Catster is reader-supported. When you buy via links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you. Learn more.

Applaws Cat Food Review in 2024: Recalls, Pros, & Cons

Written by: Christian Adams

Last Updated on February 15, 2024 by Catster Editorial Team

applaws review

Applaws Cat Food Review in 2024: Recalls, Pros, & Cons

Review Summary

Our Final Verdict

We gave Applaws Cat Food a rating of 3.5 out of 5.0 stars.

Applaws pet food is one of the many brands that you can choose from in your search for the perfect mix of deliciousness and nutrition. Predominantly, Applaws makes wet cat food with some dry food. Most cat owners prefer its wet cat food, but are any of them worth the hype? Let’s take a look at the critical information about Applaws and the most popular recipes currently available.cat face divider 2

At a Glance: The Best Applaws Cat Food Recipes

Image Product Details
Our Favorite
Winner
Applaws 100% Natural Wet Cat Food Tuna Fillet with Pacific Prawn Applaws 100% Natural Wet Cat Food Tuna Fillet with Pacific Prawn
  • Natural ingredients
  • Includes taurine
  • Limited number of ingredients
  • Second place
    Applaws Wet Cat Food Multipack Chicken Selection Applaws Wet Cat Food Multipack Chicken Selection
  • All-natural ingredients
  • Best for cats with allergies
  • Pumpkin is used for a cat’s digestive system
  • Third place
    Applaws Wet Cat Food Multipack Fish Selection Applaws Wet Cat Food Multipack Fish Selection
  • 100% Natural
  • No preservatives or additives
  • Made using the finest cuts of meat and fish
  • Applaws 100% Natural Wet Cat Food Tuna Fillet Applaws 100% Natural Wet Cat Food Tuna Fillet
  • Additive and preservative free
  • 100% natural
  • Natural source of taurine essential
  • Applaws Complete Natural and Grain-Free Dry Adult Cat Food, Chicken Applaws Complete Natural and Grain-Free Dry Adult Cat Food, Chicken
  • No additives or preservatives
  • First and second ingredients are from chicken
  • Species-appropriate mix of what a healthy cat needs
  • 3 cat face divider

    Applaws Cat Food Reviewed 5Applaws Complete Natural and Grain Free Dry Adult Cat Food

    Who Makes Applaws and Where Is It Produced?

    Applaws is an individual brand that first started in 2006 in the United Kingdom. It began to take up a place on the specialty retail shelves as a brand that was “high quality”. It promoted itself by saying that it is 100% natural and comes from ethically sourced ingredients.

    Now, Applaws is a familiar brand throughout most of Western Europe, Australia, and North America. It sources its ingredients from all over the world, which is never a great indicator of food quality.

    Most of its suppliers need to adhere to international safety and husbandry standards.

    It requires its suppliers to be members of at least one of these organizations:
    • Marine Stewardship Council
    • Earth Island Institute
    • International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF)
    • Thai Tuna Industry Association (TTIA)

    Which Types of Cats Are Applaws Best Suited For?

    Applaws makes food primarily for cats. For the most part, its food is meant for adult cats who don’t struggle with specific health issues or dietary sensitivities. Some people argue that Applaws cat food is more species-appropriate than many of the brands currently on the market, with some areas that could be improved.

    Hepper 360 Cat Feeder, Stainless Steel, Anti-Chew...
    • NO MESS - The 360° tray on this cat food and water bowl set has a raised design to catch and...
    • WHISKER FRIENDLY - Shallow and wide metal containers with flat bottoms ensure your kitty can enjoy...
    • CHEW-SAFE MATERIALS - Kittens and cats love chewing on silicone and soft rubber - but it's a choking...

    Feeding your cat a high-quality diet is important for keeping them healthy and happy. But it goes beyond the food you choose; the dishes they use also matter. The Hepper NomNom Cat Bowl is our favorite for its unique, five-star design that protects from whisker fatigue and promotes good posture which also aids in better digestion. As an added bonus, it’s beautifully crafted and offers a modern take on the traditional cat bowl that fits seamlessly with all home stylings. Learn more about the NomNom by clicking here.

    At Catster, we’ve admired Hepper for many years and decided to take a controlling ownership interest so that we could benefit from the outstanding designs of this cool cat company!

     

     

    Discussion of the Primary Ingredients (Good and Bad)

    Lack of Animal By-Products

    The more notable aspects of Applaws recipes are the ingredients that it doesn’t use.

    Applaws does not include any animal by-products, only using the valuable parts of animals that are proven to have the most nutrients and protein.

    Not only does it skip out on animal by-products, but it also leaves out other artificial ingredients. It doesn’t add vitamins, minerals, or supplemental amino acids that might sound good for your cat but adds unnecessary and unnatural chemicals into the food’s mix.

    Rice and Carrageenan

    Many of the company’s recipes only include ingredients that would be deemed necessary for a cat’s health. Cats do not need too many ingredients to keep them satisfied and their systems continuing to function properly.

    However, in some of the food, Applaws seems to need to use a thickener. The company does this in many of its wet food offerings, which makes up most of its recipes.

    In some of these, the thickener is rice, which adds excessive amounts of starch that are entirely unnecessary for a cat. It makes it less of a species-appropriate choice.

    Other thickener substances that it uses are carrageenan and locust bean gum. Both of these are sourced from plants and are entirely unnecessary for a cat. The locust bean gum has been tested and appears to be altogether safe for cats, however.

    Carrageenan, on the other hand, has a long history and even worse reputation for being the cause of or leading to worse inflammation. It isn’t always harmful, but it can be.

    Limited Number of Ingredients

    Not all pet foods are known for the stuff that it does have, but rather for what it doesn’t. Applaws tries to use a limited number of ingredients in all of its recipe options. Doing so helps keep them safer for a cat’s system. It leaves out many of those ingredients that commonly cause weight gain issues.

    Recipes with a limited number of ingredients are best for those cats that suffer from allergies. With fewer ingredients, the recipe only contains what they need and keeps their food free from things that could hurt them.

    Cat ball divider 1A Quick Look at Applaws Cat Food

    Calorie Breakdown:

    ** We’ve chosen Applaws Chicken recipe to represent the products in the line being reviewed **
    Pros
    • Highly palatable choices
    • Doesn’t include artificial ingredients, preservatives, or coloring
    • Leaves out animal by-products
    • Grain-free recipe makes it safer for most cats
    • Limited-ingredient recipes safer for cats with allergies
    Cons
    • Not a budget-friendly option
    • Uses some kind of thickener for most wet food options

    Recall History

    Fold Hill Foods recalled a number of Applaws products in July 2021. Learn more about the affected products and health concerns surrounding the recall here. Below are a few links to the Applaws website that detail the recall updates and additional test results.

    cat + line dividerReviews of the 3 Best Applaws Cat Food Recipes

    1. Applaws 100% Natural Wet Cat Food, Tuna Fillet With Pacific Prawn 1Applaws 100% Natural Wet Cat Food, Tuna Fillet With Pacific Prawn

    Applaws’ Tuna Fillet With Pacific Prawn is one of the most popular wet cat food selections for those cats who like a taste of the ocean. This cat food recipe is made with 75% tuna fillet and prawn. These ingredients give it a high overall protein content and fill it with natural sources of taurine, which helps your cat’s overall health, including its vision and cardiovascular.

    There are only three ingredients in the whole thing, including rice as a thickener. The price can also make this food more out of reach for those who need a friendlier option for their budget.

    Pros
    • Natural ingredients used in production
    • A limited number of ingredients for cats with allergies
    • Includes taurine for healthy development
    Cons
    • Includes rice as one of the primary ingredients

    2. Applaws 100% Natural Wet Cat Food, Chicken Breast and Pumpkin in Broth 2Applaws Wet Cat Food, Multipack Chicken Selection

    The recipe that includes chicken breast and pumpkin all set in a broth for wet food is uniquely one of Applaws’s most popular recipes. Surprisingly to some cat owners, pumpkin is great for cats. It is packed full of fiber, making it a beneficial ingredient for your cat’s digestive system.

    It aids in preventing constipation and can even stop diarrhea because the fiber absorbs stomach acid and extra water. It also helps ingested fur move through the cat’s system instead of allowing it to stack up and cause issues.

    Beyond the pumpkin, the other primary ingredient is chicken, which provides the protein in the food. The chicken makes up 50% of the food and provides 10.5% crude protein. The pumpkin is 25% of the recipe, and the rest is chicken broth and rice. Unfortunately, the addition of rice is the only ingredient that makes this food less species-appropriate.

    Pros
    • All-natural ingredients in the mix
    • Limited ingredients are best for cats with allergies
    • Pumpkin is an excellent ingredient for a cat’s digestive system
    Cons
    • Includes rice, which fills it with extra starch

    3. Applaws Complete Natural and Grain-Free Dry Adult Cat Food, Chicken 5Applaws Complete Natural and Grain Free Dry Adult Cat Food

    This is one of Applaws’s dry food options. It features a primary protein source of chicken. It is similar to how Applaws produces wet food in that it does not put any additives or preservatives in the mix. The dry food is a complete source of everything your cat needs to stay healthy.

    Overall, this food is low in carbohydrates, which is species-appropriate for cats. There are not as few ingredients in this dry food as in wet food, which is a common characteristic for most companies that do both kinds of food.

    Dry chicken meal is the first ingredient and makes up 65% of the food. It has vitamins and minerals that were added, which isn’t specific enough for many cat owners. The food also includes plenty of taurine to inspire plenty of healthy growth and further development.

    The kibble is grain-free and includes ingredients with pre-biotic and pro-biotic capacities to help form a healthy immune system.

    Pros
    • First and second ingredients are chicken
    • No additives or preservatives
    • Species-appropriate mix of what a healthy cat needs
    Cons
    • Unidentified vitamins and minerals added in

    What Other Users Are Saying

    • My Feline Buddy — “…Applaws cat food is generally safer and better than most other brands…Due to its cost, though, you can try to mix the dry and wet cat food with more homemade food.”
    • All About Cats — “Applaws brings you a wide selection of wet foods in many textures and tastes cats love. Though they make cat-approved treats or once-a-week meals, Applaws wet foods are too expensive and nutritionally incomplete to be a viable option on their own for a long-term diet.”
    • Amazon — Amazon has built up one of the world’s largest resale companies with a complete review system that shines out against most others on the internet. Pet owners find it a valuable source of information to weed out what others think of Applaws cat foods. Check out these reviews by Amazon users here.

    3 cat dividerConclusion

    In conclusion, Applaws cat food is one of the better options on the market for those cats that are allergic to many of the ingredients in mainstream options. However, with such a limited amount of ingredients, it needs to be supplemented with homemade materials or other brands to be complete. What’s more, it is not incredibly satisfying as a budget-friendly choice.

    Looking for a few more reviews? Check out:

    Get Catster in your inbox!

    Stay informed! Get tips and exclusive deals.
    Catster Editors Choice Badge
    Shopping Cart

    Pangolia

    © Pangolia Pte. Ltd. All rights reserved.