How to find good cat food brands! (And our recommendations!)

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Finding good cat food brands can be a real challenge. There are  a lot of horrible foods out there, and as a pet parent the whole situation can be a little overwhelming. The good news is that we’ve done the work for you. We’ve scoured the internet and compared brand to brand to find the best of the best when it comes to premium cat foods.

What was our criteria when choosing foods?

Beanietoes has just one goal in mind when we recommend foods: to find the healthiest foods for pets. That means selecting foods which are:

  • Free from empty calories and fillers like corn and wheat
  • Feature only high-quality protein sources
  • Are free from by-products and other trash ingredients
  • Foods must be made in countries with high standards for animal welfare
  • Are minimally processed to preserve nutrition

Why Beanietoes recommends wet/fresh foods

While kibble foods are convenient they aren’t the best foods for your cat. That’s because cats often don’t drink enough water to make up for the fluids they won’t get eating dry kibble.

This can lead to dangerous health problems like struvite crystals, and the best way to combat this is by providing water to them by way of food. However, we do have some dry food recommendations at the end of the article if you simply can’t afford a canned or fresh diet.

Best fresh/wet cat food brands

#1 – NomNomNow

best cat food

If you’re looking to feed your fur baby the best cat food available, then fresh is best, and NomNomNow is the king of cat foods. Their fresh food diets are cooked fresh every week, and they offer excellent and vet formulated feline nutrition! They use only human grade ingredients too so there’s no fillers or undesirable stuff in here to worry about.

The best part about NomNomNow? It’s delivered to your door on a schedule, and it comes in pre-portioned containers so you always know that you’re feeding your cat the right amount! This makes it extremely easy to control your cat’s weight gain.

While you might think that this would be prohibitively expensive, it’s a lot more affordable than you think. Their cat plans start at just $14 per week, and multi-pet households even get a sweet discount! To put this number in perspective, feeding your cat a quality canned food diet can cost around $16 per week.

Above you can see their fish feast recipe. This tasty diet is great for picky eaters, because it features that irresistible flavor cats love. If your kitty has a sensitive tummy, then you’ll also be glad to know that the limited ingredient profile of this diet is great for digestion!

Limited ingredient diets are also excellent for cats who have allergies. Fewer ingredients makes it easy to help weed out what could be causing the problem, and cats who frequently experience diarrhea, vomiting after eating, constant scratching and skin issues will likely benefit from a food like this.

NomNomNow also give you a full nutritional break down of all their diets so you can find the perfect fit for your cat. Or, if you’re not sure what to get, you can get some help from one of their nutritional experts to pick the best diet, tailored to your cat. Click here to find out more about this awesome cat food.

#2- Wysong Archetype

digestible cat food

Wysong has been making high-quality pet foods since the 70s. While you may never have heard of them before, this excellent pet food brand cared about pet health long before it was popular to do so. While they have a lot of great foods, our recommendation is for their Archetype diet. This is a freeze dried raw diet for cats that offers many nutritional benefits.

For starters, this food is over 95% meat. If you’re interested in feeding your cat a very low carb diet, then this is a good way to go. Just how good is Archetype? This food is so nutritionally sound that it can actually be fed to dogs and cats! It’s also a very convenient way to feed your cat a raw food diet, and it’s very affordable for a raw food, which are notoriously pricey.

It’s likely that you’ve heard previously about how cats should not eat dog food, but you may not know the reason. It’s because dog food has so many fillers that if a cat were to eat it all the time they actually would not get enough nutrition. However, there’s no fillers here, only grade A nutritious meats like chicken and pollock and healthy veggies.

While you can feed this food as is, we actually recommend mixing it with water to re-hydrate it. This will no doubt make it more appealing to your cat, and it will also give them much needed liquids in their diet. If you’re interested in trying this solution for your cat, then you can get the best deal from the manufacturer. They also offer a discount if you have food auto-shipped to your house. Click here to learn more and save an additional 10% on cat food.

#3 – Halo Cat Food

healthiest wet cat food

For pet parents on a budget, Halo is a great pick. This excellent cat food is affordable, but it doesn’t skimp on quality. While we recommend their canned foods for the reasons we’ve talked about above, they also offer a number of excellent dry food options. These recipes use only whole food ingredients instead of heavily processed meat meals.

All of Halo’s recipes are formulated to be superiority digestible, making them a great choice for cats with sensitive stomachs. If ever other food tends to give your kitty diarrhea or vomiting issues, then this food is a good choice. It’s low in carbohydrates, but it also features some great ingredients which can help to settle the stomach.

It’s limited in ingredients, and they also have a wide variety of flavors. This makes it easy to find something that even the pickiest cats will eat. For picky eaters, stick to well known flavors like salmon or turkey. While their novel varieties like rabbit or guinea fowl are perfectly healthy, picky cats may dislike them as they aren’t used to eating these meats. Turkey, salmon and chicken tend to be more familiar and have heavier scents which is more appealing to cats. That makes it one of the healthiest wet cat food brands around outside of fresh foods, and it’s an incredible value for the price.

Interested in savings even more on your cat food bills? You can pick up high-quality cat foods online for cheaper than most brick and mortar stores. In addition, most of these locations also offer an “auto-ship discount”. If you sign up for these programs your cat food is sent to you on a schedule, and they knock 5-15% off the price every month. Amazon allows this for most of their pet foods, including Halo. Click here to check out reviews, flavors and prices.

Good Dry cat food brands

While we recommend feeding wet foods to help your cat maintain maximum health, we also understand that some pet parents need a more affordable option. Keep in mind that even supplementing a wet food will still be good for your cat though. Here’s a list of good dry foods that you can feed your cat too!

#1- Halo Cat Food

Halo’s high-quality dry good offering is an excellent option for pet parents that can’t afford to feed their cat a wet food for every meal. It uses only human grade ingredients, and they don’t use any heavily processed meat meals. They offer grain free recipes, but all of their recipes are lower in carbs and calories, making them a good choice for cats who are getting a little too plump or older cats with declining activity levels.

These recipes are also highly digestible, making them an excellent choice for cats who have issues with loose stools or vomiting after eating. Plus, thanks to the limited ingredient profile, their recipes are also very friendly to cats who may suffer from allergies. There’s a wide variety of flavors here, and you’ll easily be able to find something that your cat will eat if they are particular too. Click here to check out the dry food varieties.

#2 – Orijen Cat Food

ragdoll cat food

Looking for a super high protein cat kibble that uses only quality whole meat sources? Orijen could be a good choice for you. These foods focus on a healthy whole prey approach that uses whole meats, organs and even bones.

This gives you cat nutrition similar to what they would get in the wild, and it can provide tons of helpful nutrients for them that they may be missing with other foods.

This kibble is actually a mix. It features not only whole meats, but also dehydrated meat pieces. That makes it much more appealing than your standard kibble and irresistibly tasty to kitties.

The only downside to Orijen’s foods is that they can be a little pricey for kibble food. That makes Halo a better buy and the reason that they’re sitting at number two on our list. Click here to learn more about this food.

#3 – Farmina Cat Food

high-quality affordable cat food

While not many know about this particular kibble food, it offers an excellent nutritional profile! All of their recipes are grain free, and they feature over 98% meat proteins! While many kibble manufacturers try to make up their protein quotas using vegetable matter like peas, Farmina does so with quality meats like chicken and boar.

These foods are free from anything artificial, and feature great ingredients. However, it does have potatoes which is a problem ingredient for some pet parents. If that’s the case for you, then you may want to go with one of our other two choices.

However, this brand is rated highly by pet parents and features excellent value for the cost. You can click here to read reviews and see more about it.

Michelle Rei
Michelle Rei
Michelle is a pet parent turned amateur pet product researcher. After adopting a fur baby with digestive issues caused by bad pet food, she's poured hundreds of hours into research to find the best of the best to help him and other pets live happier and healthier lives.
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