Castor and Pollux Natural Ultramix Indulgent Mix canned dog food receives the Advisor’s top rating of 5 stars.

The Castor and Pollux Natural Ultramix Indulgent Mix product line includes 6 grain-free canned dog foods.

Each recipe below includes its related AAFCO nutrient profile when available on the product’s official webpage: Growth, Maintenance, All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.

Important: Because many websites do not reliably specify which Growth or All Life Stages recipes are safe for large breed puppies, we do not include that data in this report. Be sure to check actual packaging for that information.

• Indulgent Mix Venison, White Potatoes and Carrots [A]
• Indulgent Mix All-Beef Sausage Links and Sweet Potato [A]
• Indulgent Mix Beef Tripe & Chicken, Apples and Green Peas [A]
• Indulgent Mix Whole Chicken Thigh, Carrots and Sweet Potato [A]
• Indulgent Mix Duck & Venison, Green Beans with Wild Rice (4.5 stars) [A]
• Indulgent Mix Minced Chicken & Bacon with Fresh Tomatoes (4.5 stars) [A]

Castor and Pollux Natural Ultramix Grain Free Indulgent Mix Beef Tripe and Chicken, Apples and Green Peas was selected to represent the other products in the line for this review.

Ingredient Analysis

The first ingredient in this dog food is beef tripe. Tripe usually consists of the first three chambers of a cud-chewing animal’s stomach. As unappetizing as it may seem to us humans, tripe is favored by dogs and sometimes even includes the stomach’s contents, too.

The second ingredient is beef broth. Broths are of only modest nutritional value. Yet because they add both flavor and moisture to a dog food, they are a common addition component in many canned products.

The third ingredient is beef. Beef is defined as “the clean flesh derived from slaughtered cattle” and includes skeletal muscle or the muscle tissues of the tongue, diaphragm, heart or esophagus.¹

The fourth ingredient is chicken. Chicken is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of chicken”.²

Both beef and chicken are naturally rich in the ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.

The fifth ingredient includes carrots. Carrots are rich in beta-carotene, minerals and dietary fiber.

The sixth ingredient is dried egg product, a dehydrated form of shell-free eggs. Quality can vary significantly. Lower grade egg product can even come from commercial hatcheries — from eggs that have failed to hatch.

In any case, eggs are easy to digest and have an exceptionally high biological value.

The seventh ingredient is beef liver. This is an organ meat sourced from a named animal and thus considered a beneficial component.

The eighth ingredient includes green beans, a healthy vegetable notable for its vitamin, mineral and natural fiber content.

The ninth ingredient is sweet potato. Sweet potatoes are a gluten-free source of complex carbohydrates in a dog food. They are naturally rich in dietary fiber and beta carotene.

From here, the list goes on to include a number of other items.

But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to affect the overall rating of this product.

With five notable exceptions…

First, we find sunflower oil. Sunflower oil is nutritionally similar to safflower oil. Since these oils are high in omega-6 fatty acids and contain no omega-3’s, they’re considered less nutritious than canola or flaxseed oils.

Sunflower oil is notable for its resistance to heat damage during cooking.

There are several different types of sunflower oil, some better than others. Without knowing more, it’s impossible to judge the quality of this ingredient.

Next, this food includes dried peas. Dried peas are a good source of carbohydrates. Plus they’re naturally rich in dietary fiber.

However, dried peas contain about 27% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the meat content of this dog food.

In addition, we note the inclusion of pea protein, what remains of a pea after removing the starchy part of the vegetable.

Even though it contains over 80% protein, this ingredient would be expected to have a lower biological value than meat.

And less costly plant-based products like this can notably boost the total protein reported on the label — a factor that must be considered when judging the meat content of this dog food.

Next, flaxseed is one of the best plant sources of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Provided they’ve first been ground into a meal, flax seeds are also rich in soluble fiber.

However, flaxseed contains about 19% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this dog food.

And lastly, this food contains chelated minerals, minerals that have been chemically attached to protein. This makes them easier to absorb. Chelated minerals are usually found in better dog foods.

Nutrient Analysis

Judging by its ingredients alone, Castor and Pollux Natural Ultramix Indulgent Mix looks like an above-average canned dog food.

But ingredient quality by itself cannot tell the whole story. We still need to estimate the product’s meat content before determining a final rating.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 50%, a fat level of 17% and estimated carbohydrates of about 25%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 46% and a mean fat level of 21%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 25% for the overall product line.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 45%.

Above-average protein. Below-average fat. And below-average carbs when compared to a typical canned dog food.

Even when you consider the protein-boosting effect of the pea products and flaxseed, this looks like the profile of a wet product containing a significant amount of meat.

Bottom line?

Castor and Pollux Natural Ultramix Indulgent Mix is a meat-based canned dog food using a significant amount of named meats as its main sources of animal protein, thus earning the brand 5 stars.

Enthusiastically recommended.

Please note certain recipes are sometimes given a higher or lower rating based upon our estimate of their total meat content and (when appropriate) their fat-to-protein ratios.

Castor and Pollux Dog Food Recall History

The following list (if present) includes all dog food recalls since 2009 directly related to this product line. If there are no recalls listed in this section, we have not yet reported any events.

You can view a complete list of all dog food recalls sorted by date. Or view the same list sorted alphabetically by brand.

To learn why our ratings have nothing to do with a product’s recall history, please visit our Dog Food Recalls FAQ page.

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