Cats are obligate carnivores, built to run on meat, and their food has to clear a higher bar because of it. So the cat rubric raises the protein bands, insists every adult food declare its taurine, and weights the feline allergens differently: fish counts against a food here, wheat does not. Same five sub-scores as dog food, different biology. 48 foods scored so far.
How 48 cat foods scored
Average 7.1 / 10See where every cat food sits, band by band, on the tier list.
Top of the rubric
One heads-up for cat owners: one of the cat foods we scored doesn't list taurine on the label. Taurine is essential for cats, so our score lowers the nutrition mark when a label doesn't declare it, even if the recipe may still contain it. How we score taurine
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Iams
$1.07 / 1,000 kcal · 24% below median
Excellent cost per calorie and a chicken-first formula with taurine declared. The official page did not expose a verbatim AAFCO statement; chicken by-product meal sits very high in the ingredient list.
Purina ONE
$1.13 / 1,000 kcal · 19% below median
Strong value and solid cat-relevant nutrition, including feeding-trial substantiation and explicit taurine. The ingredient panel is busy and sensitivity-heavy, with chicken, beef fat, soy, corn, and legumes prominent.
Rachael Ray Nutrish
$1.27 / 1,000 kcal · 9% below median
Real chicken leads an all-life-stages grocery-premium recipe with declared taurine and no artificial colors. Corn protein concentrate and peas raise the plant-protein contribution, and fish meal adds a second common trigger.
Cat Chow
$0.77 / 1,000 kcal · 45% below median
A mass-market all-life-stages kibble led by chicken by-product meal and corn, with declared taurine at 0.15 percent. Protein is solid for the tier, but the grain and by-product base keeps Ingredient Clarity modest.
Crave
$2.21 / 1,000 kcal · 11% above median
A high-protein grain-free recipe (40% crude protein) led by chicken and chicken meal with declared taurine. Pea protein, split peas, and potato protein carry the carbohydrate load and inflate the plant-protein contribution; fish meal adds a second common feline trigger.
Merrick
$2.15 / 1,000 kcal · 7% above median
A high-protein grain-free recipe (38% crude protein) with chicken and chicken meal first and declared taurine. Cassava root flour, potato protein, and pea fractions carry the carbohydrate base, and beef fat adds a second common feline trigger alongside chicken.
Nulo
$2.40 / 1,000 kcal · 20% above median
A high-protein, low-glycemic-positioned recipe led by deboned chicken with declared taurine. Whole peas and lentils provide the carbohydrate base, and turkey plus cod add common triggers alongside the chicken.
Nutro
$1.98 / 1,000 kcal · 16% above median
Chicken and chicken meal lead a non-GMO-positioned indoor kibble with declared taurine. Pea and potato protein boost the protein figure with plant fractions, and soybean oil is the only soy derivative present.
Purina Pro Plan
$2.09 / 1,000 kcal · 23% above median
Salmon leads a high-protein adult kibble that earns the stronger of the two AAFCO substantiation methods, a feeding trial rather than formulation alone. The recipe still leans on corn protein meal, poultry by-product meal, and wheat, which keeps Ingredient Clarity mid-pack.
Wellness
$2.12 / 1,000 kcal · 6% above median
A clean ingredient list and explicit taurine support make this a well-balanced indoor formula. Chicken and fish exposure remains substantial for sensitive cats.
Wellness CORE
$2.41 / 1,000 kcal · 21% above median
A high-protein grain-free recipe stacking deboned turkey, deboned chicken, and named meals with declared taurine. The 45 percent protein floor is strong for a kibble, though the multiple poultry and fish sources widen the common-trigger footprint.
Blue Buffalo
$1.92 / 1,000 kcal · 13% above median
Deboned chicken leads a recipe with no chicken by-product, corn, wheat, or soy, and taurine is declared. The high fiber maximum and stacked pea fractions are typical of indoor weight-control formulas and add some sensitivity complexity.
Blue Buffalo
$2.05 / 1,000 kcal
Excellent protein content and clearly declared taurine match the carnivore brief. The formula leans heavily on peas and stacks multiple poultry proteins, which raises sensitivity complexity.
Hill's Prescription Diet
$4.75 / 1,000 kcal · 179% above median
A solid prescription dry food on paper: feeding-trial substantiated, adult maintenance adequacy, taurine declared. Like most vet diets, the weakest dimension is price rather than basic nutrition.
I and Love and You
$1.83 / 1,000 kcal · 8% above median
A grain-free all-life-stages kibble that stacks chicken, chicken meal, and turkey meal with declared taurine, priced unusually low for the format. Garbanzo beans and peas carry the carbohydrate load and the recipe layers several common feline triggers, but the named-meat lead and clean label score well.
Instinct
$2.10 / 1,000 kcal
A raw-coated, grain-free kibble with chicken first and a 41 percent protein floor, taurine declared. The dense animal lineup is species-appropriate, but turkey, two fish sources, and peas stack several common triggers.
Made by Nacho
$2.64 / 1,000 kcal · 32% above median
A grain-friendly cat kibble that clears the higher all-life-stages protein bar and declares taurine. The tradeoff, in our view, is a chicken-meal-and-rice base with a plant-protein assist rather than an all-meat formula.
Natural Balance
$2.45 / 1,000 kcal · 23% above median
A limited-ingredient grain-free recipe with a single named animal protein (chicken) up front and declared taurine, aimed at simpler diets. Peas, chickpeas, and lentils carry the carbohydrate load; the price per calorie runs high for the tier.
Hill's Science Diet
$2.65 / 1,000 kcal · 56% above median
Strong label transparency on calories, taurine, and feeding-trial substantiation. Weak spot is value: it prices like a premium dry food while leaning on wheat and corn structure after chicken.
Purina Pro Plan
$1.69 / 1,000 kcal · 21% above median
Strongest nutrition-to-value balance in this set: high protein, feeding-trial substantiated, taurine declared, calorie-dense. Ingredient quality is held back by poultry by-product meal and multiple common sensitivity triggers.
Open Farm
$3.53 / 1,000 kcal · 76% above median
One of the most transparent sourcing stories in the tier, with humanely raised turkey and chicken named first and traceable suppliers, taurine declared. The price per calorie is steep, and chickpeas, lentils, and two fish meals widen the trigger profile.
Solid Gold
$2.55 / 1,000 kcal · 28% above median
An indoor recipe with chicken and chicken meal up front, declared taurine, and a probiotic finish. The high fiber maximum and stacked pea and lentil fractions are typical of indoor weight-control kibble and widen the common-trigger footprint with turkey, fish, and egg alongside chicken.
Stella & Chewy's
$30.46 / 1,000 kcal · 258% above median
Very strong sensitivity profile: rabbit as the primary animal protein and taurine explicitly added. Drawbacks are typical freeze-dried ones: high cost and a raw-style format that demands careful handling.
Iams
$1.61 / 1,000 kcal · 15% above median
An indoor weight-and-hairball kibble with chicken first and declared taurine, but a corn-heavy base (corn grits, corn gluten meal, whole corn) plus chicken by-product meal, powdered cellulose, and caramel color keep Ingredient Clarity low. The high fiber maximum is typical of the hairball positioning.
Showing the top 24 of 48. Browse & filter every cat food we've scored to sort by sub-score, narrow by format, or find a specific recipe.
What's next on cat
The cat rubric is at v1.0 as of 2026-05-18. The four open editorial decisions from v0.1 are resolved (see /methodology/cat-food): therapeutic cat diets split from dog Rx, dual-species brands inherit dog-verified Brand Trust signals with caveat, VOHC dental acceptance noted but not scored, Verlinden 2006 canonical for sensitivity.
Next on the cat workstream: more products, more editorials. The launch QA set proved the rubric and the catalog now sits at 48 scored products. You can already filter the full set at /cat-food/browse, narrow by need at /cat-best-for, or size a portion with the feeding calculator. Coverage expansion continues toward boutique brands, additional veterinary therapeutic recipes, and broader fresh / freeze-dried representation. Next category expansion is on the category roadmap.
