Hound & Gatos Information
Hound & Gatos is an ultra-premium pet food brand that specializes in wet/canned pet food. They are independently owned, which means they are not part of one of the large pet food conglomerates.
Hound & Gatos was founded in the United States in approximately 2003, which makes it over fifteen years old. Their pet food is produced at a dedicated facility in South Dakota.
You can purchase Hound & Gatos pet food at all the popular online pet food retailers, such as Chewy, Amazon, and PetSmart. Their products are also available at select physical pet food stores, but they are not widely stocked.
Hound & Gatos Product Range
Dog Food
Hound & Gatos has a moderately sized product range of dog food products. This range includes both dry and wet dog food. However, there are significantly more wet food recipes available than dry.
Hound & Gatos does not produce specialty recipes such as those for large/small breed dogs or puppies.
Instead, they choose to offer recipes with a huge variety of meat and fish ingredients, many of which are quite rare to see in dog food.
Cat Food
The product range of cat food recipes from Hound & Gatos is similar to their dog food range. This range includes a mix of dry cat food recipes and wet/canned cat food recipes.
There are notably more wet recipes available than dry food recipes within the cat range, which makes sense given wet cat food’s popularity.
This cat food range also shares the trait of utilizing a huge range of meat and fish ingredients.
Hound & Gatos Nutrition
Dog Food
The nutrition provided by Hound & Gatos recipes is some of the best in the industry when compared to their competitors.
This impressive nutrition is especially true for their wet dog food recipes, which are often made up of almost entirely meat and fish ingredients.
This focus on meat or fish results in massive proportions of protein and fat, enough for any dog regardless of their activity level.
Below is an example of the nutrition provided by one of these wet/canned recipes.
We highly recommend you read our Dog Food Guide if you are interested in learning more about Canine Nutrition and the different types of dog food.
Cat Food
The nutrition offered by Hound & Gatos cat food is equally as impressive as their dog food recipes. It includes awe-inspiring proportions of protein and fat, which are far above average when compared to other cat food brands.
This nutritional makeup is essential for cat food as cats are obligate carnivores and do not require significant plant-based content in their food.
If you are interested in learning more about feline nutrition, head on over to our Cat Food Guide for a detailed breakdown.
Hound & Gatos Ingredients
High-Quality Meat & Fish Ingredients
- Chicken
- Turkey
- Duck
- Lamb
- Pork
- Beef
- Rabbit
- Salmon
- Trout
As you can see above, Hound & Gatos uses an extensive range of high-quality meat and fish ingredients. Some of these ingredients are staples of the industry, like Chicken and Beef; however, others are rare additions, such as Rabbit and Trout.
Ingredients such as Rabbit can sometimes be classed as ‘Novel Meats’ and are often given to pets with severe allergies or sensitivities.
You can learn more about this concept in the two articles below.
Best Hypoallergenic Dog Foods Guide
Despite their varying popularity, all of these ingredients can provide excellent nutrition to dogs and cats, high in protein and fat.
Other Notable Ingredients
Eggs regularly feature in Hound & Gatos recipes along with select other brands. Eggs are a fantastic addition to pet food and can provide incredible nutrition in the form of protein, fat, and carbohydrates.
In addition, the nutrition that Eggs provide is extremely digestible, which means very little is wasted.
Sweet Potatoes and Tapioca are both starch ingredients and can be found in select Hound & Gatos recipes. Starch ingredients are very dense sources of carbohydrates, and they provide some nutrition in addition to this.
Thankfully the portion size of these ingredients in Hound & Gatos recipes is quite small, which is important given how dense a source of carbohydrates they are.
Tapioca is a starch ingredient that many are unfamiliar with, but it is extremely popular in some regions such as South America. If you would like to learn more about Tapioca, read our article Tapioca In Dog Food.
Hound & Gatos chooses to use some quite unusual grain ingredients in its grain-inclusive recipes. These include Spelt, Quinoa, and Oats. Grains are a controversial addition to pet food recipes, with some being strongly against their use.
However, others believe that grains such as those used by Hound & Gatos are superior to others, such as Wheat and Corn, as they can provide additional nutrition and are less processed.
Flaxseed is an extremely common addition to pet food recipes and is added to provide health benefits. One of the key factors behind these health benefits is a high level of the Omega 3 Fatty Acids.
Many believe these Fatty Acids can provide health benefits such as an improvement in the condition of skin, fir, and coats as well as improved cognitive function.
Learn more about Flaxseed in our article Flaxseed In Dog Food.
Agar-Agar is exclusively used in wet/canned pet food recipes. It is used as a binding agent that keeps the food together and in a uniform texture. However, the are some in the industry who disagree with its use and avoid it.
Sunflower Oil is a vegetable oil that is added to dog food to improve its flavor, texture, and the overall proportion of fat present. Sunflower Oil isn’t a common addition, but it is found in recipes by some brands along with Canola Oil.
Read more about Sunflower Oil in our article Sunflower Oil In Dog Food.
Hound & Gatos Animal Testing
At this time, we have no information on what type of animal testing, if any, that Hound & Gatos participates in.
Many pet food companies choose to limit the information available on their testing regime and program because of fear of customer backlash.
We strongly believe that laboratory and invasive testing of animals is a cruel and outdated practice and one which should be eliminated.
Hound & Gatos Recalls
Based on our research (FDA, AVMA, DogFoodAdvisor), Hound & Gatos products have never been recalled.
Given that the brand has been operating for over fifteen years, this is an impressive feat. It shows that Hound & Gatos takes safety and quality in their production processes seriously.
In spite of this, we encourage all pet owners to be careful and vigilant of any future recalls of Hound & Gatos or any other pet food brand.
Best of Hound & Gatos
Ancient Grain Grass Fed Lamb Review
Lamb is a somewhat uncommon meat ingredient in commercial dog food, but Hound & Gatos make fantastic use of it in the above recipe.
This large portion of Lamb is the core of the recipe and provides a plentiful supply of protein and fat. This Lamb is reinforced with a large portion of Eggs, which boost the levels of protein and fat further.
Outside of Lamb and Eggs, the recipe uses a mix of Sweet Potatoes, Tapioca, and grain ingredients like Spelt and Quinoa. These ingredients provide a modest proportion of carbohydrates and fiber.
Paleolithic Meat Review
The Paleolithic Meat recipe from Hound & Gatos is one that caught our eye years ago and has been featured ever since.
The recipe has a large range of meat ingredients present, including Beef, Pork, Lamb, and Venison. These red meat ingredients are sure to provide an extremely rich and flavorful taste as well as provide an excellent proportion of protein and fat.
Given that these meat ingredients make up 98% of the recipe, there are no notable plant-based ingredients present. This means that the proportion of carbohydrates is negligible.
Wild Caught Salmon Review
There are only three dry cat food recipes in the Hound & Gatos range, but that doesn’t mean you should dismiss it, and the above Salmon recipe is an excellent choice.
Salmon is one of our favorite ingredients to be used in pet food. Not only can it act as a high-quality source of protein and fat, but it also has very high levels of the Omega 3 Fatty Acids.
Similar to Hound & Gatos dry dog food, this recipe includes a large portion of Eggs. These Eggs are extremely bioavailable and can provide additional protein and fat to supplement the Salmon.
There are significantly fewer plant-based ingredients in Hound & Gatos dry cat food recipes, and in the case of this recipe, that translates to a portion of Sweet Potato and Tapioca.
Salmon, Mackerel & Sardine Review
Hound & Gatos’s wet cat food recipe has significantly more variety than the dry range. The above recipe focuses on a range of fish ingredients and is sure to entice cats as all wet cat food does.
Salmon is by far the most abundant ingredient present, but the portion of Mackerel and Sardines is still notable. Mackerel and Sardines are fairly uncommon to see but are high-quality ingredients nonetheless.
We are happy to see that the recipe includes no notable plant-based ingredients. This closely aligns with cats being obligate carnivores and not being well suited to a diet high in plant matter.
Hound & Gatos Featured Articles
Best Canned Dog Food – This extremely detailed article discusses all things canned dog food. We go through the benefits and drawbacks of canned food as well as typical ingredients and nutrition.
Given the excellent nutrition and ingredient quality used by Hound & Gatos, one of their recipes features on our list of recommendations.
The 10 Most Expensive Dog Foods – Some dog owners only want the very best for their dog and are willing to splash the cash to do this.
In this article, we discuss what makes dog food expensive, whether it is worth it, and then give a list of the most expensive dog foods we could find. Hound & Gatos is one of a few wet/canned brands featured here.
Hound & Gatos Full Product Range
Dry Dog Food
Ancient Grain Grass Fed Lamb
Ancient Grain Cage Free Chicken
Cage Free Turkey
Grass Fed Lamb
Cage Free Chicken
Wet Dog Food
Beef
Chicken & Liver
Duck & Liver
Gamebird Poultry
Lamb & Liver
Lamb, Chicken & Salmon
Paleolithic Meat
Pork & Liver
Rabbit
Salmon & Lamb Liver
Turkey & Liver
Dry Cat Food
Wild Caught Salmon
Cage Free Turkey
Cage Free Chicken
Wet Cat Food
Beef
Chicken & Liver
Duck & Liver
Gamebird Poultry
Lamb & Liver
Lamb, Chicken & Salmon
Paleolithic Meat
Pork
Rabbit
Salmon
Salmon, Mackerel & Sardine
Trout & Duck Liver
Turkey & Liver
It may never have been recalled but the quality is very inconsistent. I found peas and carrots inside the rabbit flavor can cat food. The chicken flavor sometimes comes in cans from the US and other times in cans from Ecuador and they are not the same. The US chicken flavor is firm while the Ecuador chicken flavor is incredibly mushy, almost all liquid. I even had a turkey and liver flavor can all moldy once I opened it.
I also suddenly had issues w/ H&G Chicken cat food. The newer cans were mushy & made in Ecuador. To make matters worse, the formula was different from the cans made in the US. Spoke w/ H&G and sent them the suspect cans. They then sent me a case of turkey cat food. Noticed the turkey cans don’t explicitly say “Made in the US” anymore.