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When you’ve finally had enough, you head to the cupboard or the pantry to pour your cat a bowl of food. It’s something you’ve done hundreds of times, so you don’t really think about it. You don’t really think about what you’re actually feeding your cat.
The truth of the matter is that all cat foods are not created equal.
Cat food manufacturers are businesses just like any other, and their number-1 goal will always be to make a profit. This isn’t to say that all cat food companies are bad, but there are certainly more than a few of them out there that don’t deserve a second glance.
But how do you know which cat food companies you can trust and which ones you can’t?
Unfortunately, it’s not easy. If you want to be confident that you’re feeding your cat a high-quality product that will meet his nutritional needs in the healthiest way possible, you’re going to have to do a little bit of homework. You’re going to have to take matters into your own hands. Learn how to identify the best cat food brands on the market.
Lucky for you, we’re here to help!
We’ve been doing this for a long time, so we know what’s what when it comes to cat food. Does that mean you should trust us implicitly? Not necessarily. You should always do your own research. But it’s our goal to provide you with honest, accurate information so you can make well-informed decisions when it comes to your cat’s food.
In this article, we’ll give you the background information you need to pick the best cat food for your cat, AND we’ll throw in some of our own personal recommendations to get you started.
Let’s get to it!
What are the Best (Healthiest) Cat Food Brands in 2022?
JustCats Fish & Chicken
NomNomNow Fresh Food Delivery
American Journey Turkey & Chicken Recipe Dry Food - Most Affordable
Taste of the Wild Rocky Mountain Grain-Free Cat Food - Most Popular
Ziwi Peak Lamb Recipe Canned Cat Food
Wellness CORE Grain-Free Indoor Formula
Nature’s Variety Instinct LID Rabbit Recipe
The Honest Kitchen Grain-Free Chicken Recipe Dehydrated Cat Food
Blue Buffalo Wilderness Chicken Recipe Grain-Free Cat Food
What Makes a Good Cat Food?
Cat food brands are a dime a dozen, so how do you know if one brand is better than another?
To be able to tell the good from the bad, you’ll need to learn the basics about reading a cat food label. All the information you need to determine the quality of a cat food product is there for you to see.
Here are some of the most important things to look for in a good cat food:
- Nutritionally complete and balanced
- High-quality, animal-based proteins
- Healthy fats (omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids)
- Digestible carbohydrates and dietary fiber
- No by-products or artificial additives
- Beneficial supplements
Now, let’s take a closer look at each of these things and how they contribute to making a cat food worthy of your consideration.
When it comes to evaluating cat food, you should start by looking for an AAFCO statement of nutritional adequacy, then check the guaranteed analysis and list of ingredients. The American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) has created nutrient profiles for cats in different life stages - growth & reproduction (kittens and pregnant or lactating females) and adult maintenance.
If a cat food meets these minimum nutritional requirements, it will carry a label somewhere on the package that looks something like this:
Animal feeding tests using AAFCO procedures substantiate that [Insert Product page_seo_title] provides complete and balanced nutrition for maintenance of adult cats.
Once you’ve determined that the product is nutritionally complete and balanced, then you can take a closer look at the ingredients themselves and their percentages.
All animals have specific nutritional requirements, and your cat’s nutritional needs are much different from your own. Cats are obligate carnivores by nature which means that they have a biological need for meat in their diet. They have a limited ability to digest plant products, but meat should provide the basis of their nutrition.
In terms of specific requirements, the Merck Veterinary Manual lists the following:
As you can see, cats have no minimum requirement for carbohydrate in their diet. Keep in mind, however, that digestible carbohydrates provide a source of usable energy as well as dietary fiber and essential vitamins and minerals. All you need to worry about is making sure that protein is the foundation of your cat’s diet with adequate fat content.
In addition to making sure that your cat’s food does contain high-quality ingredients, you also need to make sure it doesn’t contain by-products and artificial additives. Low-quality ingredients like these can upset your cat’s digestion at best and do serious harm to his health at worst. On the opposite side of things, however, there are additives that can be considered beneficial like vitamin supplements, chelated minerals, and probiotics.
Now that you have a better idea what you should be looking for in the best cat food, you may be wondering what kind of options are out there. Keep reading to find out!
What Are the Different Types of Cat Food?
As a cat owner, it is your job to provide for your cat’s needs, and that includes a healthy and nutritious diet. Before you stroll into the nearest pet store and grab something off the shelf, however, you should take the time to learn about your options - this includes familiarizing yourself with the different types of cat food you’re likely to encounter.
Here is a quick overview of some of the most popular types of cat food:
- Dry Cat Food
- Canned Cat Food
- Semi-Moist Cat Food
- Freeze-Dried Cat Food
- Dehydrated Cat Food
- Fresh Cat Food
- Raw Cat Food
Within each of these categories, there are a variety of other types of cat food as well.
For example, both dry cat food and canned cat food brands offer options for grain-free and limited ingredient cat foods. These options are great for cats with food allergies or sensitivities. Limited ingredient diets are simply cat foods made with a lower number of main ingredients (often with novel sources of protein and carbohydrate) to limit the risk of triggering food allergies.
A quick word about grain-free cat food….
There has always been a great deal of controversy surrounding the inclusion of carbohydrates in cat food. The fact remains that cats are obligate carnivores which means that the majority of their nutrition needs to come from animal sources. Unfortunately, meat-based diets are expensive, and most cat owners don’t have the knowledge or ability to create a homemade cat food diet that is nutritionally complete and balanced.
The task falls then to commercial cat food manufacturers who must strike a balance between creating a product that meets AAFCO standards but also makes them a profit.
It is our belief that while fresh cat food made primarily with meat-based ingredients is certainly the best option for cats, that high-quality commercial diets made with digestible carbohydrates are acceptable. Again, it falls on the cat owner’s shoulders to choose the best cat food for their cat and to purchase the highest-quality cat food you can consistently afford.
So, how do you choose the healthiest cat food for your cat without emptying your bank account every month? Keep reading to learn some helpful tips for balancing quality and affordability.
Tips for Balancing Budget and Quality
As a cat owner, you want what’s best for your feline friend - we all do. Unfortunately, the best cat foods on the market are very expensive, and it simply isn’t in the average cat owner’s budget to feed top-shelf cat food all the time.
The best thing you can do for your cat is to feed him the highest quality cat food you can consistently afford. But how do you strike the right balance between quality and affordability?
If you’re concerned about your budget, you may be tempted to shop for cat food by price, but that would be a mistake. It is, unfortunately, true for most cheap cat food brands that they use low-quality ingredients like grains and fillers. If you start with price rather than quality when shopping for cat food, you are likely to end up with a product that isn’t any good.
So, where do you start?
First, you’ll want to decide between feeding your cat a good dry cat food or wet food. Generally speaking, dry food is more affordable than wet food, and it has the added benefit of a longer shelf-life. Wet food tends to be higher in protein and moisture, but the best canned cat food on the market is very expensive - especially if you use it as your cat’s staple diet.
Once you’ve decided between wet and dry cat food, think about the main ingredients.
Protein is always the most important nutrient for cats, but it can come from different sources. Chicken is an excellent source of complete protein for cats, and it tends to be very affordable as well. Proteins like beef and pork are also at the lower end of the pricing spectrum, but these ingredients come with a higher risk of triggering food allergies and sensitivities.
As long as the cat food lists a quality source of animal-based protein as the first ingredient, you’re off to a good start. Next, check out the fats and carbohydrates. Remember, fats provide energy as well as support for healthy skin and coat while carbohydrates provide energy and fiber.
Many good cat food manufacturers add bulk to their products with grains and fillers. These ingredients add calories and substance to the product without significantly adding to the cost. You’ll also see some cat food manufacturers using plant-based proteins like pea protein or potato protein to beef up the protein content of their cat foods without adding expensive meat ingredients.
Affordable cat food tends to contain grains, but you should look for the more digestible options like brown rice and oatmeal rather than things like wheat and corn.
There are certainly affordable grain-free cat foods on the market, but some of them are made with legumes like lentils and peas which, in large quantities, can cause digestive issues of their own. The best grain-free carbohydrates for cats are nutrient-rich vegetables like spinach and carrots which provide a balance of carbohydrate energy, dietary fiber, and essential nutrients.
As long as the cat food you’re considering has plenty of animal-based protein, healthy fats, and digestible carbohydrates, it should be fine. If you’re concerned about price, you may have to make some compromises about the percentages of these ingredients, but as long as your cat’s minimum nutritional requirements are met, you should be fine.
Before you head to the register, however, there is one more thing to look for - artificial additives.
Though this is not universally true, it is often the case that as the quality of a cat food product goes down, the length of the ingredients list goes up. At the end of that list, you’re likely to find all kinds of artificial additives like colors, flavors, and preservatives.
Depending how low your budget is, you may have to make some concessions about things like artificial flavors and by-products but avoid any cat food made with harmful preservatives like BHA, BHT, and ethoxyquin.
If you’re not sure whether an affordable cat food is any good, you can always check online cat food ratings for the brand or for the specific recipe you’re considering. Speaking of cat food ratings, keep reading to see our top 10 picks for the best cat foods for cats.
The Top 11 Best Cat Foods
With so many different options out there, it is difficult to say what is truly the best cat food. As a cat owner, the best thing you can do is consider your cat’s nutritional requirements, and individual preferences then choose the highest quality product you can that fits your budget.
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