Dry Cat Food

Better dry cat food brands

Evo Turkey & Chicken Formula (*Est. $20 for a 6.6-lb. bag) gets top grades from About.com's Franny Syufy, and earns kudos in several other reviews as well. Its grain-free formula contains no artificial preservatives and no by-products. Syufy says that Evo is "closer than other commercial dry cat foods in matching the nutritional quality of a raw food diet." Turkey, chicken, turkey meal and chicken meal are its top ingredients. It is very high in protein (about 50 percent) and low in carbohydrates (about 7 percent).

Evo is made by Natura pet foods, which was acquired by Procter & Gamble in the summer of 2010. That move disappointed a lot of pet food advocates, who worried that the quality of Evo brand foods would soon suffer. To date, reports -- though anecdotal in nature -- indicate that the food remains unchanged.

Natura also produces other dry foods that have drawn positive feedback. For example, Natura's Innova Dry Cat & Kitten (*Est. $18 for a 6-lb. bag) is another top-named choice at About.com. Its formula contains barley and rice but no corn, no artificial preservatives and no by-products. Site guide Franny Syufy says turkey, chicken meal and chicken are its primary ingredients; Innova dry cat food is 36 percent protein. One drawback is that Innova has a higher caloric content than some other foods, so it may not be the best choice for cats prone to weight gain. There is a light formula for heavy cats.

California Natural is another Natura/P&G brand. It, too, draws kudos. It's another top pick at About.com, with Franny Syufy saying "Cats seem to like the taste, and the company prides itself on maintaining exacting standards." It also gets a good but not a top score at PetFoodRatings.net. It's not as high in protein as some dry foods, notes site owner Christopher Eng, but it's also less expensive than many of those. "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," he adds. Top ingredients in the Chicken and Brown Rice variety (*Est. $15 for a 5-lb. bag) are chicken, chicken meal, brown rice and rice.

Wellness also makes several dry foods that have earned respect from experts. Like several other reviewers, Franny Syufy rates Wellness Core Fish & Fowl Recipe for Adult Cats & Kittens (*Est. $24 for a 5.9-lb. bag) on a par with Evo; both are entirely grain free. Christopher Eng at PetFoodRatings.net also gives Wellness Core a top grade as a brand, and states that it's what he is currently feeding his cats. Like Evo, the food is 50 percent protein, which is very high. Deboned turkey, deboned chicken, chicken meal and whitefish meal are the top four ingredients. Wellness dry cat foods were not affected by the March 2011 voluntary recall of some lots of the company's canned foods over a thiamine (Vitamin B1) deficiency.

Experts applaud the quality of cat foods from Fromm Family Foods. One plus is that Fromm makes all of its dry foods itself in a USDA-certified plant in Wisconsin, and obtains ingredients from local producers. Christopher Eng at PetFoodRatings.net notes that four of the first five ingredients in Fromm Four Star Nutritional Grain-Free Surf & Turf (*Est. $18 for a 5-lb. bag) are named meats, and that there are no by-products or fillers. Probiotics and chelated minerals (for better absorption) are also included. About.com's Franny Syufy includes Fromm dry cat foods on her list of top choices.

Other dry cat foods that earn kudos from multiple reviewers include Orijen Adult Cat & Kitten (*Est. $19 for a 5.5-lb. bag), Blue Buffalo Spa Select Chicken & Brown Rice Formula (*Est. $19 for a 7-lb. bag), Merrick Before Grain Salmon Cat Food Dry (*Est. $18 for a 6.6-lb. bag) and Taste of the Wild Rocky Mountain Feline (*Est. $11 for a 5-lb. bag). All pass the screening at Susan Thixton's PetsumerReport.com, meaning they use high-quality ingredients and avoid those that are the least bit questionable.

Two organic dry cat foods earn kudos in reviews. TimberWolf Organics Serengeti Herbal Feline Diet (*Est. $15 for a 4-lb. bag) is a pick at About.com and gets a top rating at PetsumerReport.com, but it can be hard to find. Newman's Own Organics may be available in your grocery store, which can compensate for the relatively high price. About.com's Franny Syufy recommends both the Adult Cat (*Est. $22 for a 4.75-lb. bag) and Advanced Cat formulas (*Est. $22 for a 4.75-lb. bag), and Newman's Own Organics dry cat food scores nearly -- but not quite -- as highly at PetsumerReport.com.

Budget dry cat food

Reviews say that Natural Balance Ultra Premium Dry (*Est. $13 for a 6-lb. bag) is a good dry food choice, earning a high rating at PetsumerReport.com, even though Susan Thixton dings it for the use of Canola oil, an ingredient she finds to be controversial. It contains no other chemical preservatives, no corn and no by-products, and has 34 percent protein. While more expensive than most cat foods found in supermarkets, it's relatively inexpensive for a premium brand and is easily found at large pet food chains. It earns reasonably good scores at PetFoodRatings.net and a recommendation at About.com.

Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul (*Est. $12 for a 6-lb. bag) has a bit of a checkered past, including a history of some recalls. Still, About.com's Franny Syufy says that it's a favorite among her readers, and that it's become "a regular staple" for her own cats. Christopher Eng says the grain content is a little higher than he'd like to see, but they are high-quality grains and their presence is offset by the high meat content. Eng adds that Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul is relatively inexpensive, considering its quality. PetsumerReport.com doesn't care for the use of sodium bisulfate (an artificial form of vitamin K), but still gives the food its highest 5-paw rating for overall quality.

Many of the dry cat food brands sold in supermarkets are well advertised but rank lower in reviews. For example, we saw only reserved recommendations for Nutro Natural Choice Complete Care Oceanfish Flavor (*Est. $19 for an 8-lb. bag). Christopher Eng at PetFoodRatings.net gives it a middle-of-the-road 3-star rating and notes positives and negatives. He's happy to see chicken meal as the top ingredient and applauds the absence of undesirable ingredients like by-products. On the other hand, the inclusion of corn gluten meal as the third ingredient earns a definite thumbs-down.

Purina's Pro Plan Selects varieties are another well-advertised food that's a little higher in quality. While undesirable grain products such as corn gluten meal and wheat gluten are still present, Purina Pro Plan Selects Natural Chicken and Brown Rice (*Est. $22 for a 7-lb. bag) contains no by-products, and the first-named ingredients are indeed chicken and brown rice. However, it's as expensive as some much higher-quality premium foods, making it a poor value. Furthermore, PetsumerReport.com flags it for several questionable ingredients, including animal fats.

Purina's less expensive product, Purina Cat Chow, comes in several varieties, but most critics find little to like among any of them. For example, Purina Cat Chow Indoor Formula (*Est. $10 for a 7-lb. bag) names corn meal, poultry by-product meal, corn gluten meal, soy flour and beef tallow as its top-listed ingredients. That lineup earns it a rating of no paws at PetsumerReport.com. Christopher Eng at PetFoodRatings.net looks at the food and comes to a similar conclusion.