Which of the two to pick?

If I had to pick between the two I'd say Purina One Beyond.

However, would you be open to suggestions that are within the same price range, but would be much better quality?

If you can help it, neither.

Here are some articles on Nutro Max:
http://petfoodtalk.com/catfoodreviews/nutro-max/
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Cat-Food-...-Catfood-1.htm

And on Purina One Beyond:
http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/art...you-think.html
http://www.dogforums.com/dog-food-fo...ne-beyond.html (I know that it's a dog forum, but it refers to cats and the quality is pretty synonymous.)

What other brands are available to you? Can you make it to a feed store or another place that sells better foods?

I'd write a longer post but I'm so tired I think my head's going to roll off of my shoulders.

I think Purina is one of the not-so-good cat food brands, when I was checking ingredients (wet food), there were a lot of animal by-products and grains.
If it's all right to ask, I have a little question: Does anybody know if Nutro Max the same as Natural Choice Nutro MaxCat? Sometimes these brand names can be confusing

Between the two, I would go with Purina One Beyond. Take note though that really cats are getting most of their energy from protein (you want mostly meat protein, not plant) and fat, that's what you're paying for.

The richer grain-free products like Wellness Core and Blue Wilderness and the like have more quality meat protein and less cheap fillers, and so you can feed less, and the price difference is therefor less than it might seem.

You probably already know, but just like to mention to include some wet food in their diet as well, for added hydration, and have clean water (preferably a fountain) available at all times.

Nutro Max:
Chicken Meal, Ground Rice, Wheat Flour, Corn Gluten Meal, Poultry Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Dried Plain Beet Pulp, Natural Flavors, Soybean Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Rice Flour, Chicken, Tomato Pomace, Oat Fiber, Yeast Culture, Potassium Chloride, Salt....
Crude Protein (min.) \t30.00%
Crude Fat (min.) \t15.00%
Crude Fiber (max.) \t4.00%

Purina One Beyond
Chicken, chicken meal, whole oat meal, whole barley, soybean meal, whole brown rice, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), dried beet pulp, dried egg product, natural flavor, fish oil, caramel color, salt...
Crude Protein (Min) \t26.0% <- quite low
Crude Fat (Min) \t17.0%
Crude Fiber (Max) \t4.0%

What I'd recommend:
Blue Wilderness (notice the main ingredients are named duck, chicken, and turkey with much more protein and the fat being named chicken rather than 'mystery' and no common allergens like soy):
Deboned Duck, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Potato Starch, Fish Meal, Chicken Fat, Peas, Whole Potatoes, Flaxseed, Natural Chicken Flavor, Alfalfa Meal, Whole Carrots, Whole Sweet Potatoes, Cranberries, Blueberries.
Crude Protein \t40.0% min
Crude Fat \t18.0% min
Crude Fiber \t3.5% max

Neither is very good. Good foods for about the same price are Blue Buffalo, Wellness and By Nature.

Hi maquignon! Just for your info, Nutro Max is less expensive than either Blue Buffalo or Wellness. I am not familiar with By Nature. The 3 I am familiar with are all fine foods.

Neither. Purina is low quality food and Nutro Max is medium quality at best. Just look at the ingredient comparison that Ducman69 posted.

Nutro Max is less expensive than BB, but that is because they use inferior ingredients.

If your budget will allow and your cats will eat them, try some premium brands such as Wellness, Blue Buffalo, Taste of the Wild, etc.

We know, but if someone came on and said, what's a better diet for my child- cookies or brownies? Wouldn't you suggest fruits and vegetables regardless of the comparison? It's really hard to look at 2 foods full of fillers, corn, and minimal meat and pick a better one.
I apologize, but that was my first reaction.
I wanted to be helpful, that's why I asked if there are any other brands available or another store you can go to, to possibly find a better food than either.

If my life were dependent on it and there's absolutely nothing better you can find, I would say Purina One Beyond is better, but it has really low protein for a cat.

Thats a trick question, since the obvious answer is a soft brownie sandwiched between two cookies.

I'm sorry, but. . .

Ducman69 took a lot of time to provide ingredient lists to show why one is better than the other - but, of course, feed the best CANNED food you can afford. I'm of the camp that the more cat appropriate (carnivore appropriate) we can feed them the less likely we'll be treating them medically for things like diabetes or UTD's.

This was your question: Which is better for my cats: Nutro Max or Purina One Beyond?

So it seems you are interested in a good diet for your cats, guess that's why you received so many other helpful comments.

Have you heard of http://binkyspage.tripod.com/canfood.html:
You might find some helpful information there, too?

The way pet food manufacturers are being bought out by bigger chains, any information given now may change due to new ownership, anyway.

Oh, maybe you just want to know for your blog? Interesting blog, btw.
g

neither a good for cats. my cats eat wellness complete health dry food. and they eat fancy feast grain free only canned and purina proplan gluten free ones. neither of them will eat highter meat canned food. u can also try feeding natures varitey dry food, wellness, chicken soup for the cat lovers soul, felidae.

I would stick with the nutro max for now. Here is my reasoning. The beyond just came out. It may end up being discontinued after a few months.

Since we now know your cats are already on Nutro Max, I agree, I'd keep them on it. Purina One Beyond has slightly better ingredients, but as pointed out, the protein level is low enough to be a concern.

You are absolutely right. I did not answer your question. I apologize. If those are your only two options, by all means choose Purina One Beyond. It is a far better food. Reasons - The first two ingredients in Purina are meat. Nutro has only one. Purina uses whole grains with the nutrients intact. Nutro uses grain particles, a sure sign of a very low quality food. How nutritious can wheat flour and rice flour be? Nutro uses corn gluten, the protein part of the corn used by the lowest of the low quality foods to boost the protein percentage with cheap, hard to digest plant protein. Here is a quote copied from Nutro's own website advertising their new grain free dog food (the worst grain free food there is). "Completely gluten free – the grain component that’s hardest to digest." Nutro has a slightly higher protein percentage but a big part of it is plant protein from corn. The quality of the protein is far more important than the percentage and corn protein is very low quality. Purina has more fruits and vegetables with the natural vitamins and minerals and they are higher up on the list. Purina has a much better balance of Omega 6 to Omega 3 fatty acids. Doesn't make much difference how much Omega 6 if there is not a balance of Omega 3. They both use menadione, which, in my book is reason enough not to use either one but if you must choose between these two, Purina One Beyond beats Nutro Max by a country mile.

You are absolutely right. I did not answer your question. I apologize. If those are your only two options, by all means choose Purina One Beyond. It is a far better food. Reasons - The first two ingredients in Purina are meat. Nutro has only one. Purina uses whole grains with the nutrients intact. Nutro uses grain particles, a sure sign of a very low quality food. How nutritious can wheat flour and rice flour be? Nutro uses corn gluten, the protein part of the corn used by the lowest of the low quality foods to boost the protein percentage with cheap, hard to digest plant protein. Here is a quote copied from Nutro's own website advertising their new grain free dog food (the worst grain free food there is). "Completely gluten free – the grain component that’s hardest to digest." Nutro has a slightly higher protein percentage but a big part of it is plant protein from corn. The quality of the protein is far more important than the percentage and corn protein is very low quality. Purina has more fruits and vegetables with the natural vitamins and minerals and they are higher up on the list. Purina has a much better balance of Omega 6 to Omega 3 fatty acids. Doesn't make much difference how much Omega 6 if there is not a balance of Omega 3. They both use menadione, which, in my book is reason enough not to use either one but if you must choose between these two, Purina One Beyond beats Nutro Max by a country mile.

Last I checked Nutro Max was around 13.6 cents a pound for the medium sized bag as was Purina Beyond.

Then you got a bargain