It appears that Purina has discontinued the Kit & Kaboodle cat food product line. You may find K&K products available in limited quantities on retail outlet sites, but based on our research, these products have been discontinued.
Review Summary
Our Final Verdict
We give Kit & Kaboodle Cat Food a rating of 2.9 out of 5.0 stars.
Kit & Kaboodle is one of the most inexpensive cat foods. However, the quality is relatively low, with low-quality filler ingredients taking up most of each formula. It is cheap for a reason.
Kit & Kaboodle is a brand owned by Purina, which also produces a variety of other cat food. It is considered a budget option because its formulas are inexpensive compared to other brands. Usually, owners looking for budget food are drawn to this brand.
It provides complete nutrition and is inexpensive, and it may be the best option for those on a tight budget. But most cat owners probably want higher-quality food for their felines.
At a Glance: The Best Kit & Kaboodle Cat Food Reviews:
Purina owns Kit & Kaboodle. While it has inexpensive cat food, it also makes a few high-quality options. Its higher-quality food offerings are excellent, but the cheaper formulas usually aren’t great for your cat.
Most of Purina’s food is currently made in the U.S.A., and it claims that 99% of its food is made in the United States. Many of its ingredients are sourced from the U.S.A., though not all. While it claims that its meat comes from USDA sources, this likely only applies to its more expensive brands, not Kit & Kaboodle.
All its vendors have to meet specific requirements. However, these guidelines are not made public.
Ingredients Commonly Used
The ingredients in Kit & Kaboodle vary from recipe to recipe. However, they are strikingly similar. The food tends to be packed full of low-quality ingredients. Many formulas have yellow corn flour high on the ingredient list before the meat products. Similar grain fillers are included throughout. This is the primary reason that these formulas are so low-quality.
Ground yellow corn is a common ingredient and takes up the most room. It is exactly what it sounds like; it’s ground-up corn. Cats evolved to get all their nutrients from meat. They cannot always absorb nutrients from plant products. If they can absorb them, they can’t always convert them into usable forms.
For instance, cats can absorb beta-carotene, but they can’t convert it to vitamin A like people and dogs can. They must get many of their nutrients from meat. Therefore, a higher percentage of ground yellow corn usually leads to fewer nutrients for your feline.
Image Credit: mik ulyannikov, Shutterstock
The use of corn gluten meal is also fairly common. It is the protein part of the corn, which raises the protein content of the food. However, cats can’t always absorb or adequately use the nutrients from plants, so much of this protein may be useless. Don’t let the protein content of a food fool you when plant-based ingredients are high on the ingredient list.
The meat products Kit & Kaboodle uses are relatively low-quality as well. For instance, meat and bone meal commonly appear, which is the meat and bone that have been dehydrated and powdered. The meal itself isn’t a low-quality meat. It is more nutrient-dense than whole meat.
The problem is the source of this food is unknown. You don’t know what sort of meat or bone it is. This can be a serious problem. If the company wanted you to know where the meat came from, it would have it listed. The fact that it doesn’t should be worrisome.
Also, soybeans are common ingredients in Kit & Kaboodle. They are high in protein and inexpensive, and they are used as fillers to raise the protein content of food.
Variety
Kit & Kaboodle does not provide many options. It only has three dry food formulas and does not make wet food. Most of its formulas are similar as well. The outdoor and indoor formulas are not notably different from each other.
If you’re looking for cat food with several flavors, Kit & Kaboodle isn’t a suitable brand.
Cost
Generally, Kit & Kaboodle is an inexpensive brand and is one of the cheapest on the market, which is one reason that owners are often drawn to it. However, the cheapness comes at a price. It is not nearly as high-quality as most brands. It saves money by using low-quality ingredients. Its food formulas do not include whole meat or even much meat.
Recalls
Kit & Kaboodle has not had any recalls. However, it doesn’t sell much food or have many formulas, so that is to be expected. There are many reports of the brand making cats sick, however. Quite a few customers reported that their cats vomited after consuming it, though it is likely because it is low-quality.
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. TheHepper NomNom Cat Bowlis 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 Kit & Kaboodle Cat Food
Pros
Inexpensive
No recalls
Cons
Low-quality ingredients
Little meat included
Full of fillers
Additives and artificial colors included
Reviews of the 3 Best Kit & Kaboodle Cat Food Reviews
According to the bag, Kit & Kaboodle Dry Cat Food has chicken, liver, turkey, and ocean fish flavors. However, there aren’t many of those ingredients in the cat food. The first ingredient is ground yellow corn. This is just a cheap filler that doesn’t provide much nutritional value, but it allows Kit & Kaboodle to keep its costs low.
The following ingredients are low-quality plant products, including corn gluten meal and soybean meal. Both of these are high in protein. However, cats are not good at absorbing nutrients from plants. Therefore, while they raise the protein content of the food, your cat cannot benefit from them.
Finally, meat and bone meal is the fourth ingredient. While this is a form of meat, it is fairly low quality. You don’t know what meat it comes from. It could be anything. There are other meaty ingredients in this food, such as the chicken by-product meal. It isn’t as low quality as meat and bone meal, but it is still inadequate. The formula also has turkey by-product meal and fish meal.
The protein content of the dry food is low. This is likely because it includes a great deal of grain and other low-quality fillers. Much of the protein is likely from the gluten in these fillers, not meat products. Generally, there is little high-quality protein in this cat food.
This food is 100% balanced and a complete diet for your cat.
According to the advertising, Kit & Kaboodle Outdoor Dry Cat Food is the outdoor version of its dry food. It is flavored with chicken and ocean fish, but it doesn’t contain much of either meat.
The first ingredient is ground yellow corn, and corn gluten meal and soybean meal are next. These are low-quality protein sources. Cats may be unable to completely use the nutrients. Meat and bone meal are the first meat ingredients included. While meat is important for felines, the source of the meat and bone meal is completely unknown.
There are a few higher-quality ingredients, including chicken by-product meal and fish meal. However, they are much lower on the list of ingredients. The formula has 30% protein, which puts it in the moderate range compared to other brands on the market.
However, much of it is plant-based protein. This isn’t the highest quality option by any means. While there is quite a bit of protein, you can find more nutritious formulas from other brands.
The Kit & Kaboodle Indoor Dry Cat Food is for indoor cats. However, it isn’t much different from Kit & Kaboodles other formulas. It has multiple flavors, but that’s all they are: flavors. There isn’t much chicken, salmon, turkey, salmon, and garden greens. Ground yellow corn is the first ingredient. Unlike other formulas, chicken by-product meal is the second ingredient.
By-products are okay if you know which parts of the animal are included. Sometimes, they include organs and other animal parts that are nutritious but not usually eaten by humans. These are good for cats! They eat them in the wild, but sometimes, the by-products include low-quality parts, like feathers.
Meal is a perfectly fine type of meat; the meat is dehydrated into a powder, which is useful for crafting kibble. Despite chicken coming in as the second ingredient, there are plenty of fillers. Many are high in protein to improve the protein content of the food, such as soybean meal and corn gluten meal.
This formula includes only 28% protein, which is lower than most other brands. Much of this protein comes from plant sources.
Pros
Includes chicken by-products as the second ingredient
Inexpensive
Cons
Low in protein
Low-quality protein
High in fillers
What Other Users Are Saying
The reviews of this food are mixed. Some people reported that their cats were healthy on this food. They had shiny coats and plenty of energy. Others claimed that their cats regularly vomited Kit & Kaboodle or began gaining weight.
Not every cat is going to respond to food the same way. Many cats are okay on low-quality food initially but can develop a chronic health condition later. Other cats react immediately to food that doesn’t sit well in their stomach. Cats may vomit due to other problems, like an underlying illness.
In many of these reviews, it’s not clear exactly why the cats were vomiting. For this reason, the reviews must be taken with a grain of salt. We don’t know if other factors affected the behavior and health of the cats.
There were a few people who reported that their cats wouldn’t eat it. Because the kibble has different sizes and flavors, some cats may pick out the pieces they like and leave the others in the bowl. This can be annoying and leads to much of the food not being consumed.
However, other picky cats loved it. Like with most cat foods, it seems to be primarily cat-dependent. Some cats love it, while others don’t.
Conclusion
Kit & Kaboodle is an inexpensive food. It is one of the cheapest options on the market. However, the company can make it cheap because it uses low-quality ingredients. Most of the formulas contain fillers like ground cornmeal. These ingredients don’t provide much nutritional value, and cats may be unable to absorb them completely.
Most of Kit & Kaboodle’s cat food doesn’t contain much meat. Usually, grains and fillers take up the first few ingredient spots. The meat that is included is typically low-quality. The higher-quality ingredients are usually further down the ingredient list. In other words, there isn’t much of them.
Overall, Kit & Kaboodle produces inexpensive food with questionable quality.
How useful was this post?
Click on a star to rate (you can leave written feedback after clicking submit)
Help us improve Catster for pet parents!
Your feedback really matters.
What did you like about this post? Also how can we improve it?
Christian started writing for a local newspaper as a teenager, and he's been involved in the publishing industry for most of his adult life. Combining his love of writing with a passion for animals, he is currently the Director of Editorial at Pangolia and the Editor-in-Chief at Catster.
Christian lives in the Philippines with his wife, son, and four rescue cats: Trixie, Chloe, Sparky, and Chopper.
