The best cat food of 2023, including wet and dry foods

How to read a cat food label

Alyssa Powell/Insider

To really understand what is in your cat’s food and to compare one brand to another, you’ll need to navigate its nutritional content.

Calorie content statement

The calorie content of cat food is listed in kilocalories, or k/cals. A cat food’s calorie content should be clearly listed on its packaging. 

Guaranteed analysis

The guaranteed analysis on a cat food label is not at all straightforward, especially if you’re attempting to compare the nutrients in wet food to those in dry food. Because the two types of food have vastly different moisture contents (around 75% to 78% in wet food and 10% to 12% in dry food), the percentages of fat, protein, and fiber in wet food must be converted to “dry matter basis.” To find the dry matter basis, use these directions from the Cummings Veterinary Medical Center at Tufts University, call the food manufacturer, or ask your veterinarian for help. 

AAFCO complete and balanced statement

To ensure that cat food is nutritionally complete and balanced, it must contain one of three AAFCO statements on its label.

1. The first AAFCO statement confirms that the food’s minimum nutrient profile has been verified via a third-party laboratory analysis. It reads: [Product] is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Cat Food Nutrient Profiles.

2. Instead of submitting a food for laboratory analysis, a company may test it through controlled feeding trials. These trials are not perfect — the AAFCO requires eight healthy cats to consume the food for six months. At the end of the trial, at least 75% of the participating cats must meet four blood test parameters and must not have lost more than 15% of their original body weight. This statement reads: Animal feeding tests using AAFCO procedures substantiate that [product] provides complete and balanced nutrition.

3. A cat food manufacturer whose family of products has already met AAFCO’s feeding trials criteria may carry an AAFCO statement for recipes that were not directly tested. That statement reads: [Product] provides complete and balanced nutrition and is comparable in nutritional adequacy to a product which has been substantiated using AAFCO feeding tests.

Other keywords to look for

The AAFCO has rules around how products can be marketed. If a single ingredient makes up 25% to 94% of a food’s dry matter, it must be called a “dinner,” “entree,” “formula,” or “recipe.” If a single ingredient makes up 95% or more of the dry matter, it can be labeled as “Tuna Cat Food,” “Chicken Cat Food,” or another meat-first name.

If the word “flavor” appears on a cat food label, do not assume that it contains the actual ingredient associated with the flavor. A “tuna-flavored cat food,” for example, does not have to contain tuna. The flavor may come from a broth, byproduct, or meal. 

Some cat food labels include the phrase “No artificial flavors,” but don’t be concerned about labels that do not. According to the FDA, artificial flavors are rarely used in cat food.

“Premium” and “gourmet” are purely marketing terms. Foods labeled this way do not necessarily contain higher-quality ingredients and they are not required to meet higher nutritional standards.

“Natural” refers to cat food that does not contain artificial flavors or preservatives unless they come from AAFCO-approved sources.