Buying guide
Comparing dry cat-food offers
Match the recipe and life stage, then compare bag weight and the amount you feed.
Check who the food is made for
Look for a complete-and-balanced statement for the life stage you need. The FDA distinguishes growth from adult maintenance; a kitten’s food choice needs that growth suitability.
Which brands should you compare first?
Purina, Hill’s, Royal Canin, and Iams are commonly recommended by U.S. veterinary practices using WSAVA’s food-selection criteria. Those criteria examine nutrition expertise, formulation, quality control, and research.
WSAVA doesn’t certify brands, and this shortlist doesn’t establish that every other food is unsuitable. Choose a complete-and-balanced cat food appropriate for your cat’s life stage and health needs, then compare prices for that recipe.
Compare the same recipe by weight
For a familiar food, price per pound makes different bag sizes and multipacks easy to compare. Count all the bags in a bundle and check the flavor and recipe name.
Choose a bag size you can use within the maker’s storage guidance. A large bag can have a lower unit price without being the most practical purchase for one cat.
Consider how much you feed
A recipe change can change the daily portion. For an estimate, divide the bag’s grams by your cat’s daily grams, then divide price by days of food. If you use a cup measure, use the grams per cup for that food.
The calorie statement can help you spot why portions differ. AAFCO describes the label’s calorie figures per kilogram and per serving unit.
- Source: AAFCO: reading pet-food labels