full of fillers or unnecessary junk a cat doesn't need to be eating.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars
By Suz1 on Apr 21, 2025
Received Free Product

All the cats LOVE these soft nibs

All of my cats really love these little soft nibs. One even tried to eat the plastic strip from the top of the bag because of the appealing smell. The two Siamese

All of my cats really love these little soft nibs. One even tried to eat the plastic strip from the top of the bag because of the appealing smell. The two Siamese loved them — one ate them whole and the other wanted his broken up. The other cats (both young and senior) loved these broken up as a wet food topper. Even one of my middle aged cats who usually refuses to eat anything crumbled on top of his food, just loved these soft nibs. Several cats gobbled theirs from their own bowl and were trying to steal the crumbles from the top of their “neighbor’s” bowl. So my cats give this food many “dew claws up” for these nibs. I like the simple ingredients without any additives. I haven’t yet tried crumbling and rehydrating the food, but I am going to try it. Food changes in cats should be made slowly, so I just haven’t had a chance to do that yet. There are specific instructions for rehydrating the food on the bag. I think this would make transitioning to raw quite easy.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars
By Linda on Apr 15, 2025
Received Free Product

All the cats love it!

My cats loved this food. I use it as treats for them. I couldn’t even put it out and 2 of them were jumping on the counter to get to it. The others did like it rehydrated

My cats loved this food. I use it as treats for them. I couldn’t even put it out and 2 of them were jumping on the counter to get to it. The others did like it rehydrated with water and ate every piece. I did break it up before adding the water. They are very dry pieces without the water. I love the ingredients. Especially since one of my cats are diabetic so I know it’s good for him to eat. The bag was larger than I expected and it’s lasts a lot longer than I thought it would.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars
By Michelle on Apr 26, 2025
Received Free Product

Good, but didn’t work for my cats

None of my cats liked this food, unfortunately. One of my cats did like it at first, but every time I tried to give him a small dish (I broke up the pieces and rehydrated

None of my cats liked this food, unfortunately. One of my cats did like it at first, but every time I tried to give him a small dish (I broke up the pieces and rehydrated in a small about of water to make a wet food), he would regurgitate it within 10 minutes. I did like how it seems like a good food too, but unfortunately just doesn’t seem like I can feed it to my cats.