Are you looking for detailed information on Canadian cat food brands, but all of your google searches are returning cat food recipes from the United States?
Well, you do not have to look any further. We’ve analyzed and reviewed an array of cat food products available or produced in Canada and selected some of the best.
Canadian Cat Food Vs. The Rest Of The World
Cat food recipes sold in Canada are remarkably similar to cat food recipes that are sold in the United States.
Many Canadian cat food brands have their manufacturing facilities in the United States and vice versa.
Also, many of the ingredients used in US and Canadian cat food tend to be sourced from one of the two countries.
However, despite this constant flow of pet food across borders, there are several exclusive Canadian brands that you can not find in the United States. These smaller Canadian brands often source their ingredients from local suppliers and support local Canadian pet stores.
Canadian cat food is also quite similar to European cat food. However, there are different regulations in place in Europe, which results in different labeling and packaging standards.
How We Chose The Best Cat Food
Cat Food quality is a complicated discussion, but we try to stay consistent with our choices.
Factors such as ingredient quality, nutritional ratios (Protein, Fat, Carbohydrates, Omega Fatty Acids), Recall History, Animal Testing, Price, and Country of Origin all play a part in our selections.
We recommend you check out our Cat Food Guide for more information on the overall topic of cat food. You can also check out our Reviews page for a list of all the brands we’ve researched and analyzed to date.
If you’d like to see all of the cat food brands we have reviewed, head on over to our Brand Review Page.
Best Cat Food In Canada
Orijen Cat & Kitten Review
It wouldn’t be a review of Canadian pet food without including a recipe from Orijen. Orijen is well-known worldwide for producing its super-premium brand of pet food.
Each of their recipes contains 10+ meat or fish ingredients in huge proportions that sum up to 85% of the total recipe. This is unprecedented in comparison to most of its competitors.
You can learn more about Orijen in our in-depth review of the brand here.
The above Cat & Kitten recipe is a prime example of Orijen’s traits and contains large portions of poultry and fish ingredients like Chicken, Turkey, Eggs, Flounder, and Herring.
These poultry and fish ingredients are excellent additions to a cat’s diet and high-quality sources of protein and fat.
Orijen’s use of Eggs is notable, and they are an ingredient that is underutilized across the industry. Eggs contain a fantastic balance of nutrition and are extremely bioavailable, which means that nutrition will not be lost during digestion.
There is only a small portion of plant-based ingredients present in all Orijen recipes. This particular recipe includes Lentils, Peas, Chickpeas, and Beans.
This mix of legume ingredients provides a modest proportion of carbohydrates and fiber that is not excessive and far smaller than portions found in most dry cat food recipes.
Open Farm Catch of the Season Whitefish Review
Open Farm is another Canadian pet food brand, and they are based in Toronto. All of Open Farm’s formulation, development, and distribution takes place within Canada, but some of its production takes place in the United States.
You can read more about the Open Farm brand here.
While Open Farm’s cat food range isn’t quite as large as its dog food range, there is still substantial variety, including both dry cat food and wet cat food. The above Catch of the Season recipe is one of our favorites.
Open Farm has a unique trait when it comes to its Whitefish recipes. The variation of the whitefish catch from the fishing industry means that the exact fish and the ratio of each in their Whitefish recipes vary.
This unique makeup means that each batch of the recipe that is produced is slightly different.
This variation in fish ingredients could be very appealing to cats, who would normally eat an almost identical meal every day. However, it may not be ideal for cats with easily upset stomachs.
Open Farm’s dry cat food contains a mix of legumes like Peas, Chickpeas, and Lentils, which are extremely popular in the industry.
While these ingredients are not ideal additions to a cat’s diet, the portion size of each is modest and not excessive.
Go! Carnivore Grain Free Chicken, Turkey + Duck Review
Go! is a pet food brand from Petcurean and is popular in both Canada and the United States. Other Petcurean brands include Now Fresh, Gather, and Summit, but neither of these three brands is as popular as the Go! brand.
Their cat food range isn’t as large as their dog food range but still has some significant variations, including high protein recipes, sensitive skin recipes, and recipes for specific age ranges like puppies and senior cats.
The above Carnivore recipe is one of their high-protein recipes. It includes all three of the most popular poultry ingredients found in pet food: Chicken, Turkey, and Duck.
This combination provides an extremely satisfactory proportion of protein and fat that is far above most dry cat food recipes.
The recipe then includes a small portion of Peas, Potatoes, and Tapioca, which provide a mix of carbohydrates and fiber.
The use of Tapioca is worth discussing as it is a food rarely seen in the western world. However, it is popular in other regions, such as South America, where it is a staple of many people’s diets.
You can learn more about the ingredient and why it’s used in pet food in our article Tapioca In Dog Food.
If you’d like to learn more about Go! and why we feature them regularly in our review, check out our page on the brand here.
Acana Pacifica Review
Acana is the sister brand of Orijen and is also popular worldwide, from Europe to South East Asia. The brand is aimed at a lower price point than Orijen, which means the portions of meat and fish are somewhat smaller. Despite this, they still provide excellent nutrition and use high-quality ingredients.
The above Pacifica recipe from Acana uses a moderate range of fish ingredients as its base. This range includes Herring, Mackerel, Hake, Herring, and Whitting.
These fish ingredients are high-quality sources of protein and fat, in particular great sources of the Omega 3 Fatty Acids, which are at a level of 2.2%.
These fatty acids are believed by many to provide cats and humans with a range of health benefits, such as an improvement in the condition of a cat’s skin and fur or a reduction in the risk of certain health problems.
Given the smaller portion of meat and fish ingredients, the portion of plant-based ingredients is slightly larger in Acana recipes than in Orijen but compared to other brands, it is still modest.
This Pacifica formula uses legume ingredients like Beans, Peas, Lentils, and Chickpeas, just like the Orijen recipe we discussed earlier. These provide a portion of carbohydrates, fiber, and plant-based protein.
If you want to understand the Acana brand better, head on over to your Acana Brand Review.
FirstMate Indoor Cat Formula Review
FirstMate is a Canadian pet food brand, and its recipes are produced in Surrey, British Columbia.
Unlike many other pet food brands, FirstMate employs a Veterinarian and Pet Nutritionist, which is becoming an increasingly important trait for pet food brands to ensure their foods are best suited for pets’ needs.
FirstMate has a small range of dry cat food recipes and a much larger range of wet/canned recipes. The above is one of their dry recipes aimed at indoor cats.
The recipe utilizes a mix of Chicken and fish ingredients such as Herring, Anchovies, and Sardines.
These oily fish are excellent sources of the Omega 3 Fatty Acids, which many believe can provide cats with several health benefits, such as a reduced risk of certain diseases and improved cognitive function.
Unlike most of the recipes in this article, Indoor Cat from FirstMate is not grain-free and includes small portions of Oatmeal and Brown Rice.
While some cat owners may be against the use of grain ingredients in cat food, these whole-grain ingredients provide a satisfactory proportion of carbohydrates and fiber that is not excessive.
Ziwi Peak Air-Dried Lamb Recipe Review
Ziwi Peak is known worldwide as the leading provider of air-dried pet food. The brand is based in New Zealand and utilizes local sources to produce its recipes, with a particular focus on Lamb.
Learn more about Air-Dried and the Ziwi brand here.
Given that, the above Lamb recipe is their bread and butter, and they have been producing it for decades. Because the Lamb in Ziwi recipes is air-dried, it is an extremely dense source of nutrition, high in protein and fat.
Also, there is a lack of plant-based ingredients in Ziwi Peak recipes, meaning they contain little to no carbohydrates.
However, this incredible nutrition and quality come at a high cost, with air-dried pet food being some of the most costly available.
Some cat owners choose to combat this by supplementing a diet of Ziwi Peak air-dried food with fresh ingredients, while others are satisfied to splash out and only feed their cats this high-quality lamb.
Horizon Legacy Grain Free All Life Stage Feline Formula Review
Horizon is another well-established Canadian brand that has been in operation for almost fifteen years. Horizon’s production facility is in Saskatchewan, and the brand is still family-owned despite its success.
Horizon has several product lines that vary in protein content and whether they are grain-free or grain inclusive. Most of these ranges focus on dog food, but a few of them include a cat food recipe, including the above-mentioned Legacy range.
You can learn more about all of Horizon’s ranges in our Horizon Brand Review.
However, the Legacy range from Horizon stands out and provides some of the best nutrition of any Horizon product coming in at 81% animal-based ingredients.
The cat food recipe within this range makes use of a mix of Chicken, Turkey, and Salmon as its primary ingredients.
Most of these ingredients are meat meals, which means they have had the bulk of their moisture removed in advance.
Many pet owners are afraid of the use of meat meals, but they shouldn’t be, as this lack of moisture means that they are extremely dense sources of nutrition compared to whole meat or fish.
Like many other recipes in this article, Horizon makes use of legumes like Peas in their recipes. These legumes provide carbohydrates, plant-based protein, and fiber.
Zeal Salmon And Turkey For Cats
Zeal is a relatively young Canadian brand but is quickly gaining popularity. Zeal provides cat food that is very similar to Ziwi Peak, but Zeal has its own twist on the Air Dried style of food that Ziwi is renowned for.
Some of their recipes mix air-dried food and freeze-dried food, which is not something that any other brand is doing.
While these two types of food are extremely similar, they do have some differences in their texture and consistency.
Zeal also utilizes some ingredients that Ziwi Peak does not, including both Turkey and Salmon, which the above recipe contains.
The generous portion of these two ingredients makes the recipe extremely nutritious, with huge proportions of protein and fat.
It is also noteworthy that Zeal includes a portion of Turkey Hearts and Turkey Liver in the recipe. Organ meat ingredients such as these are excellent additions and can act as dense sources of beneficial vitamins and minerals that traditional meat cuts lack.
As you might imagine, there is little to no plant matter present in the recipe. The only ingredient worth mentioning is a small portion of Bamboo Fibre, which is present, as you might imagine, to provide dietary fiber.
Boreal Original Turkey And Trout Review
While several of the other brands discussed in this article can be found in the United States and often Worldwide, Boreal is a brand that is only found in Canada.
The brand has regularly been featured on the shelves of smaller pet stores in Canada for over thirty years, and they sell both dog and cat food.
The majority of Boreal’s recipes provide extremely satisfactory nutrition, including the above Turkey and Trout recipe. Along with Turkey and Trout, there is also a smaller portion of Herring Meal and Eggs present.
This combination of poultry, fish, and eggs provides a satisfactory proportion of protein and fat, which is suitable for most cats.
However, the mix of plant-based ingredients that Boreal uses is quite unusual and includes Sweet Potatoes, Buckwheat, Lentils, Pumpkin, and Peas.
While Sweet Potatoes and Legumes are staples of the industry, Buckwheat and Pumpkin see far less use. This large variety may make this recipe unsuitable for some cats who suffer from allergies or sensitivities.
You can read more about the use of these ingredients in pet food in the below articles.
Smack Purrfect Pork Review
Smack is a Canadian producer of dehydrated pet food. Dehydrated food should not be confused with freeze-dried or air-dried dog food, as it can be quite different.
Dehydrated pet food is designed to be re-mixed with water before being fed to pets. This added moisture means that a relatively small bag of dehydrated pet food can become quite significant in weight once mixed with water.
Also, while freeze-dried or air-dried pet food is made up of almost entirely meat and fish ingredients, dehydrated pet food often contains a significant portion of plant-based material, such as grains or vegetables.
Read more about Smack and their style of food in our Smack Brand Review.
Our point about partial plant-based content is valid for Smack’s recipes as the above Purrfect Pork recipe contains a mix of Pumpkin, Kale, Apple, and more.
These fruit and vegetable ingredients are beneficial additions and in modest quantities. Pumpkin can be an important addition to some cats who struggle to maintain regular digestion as it is an extremely reliable and dense source of fiber.
As the name gives away, Pork is the recipe’s primary ingredient. However, like some of the other recipes we have discussed in this article, this recipe also uses organ meat such as the Heart, Liver, and Kidney.
These Pork organ meat ingredients will be sure to improve the taste of the food as well as provide vitamins and minerals that traditional meat cuts lack.
Carna4 Chicken Formula Review
Carna4 is a small Canadian pet food brand that most pet owners will not be familiar with. They have a tiny product range when compared to many of their competitors, but this small product range shouldn’t put you off them as the recipes that they do produce are very high-quality and appealing.
One of the key benefits of Carna4 is that they provide potential buyers with a huge quantity of information about their ingredients and the nutrition of their recipes on their website.
This transparency from Carna4 is leaps and bounds above the vast majority of their competitors and is an endearing trait for the ever more conscious consumer.
The above Chicken Formula is one of two dry cat food recipes from Carna4. Its primary three ingredients are Chicken, Chicken Liver, and Eggs.
This mix of Chicken and Chicken Liver provides a large proportion of protein and fat, along with many beneficial vitamins and minerals.
Also, as we mentioned earlier, Eggs are a welcome addition to pet food recipes as they are extremely nutritious and bioavailable.
The plant-based additions to this dry formula include Sprouted Barley Seed, Fava Beans, Sweet Potato, Flaxseed, Lentils, Peas, and Potato Starch.
This is a broad mix of ingredients that includes starches, grains, and legumes, some of which are rarely seen in pet food.
If you’d like to learn more about Carna4 and its unique cat food, check out our Carna4 Brand Review.
So, James, I’m on the hunt for something I’m sure many cat-owners are looking for: A list of economical but nutritional dry and wet food options for my cats.
I’ve fed them a real variety of canned and kibbled food during their first year of life; some of it’s been crap (because that’s all I could find in a pinch for time) and some of it’s been great, raw, super expensive recipes that I thought I’d try, just to see a) if they LOVED it…and b) if there seemed to be any rational justification for costing more per pound than Sushi-grade tuna or beef tenderloin.
I’m at the point now where I’d like to see a list prepared by an independent, 3rd party reviewer who has no “vested interest” in giving good (or poor) ratings on 10 or 20 cat food options that are affordable but/and nutritional. The foods on the list would preferably be “widely available” and have “suggested list prices” shown so I can get an idea of their “relative value”.
Does such a list exist? Thanks for any guidance.