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Feeding your cat is one of the most important aspects of being a pet owner. There are many choices. Should you choose wet cat food or dry cat food? What ingredients should it incorporate?
All of these questions can be overwhelming for any pet owner. Luckily with proper research and your veterinarian’s expertise, the right food for your cat can be chosen.

Selecting a Cat Food Brand and Diet for Your Cats
When selecting a cat food brand, it’s important to pick a proper diet for your cats’ age, health, and lifestyle. Many types fall into each category that it can be hard to narrow down. Take a look at this article for some helpful pointers.
Best Diet for Food-Sensitivity
★★★★ 4 Stars
Having a cat with food allergies can make feeding them a heavy feat. After they gobble down their meal, you are often left with anxiety. Will they get sick? Will they vomit or have diarrhea?
Thankfully there are foods like Earthborn Grain Free Catcciatori Can Cat Food to steer your cat from unwanted allergic reactions. Combining chicken, potatoes, and gravy, your cat is sure to love the taste as well as obtain the proper nutrients they need.
Features we love
- Includes real ingredients such as chicken and potatoes.
- The food meets the nutritional needs of the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO).
Features we aren’t crazy about
- The food is not offered in a dry formula.
Best Diet for Skin and Coat
★★★3 Stars
Tuna and salmon are excellent sources of protein for your cat’s skin and coat. Feeding your cat food such as Earthborn Grain Free Harbor Can Cat Food can help you incorporate the vitamin and minerals to give your cat a shiny, healthy coat.
Features we love
- This food is made in the USA.
- The food meets the nutritional needs of the AAFCO.
- This food is excellent for skin sensitivities.
- It is a canned food that contains highly digestible protein.
Features we aren’t so crazy about
- It’s not offered in a dry formula.

Best Holistic Diet
★★★ 3 Stars

Earthborn Grain Free Catalina Can Cat Food is an excellent holistic diet for even the pickiest feline. Complete with high-quality protein as well as highly digestible ingredients that also include delicious flavors for your kitty.
Holistic health is about focusing on the overall body of your cat vs. just the parts. Therefore this food is a great comprehensive option for cars with allergies and the overall health of your cats.
Features we love
- This food is rich in Omega Fatty Acids.
- This food meets the nutritional needs of the AAFCO.
Features we aren’t so crazy about
- It’s not offered in a dry formula.
- Certain fish ingredients can cause urinary crystals to develop, leading to bladder stones in the future.
Best Novelty Diet
★★★ 3 Stars
Offering cats novelty diets are important when trying to manage allergies. Novelty diets contain foods such as rabbit, venison, or duck. Blue Buffalo Wilderness Duck Dry Food is a great way option if you’re looking for novelty diets.
Owners use novelty diets to steer clear of regular commercial food ingredients—the theory being that those ingredients are what causes your cat to have allergies. Therefore, offering a diet such as this can help alleviate any adverse side effects that commercial dog foods cause.
Features we love
- The main ingredient is duck.
- Great for owners who want to feed their cats a raw diet.
- Ingredients are cold-formed to help maintain the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
Features we aren’t crazy about
- A high protein diet can cause diarrhea.

Best Indoor Cat Diet
★★★★ 3 Stars
Keeping your cats indoors is vital to their overall health. Being indoors protects them from predators, weather, and other harsh environmental hazards. But, we must be able to adapt their diet to meet their needs when living strictly indoors.
They won’t require the same amount of protein if living inside. They will also be moving around much less and therefore need a diet that will help keep the fat off while still maintaining a healthy balance of vegetables, minerals, vitamins, and amino acids. Blue Buffalo Indoor Health Dry Cat Food combines all of these things while still upholding a tasty premium food that your cat is sure to love.
Features we love
- Food strengthens the immune system.
- Offers essential amino acids and nutrients.
- Food is cold formed.
Features we aren’t crazy about
- The food contains ingredients that are not recognized by the AAFCO as essential ingredients.
- The high protein content can cause diarrhea.
Best Gluten-Free
★★★ 3 Stars
Gluten-free diets are very trendy in today’s society. Between children, adults, and now even pets requiring meals with less or even no gluten in it. This is to avoid diarrhea or gastrointestinal upset that is said to be caused by gluten.
Owners find themselves searching for foods that are gluten-free such as Blue Buffalo Wilderness Chicken Dry Cat Food.
Features we love
- A great option if you need to provide your cat with a gluten-free diet.
- Food strengthens the immune system.
- Food is cold formed.
Features we aren’t crazy about
- It’s expensive.
- The high protein content is likely to cause gastrointestinal upset.

Best Kitten
★★★ 3 Stars
It should come as no surprise that kittens have a higher caloric need than adult cats. Therefore all foods are not created equal. When feeding your kitten, it’s essential to choose a food that meets their nutritional needs.
ORIJEN Dry Cat and Kitten Food is a great option when first feeding your kitten. It is packed with whole ingredients that are protein-rich. It also has a great fat index for your growing kitten.
Features we love
- This food is formulated to meet the nutritional levels developed by the AAFCO.
- It uses locally grown vegetables, fruit, and botanicals.
- The food contains refrigerated meats that contain no preservatives.
Features we aren’t crazy about
- It is marketed for adult cats as well as kittens, which can lead to overweight cats.
Best for All Life Stages
★★★ 3 Stars

As stated above, different life stages call for different nutritional needs for your cat. Once they pass the kitten stage, they enter young adult, then go to an adult, and finally senior. Each phase brings a different requirement for your cat.
Besides the kitten stage, the other life stages (provided your cat has no health issues) would be easiest to feed them a consistent diet. One that has high palatability, as well as offering protein and nutrients to keep them healthy.
ORIJEN Six Fish Dry Food offers a significant amount of whole dried fish wild-caught and packed with nutrition.
Features we love
- This food has a high palatability by using freeze-dried cod liver.
- It has a low glycemic index.
- This food is formulated to meet the nutritional levels prepared by the AAFCO.
Features we aren’t crazy about
- It is marketed for kittens as well as adult cats when they have very different nutritional needs.

Best for Low Sugar
★★★ 3 Stars

Added sugar can cause issues for your cat down the line. It’s important to offer food with a low glycemic index because cats’ metabolism has evolved to gain protein from fish and meat protein vs. carbohydrates.
ORIJEN Regional Red Dry Cat Food has a low glycemic index, five different meat options, and one fish option. Using a protein-based food with lower carbohydrates promotes overall better health for your cat by reducing fat storage risk.
Features we love
- It has a low glycemic index.
- This food is formulated to meet the nutritional levels developed by the AAFCO.
- The ingredients are a combination of regular protein, a novel protein, and fish, which will offer a lot of nutrition.
Features we aren’t so crazy about
- The food ranges on the more expensive side.
Best Food to Manage Weight Loss
★★★ 3 Stars

From time to time, our kitties may overeat and pack on a few pounds. That’s okay, we aren’t judging, but it isn’t the healthiest thing for them. One of the best ways to shed some weight is to offer food that is high in protein and low in carbohydrates.
A combination between exercise and a proper diet will be the best way to keep your cat’s weight at bay. ORIJEN Fit and Trim Dry Cat Food is a great choice to keep your cat’s calories down.
Features we love
- This food supports lean muscle mass.
- Offers lean ingredients such as fish, turkey, and chicken.
- This food is formulated to meet the nutritional levels composed by the AAFCO.
Features we aren’t so crazy about
- A large bag of food is on the more expensive side.

Best Wheat-Free
★★ 2 Stars

There’s a lot of controversy about ingredients causing allergies. Some people believe that corn and wheat are the top allergens in cat foods. Although there are studies proving both for and against it, owners still like to opt for wheat-free food.
Fromm’s Gold Nutritionals Adult Cat Dry Food is a great option if you are looking to go this route. It uses real cheese as well as probiotics and prebiotics. It also contains omega fatty acids.
Features we love
- The ingredients include salmon oil for a healthy hair coat.
- Using probiotics and prebiotics is a great way to aid in healthy digestion.
Features we aren’t so crazy about
- There are limited sizes available.
- This promotes the idea that wheat and corn are bad for cats.
Best Overall
★★★★★ 5 Stars
An all-round cat food that promotes full fresh ingredients and also contains proper nutrients and vitamins. Fromm’s 4-Star Chicken A La Veg Dry Cat Food is filled with lean chicken, grains, probiotics, and prebiotics all to help aid in digestion.
This food is sure to satisfy your cat’s taste buds and keep them healthy inside for all life stages from young adult to senior.
Features we love
- The ingredients are fresh and easily digestible.
- The chicken and cartilage involved in the food are filled with glucosamine.
- It does not contain pre-processed ingredients.
- Price is fair.
Features we aren’t so crazy about
- This food has a high-calorie intake that, without proper exercise, can lead to weight gain.

Best Overall Ingredients
★★★★★ 5 Stars

Ingredients are obviously the main thing you should be looking at when deciding what to feed your cat. So it obviously does not need to be said that ingredients should be the top priority when picking cat food. Fromm does a great job at incorporating and picking quality ingredients when designing their cat foods.
Fromm’s 4-Star Salmon Tunachovy Dry Cat Food is an excellent choice when you’re concerned with ingredients. It includes fresh salmon, tuna, and anchovy, as well as vegetables and fruit. It also contains added cartilage, probiotics, prebiotics, and omega fatty acids for a well rounded nutritious food.
Features we love
- The ingredients are fresh and nutritious.
- The pricing is fair.
- There is a fair amount of vitamins and minerals prevalent to promote proper gut and skin health.
- This food is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO.
Features we aren’t so crazy about
- This food promotes no wheat and no corn.
Best Combination of Meat and Fish
★★★★ 4 Stars

Cats love protein no matter the source. However, when offered both, they tend to like one over the other. But, both meat and fish provide nutritional benefits to your cat and provide a superfood when combined.
Fromm’s 4 star Grain Free Surf and Turf Dry Cat Food offer salmon, chicken, and duck to deliver a tasty and nutritional feast for your cat. It provides a balanced protein and fat content containing probiotics, prebiotics, omega fatty acids, and glucosamine.
Features we love
- The ingredients have an outstanding balance between protein and fat.
- This food is filled with probiotics, prebiotics for optimal gut health.
- This food has glucosamine and omega fatty acids for great skin and coat health.
Features we aren’t so crazy about
- Food does not contain any grains.
Best Meat
★★ 2 Stars

When focusing on meat solely for your cat’s diet, it’s essential to choose the best. ACANA Regionals Meadowland Dry Cat Food is made up of 75% meat. Containing chicken and turkey along with fish flavors, your cat is sure to love this meat-filled food. This food contains all the proper nutrients without any synthetic substitutes.
Features we love
- There aren’t any synthetic substitutes or additives in this food.
- This food contains a ton of protein that is important for your cat’s health.
- This food contains low carbohydrates so that cats can focus on getting their energy from protein vs. sugar.
Features we aren’t so crazy about
- Recent studies have linked this food to causing possible heart disease.

Best Locally Sourced Meat
★★ 2 Stars
Coming from Kentucky’s ranch life, ACANA Regionals Appalachian Ranch Dry Cat Food is packed with Angus beef, Yorkshire pork, grass-fed lamb, American bison, and blue catfish. The meat is diverse and premium to deliver a fresh taste and healthy portions to your cat.
Features we love
- There aren’t any synthetic substitutes or additives in this food.
- This food contains proper ratios based on your cat’s ancestry.
Features we aren’t so crazy about
- Recent studies have linked this food to causing possible heart disease.
The Importance of Choosing the Right Cat Food Brand
It’s no secret that a healthy cat starts what you are feeding it. Even in today’s world, we are surrounded by health-conscious individuals. We are often given substitutes to enlist a healthier outcome for ourselves.
So why would we choose any different for our four-legged felines? We shouldn’t. In fact, we should put more effort into researching and selecting a proper food that will help them maintain and keep a healthy lifestyle.
It’s essential to consider all aspects and go over with your veterinarian’s advice on which diet would be best appropriate for your cat.

Jaclyn is a Licensed Veterinary Technician (LVT) who has a bachelors degree in journalism. Combining her two interests of writing, and veterinary medicine is a true passion. Jaclyn has already created her own blog called The Four Legged Nurse (@thefourleggednurse) and looks forward to contributing to I Love Veterinary! Jaclyn is blessed with two children, a wonderful husband, and four devoted fur babies. In her free time she loves spending time with her family, reading, and riding horses.