Best cat food brands according to veterinary experts and owners

Finding a good cat food brand can be difficult, but it can make a big difference to your pet's health and wellbeing. 

That's why we've surveyed more than 1,400 real owners about the foods their cats prefer. The results cover everything from veterinary-recommended brands such as Royal Canin to supermarket options from the likes of Aldi and Waitrose. 

In addition, we've spoken to three veterinary nutrition experts to find out how to feed your pet the healthiest diet. 

Cat food brand ratings

Our cat owners rated their brand of cat food – these results apply to dry food, wet food and specialist ranges from every brand.

Which? members can log in to unlock the full results. If you're not yet a member, join Which? to get instant access.

Our top-rated cat food brand achieved a very respectable 72% among customers, while 12 brands at the bottom of the table scored less than 50%.

Some brands received one-star ratings for value for money and/or the cat's reaction to the food. 

Other cat food brand ratings

As well as asking our readers to rate cat food brands, we also asked them to tell us which brands they have tried but no longer feed to their cats – and why. 

The most common specific reason why people stopped using a brand of food was that their cat wouldn't eat it.

Log in or join Which? to see the specifics.

Which? overall verdict

Log in or join Which? to see our final verdict. 

How to choose the best cat food

To help you interpret our cat food ratings and find the best food for your pet, we've spoken to three veterinary nutrition experts to find out what really matters. 

Good news: finding the best food for your cat isn’t as complicated as it seems.

‘The most important part of choosing a food is actually monitoring your pet,’ said Dr Teresa Hollands.

'If you are feeding your pet a particular brand of food, and they have plenty of energy and seem well in themselves, then you are on the right track.'

Dr Nigel Kendall agrees. ‘If your pet is on completely the wrong diet, then there will be physical signs.’ 

Signs that your pet is eating a nutritious diet, and being given the right food for their needs, include: 

• good overall health 
• plenty of energy 
• good sleeping habits
• regularly passing firm stools 
• maintaining a healthy weight.

How to feed your cat

As well as choosing the right food, you can maximise the nutritional value of your cat’s diet by feeding them in the right way. 

We spoke with Dr David Gardner to find out more.

Choose a complete cat food

‘Start by making sure you're feeding your pet a complete food,’ he said. ‘That’s really important, but it isn’t always clearly labelled.’ 

Complete foods are designed to give your pet all the nutrients they need, so you can feed them the same thing every day without causing a nutritional imbalance or deficit. 

Weigh out your cat food

David also highlighted the importance of keeping an eye on how much you feed your pet. 

You don't need to weigh out every meal, but ensure you are aware of the brand's (or your vet's) recommended intake.

Remember, you may not notice that you're overfeeding your pet if you accidentally increase their feed size by a very slight amount each day. 

Vary what you feed your cat

If you want to take additional steps to ensure your pet is getting the best nutrition, David also suggested varying the food you give them (provided that this doesn’t upset their stomach).

These changes could be as small as changing the flavour of the food you give your pet.

‘If you buy a bag of lamb cat food one month, try the chicken next time,’ Dr Gardner suggested. 

If you do want to try changing the type or brand of your pet's food, do so gradually. Your pet's meal should be no more than 25% new food for the first couple of days, increasing over the course of a week.

Cats can be fussy, so know that varying your pet's food is not essential. The main thing is that they eat and enjoy their food, and that it's nutritionally complete.

What is the healthiest food for cats?

The healthiest food for your cat is a complete food – that means it contains all the nutrients your pet needs to thrive. 

If you have an indoor cat, a senior cat or a kitten, you should opt for a food tailored to this life stage, as the nutrients required by these cats differ from those of the average pet.

If your veterinarian has advised you that your cat has a food intolerance or allergy, you should also feed a diet that does not contain these foodstuffs. 

Other than that, you can generally feed your pet whatever food you prefer. 

Also a dog owner? See the best foods for dogs

Is wet or dry food better for cats?

Both wet and dry food can be nutritionally complete, so there is no significant advantage to either food type. 

Dr Gardner recommends feeding your pet a mixture of wet and dry food. This is because there can be slight differences in the nutrients they contain, so having the variety gives you the best of both.

Wet food tends to be more appealing, but it's often more expensive and can increase the risk of dental disease. 

Dry food is beneficial for a cat's teeth and gums and is usually cheaper, easier to use, and easier to store. If you opt for mostly dry food, make sure your cat has access to plenty of fresh water to stay well hydrated.

How much should I feed my cat?

Most cats do best when they are fed twice a day, but you can feed them more frequently if preferred. 

The most important thing is to ensure that you are feeding them the recommended volume of food.

According to UK Pet Food, the leading trade body, 43% of cats (and 50% of dogs) are overweight or obese. 

Your pet's weight can have a significant impact on its quality of life, including limiting its ability to exercise or sleep properly. According to the RSPCA, it also predisposes them to illnesses, including: 

• Diabetes
• Heart disease
• Cancer.

Is my cat overweight?

Dr Teresa Hollands recommends an easy method for checking your pet’s weight. 

‘Create a fist with your hand and feel your knuckles with your fingers,’ she said. ‘If your pet’s ribs feel like that, they are underweight.’

‘Then lay your hand flat and feel your knuckles again. If their ribs feel like that, they're the perfect weight.’ 

‘Finally, keep your hand flat, turn your hand over and run your fingers over the pads on your palm at the base of your fingers. If their ribs feel like that, they're overweight.

Find out more about the best cat insurance policies according to our expert analysis

Specialist diets and cat health

There is a lot of information online regarding cat food. You may have seen certain pet food brands or social media users suggest that your cat needs a specific type of diet – such as a raw or ancestral diet.

However, there's currently no body of independent, peer-reviewed research to suggest that these diets are healthier or superior to traditional pet foods.  

Giving your cat a complete food is the most important thing. If they enjoy their food and are healthy, whether the diet is a specific type or just a standard diet, then you are on the right track. 

If your cat seems unwell, speak to your vet to rule out other issues and get their recommendations on the best food for your pet.  

Raw food diets

One particularly popular diet is raw food, but it does carry significant risks. Experts don't generally recommend this diet.

‘I wouldn't recommend a raw food diet due to the risk to human health,’ says Dr Nigel. 

Bacteria present in raw meat can include salmonella, listeria, campylobacter and E. coli. These can be spread around the home during food preparation and eating. They can also be passed to humans if your pet licks your face after eating. 

All of these bacteria are destroyed when meat is correctly cooked.

If you want to feed your cats raw food, a commercial raw food is much safer than using supermarket meat for human consumption. This meat is designed to be cooked, so it typically contains higher levels of bacteria than is safe for cats.

If you want to know more about the best diets for dogs, we've written about why your dog probably doesn't need grain-free food

How we calculated cat food ratings

In October 2025, we surveyed 1,441 Which? Connect members who bought cat food in the past 2 years. 

We asked them which brands they have fed their cat. Then we asked which of these brands they stopped feeding their cat, and why. 

Total sample sizes for each brand (the total number of people who tried each brand) were: Applaws (132), Blink (64), Canagan (36), Coshida (Lidl own brand) (90), Encore (125), Felix (699), Go-cat (272), Gourmet (389), Harringtons (95), Hill’s (251), Iams (302), James Wellbeloved (124), KatKin (52), Lily’s Kitchen (121), Meowing Heads (36), Morrisons own brand (39), Nood (36), Perfect Fit (61), Pro Plan (96), Purina One (386), Royal Canin (381), Sainsbury’s own brand (96), Scrumbles (79), Sheba (411), Tesco own brand (101), Tiger (Asda own brand) (36), Untamed (78), Vitacat (Aldi own brand) (79), Waitrose own brand (57), Webbox (129), Whiskas (530).

Then we asked survey respondents to rate up to three brands on various attributes, including value for money and how their cat responded to the food. To create our customer scores, we asked them to rate how satisfied they were with the brand overall, and how likely they were to recommend it to a friend. 

We asked respondents to rate up to three brands, rather than all the brands they had tried. This is because it would take someone a long time to do the survey if they had tried a lot of brands and had to rate them all. Respondents can give less well-considered answers when they do a very long survey. 

Sample sizes for customer score and star ratings were: Applaws (89), Blink (61), Canagan (36), Coshida (Lidl own brand) (79), Encore (85), Felix (255), Go-cat (182), Gourmet (191), Harringtons (77), Hill’s (183), Iams (194), James Wellbeloved (89), KatKin (52), Lily’s Kitchen (85), Meowing Heads (36), Morrisons own brand (39), Nood (36), Perfect Fit (57), Pro Plan (82), Purina One (199), Royal Canin (218), Sainsbury’s own brand (83), Scrumbles (69), Sheba (199), Tesco own brand (80), Tiger (Asda own brand) (34), Untamed (73), Vitacat (Aldi own brand) (76), Waitrose own brand (54), Webbox (89), Whiskas (244).