Choosing the Best High-Protein Cat Food
As parents, we clearly understand how difficult it is to pick a healthy, delicious cat food that our cats truly love! Especially since cats need high-protein food the most; protein is extremely important for their growth.
Cats are natural carnivores, and a diet lacking sufficient animal protein can lead to potential health issues. Therefore, meat-based protein in their diet is especially crucial for their well-being.
Nowadays, most pet cats mainly eat dry food, which often has low crude protein content, directly causing health problems for cats. For this reason, we have specially selected several high-protein cat food brands to help cat owners efficiently choose the right food for their pets!
Understanding Protein Requirements for Cats and Dogs
First, it is important to know how much protein cats need. Adult cats require at least 26% protein, while kittens need at least 30%. If a cat is in a subhealthy condition, the protein content required will vary accordingly—this explanation comes from a professional veterinarian with a doctorate.
However, for senior cats, due to muscle degeneration, their protein needs are even higher. On the other hand, dogs do not require such a high protein level, because cats are obligate carnivores—only a meat-based diet can help them maintain better bodily functions.
How to Choose High-Protein Cat Food Precisely
When selecting staple wet food: cat canned food contains a higher moisture content, which benefits cats in many ways. Since cats naturally dislike drinking water, feeding them canned food effectively helps increase their water intake. This helps prevent kidney and urinary tract problems caused by insufficient water consumption.
Compared to dry cat food, which undergoes high-temperature and high-pressure production processes that often reduce nutritional value and ingredient integrity, there are many cat foods made through freeze-drying technology available in the market. Because freeze-dried foods are produced without heating, they maintain ingredient quality and nutritional value without loss. Therefore, freeze-dried cat food has become another excellent high-protein option.
If your cat prefers kibble, you can provide daily nutrition and effective hydration by mixing freeze-dried food with canned food. However, be especially careful: if you choose canned food, make sure it is intended as staple wet food for long-term feeding to provide sufficient nutrition for your cat.
Look at the Top 3 Ingredients
When choosing cat food, always check the ingredient list. The top three ingredients should be meat-based. Even meat meal is beneficial to cats because it contains rich protein and minerals, but fresh meat is obviously better!
Grains, fruits, and vegetables are not essential parts of a cat's diet, but because they have special functions, they can be included as part of a balanced diet.
Avoid Soy-Based Protein
Since cats must eat other animal meats to survive, be cautious of dry foods that add soy to increase protein content. Soy protein is vastly different from meat protein and lacks the amino acids and essential nutrients that cats require.
Ensure Proper Amino Acids
If the cat food label features the AAFCO symbol, it means the dry food meets the minimum requirements for protein and amino acids to support complete and balanced nutrition. Cats need to eat enough meat to obtain specific levels of amino acids, which are derived from the breakdown of proteins (and other foods). Choosing foods that comply with AAFCO standards ensures adequate amino acid supply.
The most important amino acid is taurine, which is essential for cats.
High-Protein Staple Cat Food Cans: LILY'S KITCHEN from the UK
LILY'S KITCHEN uses fresh, natural meat and offal, only undergoing a single cooking process to retain the maximum nutritional content. This ensures your furry friend receives a high-quality diet to help them grow healthily and robustly. The addition of taurine makes it especially suitable as a staple food.
Flavors
- LILY'S KITCHEN Organic Chicken
- LILY'S KITCHEN Seafood Medley
Features
- Made with organic ingredients, containing 56% organic chicken, with a smooth texture loved by cats.
- Made with 50-65% high-quality fresh meat, using fresh natural meat and offal, with only one cooking process applied.
Age Range
All life stages
Main Ingredients
- Organic chicken (30%), organic pork (12%), organic beef (10%), organic fish (4%), organic carrot, chelated minerals
- 25% salmon, 15% shrimp meat, 10% chicken, 15% pork, salmon oil, chelated minerals
Protein
9.5% (Organic Chicken), 10% (Seafood Medley)
AAFCO Certification
Yes for both
Customer Reviews
The canned food is definitely a hit with cats, but LILY'S KITCHEN's organic series has always been my cat's favorite. No matter the flavor, they find it delicious, and the ingredients are healthy. Having one can per meal is very convenient! I feed the canned food along with dry kibble, rewarding my cat with canned food every few days. The LILY'S KITCHEN organic series seems even more popular, possibly because it is made with organic ingredients. As the owner, I feel organic is healthier, so I plan to buy it long-term.
Canagan High-Protein Cat Food: Up to 37% Protein
Canagan Original Selection lives up to its name by being natural and a pet's choice. Developed by a professional team of nutritionists, it uses high-quality meats and fish blended with carefully selected vegetables and plants. The scientifically balanced formula provides complete nutrition, tackling picky eating habits by appealing to cats' preferences. Made from natural ingredients, it offers rich vitamins and minerals. It also contains abundant taurine and probiotics to promote health.
Canagan Original Selection Grain-Free Free-Range Chicken Cat Food
This formula features premium free-range chicken. Chicken is an excellent source of protein and provides vitamins, phosphorus, and selenium to boost the immune system.
Flavors and Age Ranges
- Canagan Turkey Dental Formula
- Canagan Free-Range Chicken
- Canagan Salmon
- Canagan Duck + Venison + Rabbit
- Canagan Senior Formula
- All Ages
- All Ages
- All Ages
- All Ages
- Senior / Weight Control
Main Ingredients (Top 5)
- Fresh deboned turkey (30%), dried turkey meat (22.5%), sweet potato, potato, chicken fat (8%)
- Freshly prepared deboned chicken (25%), sweet potato, potato, chicken (4.2%), dried egg (4%)
- Fresh cooked deboned Scottish salmon (31%), sweet potato, dehydrated herring (12%), dehydrated Scottish salmon (11%), potato
- Fresh cooked deboned roasted duck (44%), dehydrated duck meat (10%), sweet potato, potato, fresh deboned venison (7%)
- Freshly prepared deboned free-range chicken (23%), dehydrated chicken (18%), freshly prepared deboned salmon (16%), sweet potato, dried salmon (10%)
Protein Content and Certification
- Turkey Dental Formula: 36%
- Free-Range Chicken: 37%
- Salmon: 37%
- Duck + Venison + Rabbit: 37.5%
- Senior Formula: 37%
All formulas are AAFCO certified.
Customer Review
"My British Shorthair really likes Canagan Turkey cat food, especially the dental formula because my cat has dental problems. The dental formula helps ease the inflammation and redness in his teeth noticeably. Of course, brushing teeth is still very important. Overall, I will keep buying it!
My cat is very picky and I have tried many different foods before, but he hardly stuck to any of them; he would rather go hungry than eat much. Then we found Canagan Countryside formula, which might have duck, venison, and rabbit flavors that stimulate his taste buds, so he really likes this food. I also checked the ingredients, and it has a high protein content and sufficient nutrition, so my cat has had no issues eating it continuously!"
High-Protein Cat Food with Freeze-Dried Raw Meat: Nature's Variety Instinct
Nature's Variety Instinct natural cat food is designed based on cats' natural instinct to eat raw meat. The outermost layer of the dry food uses a unique raw meat spraying technology to coat freeze-dried raw meat, making it very nutritious and especially appealing to pets.
Flavors
- Nature's Variety Premium Protein
- Nature's Variety Chicken
- Nature's Variety Rabbit
- Nature's Variety Hypoallergenic Turkey
Features
- 95% protein sourced from chicken, with triple chicken added
- RAW BOOST series with added dehydrated freeze-dried chicken
- High animal protein content
- Single animal protein source to reduce allergies
Age Range
- All life stages (Premium Protein)
- All life stages (Chicken)
- All life stages (Rabbit)
- All life stages (Hypoallergenic Turkey)
Main Ingredients (Top 5)
Flavor | Main Ingredients |
---|---|
Premium Protein | Chicken, cassava, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), flaxseed, natural flavors |
Chicken | Chicken, chicken meal, turkey meal, herring fish meal, peas |
Rabbit | Rabbit, turkey meat, herring, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), peas |
Hypoallergenic Turkey | Turkey meal, peas, cassava flour, canola oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), turkey |
Protein Content
- Premium Protein: 47%
- Chicken: 43%
- Rabbit: 40%
- Hypoallergenic Turkey: 36.5%
AAFCO Certification
All flavors are AAFCO certified.
Customer Review
"My cat is already 11 years old and has tried many diets, but still suffered from severe hairball issues. The main reason I bought this food is because the RAW BOOST series mixes freeze-dried raw meat with dry food, offering very high protein content. Perhaps due to better digestion, my cat's vomiting condition has also greatly improved!"
Summary of Freeze-Dried Dehydrated Cat Food
Most freeze-dried dehydrated cat foods are minimally processed and grain-free. They tend to have a higher protein content and lower carbohydrate levels, while being rich in nutrients and antioxidants. The raw food form of freeze-dried dehydrated cat food is more convenient compared to feeding a fully raw BARF diet.
Freeze-dried cat food is an excellent choice for cat parents who want to provide a balanced diet for their cats.