Best cat foods update March 2013
Friends, the ever-growing and active Today’s best canned and raw cat foods page has grown again.
When I started the page I had no idea how many new and interesting cat foods would emerge from the woodwork.
It’s great because I think cat food consciousness is really shifting. Since late 2010, many old and new brands have emerged with grain free options. Raw food options are popping up all over the place. Even carrageenan-free options are getting more common.
It’s an exciting time to be a cat!
Here’s what’s new:
- I tried to review all foods mentioned since last time through January. Occasionally I cannot find any useful info about a hard-to-find food – those I skip. Otherwise, if it’s not there, it didn’t quite make the cut.
- 5 new foods added: Great Life, Darwins raw frozen, Tiki Cat Koolina Luau & Puka Puka Luau, K9 Feline Natural raw frozen, Primal raw freeze dried
- Big change: all foods divided into 1st and 2nd place, with explanations for each 2nd place food
- Lots of little changes in the Concerns & Tips columns
- I am no longer reviewing new dry cat foods. I may get back to it some day, but it’s not a high priority right now.
- I had to remove Nature’s Logic canned until it can meet all AAFCO levels. Their challenge is they that they don’t add vitamins and minerals because they want to use only whole ingredients from nature. I respect that, but I would feel irresponsible recommending it for anything but intermittent feeding (in rotation with other foods) if they do not meet the minimum nutrient requirements. While they do have more than enough taurine, here’s a quote from their website: “For most nutrients there are 2 times, 3 times, or 4 times or more the required minimum amount of these nutrients in our finished products from the whole food ingredients. But because Nature’s Logic has a fraction less of one or two nutrients than the AAFCO Nutrient Profile, the intermittent [feeding] statement had to be used until the Nature’s Logic Diets are substantiated by an AAFCO Feeding Trial.”
Pop over to the Today’s best canned and raw cat foods page to see all this.
While we’re on the topic of cat food
I recently wrote an article about preventing feline obesity and diabetes for Amazing Wellness magazine, if you’re interested in that topic, the article is here.
And, I am concerned about the recall this week of Evo cat food, especially because one woman in our natural cat community ended up with sick cats who were eating Evo. She feels the quality of the food has changed. The company was acquired by Proctor & Gamble in 2010, and I fear what we all suspected has occurred: quality and safety diminishing due to cutting corners for profits.
Not sure how active these comments are anymore so reposting my previous reply as a new question to everyone:
Does this mean Nature’s Logic meets the criteria to be added back to the best foods list? Or is the M. clay still concerning enough to keep it off?
Did you know that Nature’s Logic cat cans have now proved to meet aafco minimums for kittens, maintenance and senior cats?
(To Kelsey or anyone that can answer)
Does this mean Nature’s Logic meets the criteria to be added back to the best foods list? Or is the M. clay still concerning enough to keep it off?
Dear terri,
Don’t do the commercial food for your baby. Try to get ‘human grade’ food cat food.
Many blessings and well wishes for you and your fur child.
XOXO,
Delia
hi my cat will be 10 years old in february and she has eaten purina cat chow complete formula since she became an adult. she now weighs 16lbs. i am concerned about her weight so i am going to transition her into eating nutro max cat indoor weight control dry cat food. could you please give me your thoughts on the ingredients in this food. do you feel i made the right choice in the food? anything has got to be better than purina in my opinion. i give her soft food once a week as a treat. thank you for any info you may give me. sincerely terry betts.
Hi Liz,
I havent seen “Nature’s Gift” cat foods mentioned on your site:
http://www.naturesgift.com.au/
The ingredients list looks great, but my worry is BPA in can lining. How do I go about finding that information out?
Thanks for your site, lots of great info!
steve.
I am so happy to have found your list. I have an Abyssinian and a Tonkinese, both are 3 years old. The Aby has bad gas, sometimes loose stools and sometimes vomits up her food. She is healthy and vibrant otherwise. She’s been to the vet and the found nothing.
I’ve done Blue Buffalo grain free and am now using Nature’s Variety Instinct dry food and no change. I’m thinking of going for one of the raw foods. I’m looking over the list now to determine which might be best. Thanks for the tips!
Aren’t the newmans own organic grainfree beef and beef and liver canned foods packaged in a bpa lined can? I realize the other flavors are bpa free, but they contain carrageenan. Is there any flavor of grainfree wet food from this brand without either of these? This is very frustrating! My cat will only eat this brand but I may have to switch.
Thank you
My kitty is doing so much better. It turns out (the little stinker) he totally internalizes my feelings and pain and he won’t eat when I’m not feeling well. You’d never guess he’s 13 years old because he’s so spry and comical and aware.
I don’t know if any other kitty owners feel the way I do, but, I have had many, many pets and this kitty is just special. He’s my soul-mate kitteh. My ‘familiar’. He watches over like a little guardian when I’m under the weather and he won’t eat or drink and I have to force him to when I’m not feeling well.
My life will never be the same when I have to face the reality of losing him. I’ve lost two other pets but this little guy is special, empathic, super smart, talkative and intuitive.
P.S. Sorry I posted this here…wasn’t sure where else to post it!
Hi Liz
Does the way a company responds to inquiries affect your list? The reason I’m asking is because on catinfo.org, Lisa Pierson, DVM called Blue Buffalo to inquire about the typical nutrient analysis of their canned foods as she was making a comparison chart (wonderful of her as this is lots of work!) of canned cat foods for their carbohydrate content and needed that info. They would not tell her whereas most others did. Therefore, she doesn’t recommend the company. Here’s the info:
http://www.catinfo.org/?link=cannedfoods#Contacting_Pet_Food_Companies_
It kinds of creeps me out that they are so secretive, or even worse, maybe they don’t know!
Hi Janine,
That’s interesting because I’ve come across that “secrecy” or “nonresponsive” complaint about Blue Buffalo elsewhere too. It certainly does lower my opinion of them, but I don’t kick companies off the list for that behavior…yet! Only because I feel we need a lot of options for our beloved picky felines.
Hi Liz-cat,
Thanx for the additional list of good cat foods. It’s tough to get a cat to switch to grain-free and raw. The bigger the list, the better.
Big thanx on the heads up with Evo. Up until now, I had a high opinion of them. I had no idea they were bought out by Proctor & Gamble. I’m sure the recipe has changed and I’m sure it’s a lower quality food.
That happens to a lot of good products. They are owned by a smaller company that develops a great reputation. Then they get hijacked by a big company and the quality drops like a rock.
Love your helpful cat food reviews and updates to the list!
=^..^= Hairless Cat Girl =^..^=
Thanks Hairless Cat Girl! So glad there was some helpful info in there for you.
Dear Liz,
I would like to bring this to yours and your reader’s attention [especially for us owners of ‘older’ kittehs] that flax in food is a HUGE allergen. My cat was fed some of the finest Wellness foods and thrived great on it until after five years he became allergic and I had to switch foods.
I found a ‘human-grade’ USA brand of food called “Natural Value Chicken Pate” but he’s getting fussier in older age wand refuses to eat that a lot now too, so, now I cook him homemade chicken and beef off and on and give him vitamin supplements to be on the safe side.
I also get on the scale weekly now with him in his arms so I can chart his weight.
As I’m sure you do, I love my baby boy so very much and I want to live as happily and healthily for as long as felinely possible. 🙂
Hi Delia, thank you for sharing about your experience with flax as an allergen. It makes sense and I’ve never liked flax seeds in cat food. It’s a gimmicky ingredient because cats can’t convert it to EPA and DHA and it’s not easy to digest.
Hope your fella keeps doing well and good for you for being sure to use supplements with his homemade food – very important, especially taurine which is destroyed by cooking. Be sure to add them to food after cooking. Thanks again.
So, Liz – what’s your opinion of Natural Value brand foods? I know a lot of their stuff is made with “big fish” but they have some that are not. I’ve got a lot of cats and many of them won’t eat ANY other brand than NV. Not that I’ve tried all of the brands on your list, but have tried many of them.
Six years ago a feral female entered my life and I have fed her Natural Value chicken/tuna and oceanfare. I have shared my life with cats and I have tried many brands but after I discovered how far Menu Foods production reached I searched and found NV. Right now they are undergoing a production delay to directly source. Fortunately I use Amazon’s subscribe and ship so I will have enough to overcome a month’s delay. Any time I have contacted the company I have had a prompt and personable response.