In the world of cat food, there are two main categories of products – wet and dry cat food. The latter is a convenient and simple choice for feeding your pet and can be not just cheaper but more nutritious as opposed to wet foods. Besides, wet food will be consumed a lot quicker as opposed to dry cat food, thus cat parents usually prefer the latter. But, if you decide to find the best one, it can be quite challenging to find the best option. Some are great for a sensitive stomach, others are high in protein, thirds are without chicken and so on and so forth. Thus, picking can be tricky. Here to help out, here’s our list of 6 best dry cat foods of 2021.
6 best dry cat food products – a complete list
- Rachael Ray Nutrish Super Premium
- Blue Buffalo Wilderness
- Purina Cat Chow
- Purina ONE Urinary Tract Health
- Taste of the Wild Rocky Mountain
- Hill’s Science Diet
Features to consider / reviews
- Rachel Ray Nutrish Super Premium – our No.1 pick, a natural formula high in fiber
The Rachel Ray Nutrish Super Premium with the real chicken and brown rice recipe is one of the best-selling dry cat foods around the globe. The main perks of it a high amount of protein, decent price, great flavour and high level of nutrients. The only downside we’ve found is that it isn’t grain-free.
Pros
- Affordable
- Real chicken is the #1 ingredient
- Probiotics, vitamins and antioxidants are plentiful
- Cats love the taste
- Easy to digest.
Cons
- Not grain-free
- Blue Buffalo Wilderness Kitten – lots of protein, great overall nutrition
Even though it is advertised and labelled as food for kittens, you can definitely also give it for older cats, meaning adults and seniors. Yes, it’s packed with taurine and fatty acid that promotes growth, but this particular mix is high on protein and thus provides the most essential nutrients for your feline pet. Formulated and recommended by vets, the Blue Buffalo Wilderness Kitten dry cat food is one of the best choices are certainly better than 99% of wet cat food alternatives.
Pros
- Wheat and soy-free
- Lots of protein, great for growing cats
- Vitamins & minerals are abundant
- No artificial flavours
Cons
- Costly
- Purina Cat Chow – excellent for weight loss or weight management
On paper, the Purina Cat Chow is a great choice for almost all concerned cat owners. However, this formula, while not grain-free, is really effective on cats who should lose weight or are on a weight management diet. It isn’t low protein but it does contain high quality protein, so it won’t strain the liver, kidneys, etc. The Purina Cat Chow is full of essential vitamins (there are 25 of those) and minerals. The only significant downside, as we mentioned – it isn’t a no grain product.
Pros
- Average price
- Great ratings on Amazon
- Omega-6 fatty acids help the skin and coat
- A balanced meal
Cons
- Not grain-free
- Purina ONE Urinary Tract Health – helps to keep the urinary tract healthy, should prevent kidney disease
Cats, kitties and especially senior cats have sensitive kidneys and urinary tracts. It is important to keep them healthy because issues with the urinary tract can cause severe day-to-day discomfort for the pet. To avoid this, it is recommended to sometimes give them food that strengthens the tract or to do so consistently, if the vet recommends it. The benefits of Purina ONE Urinary Tract Health include skin and coat betterment thanks to the omega-6 fatty acids and there’s also urinary pH management, possible all thanks to the low level of magnesium.
Pros
- Promotes urinary tract health
- Has omega-6 fatty acids
- Provides a decent amount of energy
Cons
- Isn’t suitable for all cats
- Taste of the Wild Rocky Mountain – a low-carb dry cat food with best-rated balance of nutrients
Once again, by just looking at the data on paper and analysing the composition, we can see that the Taste of the Wild Rocky Mountain dry cat food is one of the best foods on the market today. The flavour seems to be liked by most cats; however, some ingredients could seem a little too much for picky eaters. It won’t promote any kind of health and isn’t great for allergies, all that stuff, but Taste of the Wild is one of those brands which consistently puts out amazing products. The only downside that it isn’t great for diabetic cats or felines that are on a weight management or a certain type of diet.
Pros
- High-quality ingredients
- Grain-free
- Low-carb
Cons
- Not too many health benefits, includes sweet potatoes and pea by-products
- Low with omega-3
- Hill’s Science Diet Kitten – something right, just for kittens
There are a lot of Hill’s Science Diet products out there on sale today. We’ve decided to feature the Kitten version because it offers a lot of energy, it should be easy to digest and is rich with DHA from fish oil. There also are tons of protein to stimulate growth, strength and development.
Pros
- An energy and protein bomb
- All-natural ingredients
Cons
- So-so for anyone older than an infant
- Lots of protein means it isn’t great for kitties with kidney or liver problems
6 tips on how to select the best dry cat food
Besides listing 6 best dry cat food products and doing their reviews, we will also provide you with 6 practical tips that should help any cat parent find the right dry food product for their beloved pet.
First of all – eliminate most if not all in-your-face cheap meals. Dry food is always cheaper but unless you’re trying to find something for cats with no teeth or you’re really struggling with a budget at the moment, don’t fall into the false marketing trap. Good prices not always, but can come with a significant downside. Cheaper food will only have lesser ingredients and lesser value and won’t compare to branded or high-quality products.
Next up, you need to understand the basic needs of your cat’s nutrition. They need protein, carbs, amino acids, water, vitamins amongst other nutrients. However, don’t overlook ingredients such as probiotics and phosphorus.
After that, try and avoid any by-products, GMO’s, allergens and other questionable ingredients when you can. An excess amount of those can lead to diarrhoea, vomiting, weight gain and a weakened immune system.
As our fourth tip, we’d like to encourage cat parents to not be afraid to ask vets for advice.
The penultimate tip would be to carefully read the label. Maybe you want to find food with high moisture content or something with pumpkin or the best mix for a diabetic kitty, etc. Look at the label and go beyond just the marketing material. By reading into the list of ingredients you can find the right food.
Finally, understand the diet. If you put your cat on a diet, for example like you want food for hair loss, dander, dry cat food with no fish, etc., you have to look for more than a few products at the time. Balancing a diet can be tricky and thus you might need to combine a few dry food products at the same time to ensure a wholesome food regiment.
Concluding thoughts/verdict/
In the end, we would like to say, that after analysing a lot of different types of high-quality dry cat food, we’ve determined that Rachel Ray Nutrish Super Premium and Blue Buffalo Wilderness are the two best choices. By looking at the list of ingredients, analysing the overall composition and comparing benefits, our panel decided that these two products balance the great benefits of high-quality dry cat food whilst remaining as affordable as possible.
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