The 6 Best Wet and Dry Cat Foods For American Shorthairs

The 6 Best Wet and Dry Cat Foods For American Shorthairs

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American shorthair cats are quite affectionate and are able to adapt to new environments quite well. They can even adapt to new pets and homes with dogs in them.

The best cat food for American Shorthairs cats is meat-rich, keeps plant ingredients to a minimum, and helps to prevent the urinary tract crystals so common among cats of this breed.

That’s why we chose as the best cat food for American shorthair cats. It’s a rich, meaty food that nourishes your cat like the carnivore that he is while delivering plenty of moisture to keep the urinary tract healthy.

At A Glance: Best Wet And Dry Cat Foods For American Shorthairs To Buy

We highly recommend looking at the comparison table we have below where we highlighted the features of each product. You’ll also find more detailed information about each product later in the article:

Compare Best Wet and Dry Cat Foods For American Shorthairs

Overall Best 1. Small Fresh Ground Bird Get 25% Off Read Review	Runner Up 2. Hound & Gatos 98% Chicken & Liver Grain-Free Canned Cat Food View on Chewy Read Review	Best Dry Cat Food 3. Stella & Chewy's Chick Chick Chicken Dinner Morsels Freeze-Dried Raw Cat Food View on Chewy Read Review	Best Affordable 4. Weruva Paw Lickin' Chicken in Gravy Grain-Free Canned Cat Food View on Chewy Read Review	Best for Kittens 5. Instinct Kitten Grain-Free Pate Real Chicken Recipe Natural Wet Canned Cat Food View on Chewy Read Review	Best for Seniors 6. Feline Natural Chicken & Venison Feast Grain-Free Canned Cat Food View on Chewy Read Review
Protein 21% Min	Protein 10% Min	Protein 45% Min	Protein 10% Min	Protein 12% Min	Protein 9.0% Min
Fat 8.05% Min	Fat 9.0% Min	Fat 25% Min	Fat 1.4% Min	Fat 6.0% Min	Fat 5.0% Min
Fiber 0.4% Max	Fiber 1.0% Max	Fiber 5.0% Max	Fiber 0.5% Max	Fiber 1.0% Max	Fiber 0.2% Max
Life Stage Adult	Life Stage Adult	Life Stage Adult	Life Stage Adult	Life Stage Kitten	Life Stage Adult
Type Fresh	Type Wet/Canned	Type Freeze-Dried/Raw	Type Wet Food	Type Wet/Canned	Type Wet/Canned
Made In United States	Made In United States	Made In United States	Made In Thailand	Made In United States	Made In New Zealand

The Top 6 Best Cat Foods For American Shorthairs

Now that you know what to consider and what to avoid, let’s look at some of the best cat food products on the market that are suitable for American shorthair cats.

Here are our top picks for the best cat foods for american shorthairs you should consider:

Overall Best

1.

Small Fresh Ground Bird

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Product Info

• Protein: 21% Min
• Fat: 8.05% Min
• Fiber: 0.4% Max
• Life Stage: Adult
• Type: Fresh
• Made In: United States

Guaranteed Analysis

Crude Protein: 21%

Crude Fat: 8.05%

Crude Fiber: 0.4%

Moisture: 66.1%

Ash: 2.25%

Dry Matter Basis

Protein: 61.95%

Fat: 23.75%

Fiber: 1.18%

Carbs: 6.49%

Pros

• Made with real animal protein as main ingredient
• No artificial additives or fillers
• Fresh cat food sent right to your home
• Limited number of high-quality natural ingredients

Cons

• Recurring subscription required to order
• Meals aren’t portioned for individual cat’s needs

Your cat craves meat and that’s exactly what Smalls has to offer. Their fresh human-grade diets are packed with real animal protein like chicken to satisfy your cat’s carnivorous cravings.

This Smalls Fresh Ground Bird recipe starts with fresh chicken thighs and chicken breast, followed by chicken liver. You’ll also find chicken heart later on the list as an additional source of nutrition. Fresh veggies like green beans and kale help fill in the nutritional gaps with the help of Smalls Supplement Mix. It’s all served fresh for maximum flavor and palatability, not to mention plenty of moisture to boost your cat’s digestion.

If you’re thinking of improving the quality of your cat’s diet, you can’t go wrong with Smalls. Best of all, they send your cat’s food right to your doorstep!

Runner Up

2.

Hound & Gatos 98% Chicken & Liver Grain-Free Canned Cat Food

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Product Info

• Protein: 10% Min
• Fat: 9.0% Min
• Fiber: 1.0% Max
• Life Stage: Adult
• Type: Wet/Canned
• Made In: United States

Guaranteed Analysis

Crude Protein: 10%

Crude Fat: 9%

Crude Fiber: 1%

Moisture: 78%

Ash: 2.5%

Dry Matter Basis

Protein: 45.45%

Fat: 40.91%

Fiber: 4.55%

Pros

• Primarily made from nourishing chicken muscle meat and liver
• Rich in omega-3s from salmon oil
• Low carbohydrate content
• Doesn’t contain carrageenan or potentially harmful dyes, flavors, or preservatives

Cons

• An expensive food
• Some cats don’t like the taste or texture of Hound & Gatos cat food

This paté from Hound & Gatos is made from chicken, chicken broth, and chicken liver. All of this protein-rich, nutrient-dense flesh is mixed with agar-agar as a thickener. It’s one of the safest thickeners or stabilizers you can give your cat.

Best Dry Cat Food

3.

Stella & Chewy's Chick Chick Chicken Dinner Morsels Freeze-Dried Raw Cat Food

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Product Info

• Protein: 45% Min
• Fat: 25% Min
• Fiber: 5.0% Max
• Life Stage: Adult
• Type: Freeze-Dried/Raw
• Made In: United States

Guaranteed Analysis

Crude Protein: 45%

Crude Fat: 25%

Crude Fiber: 5%

Moisture: 5%

Dry Matter Basis

Protein: 47.37%

Fat: 26.32%

Fiber: 5.26%

Carbs: 21.05%

Pros

• Made with wholesome ingredients.
• Sourced ethically.
• No grains.
• Good for digestion and immunity.

Cons

• Very expensive.

It’s pricey, but you are getting a lot of value for that price. These are succulent morsels that most cats really enjoy, and even the picky eaters usually love. Best of all, this dry food is very nutritious and has everything your cat needs in a single serving.

Best Affordable

4.

Weruva Paw Lickin' Chicken in Gravy Grain-Free Canned Cat Food

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Product Info

• Protein: 10% Min
• Fat: 1.4% Min
• Fiber: 0.5% Max
• Life Stage: Adult
• Type: Wet Food
• Made In: Thailand

Guaranteed Analysis

Crude Protein: 10%

Crude Fat: 1.4%

Crude Fiber: 0.5%

Moisture: 85%

Ash: 1.2%

Dry Matter Basis

Protein: 66.67%

Fat: 9.33%

Fiber: 3.33%

Carbs: 12.67%

Pros

• Packed with whole, healthy chicken.
• No grains or gluten.
• No artificial flavors or additives.

Cons

• Kind of expensive.

This is another semi-expensive cat food, but it’s not as pricey as the last one we listed. Once again, you are paying for quality food here, and this one comes with whole, unprocessed chicken. You won’t find any gluten or grains in it, and it is made with natural ingredients.

Best for Kittens

5.

Instinct Kitten Grain-Free Pate Real Chicken Recipe Natural Wet Canned Cat Food

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Product Info

• Protein: 12% Min
• Fat: 6.0% Min
• Fiber: 1.0% Max
• Life Stage: Kitten
• Type: Wet/Canned
• Made In: United States

Guaranteed Analysis

Crude Protein: 12%

Crude Fat: 6%

Crude Fiber: 1%

Moisture: 78%

Dry Matter Basis

Protein: 54.55%

Fat: 27.27%

Fiber: 4.55%

Carbs: 13.64%

Pros

• Rich in animal-sourced protein
• Contains a mix of muscle meat and organs
• Low carbohydrate content
• Contains salmon as a source of DHA

Cons

• Contains some plant ingredients
• Some reviewers say their cats no longer like it

When your American Shorthair is a kitten, he needs even more protein than he will when he grows up. He needs more calories, too, and more fat, and more of certain vitamins and minerals.

To keep your American Shorthair kitten doing backflips and growing up strong, feed him an intensely nourishing kitten food until he is around 12 months old.

This food from Instinct by Nature’s Variety covers a lot of the kitten food bases. It contains salmon as a source of DHA, crucial for kittenhood brain and eye development, is rich in protein from chicken, beef liver, salmon, and eggs, and it is relatively low in carbohydrates.

Best for Seniors

6.

Feline Natural Chicken & Venison Feast Grain-Free Canned Cat Food

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Product Info

• Protein: 9.0% Min
• Fat: 5.0% Min
• Fiber: 0.2% Max
• Life Stage: Adult
• Type: Wet/Canned
• Made In: New Zealand

Guaranteed Analysis

Crude Protein: 9%

Crude Fat: 5%

Crude Fiber: 0.2%

Moisture: 82.5%

Dry Matter Basis

Protein: 51.43%

Fat: 28.57%

Fiber: 1.14%

Carbs: 18.86%

Pros

• Contains anti-inflammatory omega-3s for senior cats
• Rich in muscle meat, organs, and blood
• Low in carbohydrates

Cons

• Expensive

As your American Shorthair enters her senior years, plenty of highly-digestible protein will help to support lean muscle mass and omega-3 fatty acids will ease any achy joints. That’s why I’ve chosen Feline Natural’s New Zealand Chicken & Venison Feast as the best cat food for senior American Shorthairs.

It’s rich in protein and animal-sourced nutrients from chicken, chicken heart, venison kidney, liver, and blood. New Zealand green mussel adds an array of omega-3 fatty acids, which promote healthy skin and coat while reducing inflammation and potentially supporting joint health.

Nutritional Requirements

You do need to be careful about what you feed your cat. This particular breed of cat needs little to no carbohydrates. If you were to feed this cat a lot of carbs, like most humans and dogs eat, then it would get fat and unhealthy very quickly. It’s body simply cannot handle carbs like we can and like many other types of animals can. Some cats can handle a little bit of carbs, but you should try to leave them out of your American shorthair’s diet completely, if possible.

You want to make sure that your cat gets plenty of protein. It can get that from poultry, beef, pork, fish and other meat sources. In fact, the majority of your cat’s diet needs to be meat in order for it to be healthy. It cannot eat like a human would. Otherwise, it would lack the nutrients it is supposed to have. You also have to be careful about how much fish you feed your cat, since it can become thiamine deficient if it is mostly eating fish as its protein source.

Your American shorthair needs lots of fat as well. This gives it the energy it needs to stay active. As your cat gets older, you can cut back on how much fat it gets, but it still needs a diet that is made up predominantly of protein and fat.

You also want to limit how many meals your cat has per day. Two full meals each day is plenty for the average cat, including this breed. When they are kittens, you can feed them three meals a day, as their body is growing so quickly. However, after about seven or eight months, you need to cut back to two meals and keep it at that.

What To Consider Before Buying Your American Shorthair The Best Food?

There are some things you need to keep in mind as you try to buy food for your cat. Not every cat food will be ideal for your feline, so here are a few pointers before you buy any food:

• Lots of Meat- It’s really important that your cats eat plenty of protein. It is going to get that from meat, so check to see if the ingredients list meat as the primary component. Over 90% of any given meal should be meat.
• Wet and Dry Variety- You don’t want to give your cat all wet or all dry food all the time. It needs a mix of both, with more wet food. The wet food gives it water and other nutrients that it can’t get from the dry food. The dry food is necessary, though, as it gives the cat added fiber and helps to strengthen its teeth.
• High Fat Content- Your American shorthair needs a decent amount of fat in its food. Don’t go for any low fat or diet items, as these are likely to starve your cat and make it even more of a low energy feline than it already is.
• Price- You don’t have to pay a lot to get a decent food product for your cat. There are some great options (as you will see on this review) that don’t cost a lot.

What To Avoid?

There are a few things that you never want to give your cat, or at least only give them rarely. Follow these guidelines for foods to avoid to ensure your cat stays healthy.

• Carbs- It’s not safe to give your cat many carbs with each meal. Keep these to a minimum by focusing on meat and fats for the majority of its meals. Carbs will just make it gain excess weight.
• Milk- Your American shorthair can’t digest dairy products very well. It’s a common item given to cats, and while they may do like it, it is not very good for them.
• Vegetables- This should be obvious for most cat owners, but your cat does not like vegetables. Not only that, but it doesn’t get much nutritional value out of them. So, try to avoid foods that contain veggies of any kind for your cat. No matter how healthy they are for you, they don’t do much for your cat.
• Low Grade Grains- Just like veggies, there isn’t much in grains that your cat can benefit from. Try to keep the grain content to a minimum. These are often used as fillers, and for most cats, that’s all they will be- filler content with little to no nutritional value.

Final Purrs

As you care for your cat, keep in mind that it is not as energetic as other breeds of cats. It gets enough exercise through light play, but you usually won’t find it running around like crazy all day. You don’t need to make sure your cat exercises regularly for it to stay in decent shape, as this is normal with American shorthair cats. Just follow the dieting guidelines we have listed for you here, and you should have little trouble keeping your cat happy and healthy.

In case your cat is picky and won’t eat the food you bought, just try another brand. Remember that not all cats like the same food, just like us humans. Just keep our dietary advice in mind and look for the next best option. Eventually you will find food that your cat will love.