Review Summary
We give Fancy Feast Cat food a rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars.
If you’ve been researching cat foods, you’ve probably seen the name Fancy Feast. This well-known brand has been around since 1982 and now offers a wide range of over 150 different types of cat food, including dry kibble, sliced meats, chunky pâté, and broth. It also has a range of food toppers and appetizers, so almost all cat tastes are catered for!
Fancy Feast is at the cheaper end of the cat food range, but it’s made to high standards with an excellent recall history. Our review includes everything that you need to know about this brand, so you can find out if it’s the right choice for your precious feline companion.
At a Glance: The Best Fancy Feast Cat Food Recipes
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Our Favorite
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Fancy Feast Poultry & Beef Classic Pâté Variety Pack Canned Cat Food |
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Fancy Feast Gourmet Naturals in Gravy Variety Pack Canned Cat Food |
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Fancy Feast Gourmet Savory Chicken and Turkey Dry Cat Food |
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Fancy Feast Purely Filets Natural Variety Pack Cat Food Topper |
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Fancy Feast Kitten Tender Chicken Feast Canned Cat Food |
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Fancy Feast Cat Food Reviewed
Who Makes Fancy Feast & Where Is It Produced?
Fancy Feast was launched in 1984 and started the trend for “gourmet” cat foods. In 1987, the Fancy Feast brand was purchased by Purina, which is now part of the Nestle-Purina Corporation. This is one of the largest pet food brands in the world, regularly turning over more than $12 billion in revenue per year.
While most of the Fancy Feast products are made in the US, some products are manufactured in Thailand, at a Nestle-Purina-owned production facility. Most of the ingredients are sourced in the US.
Which Types of Cats Is Fancy Feast Best Suited For?
The huge range of cat foods on offer from Fancy Feast means they’re a good choice for fussy cats. With so many different textures and flavors to choose from, you’ll likely find something to suit your fussy feline.
Fancy Feast generally gets good reviews for palatability. It also has options for both kittens and adult cats. The nutritional profiles are generally good, with high protein and low fat.
Which Types of Cats Might Do Better With a Different Brand?
If your cat has allergies and is on a limited-ingredient diet, then the long list of ingredients in Fancy Feast foods won’t suit them. Instead, we recommend an option like the Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diets Green Pea & Duck Formula Grain-Free Dry Cat Food.
Similarly, if your cat is on a grain-free diet, many of the Fancy Feast recipes include wheat or corn. This may trigger allergies or gastrointestinal discomfort. A better option would be the American Journey Turkey & Chicken Grain-Free Cat Food.
Discussion of the Primary Ingredients (Good & Bad)
Protein Sources
Many Fancy Feast recipes use real meat as either the first or second ingredient, and most recipes include multiple protein sources. Many also include meat by-products, which can be nutritious but some cat owners prefer to avoid feeding these to their cats. The meat sources of by-products are not always clear. As a more budget-friendly cat food, Fancy Feast recipes include meat by-products purely due to economics. If you’d prefer to avoid them, Fancy Feast’s Gourmet Naturals range doesn’t have them.
Carbohydrates
The majority of Fancy Feast’s recipes do contain multiple carbohydrates, including rice, wheat, barley, and corn. These make your cat feel fuller and can add useful fiber, but they shouldn’t make up a large percentage of your cat’s diet. Some of the Fancy Feast recipes are a little heavy on carbohydrates for our liking.
Colors & Flavors
Many Fancy Feast recipes contain colors and flavors. Some of these are natural, while others are artificial. Whether you mind that or not is a matter of personal preference. The Gourmet Naturals range does not use artificial colors or flavors, so that’s a good option if you like this brand but would rather avoid artificial ingredients.
Safety
Fancy Feast sources most of its ingredients in the US, and that’s where most of its product range is made as well. A small number of the canned foods are made in a Purina-owned facility in Thailand, but this is clearly marked on the cans. We like the fact that Fancy Feast has never been recalled, as this speaks volumes about the brand’s quality-control testing.
Wide Variety of Products
Fancy Feast offers over 150 different recipes, including pâtés, chunks in gravy, flaked fish, tender meat in gravy, roasted pâté, and more.
It has three different types of dry food, all aimed at adult cats. Fancy Feast also has plenty of wet food options aimed at kittens and senior cats, as well as adult cats. The brand also now offers a good range of treats, including broths, meal toppers, fish filets, and meat treats.
Whatever your cat’s preferences, you’re bound to find a combination to suit them. If you find a particular texture of food that they adore, you don’t need to worry about sticking to just one flavor, as you’ll find multiple options to choose from.
Affordability
As a cost-effective option, Fancy Feast is a strong contender. The recipes almost always contain real meat—not always as the first ingredient, but there are plenty of recipes that do. Each recipe is also formulated to provide complete and balanced nutrition for your precious feline.
Use of Meat By-Products
Most of Fancy Feast’s recipes do list meat by-products in their ingredient lists. This can be a good source of nutrition, but if your cat has allergies or you’re trying to stick with only using particular sources of protein, it can be frustrating not knowing exactly which meats are included within those by-products.
The Fancy Feast Gourmet Naturals line doesn’t include any meat by-products.
Small Can Size
Almost all of Fancy Feast’s canned cat food comes in a 3-ounce can. It’s recommended to feed adult cats 1 can for every 2 ½ pounds of body weight per day. If your cat weighs 10 pounds, you’ll get through 4 cans per day for one cat. If you’ve got a kitten, expect to feed them double that. For multi-cat households, the number of empty cans that you’ll have to dispose of will soon start to mount up. This might not be an issue for you, but it’s worth bearing in mind.
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! 
A Quick Look at Fancy Feast Cat Food
- Appealing taste for most cats
- Good value for money
- Plenty of recipes to choose from
- Contains complete and balanced nutrition
- Most recipes include real meat
- Mostly made in the US
- Some recipes contain meat by-products
- Small can size is wasteful
- Many recipes include artificial colors and flavors
Recall History
Fancy Feast has never been recalled. Its parent company, Purina, has been subjected to a range of recalls, but none of these has affected Fancy Feast.
Reviews of the 3 Best Fancy Feast Cat Food Recipes
We took a look at two of the best-selling Fancy Feast wet canned foods and one of its dry kibble recipes.
1. Fancy Feast Poultry & Beef Classic Pâté Variety Pack Canned Cat Food
The Fancy Feast Classic Pâtés are among the best-known products, and the variety pack includes three flavors: tender beef feast, chicken feast, and turkey and giblets feast. The smooth pâté texture appeals to many cats, and the added minerals and vitamins mean this food provides 100% complete and balanced nutrition for your cat.
Each version of these canned foods contains meat as the first ingredient, with the protein content for all of them sitting at 11%. This is a good level for wet canned cat food. These varieties contain 4–5% fat and 1.5% fiber. These do contain artificial flavors, as well as guar gum as a thickener. These are not necessary for your cat, nor do they provide any nutritional benefits. While they all contain real meat as the first ingredient, each flavor also contains meat by-products, which many owners try to avoid feeding to their cats.
Caloric Content:
- Tender Beef Feast: 1,087 kcal/kg, 92 kcal/can
- Classic Chicken Feast: 1,159 kcal/kg 99 kcal/can
- Classic Turkey & Giblets Feast: 1,124 kcal/kg, 96 kcal/can
Calorie Breakdown:
- Real meat as the first ingredient
- Appealing smooth texture
- Includes meat by-products
- Includes guar gum
- Includes artificial flavors
2. Fancy Feast Gourmet Naturals in Gravy Variety Pack Canned Cat Food
If your cat prefers meat in gravy wet food, then the Gourmet Naturals range by Fancy Feast should suit them well. This variety pack includes cans of beef, tuna, white meat chicken, and natural wild Alaskan salmon and shrimp. Each flavor includes a broth as the first ingredient, followed by beef, tuna, chicken, or salmon. The recipes are blended with vitamins and minerals to provide complete and balanced nutrition. Unlike many of Fancy Feast’s recipes, these don’t contain meat by-products, which is a plus.
All the flavors within the variety pack contain 11% protein, 2% fat, and 1.5% fiber. The canola oil used is a healthy source of fat. If you’ve got multiple cats, the small 3-ounce sizes of these cans will soon create a great deal of waste.
Caloric Content:
- White Meat Chicken Recipe: 764 kcal/kg, 65 kcal/can
- Alaskan Salmon & Shrimp: 776 kcal/kg, 66 kcal/can
- Tuna: 746 kcal/kg, 63 kcal/can
- Beef: 755 kcal/kg, 64 kcal/can
Calorie Breakdown:
- Real meat is the second ingredient
- Good value for money
- No meat by-products
- Includes guar gum and carrageenan
- Contains wheat
3. Fancy Feast Gourmet Savory Chicken and Turkey Dry Cat Food
This crunchy kibble is one of only a few dry foods offered by Fancy Feast, as it’s primarily known for canned and wet foods. Containing 34% protein, 17% fat, and 3% fiber, this cat food is a nutritionally complete option for adult cats. It’s fortified with all the minerals and vitamins that your cat needs to thrive. It does contain artificial colors and flavors, though, which some cat owners try to avoid.
As a budget-range cat food, this kibble does contain chicken and turkey, but these are fairly low down the ingredients list. The first ingredient is ground rice, followed by poultry by-product meal, corn gluten meal, and beef tallow. Chicken and turkey themselves are ingredients eight and nine on the list. That doesn’t mean this is a bad kibble—on the contrary, it gets good reviews from users—but it does contain far more plant ingredients than we’d like.
Caloric Content:
- 3966 kcal/kg, 520 kcal/cup
Calorie Breakdown:
- Complete nutrition for adult cats
- Good value for money
- Palatable taste
- Fortified with minerals and vitamins
- Uses poultry by-products
- Some recipes include artificial colors and flavors
- Contains corn
What Other Users Are Saying
- All About Cats: “Overall, Fancy Feast cat food appears to be a reliable, trustworthy economy choice. It’s a good option if you want to avoid excessive plant ingredients but don’t mind feeding your cat by-products or vaguely-named ingredients and are comfortable with some artificial additives.”
- My Pet Needs That: “For the most part, this is a solid-quality cat food that is a good choice for picky eaters and pet parents on a budget. In the end, it all depends on the recipe and what your cat likes.”
- Amazon: As cat owners, we always double-check Amazon reviews from buyers before we buy something. You can read these by clicking here.
Conclusion
Fancy Feast is an extremely popular cat food brand that is well-loved by many cat owners and their cats! There’s a huge range of wet foods to choose from, with a variety of flavors and textures.
Fancy Feast Classic canned foods offer exceptional value for money, and they have fairly high-quality ingredients, with a couple of exceptions, including meat by-products. As a step up in terms of ingredients and quality, the Gourmet Naturals line is a better option if you want to avoid artificial colors and flavors.
Fancy Feast has a far wider range of wet foods, treats, and toppers than dry kibble. The wet foods, in our opinion, offer a more species-appropriate diet for cats, as the kibble is relatively high in grains and carbohydrates.
Fancy Feast is a solid choice if you’re looking for an economy cat food that still includes a high percentage of protein. The huge number of options when it comes to flavors and textures means you shouldn’t have any trouble finding a recipe to suit your cat, even if they’re a little particular about what they eat!
See Also:
Review Summary
4 Responses
Why are there no recalls if my cat gets sick on this food? What are the stores doing that it's not reported when it's reported to the store?
Hi Donna, sorry to hear your cats are getting sick, at Catster we are an independent company from the food manufacturers and our goal is to bring pet parents information and helpful tips. If your cats are sick, we suggest you speak to a vet you can try www.pangovet.com to help you analyze some of the ingredients and help you make an informed decision. Additionally, you might find this post helpful:
Carrageenan In Cat Food: Vet-Reviewed Uses, Safety & Verdict – https://www.catster.com/nutrition/carrageenan-in-cat-food/
My cat loves your seafood pate canned wet food I cannot buy it anywhere has it been discontinued..have asked around pet stores and supermarkets no one stocks it my cat is finding it difficult to adjust..please bring it back if it has been discontinued as many customers are struggling to find another suitable product like the seafood pate
Thanks for your comment and for reading us, Jan. We are not the manufacturers of this product. We are an independent company offering a review and information about this and many other cat food products.