About Compare Cat Foods

A side-by-side comparison tool for cat food nutrition and cost.

Watercolor illustration of Iggy, an orange tabby cat, lying on his back and play-wrestling with Elune, a black cat standing over him, surrounded by stacks of cat food cans and a potted succulent. — For Elune & Iggy — for whom I’d do anything.

In 2022, I took my cat to the veterinarian and received bad news about her bloodwork. It was unclear at the time exactly what was happening, but it turns out that her kidneys were having a hard time keeping up with the phosphorus in her food. The doctor told me she was on the cusp of having feline chronic kidney disease. After researching the cat food I was feeding her, it turned out it was extremely high in phosphorus despite being a really good brand.

At the time, the veterinarian had a printout from a website and told me to shop from that list. “Anything below 1% dry matter phosphorus will do” they said. I didn’t know what that meant, but I soon learned it was extremely hard if not impossible to get that data without a lot of effort. It was only because of resources (like the printout she gave me) that I was able to navigate the waters as well as I did. I am very happy to report she is doing well on a different brand of food now, but it was a close call.

The website I used has not updated its food data in many years. I won’t mention which website it was just to avoid even the slightest impression that I’m criticizing, because I’m really not. Getting this information is hard, as is organizing it and making it presentable. It is an absolute triumph they did it in the first place. Given that such a resource helped me so much, I wanted to pay it forward by collecting, organizing, and publishing it myself. It’s my hope the website can be of service to others and, if people are so inclined to use them, that the affiliate links on the product pages can help me someday break even on costs.

With any luck, it’s my highest aspiration that this project can go beyond supporting itself and be a part of both my local cat community and online one as well. My first step in this direction is sponsoring a local nonprofit cat cafe and rescue’s fundraising gala. This is but one of the many ways I hope to give back in the future!

Watercolor painting of Sweet Pea, a dark gray cat with green eyes, sitting upright on a wooden shelf with her soft blue shadow behind her.

What this site does

CompareCatFoods.com lets you sort and filter cat foods by the things that actually matter — what’s in it, and what does it cost. We aim to include all major US and Canadian cat food brands (and a few of the smaller labels as well). Both retail and prescription diets are included. Perhaps most importantly, all nutrient percentages are shown on a dry-matter basis: allowing you to compare wet and dry foods fairly & without ambiguity — with per-100 kcal and as-fed views one tap away.

For the formulas, sourcing rules, data-handling policy, and more… see the Methodology page. For those brave enough to wander in, please know that it may seem intimidating at first… and, well… that’s because it kind of is. If making this website has taught me anything, it’s that pet food companies are wildly inconsistent and even inaccurate in the data they produce. I’ve had to make unavoidable judgement calls, and I want you to know about each and every one of them via that page.

Contact

Spot a mistake or have a suggestion? Email contact [at] comparecatfoods [dot] com.

Compare Cat Foods is operated by Compare Cat Foods LLC, based out of Iowa, USA. While I have indeed set up an LLC, please do not be fooled into thinking this is some big operation (it’s just me — the sole operator of this website).

Affiliate links

There’s no charming way to put this stuff. It simply has to be said so I’m operating above board. Please forgive the legal disclosures and nonsense that follows.

Some links on this site go to retailers through affiliate programs. Right now that means Amazon and Chewy — if you click one of those links and buy, Compare Cat Foods LLC may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps cover hosting and keeps the site running. I don’t yet link out to other retailers like Petco; if that program accepts the site, I’ll add it and update this page.

Amazon’s affiliate program requires me to include this exact sentence somewhere visible, so here it is: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Chewy asks for the same kind of plain disclosure, so here’s that one too: As a Chewy affiliate I earn commissions for qualifying purchases.

Affiliate relationships do not influence which products appear here, the nutrition data shown, or how products are sorted or filtered. Every product is included on the basis of being a complete & balanced cat food with publicly available nutrition info — not because of any commercial relationship.

Disclaimer

While I’ve done my very best to make sure the information on this website is accurate, please know that I do not imply, suggest, or offer any warranty or guarantee of any kind for the accuracy of this website’s data. Always double-check the nutrition label and other details before committing to a purchase.

This site is for informational comparison only. It is not veterinary advice. Talk to your vet before making changes to your cat’s diet, especially if your cat has a medical condition.

P.S.: I’ve been obsessed with and using em dashes since high school…. long before AI came along and hijacked them. You’ll have to pull my alt+0151 dashes from my cold, dead hands.