Each food is rated by stars (1 is worst, 5 is best) and price (1 dollar sign is cheapest, 4 dollar signs is most expensive) for your information. The website address of the food is given if you'd like to do some research on your own.
Use the links below to jump between reviews, or you can alternatively just read through them all if you'd like. It's up to you. I've included most brands that people have heard of, and some great food brands that many may not have heard of yet.
Not every flavor of every food is rated, so one variety of each was chosen. Rest assured that foods rarely vary from one flavor to another within the same brand. So if you're ready, start browsing!
Rating: */*****
Price: $/$$$$
Website: http://www.9lives.com
Ingredients:
Whole ground corn, poultry by-product meal, corn gluten meal, soybean meal, whole wheat, meat & bone meal, animal fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), salmon, chicken, beef, animal digest, salt, phosphoric acid, choline chloride, titanium dioxide, potassium chloride, vitamins (vitamin E supplement, niacin supplement, d-calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin supplement, vitamin A supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, menadione sodium bisulfite complex, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement), taurine, minerals (ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, manganous oxide, copper sulfate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), red 40, yellow 5, yellow 6, potassium sorbate (used as a preservative), BHA (used as a preservative), blue 1, rosemary extract.
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| Nothing to write about. | Far too many low-quality grains, low animal protein content, inclusion of wheat, animal digest, by-products, salt is too high on list. |
Review:
When we look at the ingredient list above, several things come out right away. First, there's 4 fillers within the first 5 ingredients that give the cat basically nothing nutritionally. Next, the main meat product is a by-product, which means your cat eating this is probably chowing down on intestines, feathers and beaks. Also, look at all those artificial colors at the end. Are those really necessary? What does a cat really care about how vibrant their food is?
Sure, you see salmon, chicken and beef listed, but they are very late in the ingredients and are also weighed before the dehydration process so that the real protein content isn't as great as it's purported to be here.
The infamous "animal digest" makes an appearance later on in the ingredient list, making the perfect trifecta of crappy ingredients: Corn gluten meal, by-products, and animal digest. Bravo!
Rating: **/*****
Price: $$/$$$$
Website: http://www.petsmart.com
Ingredients:
Chicken, Chicken Meal, Brewers Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Ground Corn, Animal Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Natural Flavor, Beet Pulp, Dried Egg Product, Canola Oil, Corn Oil, Potassium Chloride, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2 Polyphosphate, Niacin, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamin Mononitrate, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement), Choline Chloride, Minerals (Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Dicalcium Phosphate, Taurine.
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| First 2 ingredients are meats. | Terrible grain choices: brewers rice, 2 corn sources, no Omega fatty acid sources, no fruits/veggies. |
Review:
I believe this is the PetSmart brand of food, as it is the only place I've found it and it is the only website I found it advertised on. It's quite prominent in the store, so I've included it here.
Being as how they're the largest pet store retailer in the USA, my guess is that they know what good nutrition really should be. This food starts out well but then fizzles in a big bang. The start, with chicken and chicken meal, shows good protein sources for the cat. There are no by-products, and no digusting animal digest. These are definitely good signs.
But then it just falls apart. Brewers rice and 2 instances of corn tell us that what they are trying to do is basically fill the rest of the food with garbage, hoping that the meat products alone make it a quality product. That's really only half the game, though. It's true cats are carnivores, but they can benefit from good fiber sources like fruits and veggies, and from quality grains that are easily digested. I don't see that here.
Based on the meats, it gets a 2 star rating, there's nothing in this food to move it past that.
Rating: ***/*****
Price: $$$/$$$$
Website: http://www.avoderm.com
Ingredients:
Chicken Meal, Ground Whole Corn, Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Ascorbic Acid), Ground Whole Brown Rice, Ground Whole Wheat, Herring Meal, Natural Flavor, Tomato Pomace, Dried Chicken Liver, Dried Brewers Yeast, Dried Chicory Root, Avocado Oil, Avocado Meal, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Taurine Supplement, Lecithin, Dried Yucca Schidigera, DL-Methionine, Dried Kelp, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement (Source of Vitamin B2), Niacin, Choline Chloride, Calcium Pantothenate, Folic Acid, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Source of Vitamin B6), Thiamine Mononitrate (Source of Vitamin B1), Biotin, Ascorbic Acid (Source of Vitamin C), Zinc Polysaccharide Complex, Manganese Polysaccharide Complex, Iron Polysaccharide Complex, Copper Polysaccharide Complex, Cobalt Polysaccharide Complex, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite.
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| Two meat meal products, whole brown rice, avocado oil/meals are good ingredient. | Corn is 2nd and 3rd, wheat is used as filler, brewers yeast used. |
Review:
This food is centered (and named) around the fact that they use avocados in their food. THis is pretty unique, as I've never seen it before. I won't deny that it's a good ingredient, and although it may be a little gimmicky (they could easily use other ingredients that are more commonly found in foods to get the same nutrients), it's a solid inclusion.
This food would actually be a top-tier food if it weren't for their poor selection of grains. You have chicken meal as the first ingredient, and herring meal later on. There are no by-products or other disgusting animal parts found in this food. So as far as their protein selections go, they're doing pretty well.
Again though, using corn and wheat as the biggest source of grains is really disappointing. They do utilize whole grain rice, but it's too far down from where it should be. Corn and wheat are cheaper, but they also aren't nearly as good for the cat.
The avocado provides a good source of vitamins and fatty acids, and also provide benefit for skin and coat. It's a good inclusion in this food.
If you're in a typical big pet store that has this, Iams and Nutro, I'd give this a shot. If you are in a specialty pet store with better stuff, I probably wouldn't.
Rating: ****/*****
Price: $$$/$$$$
Website: http://www.californianaturalpet.com
Ingredients:
Chicken, chicken meal, brown rice, rice, chicken fat, natural flavors, sunflower oil, flaxseed, vitamins, potassium chloride, minerals, taurine, DL methionine, rosemary extract.
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| Quality meats, decent meat content, grains are of high quality, sunflower oil, and flax. | The only disadvantage is that, for anybody who wants very high protein in their food, this isn't it. |
Review:
California Naturals prides itself as using fewer ingredients than the other kinds of pet food. Looking at the ingredient list, it's not hard to see that they definitely made a point of that. It's around 1/3 the size of the typical listing, yet is a very regarded food. This can make a person stop and think exactly why then, even high-quality pet foods have ingredient lists the size of short novels.
This food, while keeping it simple, does a good job at giving your cat a well-rounded diet. The first two ingredients are named meat products, with the 2nd one being a "meal" (which is great, but would rather it be the 1st). The grains they use are rice, but it's a little concerning to me that both the 3rd and 4th ingredients are grains, when we all know that cats require little to no grains in their food.
The sunflower oil (for a good coat) and flaxseed (for Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids) are a nice touch.
By the way, if you've ever wondered what taurine is, it's essential for cats to have taurine as it prevents blindness. Cats that have a deficiency in this experience loss of vision. So there you have it.
This is a recommended food if you don't want to go all out price-wise for one of the grain-free types, as it is pretty cheap compared to most premium foods.
Rating: *****/*****
Price: $$/$$$$
Website: http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com
Ingredients:
Chicken, chicken meal, cracked pearled barley, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), ocean fish meal, white rice, potatoes, oatmeal, millet, natural chicken flavor, salmon, turkey, duck, flaxseed, sodium bisulfate, egg product, methionine, potassium chloride, choline chloride, dried chicory root, taurine, kelp, carrots, peas, apples, tomatoes, blueberries, spinach, dried skim milk, cranberry powder, rosemary extract, parsley flake, yucca schidigera extract, L-carnitine, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation solubles, dried Aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, zinc proteinate, vitamin E supplement, niacin, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin A supplement, biotin, potassium iodide, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, manganous oxide, sodium selenite, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| Many meat sources, no fillers, no by-products or animal digest, many fruits and vegetables, flax, and potatoes for carbs. Low price as well. | None to speak of. |
Review:
I've been impressed with this food ever since I've learned about what's good and bad in pet foods, because it not only is a very solid food with no fillers, by-products or artificial colors, but it's also very cheap for what you're getting.
The ingredient list stacks up very nicely with just about any ultra-premium food you can find out there on the market. The first two ingredients are both named meat products, as is the 5th. They do throw in salmon, turkey and duck later on in the ingredient list, and while it's far enough down where it probably doesn't make TOO much of a difference, my bet is that altogether it'll at least matter somewhat. Plus, it gives the food more variety. I'm counting 5 different meat sources in this food, which is incredible.
They do have a lot of grain varities in the food as well, but they're all quality grains, so it's not really a big deal because the meat content is high.
If you'll notice, they also have put in quite a few veggies and fruits, such as carrots, peas, apples, tomatoes, blueberries and spinach. That's quite the list.
If you're looking to get a great cat food at a good price, this is one of the top bets. The price is actually very similar to foods like Purina One but light years better in quality.
Rating: **/*****
Price: $$$/$$$$
Website: http://www.eukanuba.com
Ingredients:
Chicken, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Meal, Corn Grits, Lamb, Brewers Rice, Animal Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Dried Beet Pulp, Dried Egg Product, Natural Flavor, Sodium Bisulfate, Potassium Chloride, Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), DL-Methionine, Brewers Dried Yeast, Choline Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Inositol, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Minerals (Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), Salt, Rosemary Extract.
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| Chicken is first. Lamb is 5th. Fish oil is included. | By-products, excessive use of corn, brewers rice. |
Review:
The story of the Eukanuba name, so it goes, is that the founder of Iams wanted to create a new "premium" line of foods with a memorable name to seperate it from Iams. So this is the name they came up with. I have no clue where the word comes from, though. I'm sure it's an interesting story.
Eukanuba then, as many believe, is a high-end food fed by people who really care about the animals they have. Doesn't it just sound prestigious to say that "I feed my cat Eukanuba?". That's probably what they were going for with the name. Does it stack up to the name?? Let's see....
Chicken is good in the #1 spot, but it's weighed before dehydration so that inflates how much of the food it really is. Then we have by-products, which are far too cheap of crap to go into a food that's as expensive as Eukanuba is. Next, we have two corn products, which anybody who has read any of the other reviews on here probably realizes, is no good for cats and of little to no actual worth. Lamb is next, which is good, but is again weighed BEFORE the dehydration process to inflate its standing. We also see brewers rice, the leftover from brewing beer.
Fish oil and eggs make appearances later, which are good, but brewers yeast is another alcohol side product that we don't want to see.
All in all, for the reputation and price, it's a miserable failure nearly on the level of Science Diet.
Rating: */*****
Price: $$/$$$$
Website: http://www.fancyfeast.com
Ingredients:
Brewers rice, poultry by-product meal, corn gluten meal, beef tallow preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), ground yellow corn, soybean meal, animal liver flavor, fish, shrimp, phosphoric acid, calcium carbonate, natural and artificial flavors, potassium chloride, salt, brewers dried yeast, choline chloride, added color (Yellow 5, Red 40 and other color), natural filet mignon flavor, zinc sulfate, taurine, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, Vitamin E supplement, niacin, Vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, copper sulfate, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, calcium iodate, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), sodium selenite.
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| Nothing I can see. | By-products, corn gluten & ground corn, beef tallow, soybeans, and artificial color. |
Review:
I remember the old commercials for Fancy Feast wet cat food, where a person would clink a deluxe crystal glass with a fork, and this gorgeous fluffy white cat would come and eat Fancy Feast out of the glass (or cup, whatever). That certainly was an effective campaign to make people think the product is high-class, that's for sure! So when I got the 2 cats I have now, I was surprised that they actually made dry food!! Well it had to be good stuff, right?? Let's see....
This is the only food I've seen that has brewers rice as the top ingredient. For those who haven't read other reviews, brewers rice is the leftover rice after the brewing process at alcohol distilleries. It's bought cheaply by pet food makers. It's worthless nutritionally. Then we have "poultry" by-product, which tells us they don't want to divulge just what bird they got the yummy by-products from. Corn gluten meal is third, which again is nothing more than the most worthless part of the already worthless corn. Pure beef fat is next, which anybody can guess probably isn't the preferred type of fat for a cat (or human for that matter) to eat. The next 2 ingredients are pure filler (ground corn and soybean meal). So the question is...what exactly *IS* deluxe about this food?
Well, the question is answerable with one word: nothing. If you have that aforementioned glass though, I'll definitely take it. Don't buy this food though, no matter how great the cat on the package looks.
Rating: ****/*****
Price: $$/$$$$
Website: http://www.canidae.com
Ingredients:
Chicken meal, brown rice, cracked pearled barley, peas, millet, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), turkey meal, potato protein, lamb meal, egg product, natural flavor, flaxseed, ocean fish meal, potassium chloride, choline chloride, methionine, taurine, sun cured alfalfa meal, inulin (from chicory root), lecithin, sage extract, cranberries, beta carotene, rosemary extract, sunflower oil, yucca schidigera extract, dried enterococcus faecium, dried lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, dried bacillus subtilis fermentation extract, saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation solubles, vitamin E supplement, niacin, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin A supplement, biotin, potassium iodide, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, manganous oxide, sodium selenite, vitamin D supplement, folic acid, cobalt proteinate, organic selenium, papaya, pineapple.
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| 4 animal meal products, high quality grains, eggs for protein, flaxseed. | Would like to see more fruits/veggies, but that's very minor. |
Review:
Felidae is made by the same people who make Canidae for dogs. It's a pretty well known brand, and among premium foods it should be one of the easier ones to find.
Chicken meal is the #1 ingredient, so that's wonderful to see. It's followed by a couple grains and peas, and then millet. My main concern with this is that it seems to be a bit heavy on the grains for what I'd like to see in a cat food. Turkey meal and lamb meal do make appearances not too far down the chain of ingredients, though.
They do utilize eggs for protein, taurine is high up on the ingredients, and flaxseed for Omega fatty acids is also somewhat high up on the list.
All in all, it's a solid food for a cat that isn't super active. Like I said, it may have more grains than I would like, but a sedentary cat should be fine. The lack of fillers like corn and wheat is great, and the non-use of byproducts or animal digest is wonderful as well. This is a company that cares about their food.
Rating: ***/*****
Price: $$$$/$$$$
Website: http://www.f-r-r.com
Ingredients:
Chicken Meal, Ground Yellow Corn, Lamb Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Poultry Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Ascorbic Acid), Ground Whole Wheat, Dried Brewers Yeast, Fish Meal, Corn Germ Meal, Salt, Dried Beet Pulp, Dehydrated Cheese, Lecithin, D-Activated Animal Sterol (Source of Vitamin D-3), Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin Supplement, Riboflavin, Calcium Pantothenate, Choline Chloride, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Inositol, DL-Methionine, Manganese, Dehydrated Kelp, Zinc Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Cobalt Sulfate, Ferrousc Sulfate, Taurine, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite, Dried Whey, Yucca Schidigera Extract (for odor control).
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| 3 named meal products. | Way too much corn (3 ingredients worth!), wheat as 6th ingredient, brewers yeast, salt is high on the list, no sources of Omega fatty acids? |
Review:
I had pretty high expectations of this food. After all, any food that (as far as I can see) is only sold online and really thumps their chest about how wonderful their food is compared to all of the other brands out there should be really dang good. So I went in expecting to see greatness. After all, for 23 dollars (!!!) for a 6 pound bag, it had BETTER be good!
Oh boy. Well, they get the meat content right. Meal products are 1st, 3rd, and 8th. That's definitely something that we like to see, as it ensures a high quality animal proteins source for the cat. However, if grains are present in the food it should NOT be corn. And there are 3 ingredients that are corn based here! That's incredible. I don't know that I've ever seen a food with 3 corn sources before. They throw in a great cause of food allergies (wheat) and some brewers yeast for good measure. For the price they are charging, they definitely could have used rice or barley, but they used the cheapest and worst grains you can use. Ouch.
Also, is salt that high up on the list really necessary? You wouldn't feed your kid a bunch of salt would you?? Lastly, I see no source of Omega, heart-healthy fatty acids here and almost every "premium" food will have those. I'm really disappointed. This gets the stars for the meat sources, but nothing else.
Rating: */*****
Price: $/$$$$
Website: http://www.friskies.com
Ingredients:
Ground yellow corn, corn gluten meal, poultry by-product meal, meat and bone meal, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), soybean meal, animal liver flavor, phosphoric acid, calcium carbonate, salt, potassium chloride, oceanfish meal, albacore tuna meal, salmon meal, yellowfin tuna meal, crab meal, dried seaweed, choline chloride, taurine, zinc sulfate, added color (Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Red 40, Blue 2), ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, Vitamin E supplement, calcium phosphate, niacin, Vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, copper sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, calcium iodate, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), sodium selenite.
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| They do include a few meal products, but they are far down the list. | Corn as first 2 ingredients, animal proteins are of very poor quality, soybeans, and salt is too far up ingredient list. |
Review:
On the spreadsheet I created which ranks cat foods by their ingredients and what placing they are within the list, this food placed dead last. Looking at the ingredients, it isn't all that hard to see why. The first two ingredients are worthless corn ingredients that do nothing but disrupt digestion, especially the evil "gluten meal".
The meat sources are by-products and "meat and bone meal", which ensures that your cat is eating stuff that wouldn't even be found in your house otherwise because of the sheer gross-out factor.
Sure, they put in 3 "meal" products in this, but it's all so low in the ingredient list that it hardly matters. The overseeing organization of pet foods requires that, in order to call a food by a particular name (say, oceanfish), that it contain a certain minimal percentage of that meat. That's obviously what they've done here. It isn't out of concern of pet health, or it'd be higher on the list. It's just for labelling. What a shame.
Rating: *****/*****
Price: $$$$/$$$$
Website: http://www.frommfamily.com
Ingredients:
Salmon, Duck Meal, Potatoes, Pea Flour, Sweet Potatoes, Duck, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Dried Tomato Pomace, Salmon Meal, Whole Dried Egg, Pea Protein, Chicken, Flaxseed, Cheese, Salmon Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Chicken Broth, Carrots, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Apples, Green Beans, Lecithin, Chicken Cartilage, Potassium Chloride, Cranberries, Blueberries, Salt, Chicory Root Extract, Alfalfa Sprouts, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Folic Acid, Parsley, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Bifidobacterium Longum, Lactobacillus Plantarum, Enterococcous Faecium, Vitamin A, D3, E, B12 Supplements, Choline Bitartrate, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Manganous Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Cobalt Carbonate, Calcium Iodate, Sorbic Acid, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Sodium Selenite.
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| Very high animal protein content of high quality, flax and salmon oils, good amount of vegetables and fruits, whole eggs. | Nothing to mention. |
Review:
Fromm's is one of the best foods out there today. 4 of the first 5 ingredients are named meat products. No by-products, and no fillers. That this means to you and your cat is that your kitty will be eating high quality meats and NOT by-products like beaks and feet. Your cat also won't be loaded full of worthless grains only included into foods so that the manufacturer can make more money.
Fromm's is a company that cares about the health of your pet. It's obvious in that they not only use many meat sources, but they also put in veggies such as peas and sweet potatoes which are very beneficial to your cat. Heck, they even throw in cheese, flaxseed, and salmon oil. The latter two are wonderful fatty acids for heart health, and the first one is a great source of calcium. Plus, cats LOVE cheese....any cat owner can attest to that.
Yes, it's more expensive than Cat Chow, but your cat will eat far less of this because since there's no filler, it takes less to meet their nutritional needs. This is something some cat owners don't understand....pound for pound, good food is more expensive but it takes them longer to eat it...so it balances out a bit in the end and your cat is healthier. How can a person argue against that?
By the way....the "surf" in this is salmon...and the "turf" is duck and chicken. Wait, is the duck the surf or the turf?? Hmmm.
Rating: **/*****
Price: $/$$$$
Website: http://www.goodliferecipe.com
Ingredients:
Ground corn, chicken-by-product meal, corn gluten meal, animal fat, salmon, whole grain brown rice, natural poultry flavor, dried peas, dried beet pulp, wheat flour, rice, brewers dried yeast, salt, potassium chloride, wheat gluten, choline chloride, iron oxide, titanium dioxide, calcium carbonate, dried spinach, dried tomatoes, dried carrots, skim milk powder, dicalcium phosphate, taurine, dl-methionine, minerals (zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, manganese sulfate, potassium iodide), vitamins (dl-alpha tocopherol acetate [source of vitamin e], folic acid, vitamin a acetate, l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate [source of vitamin c], vitamin b12 supplement, niacin, riboflavin supplement [vitamin b2], d-calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate [vitamin b1], vitamin d3 supplement, biotin, pyridoxine hydrochloride [vitamin b6] ), vegetable oil (source of linoleic acid), chlorophyll, naturally preserved with mixed tocopherols, marigold meal.
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| Salmon is 5th, a few vegetables included, rice mentioned twice. | Corn is 2 of first 3 ingredients, by-products are main protein source, wheat is mentioned twice, salt is too far up list. |
Review:
I used to feed this stuff before I knew better. I do feel bad in retrospect, but I can at least say it isn't quite as bad as Meow Mix or Friskies, so this food has that going for it.
It contains a lot of corn and by-products as its main meat product. That's never good. At least salmon is the 5th ingredient though, I'll give it that. Most cheap products don't even have it that high. They do use whole grain rice as well, which is another plus. Dried peas are a solid veggie and a good source of fiber.
Now I'm making it sound like a pretty good food aren't I?? My mistake, because it really isn't. The fact remains that it contains a hell of a lot of worthless corn and digusting by-products. It still has wheat flour and brewers yeast in it as well.
But you know, I'm still happy to see that they put spinach and tomatoes and carrots in it as well. They're location in the ingredient list is low, but typically these types of ingredients are somewhat low. Plus, they did at least fortify it with minerals and vitamins.
I guess in the end, if Science Diet gets two stars, so does this. It's better than Science Diet by a hair, too.
Rating: **/*****
Price: $$$/$$$$
Website: http://www.iams.com
Ingredients:
Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Meal, Corn Grits, Animal Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Tuna, Dried Beet Pulp, Dried Egg Product, Natural Flavor, Sodium Bisulfate, Potassium Chloride, DL-Methionine, Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Brewers Dried Yeast, Choline Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Inositol, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Minerals (Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), Rosemary Extract.
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| Tuna is 5th, fish oil included. | By products are main protein source, way too much corn, brewers yeast, insufficient real meat. |
Review:
Iams may be the best known pet food out there today, and maintains a very large group of customers who are loyal to them, even after the huge pet food recall that stained them a bit. They have a ton of varities out there, so I've chosen a basic one: Original with Tuna. Let's see how it does. Iams isn't a cheap food, and so I'd hope the ingredients would reflect that. Unfortunately, by-products are the very first ingredient and primary protein source of this food. THen, we're confronted with two corn sources directly afterward, which we know by now aren't beneficial to cats at all. Having filler as the 2nd and 3rd ingredients doesn't really instill a lot of confidence.
Well, at least they have tuna as their 5th ingredient. There's one good meat source, but if you're buying something with the meat's name on the bag, don't you want it higher than 5th? It seems a little disingenuous to have a bag labelled "tuna" when "chicken by-products" are first and foremost.
Dried beet pulp's value as a fiber source is often debated, so I tend to leave that one alone. I DO know that brewers yeast is worthless to cats, though. Any by-product of alcohol making isn't exactly what you'd call highly nutritious for your cat.
All in all, it's a very expensive food, so don't you want to get what you pay for?
Rating: ***/*****
Price: $$$/$$$$
Website: http://www.iams.com
Ingredients:
Chicken, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Meal, Brewer Rice, Ground Whole Grain Barley, Chicken Meal, Dried Beet Pulp, Dried Egg Product, Natural Chicken Flavor, Sodium Bisulfate, Potassium Chloride, Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Animal Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), DL-Methionine, Dried Apple Pomace, Dried Carrots, Brewers Dried Yeast, Dried Peas, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin A Acetate, Niacin, Ascorbic Acid, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Inositol, Folic Acid), Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, Dried Spinach, Dried Tomato, Minerals (Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), Rosemary Extract.
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| Chicken is first ingredient, chicken meal included, fish oil is present, barley. | By-products are top protein source, corn is top grain used, meat content is suspect. |
Review:
The "Healthy Naturals" line from Iams is moderately better than their base Iams line, but not by much. Plus, is it saying much to say that any food is better than Iams? It's like saying what you're eating is more nutritious than a Big Mac...we need to know HOW MUCH more nutritious it is...and like I said, this is only moderately (read: a little) better.
There's good here and there's bad. Chicken being the number one ingredient is good (even if it's BEFORE dehydration weight), and so is having chicken meal as the 6th. It's great to see eggs included for the proteins, and fish oil for the Omega fatty acids. It is not, however, good to see by-products sitting in the 2nd slot, or corn meal in the 3rd. Brewers rice is a waste of space in the 4th slot as well. At least they used a quality grain for number 5: barley.
So in the end, it's a mix. The additions of apples, carrots and peas are a nice touch. If you're going to buy your food at Walmart, this may be the best you can do. I'd ask that any pet owner get away from grocery stores to buy pet food, but this is the least offensive. It could have been much better, though.
Rating: **/*****
Price: $$$$/$$$$
Website: http://www.iams.com
Ingredients:
Chicken, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Meal, Corn Grits, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Dried Beet Pulp, Chicken Meal, Dried Egg Product, Natural Chicken Flavor, Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Sodium Bisulfate, Potassium Chloride, DL-Methionine, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin A Acetate, Niacin, Ascorbic Acid, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Inositol, Folic Acid), Fructooligosaccharides, Brewers Dried Yeast, Choline Chloride, Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Minerals (Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), L-Carnitine, Rosemary Extract.
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| Chicken is first, chicken meal later in ingredients, fish oil. | By-products are top protein source, lots of corn. |
Review:
You've got to hand it to Iams, they have a heck of a marketing campaign. I've seen large displays for this food, showing a doctor (almost life size) and a bunch of vials showing just how balanced this food is. Of course the vials don't really have the ingredients in them, but it's still an interesting display. Unfortunately, they count on people not being educated, b/c they actually boast about having corn in this food. Corn is not easily digested, is a high source of food allergies, and isn't a good nutritional choice for cats.
Not only that, but they're using by-products as a prominent ingredient. No food that really seriously is putting that much thought into what they're feeding the cats would put by-products in the food. At least give the cats a quality meat source, not beaks, heads and feet.
On the good side, chicken is the first ingredient and they do include fish oil for beneficial fatty acids. That's about all, though. I can't recommend this, especially for the very hefty price tag.
Rating: *****/*****
Price: $$$$/$$$$
Website: http://www.naturapet.com
Ingredients:
Turkey, chicken meal, chicken, herring meal, chicken fat, potatoes, egg, turkey meal, natural flavors, vitamins, apples, potassium chloride, carrots, cranberries, alfalfa sprouts, minerals, tomatoes, herring oil, cottage cheese, ascorbic acid, dried chicory root extract, direct-fed microbials, vitamin E supplement, taurine, DL methionine, lecithin, rosemary extract.
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| Loaded with quality meats, no grains, eggs, fruits and vegetables, herring oil included. | The only thing would be the price. |
Review:
The Evo line of foods from Innova differs from the regular Innova foods in that it is grain-free and very high in protein. They advertise themselves as the "ancestral diet", which is to say that the food is the way cats ate before humans started giving them crap like corn and soy as cheap fillers in their food.
Cats love the stuff, and it's easy to see why. The first 4 ingredients are named meat products, and so is the 8th. You have potatoes for carbs and egg as yet another protein source. In fact, the protein percentage in this food stands at 50%, which is among the very highest you'll find anywhere.
Like any high-quality food, veggies and fruits like cranberries, tomatoes and apples are thrown in as well. It's these types of ingredients which often differentiate between bargain food and good food.
Also notice the herring oil, which like any fish oil, is an excellent fatty acid and source of Omega fatty acids. Taurine is present, as any good cat food needs to have taurine to prevent blindness. Oh, and cottage cheese. This is the only food I've seen with that in the ingredient list. Nice!
It's expensive, but this is one product I do think is worth the price tag.
Rating: */*****
Price: $/$$$$
Website: http://www.purina.com/products/kitnkaboodle2.aspx
Ingredients:
Ground yellow corn, corn gluten meal, soybean meal, meat and bone meal, beef tallow preserved with mixed-tocopherols (source of Vitamin E), oceanfish meal, turkey by-product meal, phosphoric acid, salt, brewers dried yeast, animal digest, potassium chloride, tetra sodium pyrophosphate, choline chloride, calcium carbonate, taurine, L-Lysine monohydrochloride, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, added color (Red 40, Blue 2, Yellow 5, Yellow 6), glyceryl monostearate, L-Alanine, manganese sulfate, vitamin supplements (E, A, B-12, D-3), niacin, copper sulfate, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, citric acid, calcium iodate, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), sodium selenite.
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| Nothing to mention. | Grains top 3 ingredients, including corn as top 2, very poor animal protein sources, beef tallow, high use of salt, animal digest, artificial colors, brewers yeast. |
Review:
Purina doesn't have a good reputation as being a quality pet food provider among those in the know anyways, so when you have a food that is basically advertised as their bargain food, you know you're in for a world of trouble. No cute names or logos can save this one from what it really is: a terrible thing to feed your cat.
First off, the first 3 ingredients are worthless filler. The first THREE!! Isn't filler supposed to just be....well....FILLER? You can't put filler in the top ingredient spots! It doesn't even fit the definition!
When they do get into meat products, it's the infamous "meat and bone meal", which none of us with weak stomachs would actually want to see made or admit is in our cat's food.
I will give them credit for having "oceanfish meal", which is a definite good ingredient but is also far too low on the ingredient list. It's also followed up with a by-product immediately after, which ruins any goodwill that we can have towards this food.
We also have 4 artificial colors here, and the yummy "animal digest", which is a soup of blood, skin and organs.
All in all, I think you get the idea.....do you even need to look at the score?
Rating: */*****
Price: $/$$$$
Website: http://www.meowmix.com
Ingredients:
Ground yellow corn, corn gluten meal, chicken by-product meal, soybean meal, beef tallow preserved with mixed tocopherols (source of vitamin E), turkey by-product meal, salmon meal, ocean fish meal, brewers dried yeast, phosphoric acid, animal digest, calcium carbonate, potassium chloride, tetra sodium pyrophosphate, calcium chloride, choline chloride, added color (red 40, yellow 5, blue 2, and other color), salt, taurine, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, l-alanine, niacin, vitamin E supplement, biotin, folic acid, copper sulfate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, citric acid, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), calcium iodate, sodium selenite.
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| Two animal meals, though they're far down. | Corn is top 2 ingredients, 2 by-products, soybeans, beef tallow, brewers yeast, animal digest, artificial colors. |
Review:
If you ever needed proof that a cute advertising jingle (meow, meow, meow, meow) and a catchy slogan (Cats ask for it by name!) don't mean anything towards the quality of the food, this would be your case study. It's pretty much awful, but people report their cats do indeed love it. However, I look at it as akin to feeding your kid hot dogs every day. Sure you can, and they may love it, but does that justify it?
If you look, three of the first four ingredients are just filler grains with little to no value. They're cheap to include, so they are. THe main protein is a by-product, ensuring they are eating disgusting parts of the animal. Beef tallow is the main fat, which is pure, white, saturated fat from a cow. Basically, the kind of stuff that horrifies our doctors.
Going further, we see more by-products, brewers yeast and the infamous "animal digest". Refer to the glossary page if you want to know more about that one. I get the feeling most would vomit if they saw it being made.
Also, what's the deal with all the added colors? That has to be one of the most pointless additions to a cat food, but it's part of what appeals to owners of Meow Mix. Hey, it's vibrant!! That means it's good?? Actually no, it doesn't.
Rating: *****/*****
Price: $$$$/$$$$
Website: http://www.merrickpetcare.com
Ingredients:
Salmon Deboned, Chicken Meal, Potato Dehydrated, Turkey Meal, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols – a source of Natural Vitamin E), Sweet Potato Dehydrated, Dried Egg, Natural Flavor, Yeast Culture, Dicalcium Phosphate, Lysine, Sea Salt, Alfalfa, Salmon Oil, Choline Chloride, Acai Berry Freeze-Dried, Blueberry Dried, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Rosemary Extract, Taurine, Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Chondroitin Sulfate, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Chicory Root, Marigold Extract, Lactobacillus Plantarum, Enterococcus Faecium, Lactobacillus Casei, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Vitamin E Supplement, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Copper Amino Acid Complex, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3, Niacin, Lecithin, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Cobalt Amino Acid Complex, Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate, Sodium Selenite.
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| Many high quality meat sources, potatoes, eggs, salmon oil, acai berries. | Nothing to mention. |
Review:
Merrick has been mostly known for dog foods in the past, and still primarily is, but they do have this cat food that is made grain-free, the way nature intended a cat's diet to be. That's why they termed it "Before Grain". It simply means that this food is the way cat food was before humans started putting cheap and worthless grains in cat food to save money by cheapening production. The end product is something that is quite good.
Looking at the ingredients, they give cats 3 different types of meat within the first 4 ingredients. Potato is quite high as the main carb, which is fine. They also include sweet potato as the 2nd carb.
Salmon oil is put in for the Omega fatty acids and heart health, and egg is included for bonus protein.
One thing I love about this food are the fruits: blueberries and acai berries. The acai berries are purportedly very good as an antioxident. It's also kind of neat to say it's in your cat's food.
It isn't cheap, but again, most good products aren't. It's highly recommended if you can find it.
Rating: ****/*****
Price: $$/$$$$
Website: http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com
Ingredients:
Chicken Meal, Chicken, Brown Rice, Duck Meal, Barley, Oatmeal, Chicken Fat (Preserved With Natural Mixed Tocopherols), Potatoes, Carrots, Lamb Meal, Salmon Meal, Canola Oil, Natural Flavor, Dried Egg, Brewers Yeast, Whole Ground Flaxseed, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Taurine, Spinach, Parsley Flakes, Cranberries, L-Lysine, L-Carnitine, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Kelp, Zinc Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B-1), Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, Potassium Iodide, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin (Vitamin B-2), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B-6), Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Manganous Oxide, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Folic Acid.
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| Solid meat content (4 named meat meals), high quality grains, potatoes. | Brewers yeast included. |
Review:
Natural Balance is one of the few good choices a pet owner can make when they walk into a store like Petsmart or Petco. It's pretty widely carried, so if somebody doesn't want to take the time to go to their local pet store, this is a good option. It's also fairly cheap for what you're getting, so that's an additional bonus.
The food is of good quality, no question. There are 4 meal products here, plus some good grains, fruits and vegetables to balance it out. What's more, they do use flaxseed for the Omega fatty acids as well.
I do have to quibble with the brewers yeast, though. They have almost all good ingredients, yet they use an alcohol production by-product? I just don't understand the inclusion of that. It's like going through college with a 4.0, and then tanking your last couple classes because you figure it's "good enough".
If you're either on a budget or don't want to venture outside major pet stores though, this is a great choice.
Rating: **/*****
Price: $$$/$$$$
Website: Unable to locate
Ingredients:
Salmon, corn, corn gluten meal, poultry fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), rice, salmon meal, dried egg, beet pulp, herring meal, animal digest, calcium carbonate, dried chicory root, yeast culture, sodium tripolyphosphate, vitamins (vitamin E supplement, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), niacin supplement, inositol, vitamin A supplement, thiamine mononitrate, d-calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), riboflavin supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), beta-carotene, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement), potassium chloride, salt, phosphoric acid, L-lysine, choline chloride, malt syrup, minerals (zinc proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, iron proteinate, copper sulfate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), taurine, L-tryptophan, yucca schidigera extract, rosemary extract, citric acid (used as a preservative).
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| Two named meats to match the label, including first ingredient. Rice used as a grain. Herring meal also included. | Corn as 2nd and 3rd ingredient, animal digest used, calcium carbonate is very high on list. |
Review:
Nature's Recipe is a food I've only seen at Petco, which leads me to believe it may be their house brand, although I am not positive of this. They do some things right and some things wrong, like many of the foods I'd considered to be "mid-grade". This food does make an astonishingly bad choice however. More on that....
We see salmon, salmon meal and herring meal in this food. This indicates that there are high quality meat products in this food, and since they are fish, they should also supply those very needed Omega fatty acids. That being said, other than rice, the grain choices are awful. Corn as the 2nd and 3rd leading ingredients? Not a good choice at all. Ah but it gets worse...they actually use "animal digest" in this food. That's a huge problem. THis is a really bad ingredient usually relegated to really cheap foods. Even Iams doesn't use it! That really hurts my opinion on this food.
Two stars for getting the meat at least right, but pretty much failing the rest.
Rating: **/*****
Price: $$$/$$$$
Website: http://www.nutroproducts.com
Ingredients:
Chicken Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Wheat Flour, Ground Rice, Poultry Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Ground Whole Wheat, Natural Flavors, Chicken, Yeast Culture, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Menhaden Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Choline Chloride, DL-Methionine, Taurine, Zinc Sulfate, Dried Cranberry, Ferrous Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, Inositol, Niacin, Copper Sulfate, Ascorbic Acid (source of Vitamin C), Manganous Oxide, Riboflavin Supplement (source of Vitamin B2), Potassium Iodide, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of Vitamin B6), Thiamine Mononitrate (source of Vitamin B1), Dried Blueberry, Biotin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of Vitamin K activity), Folic Acid, Sodium Selenite.
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| Chicken meal is first, rice is used, fish oil. | Corn gluten meal is far up on list, wheat comprises 2 of top ingredients, salt is too far up the list. |
Review:
Nutro Max, eh?? Max what? After looking at what's in it, I'm left wondering this. Nutro Natural Choice seems to be a much better product for the money if you're really stuck on getting a Nutro product. If you go to the review of that food and then to this one, the differences will be clear. I'll take a look at this food here.
As in Natural Choice, chicken meal starts things off and that's a good thing to see. It degenerates from there. Fillers like corn and wheat take the 2nd, 3rd and 6th locations. That streak from 2nd to 6th is only interrupted by ground rice and poultry fat. Well at least they got ONE grain right (the rice, that is). However, cats shouldn't be eating this much grain in any case, even if the grain they were using wasn't crappy like corn and wheat.
After that, there's absolutely nothing really to write about. "Chicken" is in the 8th spot, and since it was weighed before dehydration, its inclusion matters very little. After that, my only comments are that salt should not be that high on the ingredient list, and that I'm disappointed with Nutro. For the price they charge, they could certainly do better. If you're that brand loyal to Nutro, go to Natural Choice.
Rating: ***/*****
Price: $$$/$$$$
Website: http://www.nutroproducts.com
Ingredients:
Chicken Meal, Ground Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Rice Flour, Poultry Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Dried Plain Beet Pulp, Brewers Dried Yeast, Sunflower Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Soybean Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Flaxseed, Natural Flavors, Tuna Meal (source of Oceanfish Flavor), Oat Fiber, Menhaden Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Yeast Culture, Potassium Chloride, Dried Vegetable Fiber (Carrots, Celery, Beets, Parsley, Lettuce, Watercress, Spinach), Tomato Pomace, Soy Protein Concentrate, Choline Chloride, Cranberry Powder, Taurine, DL-Methionine, Dried Egg Product, Vitamin E Supplement, Ferrous Sulfate, Dried Bacillus licheniformis Fermentation Extract, Dried Bacillus subtilis Fermentation Extract, Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate, L-Carnitine, Ascorbic Acid (source of Vitamin C), Inositol, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Chicory Root, Niacin, Manganese Proteinate, Manganous Oxide, Sodium Selenite, Riboflavin Supplement (source of Vitamin B2), Calcium Pantothenate, Copper Sulfate, Biotin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of Vitamin B6), Vitamin A Supplement, Copper Proteinate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of Vitamin B1), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of Vitamin K activity), Beta-Carotene, Calcium Iodate, Folic Acid.
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| Chicken meal is first, rice is main grain, sunflower and fish oils plus flaxseed included, fair amount of vegetables for fiber. | Corn gluten is 3rd, brewers yeast. |
Review:
You've got to hand it to Nutro: they've done an excellent job in promotion and distribution. Nutro saddles the line between being an ultra-premium food and just a "regular" food. For that, it can be found both in higher end pet stores and in big box stores like Petsmart. It's one of the few that can do that, the others being Science Diet and Royal Canin. Also, as far as promotion goes, they've gone a long way toward getting vets to recommend their foods, and to get pet stores to recommend them or give them large displays. Is it warrented though?? Is their food good enough?? Well....
Not really. I'll give credit where credit is due here, though. Chicken meal is the number 1 ingredient, and that's important. This food doesn't have any by-products, either. No animal digest and no beef tallow. Those are all great to see, and it means your cat probably won't be eating anything completely disgusting either.
However, what's with corn gluten meal as the 3rd ingredient?? Obviously Nutro knows this is completely worthless filler, so what's the deal?? Don't they charge enough for their food that they can use quality ingredients? Also, why rice flour? They already used ground rice, which is good for their 2nd ingredient, so what's the point in putting in rice flour 4th, when it isn't a good way to feed rice? I'm confused.
Again though, I am happy to see flaxseed, fish oils and sunflower oil in this food. That's a solid lineup of oils for heart health and a nice coat. They also use oat fiber and vegetable fiber, which are good ways to put fiber in a cat food. Then there's tuna meal, which is a bit far down the list but at least it's there.
But on the other side...brewers yeast?? Ugh.
It's a so-so food, probably one of the best you'll find in a big-box store, but one of the worst in a specialty food store which carries real premium foods.
Rating: *****/*****
Price: $$$$/$$$$
Website: http://www.championpetfoods.com
Ingredients:
Deboned chicken, chicken meal, turkey meal, russet potato, lake whitefish, chicken fat, sweet potato, whole eggs,deboned turkey, salmon meal, salmon and anchovy oils, salmon, natural chicken flavour, sunflower oil, sun-cured alfalfa, dried brown kelp, carrots, spinach, peas, tomatoes, apples, psyllium, dulse, glucosamine Hcl, cranberries, black currants, rosemary extract, chondroitin sulfate, sea salt.
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| Wide variety of high quality meats, very high protein content, whole eggs, fish oils, sunflower oil, fruits and veggies. | Nothing. |
Review:
Orijen is top of the line food. If you want to feel as if you are flat out pampering your cat, buy this food. They only have two varities for cats: Cat & Kitten and 6 Fish. Since the latter is hard to find, I'm including the ingredients for the former here.
First, it's a grain-less food with a relatively short ingredient list. There aren't many foreign sounding ingredients in this food, and that makes sense because this food absolutely emphasizes just how fresh their ingredients are.
How fresh? Well, they raise their chickens themselves anti-biotic free. They employ fishermen to catch their fish for them and deliver them fresh to their factory. Hey, they're Canadians, apparently ethics in food making are still alive up there.
If you take a look at the ingredients, you really can't do any better. The first 3 ingredients are meats, along with the 5th, 9th, 10th and 12th. It's absolutely LOADED with proteins, and high quality ones at that. They even throw in whole eggs for good measure. Not "dried eggs" or "egg product", but whole eggs.
There are two fish oils for added heart healthy, and sunflower oil for a good coat. There are carrots, spinach, peas, tomatoes and apples for the fruit and veggie quota.
Orijen prides itself on having a balanced ratio of 75/25/0. That is, that 75% of weight will be animal products, 25% fruits and veggies and 0% grain. The ingredient list speaks for itself as to how they follow that ratio.
It's expensive, but it's ever so worth it. Cats who eat this will eat less, and they will be healthy.
Rating: */*****
Price: $/$$$$
Website: http://www.catchow.com
Top 10 Ingredients:
Corn meal, poultry by-product meal, corn gluten meal, soy flour, animal fat, powdered cellulose, salmon meal, animal liver flavor, soybean hulls, malt extract.
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| Salmon meal is included, but too far down. | Large amount of corn and soybeants, by-products are main protein source, powdered cellulose is not quality ingredient. |
Review:
Let's agree on one thing: Anything that has "chow" in the name is probably never a good thing, and this is certainly no exception. The list of ingredients was long, but not able to be copied due to the format on their website so I just hand typed the first 10. Those are the ones that matter most anyhow.
What we see is more of the same from Purina: fillers leading off, by-products, corn gluten, liver "flavor" instead of actual liver, etc. Oh, and soybean hulls. How the heck can hulls be beneficial?? Yikes.
Rating: */*****
Price: $$/$$$$
Website: http://www.purinaone.com
Ingredients:
Chicken, brewers rice, corn gluten meal, poultry by-product meal, wheat flour, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), whole grain corn, fish meal, soy protein isolate, animal liver flavor, phosphoric acid, potassium chloride, calcium carbonate, caramel color, salt, choline chloride, taurine, L-Lysine monohydrochloride, Vitamin E supplement, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, niacin, Vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, copper sulfate, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, calcium iodate, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), sodium selenite.
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| Chicken is first. | Brewers rice is 2nd, corn gluten is 3rd, by-products are high on list, wheat flour included, 2 sources of corn. |
Review:
What's scary about Purina One is that it is considered to be their mid-range food. So that means, there are worse foods than this out there from them. One look at Cat Chow or Kit 'N Kaboodle and you'll see that it does indeed go down from here.
They start out well with chicken as the first ingredient, which allows them to proudly proclaim that "Chicken is the #1 ingredient!" on their packaging. That's like saying I did well in the first event of a decathalon...what about the other 9 events? That's the case here...what about those other ingredients?
We see brewers rice, probably bought from Budweiser after they finished making beer with it. We see by-products, likely made from beaks, feathers and feet of birds. Wheat flour, a leading cause of pet allergies, is present. Corn gluten, possibly the biggest waste of space in pet foods and used only b/c it's cheap, is # 3. Then there's more corn....more soy.....and salt. They even only managed to put animal liver "flavor" in there, because they couldn't spring for the real thing. Just a sad effort from the folks at Purina.
Rating: **/*****
Price: $$$/$$$$
Website: http://www.purina-proplan.com
Ingredients:
Chicken (21%), rice (16%), maize gluten meal, dehydrated poultry protein, maize, wheat, animal fat (protected by mixed tocopherols), liver digest, dried whole egg, fish protein concentrate, yeast, fish oil, potassium chloride, calcium carbonate, choline chloride, minerals, sodium chloride, DL-methionine.
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| Chicken is first, fish oil, whole eggs, rice is main grain. | Far too much corn, wheat is used. |
Review:
The thing that aggrivates me about this food, which is supposed to be the top of the line food from Purina (and this is the best they can do, despite earning billions of dollars?), is that it's quite insulting to the people who read the label. How so?? Easy. When's the last time you heard somebody refer to corn as "maize"?? I'll bet that most people can get that connection, but some may not. To those who know that maize IS corn, it's just insulting to our intelligence. To those who don't, it's deceptive. Whichever side you're on, it's not a great thing for a company to do.
Anyhow, ingredients wise, it starts off strong with chicken and rice, which are good for protein and grain respectively. Then we have corn gluten meal, which is a sin in a pet food. I don't like "dehydrated poultry protein" because it's just so vague. It's obviously more than one bird, but which birds are they?? If they were birds like chickens or turkeys, I'm sure they'd tell us. So does this concern anybody else?? Then we have more corn...wheat....liver "digest"....etc.
I've really had a difficult time rating this one. It could be a 2 or 3 star food. Certainly, it's better than crap like 9 Lives or Meow Mix, which are 1 star foods. But is it as good as Nutro Complete Choice, which is a 3 star?? I just don't think so, and the added insult of deception on the label doesn't sit well with me at all. Not only that, but as was mentioned, this was the best Purina thought they could do. Shame.
Rating: ***/*****
Price: $$$$/$$$$
Website: http://www.royalcanin.us
Ingredients:
Chicken meal, brown rice, rice, corn, corn gluten meal, chicken fat, chicken, natural chicken flavor, pea fiber, rice flour, rice hulls, wheat gluten, dried beet pulp (sugar removed), soya oil, sodium silico aluminate, dried brewers yeast, fructo-oligosaccharides, anchovy oil (source of EPA/DHA), calcium sulfate, salt, potassium chloride, dried egg product, choline chloride, DL-methionine, taurine, Vitamins [DL-alpha tocopherol acetate (source of vitamin E), L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), niacin supplement, biotin, riboflavin (vitamin B2) supplement, D-calcium pantothenate, vitamin A acetate, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), folic acid, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement], sodium tripolyphosphate, tea (green tea extract), Trace Minerals [zinc oxide, zinc proteinate, ferrous sulfate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite], L-Carnitine, preserved with natural mixed tocopherols (source of vitamin E) and citric acid, rosemary extract.
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| Chicken meal is first, rice is main grain used, vegetable fiber is high, fish oils. | Far too much corn used, rice hulls aren't beneficial, salt is somewhat high. |
Review:
Royal Canin is quite a mixed bag for me. It has the potential to be a really good food, but trips over its own feet when they start using bad (and quite frankly, useless) fillers where they don't have to.
Let's look at what they've done here. First, chicken meal starts the ingredient list, and that's great to see. Any "meal" product leading it off is very welcome. Then we have two grains, both rice. That's fine, as rice is a great grain. The main concern is that the grain content may get a little high, but so far so good.
SO what's next....oh, crap. Corn. Then corn gluten meal. There are few ways to derail a food from being great faster than throwing in corn gluten meal.
There's a small rebound with chicken and pea fiber, which are both fine. Rice flour and rice hulls are about the worst way to put rice in a cat food, but it's still better than putting in corn or wheat. Speaking of wheat, that's what's next. Good ol wheat gluten, since cats apparently love wheat (not really).
From there, it's up and down. They do put in eggs and anchovy oil, which are great for proteins and omega fatty acids respectively. But then, salt is a bit high on the ingredient list too. Also, brewers yeast makes an appearance straight from your local brewery.
It adds up to a so-so food. Better than most crap in grocery stores, but not justifiable in price.
Rating: */*****
Price: $$$$/$$$$
Website: http://www.hillspet.com
Ingredients:
Chicken By-Product Meal, Ground Whole Grain Corn, Brewers Rice, Animal Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken Liver Flavor, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Sulfate, Choline Chloride, vitamins (L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Iodized Salt, Vitamin E Supplement, Taurine, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid, Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract.
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| Nothing really. | By-products are main protein source, corn is a top ingredient, brewers rice. |
Review:
Science Diet is a pet food tragedy to me, because they've done such a good job at advertising their brand and making their package seem as if their food is top quality for your loved pet. They've also bought off many vets to recommend their products because money talks. You'd think that for the exorbitant price that it'd be a pretty good product. After all, since it can exceed 3 dollars a pound, they've got to be accounting for that price somewhere.
Well, I'm still looking. The main meat source are cheap by-products that you wouldn't feed directly to your cat and certainly wouldn't even go near yourself. There are two instances of corn, the worst filler of all, within the first 5 ingredients. Brewers rice, which is the worthless leftover of the alcohol brewing process is the 3rd biggest ingredient.
They have "chicken liver flavor" listed as well. Why the "flavor"? Why not just put the damn liver in there for the nutritional value? Ugh.
It's such a waste too. I've given it a second star just because they didn't put any artificial colors or animal digest in it, and they loaded it with a lot of minerals and vitamins. Of course, putting supplements in the food is less necessary if the ingredients themselves are good.
For the money, this is the biggest rip-off in cat food today.
Rating: **/*****
Price: $$$$/$$$$
Website: http://www.hillspet.com
Ingredients:
Ocean Fish, Corn Gluten Meal, Brewers Rice, Animal Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Cracked Pearled Barley, Brown Rice, Dried Egg Product, Chicken Meal, Soy Protein Isolate, Flaxseed, Whole Grain Oats, Cranberries, Apples, Calcium Sulfate, Chicken Liver Flavor, Carrots, Peas, DL-Methionine, Choline Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Broccoli, Taurine, vitamins (L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Vitamin E Supplement, preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid, Iodized Salt, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract.
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| Ocean fish is first, barley & rice are used, flaxseed. | Corn gluten meal is 2nd, brewers rice is main grain. |
Review:
This is marginally better than Science Diet's Original Cat Food, but that isn't saying all that much because that food is absolutely awful. Here, we at least see that ocean fish is the first ingredient, which is extremely important for cats since they are carnivores. The problems arise when corn gluten is the 2nd biggest ingredient. They know, as we do, that it is difficult to digest for cats and a source of many food allergies so why use it? It's a horrible ingredient, and brewers rice (3rd) brings little to the table as well. It's all so disappointing for this food.
I will say that they rebound with the use of barley and brown rice for the next grains, and they do include chicken meal later on down the list. That chicken meal should be further up the list as a 2nd meat source, but it's nice to at least see it here. It's also nice to see a good list of fruits and veggies present here. I'm torn on if this food is a 2 or 3 star food. The sins of using brewers rice and corn gluten are too much for me, though. If 2 of the first 3 ingredients are crap, that's a 2 star food.
Rating: *****/*****
Price: $$$/$$$$
Website: http://www.solidgoldhealth.com
Ingredients:
Chicken Meal | Potatoes | | Canola Oil | Chicken | Natural Chicken Flavor | Salmon Oil | Ocean Fish Meal | Taurine | | Choline Chloride | Dried Chicory Root | Parsley Flakes | Pumpkin Meal | Almond Oil | Sesame Oil | Yucca Schidigera Extract | Thyme | Blueberries | Cranberries | Carrots | Broccoli | Zinc Proteinate | Vitamin E Supplement | Niacin | Manganese Proteinate | Copper Proteinate | Zinc Sulfate | Manganese Sulfate | Copper Sulfate | Thiamine Mononitrate | Vitamin A Supplement | Biotin | Potassium Iodide | Calcium Panthothenate | Riboflavin | Pyridoxine Hydrochloride | Vitamin B12 Supplement | Manganous Oxide | Sodium Selenite | Vitamin D Supplement | Folic Acid |
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| Protein percentage is high, potatoes, various high quality oils, fruits and veggies. | Nothing. |
Review:
Solid Gold Indigo Moon is one of my favorite foods. It's not because it has a shiny, sparkly gold bag either, but because the ingredients are top-notch and they even have some interesting and unique ingredients you don't often see in cat foods.
The meat content is solid. Chicken meal is first, chicken is 4th, and ocean fish meal is 7th. The proten percentage is well over 40%, which is quite high. Suffice it to say that your cat will get its fill of animal proteins from this food, which is really one of the most important barometers of a good food.
Next, look at all those oils in it. You have salmon oil, almond oil and sesame oil, which are all awesome ways to get the requisite amount of fat desired into the food. The cheapest way to do it is to put disgusting beef fat in it...the best way is what you're seeing here. Also, it's heart healthy and unsaturated.
Look at those fruits and vegetables: blueberries, cranberries, carrots, broccoli, and parsley. I've never seen the latter two in a pet food.
The best part is that it isn't that hard to find, and it's even carried in some major pet stores. Not only that, but it's one of the cheaper high-end foods out there. Recommended.
Rating: */*****
Price: $/$$$$
Website: http://www.walmart.com
Ingredients:
Unavailable.
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| Nothing at all. | They use a lot of low quality grains, by-products, and questionable meat inclusions. |
Review:
Walmart refuses to put the ingredients online. I wonder why?? Well, luckily I've read them in the store before just for laughs (although I am NOT laughing for the animals who have to eat it), and I can say that this is one of the worst foods known to man.
Walmart has had their pet foods tested positive for the chemical used to put animals to sleep. There are reports that these animals actually ARE used by cheap pet food makers, sold to them by the vets who put the pets to sleep. So in effect, that'd make the eaters of this food potential cannibals. Tasty, eh?? Do you need any more reason to avoid this?
Rating: ****/*****
Price: $$$/$$$$
Website: http://www.halopets.com
Ingredients:
Chicken, Pea Protein, Whole Dried Eggs, Oats, Vegetable Broth, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Pea Flour, Chicken Liver, Salmon, Flaxseed, Salmon Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Pea Fiber, Sweet Potatoes, Apples, Blueberries, Green Beans, Carrots, Cranberries, Zucchini, Alfalfa, Inulin, Calcium Sulfate, Potassium Chloride, Taurine, Salt, Folic Acid, Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Cobalt Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Choline Bitartrate, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Riboflavin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Bifidobacterium Longum, Enterococcous Faecium, Lactobacillus Plantarum, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite.
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| Chicken is first ingredient, whole eggs, peas are prominent, many fruits and veggies used, salmon oil & flaxseed. | Only having one meat product in the first 6 ingredients may not be enough. |
Review:
This food is fairly new to the store shelves, and I actually saw it at Petco, so I decided I'd take a look at it and see if this was a quality pick up. Somewhat surprisingly, it really is a good product.
Chicken is the first ingredient, which is a top concern. Meat should always be number one, never grains. They have eggs as the 3rd ingredient, which is very high, but it's a very good protein source (among the best). The main grain they use is oats, which is a good choice for digestibility.
The inclusions of chicken liver and salmon later on are welcomed, as are flaxseed and salmon oil for heart healthy fatty acids. There are enough fruits and veggies in this to grow a garden. The only question is, is having only 1 meat source in the first 6 ingredients enough?? It'd be nice to see the salmon moved up or another meat included but it's a small quibble. This is a good food.
Rating: *****/*****
Price: $$$/$$$$
Website: http://www.halopets.com
Ingredients:
Chicken, Pea Protein, Whole Dried Eggs, Oats, Vegetable Broth, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Pea Flour, Chicken Liver, Salmon, Flaxseed, Salmon Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Pea Fiber, Sweet Potatoes, Apples, Blueberries, Green Beans, Carrots, Cranberries, Zucchini, Alfalfa, Inulin, Calcium Sulfate, Potassium Chloride, Taurine, Salt, Folic Acid, Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Cobalt Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Choline Bitartrate, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Riboflavin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Bifidobacterium Longum, Enterococcous Faecium, Lactobacillus Plantarum, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite.
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| Named meat is first, whole eggs, oats, flaxseed and salmon oil, very wide range of veggies and fruits. | Only having 1 meat ingredient in the top 6 ingredient is concerning. |
Review:
This food is somewhat recent on the quality food scene, and I surprisingly found it at Petco. As a matter of fact, I found quite a few good foods at Petco, so perhaps they're going more in the direction of quality foods. That's always encouraging to see.
This food starts very well, with chicken as the first ingredient. It'd be nice if it was "chicken meal" so it'd have more packed proteins, but it's still a good thing. Next we have pea protein, which is a fair ingredient, but the more protein that the cat can get from animal sources, the better. Eggs are very high on the list at 3rd, but there is perhaps no better protein source than eggs.
The list of fruits and veggies is very impressive, with a list 7 items wrong...it basically looks like your typical produce aisle at the grocery store. They also don't skimp on heart healthy Omega fatty acids, with two sources (salmon oil and flaxseed) present.
It's a pretty good food overall. It's nice to see more and more good foods out there becoming more commercially available.
Rating: ****/*****
Price: $$$/$$$$
Website: http://www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com
Ingredients:
Chicken meal, peas, sweet potatoes, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), potato protein, roasted venison, smoked salmon, natural flavor, ocean fish meal, methionine, taurine, choline chloride, dried chicory root, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, yucca schidigera extract, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Saccharomyces cerevesiae fermentation solubles, dried Aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, vitamin E supplement, niacin, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), vitamin A supplement, biotin, potassium iodide, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin (vitamin B2), pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, manganous oxide, sodium selenite, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| Chicken meal is first, 4 meat sources, potatoes, fruits & veggies. | Nothing comes to mind. |
Review:
Taste of the Wild isn't easy to find (at least in my experience), but if you do find it in your local specialty food store, it's worth a try. It's an interesting advertising concept....basically telling you how cats used to eat or would eat in the wild, so then you as the owner are encouraged to give your cat a "taste of the wild" with this food. Does it succeed?? Well....
The short answer is yes, it does. It's a good food, and one that I wouldn't shy away from feeding my own cats. I love seeing chicken meal as the leading ingredient, but I have a small quibble with the 2nd meat source taking until the 5th ingredient to be named. However, roasted venison and smoked salmon are really quite interesting ingredients. In all of the other foods reviewed here, none have either of those two ingredients. It actually sounds pretty dang tasty doesn't it?? I just wish they were moved up a bit in the list, as having peas as the number 2 just doesn't sit right. Also, chicken fat at 4th is higher than in most foods, but I'm ambivelent on this one and don't hold it against the food.
Also direct your attention to three ingredients in a row: tomatoes, blueberries, and raspberries. I've often said and still do say that one of the marks of a good, high-quality food are the fruits and veggies in it. This is encouraging to see, as they are very good for cats. After all, living in the wild would mean eating plants too, wouldn't it?
Rating: *****/*****
Price: $$$$/$$$$
Website: http://www.wellnesspetfood.com
Ingredients:
Deboned Turkey, Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Whitefish Meal, Potatoes, Salmon Meal, Natural Chicken Flavor. Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols, a natural source of Vitamin E), Tomato Pomace, Cranberries, Chicory Root Extract, Salmon Oil, Flaxseed, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Thiamine Mononitrate, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Beta-Carotene, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B-12 Supplement), Choline Chloride, Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Iron Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Kelp, Taurine, Lactobacillus Plantarum, Enterococcus Faecium, Lactobacillus Casei, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Rosemary Extract.
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| Very high protein content, many meat meals, potatoes, salmon oil, flaxseed, no grains. | Nothing at all. |
Review:
This is what I currently feed my cats, and I can give first-hand knowledge of what it has done for them.
First, they eat less per meal because it is so much more nutritious than other foods that are mostly filler. Secondly, the cat that used to vomit alot has nearly ceased vomiting, which makes me feel all the worse about feeding him bad food before. Lastly, they seem to have more energy than before. The night after we switched foods, I'll never forget seeing them as energetic and playful as I ever had before.
The food itself is A-grade. It comes in at 50 percent protein, which is the most you'll find in any cat dry food (tied with a couple others). The first 4 ingredients are meats, as is the 6th. Potatoes are used for carbs, and both salmon oil and flaxseed are used for fatty acids. It's hard to go wrong with a food that utilizes the best ingredients for every nutritional need they are attempting to meet.
The vegetables and fruits are a bit low, but that's forgiveable in the grand scheme of things. LIke Before Grain and Evo, this is a completely grain-free food, which is really how nature intended cats to eat.
Rating: */*****
Price: $/$$$$
Website: http://www.whiskas.com
Ingredients:
Ground Yellow Corn, Chicken By-product Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Animal Fat (Preserved with BHA/BHT), Natural Poultry Flavor, Wheat Flour, Rice, Brewers Dried Yeast, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Turkey By-product Meal, Caramel Color, Calcium Carbonate, dl-Methionine, Taurine, Trace Minerals (Zinc Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Potassium Iodide), White Fish Meal, Vitamins (dl-Alpha Tocopherol).
| What's good about this food.... | ....and what's not so good. |
|---|---|
| Nothing. | Very heavy corn use, by-products are top protein, brewers yeast, wheat present, artificial colors. |
Review:
Whiskas is just another bargain basement food that people buy strictly because it's cheap and the name is cute. I don't even think it has a jingle like Meow Mix, or a really fancy commercial like Fancy Feast. It's been around for a long time though, and I'm sure a lot of people buy it out of brand loyalty and don't think about what's in it. As long as we're on the topic of what's in it....
Well, the ingredient list is actually pretty brief. That isn't a bad thing, as long as the food has the proper ingredients. This is certainly not up to that task. Two of the first three ingredients are straight filler that are nutritionally near worthless to cats, and the other is a by-product made from disgusting parts of the animal you wouldn't personally feed your cat.
The scary thing is that there's only one animal protein source within the first 10 ingredients. Yikes!! That's not healthy at all for a cat and it is not how their bodies work. They're carnivores, people. They aren't supposed to live off of corn and wheat!! When there's more salt in a food than the 2nd meat source (turkey by-products), you know you have a problem.
About the only thing they got right was using rice for a grain, but that was after 3 other grains were already named, so it was too little too late. This is one of the worst foods on the market.