The 7 Best High Protein Cat Food
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Any cat food can contain meat as the first ingredient and many companies boost protein percentages with peas and corn, but the best high protein cat food is a carnivore’s diet from the first ingredient to the last.
That’s why we recommend Dr. Elsey’s cleanprotein Turkey formula as the best high protein cat food on the market. It’s rich in highly-digestible protein from animal sources, contains multiple sources of omega-3 fatty acids, and receives sparkling customer reviews.
Before we review this Dr. Elsey’s food and the other top 7 best high-protein foods on the market, let’s discuss how much protein cats really need, how to identify a protein-rich food, and the facts about protein digestibility.
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 High Protein Cat Food
|
Best Human-Grade
4. Open Farm Wild-Caught Salmon Rustic Blend Wet Cat Food |
Best For Seniors
5. Weruva Truluxe Steak Frites with Beef & Pumpkin in Gravy Grain-Free Canned Food |
Best For Kittens
6. Wellness CORE Natural Grain Free Turkey & Chicken Liver Pate Canned Kitten Food |
Best For Weight Loss
7. Tiki Cat After Dark Chicken & Quail Canned Cat Food |
|||
|
Protein
11% Min |
Protein
21% Min |
Protein
43% Min |
Protein
8% Min |
Protein
10% Min |
Protein
12% Min |
Protein
12% Min |
|
Fat
9.0% Min |
Fat
8.05% Min |
Fat
25% Min |
Fat
4% Min |
Fat
1.3% Min |
Fat
7.5% Min |
Fat
2.4% Min |
|
Fiber
1.5% Max |
Fiber
0.4% Max |
Fiber
2.0% Max |
Fiber
2% Max |
Fiber
0.5% Max |
Fiber
1.0% Max |
Fiber
0.7% Max |
|
Life Stage
Adult |
Life Stage
Adult |
Life Stage
Adult |
Life Stage
Maintenance |
Life Stage
Adult |
Life Stage
Kitten |
Life Stage
Adult |
|
Type
Wet/Canned |
Type
Fresh |
Type
Air-Dried |
Type
Wet |
Type
Wet/Canned |
Type
Wet/Canned |
Type
Wet/Canned |
|
Made In
United States |
Made In
United States |
Made In
New Zealand |
Made In
Canada/United States |
Made In
Thailand |
Made In
United States |
Made In
Thailand |
How Much Protein Do Cats Need?
For cats, a high-protein diet isn’t a high-protein diet. It’s a normal diet. As hypercarnivores, cats need a lot more protein than we do—in fact, they need more protein than do other carnivorous species.
The feline body never stops converting protein—amino acids—into the glucose that supports essential organ function. Protein makes your cat’s heart beat and his eyes blink. It is vital to feline life. Without the essential amino acids naturally present in meat, cats wouldn’t be able to see, think, purr, or survive.
Cats need at least 2.3 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day.
Fascinatingly, this number appears both in studies of how much protein cats need to maintain lean muscle mass and how much protein cats choose to eat when given the choice. Cats want to eat the amount of protein their bodies require—seldom more, rarely less.
Note that most cat food labels represent nutrients as a percentage of the food’s weight, not in grams. You can use a calculator like this one to make the conversion.
If you don’t have the time to fiddle with a conversion calculator, don’t be afraid to keep it simple. You can usually get a rough, but adequate, picture of a food’s protein content by taking a glance at the ingredient list. If a given food is primarily made from meat, doesn’t contain a lot of plant ingredients, and has one or two sources of fat near the middle of the ingredient list, it’s probably in the protein sweet spot.
Note that, instead of meat, you might look for plant-sourced proteins like pea protein, corn gluten meal, and wheat gluten. These proteins lack the amino acid profile found in fresh meat, but with a combination of complementary proteins and crystalline amino acids, they can deliver the nutrients cats require.
There’s a difference between crude protein and digestible protein, but the label won’t tell you about that.
Protein digestibility is a vital but poorly-understood determinant of a food’s nutritional value. Different proteins have different biological values—some are almost completely useful to the body and others are more waste than nourishment.
We know that for humans, an egg is almost 100% biologically available. A hundred grams of crude protein from eggs might translate to ninety-six grams of digestible protein. Almost all of that protein is utilized with the body. In contrast, corn is just around 54% usable. But for cats? We don’t know. There’s no large-scale database showing us exactly how biologically available each type of protein is for cats.
Without any concrete information on protein availability for cats and only crude protein values printed on cat food labels, the best we can do is piece together what little information we do have and combine it with knowledge of cats’ dietary needs.
Our Top Picks For The Best High Protein Cat Food
Dr. Elsey's Cleanprotein Turkey Formula Canned Cat Food
Product Info
- Protein: 11% Min
- Fat: 9.0% Min
- Fiber: 1.5% Max
- Life Stage: Adult
- Type: Wet/Canned
- Made In: United States
Guaranteed Analysis
Dry Matter Basis
- Primarily made from highly-digestible turkey muscle meat and liver
- Contains salmon oil and green-lipped mussel as sources of omega-3 fatty acids
- Low-glycemic recipe
- Free of carrageenan, artificial colors, and preservatives
- One of the more expensive foods you can buy
The carnivore-appropriate theme continues later in the ingredient list, with both salmon oil and green-lipped mussels serving as sources of omega-3 fatty acids.
Overall, this food is rich in species-appropriate protein, appears to be a touch more digestible than your average by-product-laden cat food, and doesn’t have a lot of fruits, vegetables, or other plant ingredients.
Smalls Fresh Ground Bird
Product Info
- Protein: 21% Min
- Fat: 8.05% Min
- Fiber: 0.4% Max
- Life Stage: Adult
- Type: Fresh
- Made In: United States
Guaranteed Analysis
Dry Matter Basis
- Made with real animal protein as main ingredient
- No additives or low-quality fillers
- Highly digestible source of balanced nutrition
- Not portioned individually for specific cats
- Must start a subscription to order
Smalls Fresh Ground Bird is a protein-packed recipe made with real chicken. The first two ingredients are chicken thighs and chicken breasts, though you’ll also find chicken organs thrown in for supplemental protein and natural sources of nutrition. The only other main ingredients are fresh veggies like green beans, peas, and kale.
When choosing a cat food, it’s important to look for what the food contains, but it’s also important to look for what’s missing. In Smalls fresh food you won’t find any low-quality fillers or additives – just real ingredients for real nutrition.
Ziwi Peak Air-Dried Mackerel & Lamb Recipe Cat Food
Product Info
- Protein: 43% Min
- Fat: 25% Min
- Fiber: 2.0% Max
- Life Stage: Adult
- Type: Air-Dried
- Made In: New Zealand
Guaranteed Analysis
Dry Matter Basis
- Rich in nutrients from animal muscle meat, organs, and bones
- Rich in minimally-processed, highly-digestible protein
- Low carbohydrate content
- A meaty alternative to traditional dry foods
- Doesn’t have enough water to keep your cat healthy
For those pursuing a more prey-inspired diet plan, this food from Ziwi Peak presents an interesting alternative to traditional kibble. The food doesn’t contain any of the peas, potatoes, or plant protein common among other dry foods and is instead one of the meatiest foods on the market.
Because it’s air-dried rather than extruded, the food retains much of its inherent nutritional value. Mackerel, lamb, lamb heart, lamb tripe, lamb liver, lamb lung, and lamb kidney add to the food’s rich nutritional profile. New Zealand green lipped mussel brings an anti-inflammatory component.
Though dry food can’t hydrate your cat, this food is evidence that it can give him plenty of protein without a lot of carbohydrates.
Open Farm Wild-Caught Salmon Rustic Blend Wet Cat Food
Product Info
- Protein: 8% Min
- Fat: 4% Min
- Fiber: 2% Max
- Life Stage: Maintenance
- Type: Wet
- Made In: Canada/United States
Guaranteed Analysis
Dry Matter Basis
- Made with 100% human grade ingredients
- Contains organic, natural superfoods such as coconut oil and turmeric
- No Grain, Antibiotics, or Growth Hormones; Potato-Free
- 100% traceable ingredients
- Some cats wouldn’t eat it
- Contains some plant-based proteins
- Contains agar-agar, an alternative to carageenan
All of Open Farm’s wet foods have DMB protein percentages in the 40 percent range.
This recipe uses wild-caught Pacific salmon for a single animal protein source. The fish is Ocean Wise-approved. It’s a good source of DHA and omega-3 fatty acids for your cat. This food can be served as a topper over your cat’s normal food or as a complete meal.
We did notice that their wet cat foods contain some plant proteins from lentils and garbanzo beans (chickpeas). As serious carnivores, cats are better able to digest and utilize meat protein than plant protein. However, it is possible for cats to use some plant protein with the correct amino acid additions.
The food also contains agar-agar which is becoming a popular alternative to carageenan as a gel in wet pet foods. Like carageenan, agar-agar also made from seaweed. It has been used for a long time in Japan. Agar-agar is considered to be safe to use in foods and pet foods by the U.S. FDA and by the European Union. It is present in minute amounts in some pet foods.
However, it is possible that some cats might react to it. As a fiber, it can produce some mild digestive upset such as an upset stomach or some diarrhea. If your cat has an upset stomach after eating a food – especially a new food – it could be hard to tell if the agar-agar is the cause. It is present in many popular wet cat foods today.
Open Farm’s ingredients are 100% traceable so you always know where they come from. This is part of the company’s commitment to ethical and transparent sourcing practices. The company’s wet cat foods are certified humane. They contain no grains and no potatoes. This recipe is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Cat Food Nutrient Profiles for maintenance.
Weruva Truluxe Steak Frites with Beef & Pumpkin in Gravy Grain-Free Canned Food
Product Info
- Protein: 10% Min
- Fat: 1.3% Min
- Fiber: 0.5% Max
- Life Stage: Adult
- Type: Wet/Canned
- Made In: Thailand
Guaranteed Analysis
Dry Matter Basis
- A low-phosphorus food
- Rich in highly-digestible protein from beef
- Low carbohydrate content
- Free of artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives
- Contains sunflower seed oil instead of animal-sourced fat
With 1.0 mg phosphorus per 1000 calories, this Weruva food is one of the lowest-phosphorus non-prescription foods you can buy. It provides a rare combination of high protein content and low phosphorus content. It’s safe for healthy cats and, though it’s not necessarily a replacement for a special diet, can help cats with kidney disease feel better.
The food is made primarily from beef with a mix of vegetables, thickeners, and sunflower oil. It’s rich in protein with moderate fat and low carbohydrate content.
Wellness CORE Natural Grain Free Turkey & Chicken Liver Pate Canned Kitten Food
Product Info
- Protein: 12% Min
- Fat: 7.5% Min
- Fiber: 1.0% Max
- Life Stage: Kitten
- Type: Wet/Canned
- Made In: United States
Guaranteed Analysis
Dry Matter Basis
- Formulated with kittenhood growth in mind
- Rich in species-appropriate animal protein
- Contains DHA for brain and eye development
- Free of artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives
- Contains three different stabilizing gums
In addition to species-appropriate protein, the food contains menhaden fish oil as a source of omega-3 fatty acids central to brain and eye development.
Though the food is generally a high-protein, species-appropriate recipe, it contains more thickening gums than most. If your kitten is sensitive to gums, you might not like the inclusion of guar gum, xanthan gum, and cassia gum.
Tiki Cat After Dark Chicken & Quail Canned Cat Food
Product Info
- Protein: 12% Min
- Fat: 2.4% Min
- Fiber: 0.7% Max
- Life Stage: Adult
- Type: Wet/Canned
- Made In: Thailand
Guaranteed Analysis
Dry Matter Basis
- Low in fat and calories to help cats lose weight
- Rich in protein from highly bio-available sources
- Contains animal-sourced fat
- Free of artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives
- Low carbohydrate content
- Expensive
- May not contain enough fat for long-term feeding
To keep your cat fit and strong, consider keeping the protein and using moisture to your advantage.
This Tiki Cat food is rich in protein from chicken muscle meat and organs. Additionally, each can contains half of a quail egg for extra nutrition and unexpected variety. The food contains tuna oil, a species-appropriate fat source and is fortified with all the critical amino acids, vitamins, and minerals that the main ingredients don’t deliver on their own.
High protein cat food is the only kind of food that can keep your cat’s muscles strong, his mind alert, and his body thriving.
All of the foods on this list are good high-protein options, but they’re not the end of the road. Regardless of your budget or your cat’s needs, there’s a high protein cat food that will work for you. Use the above recommendations as a guide and discover the foods that cater to your and your cat’s unique needs.
