Cats are popular pets – the 2023 survey by Cats Protection found that just over one in four households in the U.K. own a cat. That’s a lot of cats – and therefore, a lot of cat food being bought! A quick search for ‘cat food’ brings up huge amounts of choice – diets for different ages, different breeds, different lifestyles, different medical conditions… the list goes on. The price per bag is also eye-wateringly variable. 

A survey by a pet food brand has found that 64% of cat owners say they don’t know what they are looking for in a pet food ingredient list, and 1 in 20 owners say they just choose the cheapest. But should we be choosing based on cost? If so, does expensive automatically mean better? 

Table of contents

The basics of cat nutrition

The domestic cat we know and love today is descended from the North African wildcat. And their physiology has not altered hugely significantly. As with all cat species, domestic felines are obligate carnivores, meaning they are adapted to catch prey and eat meat, and in fact cannot thrive without the nutrients that meat provides. This means they have fairly specific nutritional needs, especially when it comes to their protein source. 

The key nutrients for cats are:

  1. Protein – cats gain a lot of their energy from protein, as well as all its other uses, so require high levels of quality protein.
  2. Amino acids – cats cannot synthesise certain molecules, such as taurine, arginine, cysteine and methionine. They are therefore essential to be found in a cat’s diet, and are found in meat. 
  3. Fats – these are a source of energy, but also contain some vitamins and essential fatty acids (including arachidonic acid, that isn’t found in plants). Cats cannot gain these from plant material, so again require a meat source.
  4. Carbohydrates – as cats are so well adapted to a meat diet, they actually have quite a low need for carbohydrate.
  5. Certain specific vitamins – including pre-formed Vitamin A. Unlike most mammals, cats cannot turn (plant-sourced) beta carotene into Vitamin A, and need the entire molecule in their diet.

Home prepared vs commercial food

It may seem like a cheap and natural option to provide a home prepared diet, either cooked or raw. However, cats in the wild catch and eat a variety of prey to fulfil their nutritional needs, and they eat their entire catch. This is difficult to replicate at home – giving them chicken breast only, for example, will not provide what they need. Commercially prepared diets might be larger in cost, but also provide peace of mind that they contain every particle of nutrition that your cat needs to thrive.

Wet vs dry

A common myth amongst cat owners is that cats need both wet and dry food. This is not true, cats can happily thrive on solely wet, solely dry or a mixture of both, as long as a complete food is used. There are benefits both ways to wet and dry food. Dry food is better for dental care, for example, whereas the increased water intake in wet food helps ensure adequate hydration. Dry food tends to work out slightly cheaper. And there is often less wastage as it can be left down for longer. Cats naturally eat multiple small meals, and so often prefer to graze. If you’re throwing out a lot of wet food, this will be money poorly spent!

Premium vs saver

Once you take away the differences between the types of diet, there is still a huge price range between different bags of dry food, or packets of wet. So why the cost differences, and should we be aiming high?

Getting to know the ingredients list of your favoured cat food can be useful, although they are often so vague it is hard to know what to look for! The main difference between cheap and premium brands is often the quantity of meat. Low-cost cat food often has very low levels of “actual” meat (around 4%), and the rest of the meal is bulked out by animal derivatives, grains and other products (sometimes called “fillers”, although this is rather misleading as they do contribute nutritional value to the diet). The more expensive brands often have a much higher percentage of actual meat – and potentially therefore more high-quality protein, which we now know that our cats require. 

All cat foods marketed as complete diets will fulfil a standard cat’s nutritional needs, but the quality of those nutrients will differ highly. More expensive brands may in some cases provide higher quality protein, one of the most important components of a cat’s diet. Feeding large quantities of low quality food may predispose to obesity and other illnesses, such as gastrointestinal disorders.

The cost per bag can also be deceptive. Diets with higher quality ingredients and less low nutrition fibrous material only need to be given in smaller quantities, which means a bag will last much longer, therefore not actually costing as much per serving as it may seem from the outside. 

The most important thing to look for in a pet food manufacturer isn’t found on the list of ingredients

Is the food FEDIAF compliant? It certainly should be! But you also need to know how the manufacturer checked whether it was compliant – have they done computer modelling based on the ingredients? Or do they actually batch-test each individual batch of the food after manufacture to make sure it is nutritionally complete? If at all possible, choose a company that does the latter, as then you KNOW that what’s in the bag, pouch, or tin actually contains what your cat needs. 

Of course, these also tend to be the more expensive companies (although not always!).

My cat is on a cheaper food, do I need to change it?

If your cat is on a cheaper diet, don’t worry. Cats are robust creatures, and it may not be a problem at all. Have a think about how your cat is – are they in good condition, at their ideal weight and with a healthy, glossy coat? Do they get any gastrointestinal upsets? Are their motions well-formed and of usual colour, or are they runny, mucusy, very smelly or discoloured? If your cat is thriving on their current diet, there is no hurry to change anything.

Certain cats may benefit from more optimal nutrition. Kittens, pregnant and lactating queens, senior cats and those with health conditions have increased nutritional requirements that may be best fulfilled with high quality ingredients. 

There are many factors in play when it comes to choosing the best diet for your cat, with cost being only one of them. We all want what is best for our pets, so finding a diet that suits them and their needs as an individual is very important. 

Further Reading