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Best Grain Free Cat Food (2024): Top Rated Wet And Dry Picks
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Today, we’re comparing and reviewing some of the best grain-free cat food picks for 2023. We’ll be looking at a range of food options that are both complete, and nutritionally balanced.
Plus, we’re focusing on factors like different flavors, formulas, vitamin content, and overall quality.
Read this next: Best Freeze Dried Cat Food: Is It Right For Your Cat?
Grain-free cat food is a popular choice among pet owners who want to ensure their kitty gets nothing but the best and a s strong immune system.
A grain-free diet can be an excellent way to keep a cat with digestive issues and allergies well-fed. It also means you can avoid some of the common unnecessary fillers used on other foods. While grain-free meals aren’t a requirement for every cat, they can help some of our feline friends to live happier, healthier lives.
Grain-free cat food is a cat or kitten food made without the use of things like rice, corn, wheat, soy, oats, or barley. It is available in any form of cat food, from biscuits, and kibble to pate to raw food.
A grain-free recipe will potentially contain chicken, chicken liver, turkey, tuna, green beans, peas, chicken hearts, spinach, kale, carrots, rye, lentils, cranberries, and many other protein-rich and high-quality carbohydrates.
So, as you can see, grain-free isn't too limited.
And still super healthy!
Best Grain-Free Cat Food: Our Overall Choice
Our top best grain-free cat food choice is the Purina Beyond Natural Grain-Free food.
This food includes superb levels of wild-caught whitefish, and a range of added vitamins, nutrients, and minerals.
Purina Beyond Natural Grain-Free food also is also free from additives and preservatives and perfect for cats with sensitive stomachs.
3 Top Grain-Free Cat Food Picks - Best, Value & Premium
When assessing the dozens of grain-free cat food options available on the market today, we noticed a handful of options that really stood out from the crowd. We chose these options based on their affordability, nutrient content, and overall pet appeal.
To create our list, we’ve checked out some of the top-rated and most popular grain-free foods on the market. Each of the options we’ll cover has been tried and tested by committed pet parents, and their beloved kitties.
Our Top 3 Choices
Best Overall
Purina Beyond Grain Free
Best Value
Natural Balance L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Dry Cat Food
Premium Choice
Wellness CORE Grain-Free Wet Cat Food
Let’s dive in.
1. Purina Beyond Grain Free (Best Overall Pick)
This high-protein grain-free dry cat food is ideal for kitties who like to graze on their food throughout the day.
The crunchy kibble preserves well, so you don’t have to worry about changing the food every hour or two.
Plus, it contains plenty of great ingredients, like real wild-caught whitefish, natural probiotics, and various vitamins and minerals.
Not only is this cat food free from grain, but it also includes absolutely no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives.
This ensures you can give your cat the best quality of nutrition, without having to worry about a higher risk of allergic reactions or tummy issues.
Pros
Cons
2. Natural Balance L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Dry Cat Food (Best Value)
With a variety of tasty flavors to choose from, including duck, chicken, venison, and salmon, this grain-free cat food is sure to appeal to all tastes.
The limited-ingredient product is ideal for kitties on a specific diet to help minimize allergic reactions and gastrointestinal issues. Plus, the number one ingredient is real protein, ideal for maintaining strong muscles.
This complete and balanced food is great for adult cats of all breeds, and comes with added minerals and vitamins to support good skin, fur, and bone health.
There are no grains, additives, or fillers included, so you can ensure your cat only gets the best.
Pros
Cons
3. Wellness CORE Grain-Free Wet Cat Food (Best Premium)
For wet food fans, Wellness CORE is a brilliant grain-free pick. Available in a range of flavors, this food comes in a pate texture, making it ideal for cats of all ages.
The food includes protein as the number one ingredient, with extra fortified vitamins and minerals, and an omega blend for healthy coats.
There’s no grain, soy, or wheat to worry about. Plus, the product is free from artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives.
Thanks to the unique moisture texture, this food is also an excellent way to give your cats an extra dose of hydration, if they don’t spend much time at the water bowl.
As an added bonus, it supports good immune health, healthy teeth, and bones.
Pros
Cons
Our Alternative Picks
If the three options above aren’t well-suited to your cat, there are still a host of fantastic grain-free foods to choose from. Our team also highlighted the following options for those in search of high protein, dry food, wet food, and diets for indoor cats.
4. Purina Beyond Grain Free Wet Food (Best Wet Food)
Made with chicken as the number one ingredient, this delightful pate food is great for kitties of all ages, as it’s easy to eat and digest.
The wholesome recipe is free from grains, but packed full of fantastic vitamins and minerals, thanks to added foods like sweet potato.
Great for a feline friend with a sensitive stomach, the Purina Beyond Grain food contains no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives.
It also contains extra nutrients like taurine, Vitamin A, and zinc to keep your kitty healthy and strong.
Pros
Cons
5. Instinct Original Grain Free (Best Dry Food)
This grain-free kibble from Instinct Original features cage-free chicken as the number one ingredient. In fact, the recipe includes 81% real animal ingredients, and 19% vegetables, fruits, and other wholesome ingredients.
The food includes probiotics for healthy digestion, and omega for skin and coat support. It also has no artificial additives or preservatives.
Unlike most kibble options, these dry biscuits are coated in freeze-dried raw meat to enhance the nutritional value and the taste.
There’s also a variety of great flavors to choose from.
Pros
Cons
6. Blue Buffalo Wilderness High Protein (Best High Protein)
Cats need protein in their diet more than any other ingredient, as obligate carnivores. So if you’re looking for a high-protein solution, this could be the perfect option.
This dry cat food is packed with real chicken, and contains absolutely no grains or additives.
The product also includes special “LifeSource bits” which are a blend of carefully selected vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants chosen by veterinarians to improve cat health.
The food even helps your kitty to maintain a healthy and consistent body weight.
Pros
Cons
7. Blue Buffalo Blue Freedom Grain-Free Mature Indoor
Another excellent choice from Blue Buffalo, the Freedom food is made specifically for indoor cats, and their unique dietary needs.
The recipe includes real chicken as the number one ingredient and is formulated to support mature cats with reduced calorie needs, so it’s great for weight maintenance.
Like most Blue Buffalo foods, this product also comes with LifeSource bits included, so your kitty can get a fantastic blend of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants in every bite.
The food is also rich in fiber, to assist your cat with better digestion.
Pros
Cons
Read this next: Wet vs Dry Cat Food: What’s Best for Your Kitties?
Buyers Guide
While there are plenty of grain free cat food options on the market today, choosing the right option for your feline friend can be complicated.
To help you make the right decision, we’ve put together a quick and concise guide covering what you might need to know.
Why Buy Grain Free Cat Food?
The first point we should cover is that grain-free cat food isn’t a necessity for a cat. A lot of people assume cats shouldn’t eat grain because they’re not generally exposed to it in the wild.
However, while cats don’t need grain to survive, they can easily digest it in most cases without a problem.
In fact, grain can provide your cats with extra fiber, which helps to prevent hairballs. Plus, it’s packed with useful ingredients like iron, calcium, folate, thiamine, niacin, riboflavin, and more.
In fact, grain can provide your cats with extra fiber, which helps to prevent hairballs. Plus, it’s packed with useful ingredients like iron, calcium, folate, thiamine, niacin, riboflavin, and more.
While a grain-free cat food may be labeled as a “holistic” option for your cat, it’s really only necessary in certain circumstances.
For instance, you might choose a grain-free food when your cat:
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Read this next: Can Cats Eat Cucumbers? (Cats and Cucumbers!)
Things to consider with Grain Free food
When choosing a grain-free food for your cat, the most important thing you’ll need to consider is your kitty’s preferences. All cats have specific tastes for certain ingredients, flavors, and meals. So, keep this in mind.
It’s also worth ensuring you understand your cat’s specific dietary requirements, as cats of various ages, breeds, and backgrounds can require certain foods.
It’s also worth making sure any grain-free cat food is:
Read this next: Can Cats Eat Bread? (Or is it Bad For Them?)
FAQs
What foods should cats avoid?
Just because grain isn’t necessary for cats, doesn’t mean they automatically need to avoid it, unless they have a prior condition.
Rather, you should focus on keeping your cat away from dangerous foods like raw eggs and meet, onions, garlic, and chemical additives.
What are the benefits of grain free cat food?
Grain free foods can be easier for cats to digest if they already have inflammatory stomach, gut issues, kidney disease, or food allergies.
They can also be less likely to exacerbate certain allergic reactions and responses in cats who have sensitive stomachs.
Does grain free food cause heart problems in cats?
Grain-free diets have been implicated in rising numbers of cardio problems for both cats and dogs.
However, this is usually the case when the food is not complete and balanced. If you ensure your cat is getting the right amount of nutrients in every meal, they shouldn’t have any problems?
Should cats eat grain free?
There’s nothing to say cats should never eat grain, and very little to suggest that grain-rich foods offer a lot of benefits.
Grain isn’t necessary for cats, but it’s not necessarily harmful either, unless your cat has an existing issue which prevents them from eating grain.
Best Grain Free Cat Food: Summary
Finding the best grain-free cat foods for your kitty can be tough, particularly if you have a picky cat. Fortunately, there are plenty of options designed to give your cat a healthy, rich, and balanced diet.
Our number one choice is the Purina Beyond Natural Grain-Free food, with fantastic quantities of wild-caught whitefish, and a range of added vitamins and minerals.
This food is free from additives and preservatives and ideal for sensitive cat stomachs.
Get 30% off and FREE shipping on cat supplies!
U.S.A only
To Find out why we recommend chewy.com, click here
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