Owned by Nestle, Purina is one of the biggest pet food brands in the world.
Purina has a number of product lines with Purina Pro being the most premium cat food Purina offers.
Purina pet offers strictly follow AAFCO guidelines and have added quality assurance processes to ensure the quality of their cat food.
Keep reading for the complete Purina Cat Food Review.
Our Rating of Purina Cat Food
When reviewing any cat food brand, it is important to judge and rate them on breed specificness, ingredient quality which covers protein sources, fillers and other ingredients, price, recalls, customer rating and the variety in their products.
This is how we rated Purina cat food brand for the above six criteria.
We have given the Purina cat food brand 3 and a half stars out of 5 stars due to the questionable ingredient quality, mixed customer review and lack of breed specific food.
Purina Overview
Purina was formed in 1984 by three American entrepreneurs, William H. Danforth, George Robinson and William Andrews with the aim of feeding farm animals.
Initially Purina started making animal feed but later transitioned to manufacturing packaged pet foods by 1926.
Nestlé purchased Purina in 2001 and merged with Nestlé Friskies division to form Purina Pet Care Company.
In 2012, Purina was the second largest pet food company in the world and the largest pet food company in the USA.
Purina Pet Food Ingredient Sourcing And Manufacturing
Purina claims that most of their ingredients are sourced from North America with the exception of a few ingredients.
Most of their grains and meats are sourced from the United States and Canada. Fish for their cat treats are sourced from Thailand and venison and lamb for some of their recipes are sourced from New Zealand and Australia.
All of Purina’s ingredients are sourced from USDA approved facilities in the United States and comply with Purina’s standard of ingredient quality and specifications.
You can use Purina’s ingredient traceability map to find out exactly where each ingredient is coming from.
Purina has over 21 pet food manufacturing facilities in the United States, where around 98% of the Purina pet food is produced.
Ingredient Quality
Purina uses high quality products in their ingredients in their pet food. Ingredients used by Purina are either fresh or processed.
All Purina cat food ingredients meet the AAFCO standard of quality. Purina also adds taurine in their pet food without grains to avoid the development of conditions like Dilated Cardiomyopathy.
Purina is also a diamond partner with World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) and is also partnered with the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) to ensure high quality pet foods.
Purina uses some artificial flavouring and colouring agents such as Blue 2, though it is FDA approved but still an ingredient we recommend avoiding giving your cat.
There have also been reports of usage of low quality animal fat in their products which lowers the overall quality of some of their products.
Purina Recall History
Purina has had a number of recalls in their history. Below is a list of Purina recalls over the past couple of years.
- July 2021 – Cans of the Purina Pro Plan Complete Essentials Tuna Entrée in Sauce Wet Cat Food were recalled due to the presence of plastic pieces.
- March 2019 – Recall of Purina’s Muse Natural Chicken Recipe in Gravy due to having rubber pieces in the food.
- March 2016 – 5 varieties of Purina dog food were recalled due to inadequate amounts of vitamins and minerals in the food.
- August 2013 – Purina voluntarily recalled Beyond Our White Meat Chicken & Whole Barley Recipe Adult Dry Dog Food due to salmonella contamination.
- 2012 – Purina recalled their Veterinary Diets OM Overweight Management Feline Formula due to inadequate thiamine levels.
- 2011 – Some Purina products were recalled due to salmonella contaminations.
- March 2007 – Purina recalled ALPO Prime Cuts Variety Packs and Mighty Dog brand pouch products due to Melamine contamination.
Customer Reviews
Purina usually gets positive feedback from customers but there is no shortage of negative reviews as well for Purina.
Most customers have had a good experience with Purina with a focus on how much their cat loves Purina.
Positive Reviews
“This is the favorite choice of my petite adult cat. I alternate between different flavors of the fancy feast cans but she seems to like these flavors the most. In terms of taste, she likes these at least as much as she liked the Friskies gravy lovers wet food. The fancy feast is a little pricier but the size of the cans works better for her. In my experience, fancy feast cans like this are great if: -Your cat prefers shreds/bits to pate. -Your cat is on the smaller side or tends not to eat an entire larger can at once. -The can will not be split multiple ways.”
“I have 8 cats and have fed them nothing but IAMS for years (I did try Blue Buffalo and a few other high-end brands but they didn’t like those at all). I needed to switch to something more economical and decided to try this. I have two self-feeders and filled one with the IAMS and one with the Purina Cat Chow Complete. Immediately all my cats went for the Purina. They are now more active and playful plus, my two ‘barfy’ cats have not vomited since they have been eating this. All of them just seem to be so much happier. They also seem to take the time to chew this and I don’t have cat food crumbs on the floor by the feeder.”
Negative Reviews
“My cat gets hairballs and loves this food. It’s unfortunate it has some of the worst ingredients. I initially didn’t know this until recently. My husband had gotten it for the one kitty that has a tendency to get hair balls. I even went as far as to reorder it. I then had looked over the ingredients and had meant to cancel the order that was autoship. Got 4 small bags delivered. I will give it to the cats at work that I feed. I don’t want to throw it out. It’s really sad such a large company like Purina puts garbage like red, yellow dyes in their products and sometimes carrageen.”
Purina Cat Food Ranges
Purina offers a wide range of products each with its own specificity. Here is a non exhaustive list of all the brands under Purina
Pro Plan
Purina Pro Plan is the premium cat food range by Purina It is filled with premium ingredients to provide specific performance based nutrition.
It has been specially designed to cater for specific health needs such as sensitive stomach, hairball, weight management, urinary tract issues and many more.
This product range comes in as wet and dry cat food.
Pro Plan Veterinary Diet
This is Purina line of prescription cat food for special health needs of cats.
Although these diets are not meant to replace medication but as a method to relieve or support cats through their issues.
The products range for issues such as dental health, diabetes, allergies and digestive issues.
Purina One
Purina One is another premium cat food line that comes second to Purina Plan.
This product line uses high quality protein such as salmon, chicken etc. as the first ingredient.
It is advertised as a pet life improving formula.
Purina Beyond
This is Purina’s all natural product line free of any by-product meals, artificial colours, artificial flavours and artificial preservatives.
This product line is also corn, soy and grain free to provide a healthy boost to your cat’s diet.
Purina Beyond consists of dry and wet cat food along with cat treats.
Fancy Feast
This is Purina’s gourmet food line targeted towards picky eaters providing a gourmet food experience for cats.
Friskies
The Friskies product line is their budget cat food line that has high quality ingredients at a pocket friendly price.
Cat Chow
This product line was established in the 1960’s and Purina has kept it as a way of maintaining their history.
Today Cat Chow provides nutritional food to cats for all life stages and requirements.
Kit & Kaboodle
This is another budget food line from Purina. It consists of only three flavors.
Purina Cat Food Cost
Purina caters for all kinds of cat food ranging from budget friendly to premium cat food. The wide variety of food lines means that you can probably find good cat food that fulfils your cat’s needs and is pocket friendly.
Wet food is generally more expensive than dry cat food. Purina’s wet food cost ranges from $1.22 per day to $6.4 per day.
Purina’s dry cat food can cost between $0.09 per day to $0.71 per day.
Purina Cat Food Recipes Reviews
We are going to review the top 3 recipes from Purina just to give you a sense of their ingredient quality and specificity.
Purina Pro Plan Gravy Chicken Entrée Urinary Health Tract Cat Food
- First 5 Ingredients: Water, Meat By-Products, Chicken, Wheat Gluten, Corn Starch-Modified
- Guaranteed Analysis: 12% Crude Protein, 3.5% Crude Fat, 0.2% Crude Fiber, 78% Crude Moisture
- Ash Content: 1.5%
- Caloric Content: 25.1 kcal/oz
- Type of Product: Specialized Formula for Urinary Tract health
- Life Stage: Adult
- Best For: Overall
Packed with real chicken and meat by-products, this food has a high quality high protein content which is great for cats that require low ash cat food.
The ash content is at 1.5% which is much lower than what other commercial cat foods have and reduces the number of mineral contents being deposited in the cat’s urethra thus reducing the risk of urinary crystals in cats.
The macronutrient profile also helps regulate the pH of the urine, ensuring it is at the optimal pH level.
Cat parents also regularly say that their cats absolutely love this food and can’t get enough of it, so you should be careful and ensure you are not feeding them more than their daily needs.
The only negative thing about this food is the price, it is a bit pricey but it is a specialized diet for cat’s specific health needs.
Purina ONE Natural Sensitive Skin & Stomach Formula Dry Cat Food
- First 5 Ingredients: Turkey, Chicken Meal, Pea Protein, Rice, Dried Egg Product
- Key Feature: High-Protein, Sensitive Digestion, No Corn No Wheat No Soy, Natural, With Grain
- Guaranteed Analysis: 40% Crude Protein, 18% Crude Fat, 2.5% Crude Fiber, 12% Crude Moisture
- Caloric Content: 581 kcal/cup
- Life Stage: Adult
Purina one is the best budget food for cats with sensitive stomachs.
It has high quality protein coming from Turkey which is easily digestible and soothes a sensitive stomach.
Includes grain, antioxidants and fatty acids which overall improve the gut health of cats.
Some customers comment that the recent formula changes are not liked by the cats too much.
Purina ONE Indoor Advantage Senior 7+ High Protein Natural Dry Cat Food
- First 5 Ingredients: Chicken, Chicken By-Product Meal, Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Soybean Meal
- Crude Analysis: 36% Crude Protein, 13% Crude Fat, 4.95% Crude Fiber, 12% Moisture, 36.3% on a dry matter basis
- Caloric Content: 413 kcal/cup
- Key Feature: High-Protein, With Grain, Formulated for Seniors
- Best For: Senior
This formula has been specifically designed for senior cats. This recipe has high protein content with moderate to high levels of fiber to assist senior cats with digestion and maintaining their body mass and digestive health.
The fat content is a bit higher than we would like so if you see your cat gaining weight you might need to give them smaller portions so that they don’t end up obese.
Our Verdict
We give Purina cat food a bit higher rating than other cat food brands because of the breadth of product ranges and good quality budget friendly options.
The company has had several recalls over the years and even though they try to have high quality standards these recalls are still happening. Most of their products have at least a few artificial ingredients so you need to be careful when selecting food for your cat.
Overall Purina has amazing reviews from customers and cats absolutely love Purina foods.
We recommend opting for wet food which has a higher content of meat and less artificial ingredients that mimics wild food of cats.
Always consult your vet before changing your cat’s diet.
FAQ
Do Vet’s Recommend Purina Cat Food?
Vet’s can have differing opinions but more vet’s are happy to recommend Purina cat food especially the Pro Plan Veterinary Diet which requires a prescription.
Is Purina Good For Cats?
Yes, Purina is good cat food. Purina cat food is a favorite amongst cat and cat owners. Cats especially love the flavor and the ingredient quality is not bad. Just be careful to ensure you try to avoid artificial ingredients in your cat’s food.
Check out this article on Bad Ingredients to Avoid in Cat Food.
Is Purina A Low Quality Cat Food?
No, Purina is not a low quality cat food. It does have budget options with lower quality ingredients but most of their products use high quality ingredients and have fairly decent quality assurance processes and partnerships.
Does Purina Source Ingredients From China?
We are not clearly sure whether Purina sources any ingredients from China. Most of their ingredients come from North America with a few ingredients coming from Thailand, Australia and New Zealand.
Is Purina Fancy Feast Good For Cats?
Purina Fancy Feast is a budget wet food which derives most of its protein content from meat by-products and plant proteins which can cause digestive issues for cats. Overall Fancy Feast is a good budget option for healthy cats.
What do the codes like V-4484 and K-4449 at the end of the ingredient lists mean?
These are not ingredients but are product codes specific for each Purina product.
