Cat Food Review: Best Cat Food Reviews

Best canned cat food, but expensive

*Est. $1.60 per 5.5-oz. can Compare Prices

Experts say that wet food is better for your cat because it contains a high percentage of water, ensuring your cat stays hydrated. No wet food brand draws more praise than Wellness. All varieties are high in protein and… have all of the nutrients cats need so they can be used as the sole diet. Fish meal is safely preserved with vitamin E. Many varieties are completely grain-free, though some include higher-quality grains, such as brown rice. The only caveat -- aside from price -- is that a few reviewers have noted that while some cats love the food, other cats just don't like it.

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Expert & User Review Sources:

About.com: About.com guide to cats Franny Syufy calls Wellness Chicken Formula an enigma. She says that owners will appreciate the ...

CatInfo.org: While the author is a strong proponent of feeding cats a raw diet, Wellness's grain-free varieties (including Chicken Formula) ...

PetsumerReport.com: Wellness canned cat food earns the highest possible rating here. Susan Thixton, who also writes the Truth About Pet Food blog, ...

Ask Susan Peters: Susan Peters tends to be hypercritical when it comes to cat foods, and few cat foods score very well here. Wellness Chicken ...

Tipped Ear Clan: This fun blog has lots of information about cat nutrition and cat foods. In a January 2009 update, the anonymous author writes ...

ZooToo.com: Wellness Chicken Formula cat food scores relatively well here after 25 reviews. A few comments say that not all cats are fond ...

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Amazon

for $29.39

Only Natural Pet Store

for $27.99

Best-value canned cat food

Natural Balance Indoor Cat Formula

*Est. 95 cents per 6-oz. can Compare Prices

This cat food, which features a combination of chicken, chicken broth, chicken liver and salmon, stands out for its protein-rich primary ingredients. It contains none of the byproducts that make up the main ingredients in… cheaper cat foods, and the only grains used are oat bran and rice flour -- so it's free of wheat, corn and soy. There are no artificial colors and no chemical preservatives.

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Expert & User Review Sources:

About.com: Franny Syufy, About.com's guide to cats, rates Natural Balance as the top canned cat food based on testing with her cats. She ...

CatInfo.org: Veterinarian Lisa Pierson advocates a raw-meat diet for cats, and her recommendations reflect that she considers other foods ...

PetsumerReport.com: Natural Balance Indoor Cat Formula earns the highest possible rating here, though reviewer Susan Thixton notes that the ...

Tipped Ear Clan: This cat-centric blog includes a fun-to-read page on cat nutrition and cat food. Natural Balance is among the premium cat ...

Only Natural Pet Store: More than 50 owner reviews are mostly positive, though this isn't one of the top-rated cat foods here. Cats being what they ...

Petco.com: The nearly 60 owners reviewing Natural Balance Ultra Premium give this cat food a nearly perfect average rating. As with most ...

CatFoodReviews.com: Natural Balance, along with Solid Gold, gets top ratings here as a brand. However, the editors are focused more on Natural ...

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Only Natural Pet Store

for $26.99

PetFoodDire- ct

for $27.49

National Pet Pharmacy

for $27.49

Supermarket canned cat food

Fancy Feast Flaked Fish & Shrimp Feast

*Est. 50 cents per 3-oz. can Compare Prices

If your local pet store doesn't stock Natural Balance canned cat food, it's possible to buy reasonably good cat food at your supermarket. The key is to read the labels to pick only varieties that don't include undesirable… ingredients such as corn or byproducts. One example is Fancy Feast Flaked Fish & Shrimp Feast, which lists fish, fish broth and shrimp as its first three ingredients and is free of undesirable grains, glutens or byproducts. You'll have to read the labels carefully, though, to pick the best varieties.

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Expert & User Review Sources:

PetsumerReport.com: Susan Thixton, who also writes the Truth About Pet Food blog, gives this Fancy Feast variety a score of 3 out of 4. Some ...

Ask Susan Peters: Fancy Feast Flaked Fish & Shrimp Feast tests reasonably well in this report, with a rating of 8 on a 10-point scale. The ...

CatInfo.org: This veterinarian mentions that some Fancy Feast varieties are much better than others, namely the ones that list meat as a ...

ZooToo.com: More than 160 owners give this Fancy Feast variety mostly positive reviews. However, some cats are turned off by the shrimp, ...

Amazon.com: The handful of owners reviewing this cat food here give it perfect 5-star ratings, praising the relatively high protein (at ...

ExpoTV.com: There aren't a lot of reviews here, and what's here is not comparative, but these user-generated video reviews can be fun to ...

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Best dry cat food, but expensive

Wellness Core Fish & Fowl Recipe for Adult Cats & Kittens

*Est. $20 for a 5.9-lb. bag Compare Prices

Although some experts say dry cat food should be avoided, others say it is a good supplement to canned food, and that it's less expensive. Among top-quality dry foods, Wellness Core draws good praise. It's grain-free and… contains 50 percent protein, which experts recommend, and it includes probiotics and high-quality minerals. The top four ingredients -- and five of the top six -- are meats or meat meals.

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Expert & User Review Sources:

About.com: About.com's Franny Syufy rates Wellness Core highly and says it is a food that's "closely aligned with a raw diet." She ...

PetFoodRatings.net: The site owner at this pet food ratings page gives Wellness Core his highest rating, praising the high protein content and use ...

PetsumerReport.com: This site is all about pet food. Here, Susan Thixton gives this Wellness Core variety a perfect rating, significantly higher ...

Ask Susan Peters: Susan Peters takes issue with the inclusion of certain ingredients in Wellness Core dry cat food -- namely chicken fat, ...

Sequoia Humane Society: Wellness Core is one of only five dry cat foods recommended by this Eureka, Calif., branch of the Humane Society. The food ...

Petco.com: About three dozen owners have weighed in on Wellness Core as of our last visit, and all seem happy with the food. Most ...

Only Natural Pet Store: About two dozen owners give this dry cat food mostly positive ratings here, praising the nutritional value -- though some ...

ZooToo.com: There aren't a lot of reviews here for Wellness Core, but what's here shows a general pattern of satisfaction. A few owners ...

GreenLittleCat.com: This cat lover evaluates Wellness, along with five other "health food" cat-food companies, with a focus on their environmental ...

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Amazon

for $37.99

Best value dry cat food

Natural Balance Ultra Premium Dry

*Est. $14 for a 6.6-lb. bag Compare Prices

While it's a little more expensive than most supermarket foods, Natural Balance Ultra Premium cat food is a good compromise where top-quality foods like Wellness Core are just too costly. Unlike some less expensive foods… -- and some that cost nearly as much or more -- you won't find byproducts, chemical preservatives or lesser grains such as corn, wheat or soy. Brown rice does make an appearance in the third spot of the ingredients list, but the other top four ingredients are chicken meal, chicken and duck meal. Like the wet variety above, each batch of Natural Balance Ultra Premium is tested for possible contaminants, and the results are posted for owners to see.

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Expert & User Review Sources:

About.com: Franny Syufy, About.com's guide to cats, includes Natural Balance Ultra Premium cat food in her list of top dry food choices, ...

PetFoodRatings.net: While Natural Balance Ultra Premium earns a rating that's just a bit below the top foods, Christopher Eng says it's a great ...

PetsumerReport.com: Natural Balance Ultra Premium gets a high rating here despite its inclusion of ethoxyquin as a fish meal preservative. Susan ...

Ask Susan Peters: Susan Peters reviews a different variety of Natural Balance dry cat food here, but it's easy to see that her rating (7 on a ...

Tipped Ear Clan: This cat-oriented blog features an entertaining and informative page on cat foods and nutrition. Natural Balance is included ...

ZooToo.com: Nearly 150 users have weighed in at this independent pet lovers' community, and most seem quite pleased, giving it an average ...

Petco.com: About 60 users have written reviews of Natural Balance Ultra Premium, giving it a high average rating of 4.7 on a 5-point ...

Only Natural Pet Store: Fewer than a dozen owners review this cat food here. Most are delighted with it, but two report that the litter box became ...

GreenLittleCat.com: This cat lover evaluates Natural Balance, along with five other "health food" cat-food companies, with a focus on their ...

Amazon.com: Most of the handful of owners reviewing this cat food here are delighted with it. But one reviewer, a biochemist, argues that ...

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National Pet Pharmacy

for $30.89

Organic cat food

Newman's Own Organics Chicken and Brown Rice

*Est. $1.20 for a 5.5-oz. can Compare Prices

Organic pet foods are growing in popularity because some pet owners want to limit their pets' exposure to chemical preservatives, hormones and antibiotics present in most commercial cat food. Newman's Own Organics Chicken… and Brown Rice draws praise for using chickens that are fed an all-vegetable and antibiotic-free diet and for using other certified organic ingredients. Its manufacturing facilities have also been certified organic. Although it contains rice, it is free of less desirable grains such as wheat or corn, and is completely free of byproducts. Newman's Own also makes a recommended dry cat food (*Est. $17 per 4.75-lb. bag).

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Expert & User Review Sources:

About.com: Franny Syufy, About.com's guide to cats, ranks Newman's Own Organics Chicken and Brown Rice seventh on her list of recommended ...

CatInfo.org: Veterinarian Lisa Pierson advocates a raw-meat diet, and her recommendations reflect that bias, favoring canned cat food that ...

PetsumerReport.com: Newman's Own Organics cat food gets the highest possible ratings here, and site owner Susan Thixton notes that it includes ...

Ask Susan Peters: Susan Peters likes the dry Newman's Own cat food better than the canned, rating the Chicken & Brown Rice variety only ...

AllExperts.com: The two volunteer experts on cats who answer questions here include Newman's Own as one of six brands of cat food recommended. ...

Only Natural Pet Store: More than two dozen owners give Newman's Own canned cat food varieties an average rating of 4.5 on a 5-point scale. Most are ...

Amazon.com: About three dozen owners review Newman's Own Organics cat food here, giving it an average rating of 4 on a 5-point scale; ...

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National Pet Pharmacy

Frozen raw cat food

Feline's Pride Gourmet Chicken Dinner

*Est. $95 for a 20-lb. box Learn More

Many cat experts and a growing number of owners prefer feeding cats a raw diet that simulates what an animal would eat in the wild. While very expensive, experts point to Feline's Pride as the best commercially available… raw food and the best alternative to making raw food at home. It consists of natural raw meats and bone and is free of preservatives, vegetables, grains and antibiotics. The only things added are essential nutrients such as taurine, so Feline's Pride is nutritionally complete. However, it is notably more expensive per serving than most canned and dry cat foods.

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Expert & User Review Sources:

CatInfo.org: Veterinarian Lisa Pierson advocates a raw-meat diet for cats, and her recommendations reflect his. Although she makes her own ...

CatNutrition.org: This raw-food advocate recommends Feline's Pride as the best commercial raw cat food, though she prefers to make her own and ...

About.com: Franny Syufy, About.com's guide to cats, includes Feline's Pride in this list of 11 commercial raw cat foods. (Note: ...

Itchmo Forums for Cats & Dogs: This discussion is very brief, but it includes tips on persuading a cat to switch from a dry commercial cat food to a Feline's ...

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Cat Food: Reviews

See Also

Best canned cat food, but expensive

Best-value canned cat food

Supermarket canned cat food

Best dry cat food, but expensive

Best value dry cat food

Organic cat food

Frozen raw cat food

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