Comparisons

Product

Chicken or Fish as the 1st Ingredient

Use of Organic Meats & Vegetables

Veggies and/or Fruit

Cold-formed nutrients and antioxidants

NO Animal By-products

NO Artificial Colors or Preservatives

NO Corn, Wheat, or Soy

Blue Buffalo Spa Select

X

O

X

X

X

X

X

Wysong

X

X

X

X

X

X

0

Castor & Pollux ORGANIX

X

X

X

O

X

X

O

Wellness

X

O

X

O

X

X

X

Castor & Pollux Natural Ultramix

X

O

X

O

X

X

X

EVOLVE

X

O

X

O

X

X

X

Innova EVO

X

O

X

O

X

X

X

Premium Edge

X

O

X

O

X

X

X

Drs Foster & Smith

X

O

X

O

X

X

X

Chicken Soup for the Pet Lovers Soul

X

O

X

O

X

X

X

California Natural

X

O

O

O

X

X

X

Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance

O

O

X

O

X

X

X

Felidae

O

O

X

O

X

X

X

Pinnacle Feline

O

O

X

O

X

X

X

Nutro Natural Choice

O

O

X

O

X

X

O

Hills Science Diet Nature’s Best

O

O

X

O

X

X

O

Royal Canin

O

O

X

O

X

X

O

Purina Pro Plan

X

O

O

O

O

X

O

Purina One

X

O

O

O

O

X

O

Iams Eukanuba

X

O

O

O

O

X

O

Nature’s Recipe

X

O

O

O

O

X

O

Iams

X

O

O

O

O

X

O

Nutro Max Cat

O

O

O

O

X

X

O

Select Choice

O

O

O

O

X

X

O

Hills Science Diet

O

O

O

O

O

X

O

Black Gold

O

O

O

O

O

O

O

9 Lives

O

O

O

O

O

O

O

Purina Deli-Cat

O

O

O

O

O

O

O

Fancy Feast

O

O

O

O

O

O

O

Friskies

O

O

O

O

O

O

O

Meow Mix

O

O

O

O

O

O

O

As you can see, there are several premium cat foods that scored well in five of the seven categories, but only one that scored well in six of the seven.

The one thing that put Blue Spa Select cat food ahead of most of the others is its use of a cold forming process in the production of its LifeSource Bits. Only one other company does that, yet I believe that it is important, considering that the high temperatures that are typically used in forming a kibble destroys much of what is beneficial in the food. I consider this to be a very good argument in favor of Blue Spa Select.

Wysong, on the other hand, uses corn and wheat in some of its products, but makes a good argument for its limited inclusion, as a part of a balanced diet. I used its Archetype formula in these comparisons. Wysong uses different rules than does Blue Buffalo, Castor & Pollux, and the others, yet makes a good argument for them. So if you accept Wysong’s philosophy on feline nutrition, and I can’t say that this would be unreasonable, they may well be the best of the brands. Even in the same playing field, some of Wysong’s dry cat food formulas contain no corn, soy, or wheat, which would put those formulas on top, except that Wysong does not suggest that you feed only one of its formulas to your cat.

Castor & Pollux, in its ORGANIX brand, is the only other company that I have found that uses organic meats and vegetables, which speaks well of that brand of cat food. After all, one might argue that the benefits of not using artificial color and preservatives in the manufacture of a cat food are weakened somewhat by the presence of pesticides in the meat and vegetable ingredients. The only other area in which ORGANIX rated below Spa Select is in its use of soy seeds; and on that subject, I would like to point out that Castor & Pollux does not use corn or wheat in its products.

For all practical purposes, Blue Buffalo,Wysong, and Castor & Pollux, each manufacture excellent brands of cat food, and your cat would do well with either of them. Perhaps a rotation would be even better.

This table was created from information obtained from ingredient lists found on each company’s own web sites, and is, admittedly, arbitrary. If you believe it to be in error, please write and point out the error; and, if indicated, it will be corrected at my earliest convenience.

kenanderson@kenanderson.net

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