A Cat Lover's Educational Website
by Doug Hines
This Website is Financially Supported by Cat Caregivers
What's in Your Cat's Food Dish? ®
- ABOVED AVERAGE CANNED FOOD -
You can scroll down this page to find the 'Winners' list, but you would be better advised to read through the preliminary information first. There is a lot to learn on this page which will help you understand the entire review grading process.
To date I have reviewed the ingredients of over 1,250 canned cat foods. You can get an excellent snapshot of the overall industry performance by looking at the product grade percentages below.
Below is my list of ‘better-than-average’ cat food brands. Keep in mind that I consider 91.5% of wet cat foods to be substandard (D+E+X). This is like picking the less damaged apples out of a trash can full of damaged apples. There are some, however, which are better than others.
Notice that I don’t just award a grade to any particular manufacturer overall. I choose particular products within a product line. Be careful - You may have an (X)-rejected ‘flavor’ within the same product line designated with others designated as (B)s. Don’t take it for granted that all of a particular manufacture’s products are good. Don't generalize that 'XYZ' cat food is all good.
Also notice that some of these products may have less-than-desired individual ingredients. You have to remember what kind of industry we are dealing with here. Out of a sea of bad products, one has to accept substandard ingredients some of the time. For example, some of the products below contain sodium selenite, which is bad if overdosed.
Be clear that I’m not recommending these cat foods. I’m just showing you which foods’ ingredients were better than others. Hopefully, you will review each product and make a choice for yourself.
Always keep this fact in mind - - there is no way to determine dietary quality from reading either the product's label or the ingredient list. Although a product may, on first glance, contain great ingredients, there is no way to determine how those ingredients were sourced. Is the manufacturer using diseased animal material and material sourced from non-slaughtered animals, i.e., euthanized, and/or drowned, and/or decomposing livestock, and/or animals commonly referred to as ‘road kill’ (allowed by the FDA)?
I have chosen the products below based solely on their ingredients list content. While the ingredients list is valuable because you can readily recognize substandard ingredients, it is also true that there is no way to determine the quality or the source of any of the ingredients.
Also... I do not pretend to know, or be aware of, or understand any of these companies' past history, past recall history, or anything else about them. Some of these companies have histories which have significantly damaged their reputations, and that damage continues to haunt them to this day. Hopefully, they have turned the corner and are now producing better quality products in better quality containers. Should I find out otherwise, I will remove them from the list promptly. Additionally, past performance regarding dog food is not necessarily representative of that with cat food, although one can certainly make the argument that both come out of the same factory.
The astute reader may notice that the products in the following lists have recently been rearranged and reorganized. I felt the adjustment was needed to reflect my studies regarding seafood. As expressed elsewhere on this website, because of it's natural propensity for contamination, fish/seafood should not be used as a primary daily food. Feeding your cat(s) fish often/regularly is not a good idea. Read more about that subject here.
Here's another thought for you... Once you have found your 'ideal' cat food, you still need to vary your cat's diet. It is probably best to mimic cats in the wild who are unlikely to eat the same thing meal after meal after meal. "Interestingly, being exposed to a single protein over the long term makes your cat more likely to develop an allergy to it." - Emily Parker - Catological.com (Doug's note: Although I consider Emily's work essential to the 'cat conversation,' I do not necessarily agree with her cat food reviews.)
Repeat Reminder: Individual products listed below do not mean that the entire brand is acceptable. In some instances the same company that produces a product rated (B) will also produce another one rated (X). Don’t take it for granted that all of a particular manufacturer’s products are good.
Finally, after reading the products lists below, it is so vitally important that you closely read my page regarding Transitioning to New Food. Transitioning is a process which requires care and attention.
I have included links to Chewy for your benefit. Clicking the links will take you directly to the Chewy product page where you can check the Nutritional Info yourself. You can also read the company-provided description (THE HYPE). I do not make a profit on product sales. I do, however, make a stipend should you become, and remain, a Chewy customer well into the future. In other words, I receive a pittance based on your long term satisfaction.
The percentages associated with each product below are Dry Matter Basis, which is calculated from As Fed Basis. The As Fed Basis is what you see on the can's label. The Dry Matter Basis excludes the can's moisture content, and reflects the balance expressed as a percentage of all the dry matter alone. Dry Matter Basis is the only way you can accurately compare two products side-by-side. It is also the only way you can compare wet food to dry food. One must convert both wet and dry to Dry Matter Basis before you can compare them. You can read about these calculations on the PawDiet website here.
In the percentages beside each product below, I have left out the percentage for 'fiber.' I did so only because I did not have room on the line for it. I was restricted by the length of the line in the website builder. So... 50.0% 31.8% 11.4% refers to 50.0% Protein, 31.8% Fat, and 11.4% Approximate Carbs. If the three percentages below don't add up to 100% it is because the percentage for Fiber is missing. Said another way, if you want to know the percentage of Fiber, subtract the other three percentages from 100.
Also note, for the purposes here, I did not include the percentages of ash.
The important thing to keep in mind is that the original As Fed Basis figures are supplied by the manufacturer, and as such, are questionable at best. After all... look at the integrity level we are working with here.
Be clear about one thing... After years of study, I am a proponent of feeding cats raw, bone-in food. I do not believe any canned foods are very good. You may, however, because of price or convenience, need to feed your cat something less than raw, bone-in food. There's one thing for sure... the canned foods below are CERTAINLY better than feeding dry food.
The following cat food list choices are based on current studies regarding the diets of feral cats and cats in the wild. Multiple studies show that the most common food source of these cats is rabbit (41.5%). The other 58.5% of food sources are primarily rodents, birds and insects.
Since no cat food manufacturer has produced a cat food based on rodents, birds and insects, a big part of a wild cat’s diet must be ignored in the search for a currently available commercial cat food. In other words, since I can’t go to the pet store and purchase 'Mice & Birds Brand' cat food, I’m ignoring the other 58% for now.
I am therefore basing my cat food choices as follows PLUS an evaluation of each product's ingredients.
Since domestic cats have been fed and are accustomed to eating to other foods, without supporting scientific data, I assign the following percentages to major food groups.
You know, out of 1,250 cat foods I have reviewed, one would think the list which follows would be a little longer. Nope. This short list is a direct reflection of the lack of integrity in the cat food industry. At least the products which follow are something to be thankful for - in a sea of substandard products.
Primary Daily Feeding Choices:
Intermittent, Supplemental, Occasional Feeding Choices:
* I have reservations about including products from Evanger's because of their history of questionable practices. I include this one product only because there aren't many products containing rabbit available in the marketplace. There are 18 other products containing rabbit, but they are all substandard.
Don't make the mistake of comparing the percentages for Primary Daily Feeding Choices to the percentages for Intermittent, Supplemental, Occasional Feeding Choices. You can only reliably compare products within each group. You may also notice percentages which are higher in a product graded 'C' vs. one graded 'B'. For example, although a 'C' has more protein than a 'B', the 'C' may have other questionable ingredients.
(Obviously some items below are poultry + another major food category. However, poultry is the primary ingredient.)
Primary Daily Feeding Choices:
Intermittent, Supplemental, Occasional Feeding Choices:
Don't make the mistake of comparing the percentages for Primary Daily Feeding Choices to the percentages for Intermittent, Supplemental, Occasional Feeding Choices. You can only reliably compare products within each group. You may also notice percentages which are higher in a product graded 'C' vs. one graded 'B'. For example, although a 'C' has more protein than a 'B', the 'C' may have other questionable ingredients.
(Obviously some items below are seafood + another major food category. However, seafood is the primary ingredient.)
(Some of the foods in this list are more than 'single or individual foods, i.e. they contain other ingredients. They are included as intermittent, supplemental, occasional feeding choices because they contain fish.)
Intermittent, Supplemental, Occasional Feeding Choices:
Finally, I guess all of this in-depth ingredient analysis can itself be viewed with skepticism. Maybe the most important questions are... How does your pet respond to the food? Does your cat turn up his/her nose and turn around and run away from the dish? (My cat Bubby expresses himself very clearly when he doesn't like a particular food. He begins pawing... as if trying to cover up the nasty, unpleasant, objectionable stuff... just like he would cover his poop in the litter box. LOL)
Cats in the wild, and feral cats, usually eat a diet of rabbits, mice & rats, birds, reptiles/amphibians, small mammals and insects. You Know... Not one of the 1,200 cat food cans I have reviewed contain any of those ingredients (except for rabbit). Imagine going in a pet food store and asking for 'Mice & Birds' cat food. LOL Ignoring reality because society may find it unpleasant is just another example of marketing shaping our lives.
Love to you and your cat(s). - Doug Hines
The manufacture’s website info and product label design doesn’t matter. Advertising doesn't matter. Internet product reviews and caregiver’s testimonials don't matter. Whether or not your cats’ “like” it doesn’t matter (all kids like junk food).
“If you are feeding canned cat food, the ONLY things that matter to your cats’ future and wellbeing are the ingredients in the can and the quality of those ingredients." - Doug Hines
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Information on this website is provided for general purposes only. It should not be considered as a substitute for professional veterinary advice, care and treatment. Nothing herein is intended to treat, heal, or otherwise be considered as medical advice or treatment. Contact your veterinarian with any questions regarding your cat's diet or health. See additional details here.
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What's In Your Cat's Food Dish?®