Review Summary
We give Pure Balance Cat food a rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars.
Perhaps you’ve been scouring the aisles at your local Walmart and come across a brand you’ve never heard of before. Pure Balance is a signature brand made explicitly for Walmart locations. But just because it comes from a department store, does that mean it’s any more or less nutritious?
Here we’re going to break down all of the ins and outs of this relatively new brand. You can get an idea of whether it is the appropriate choice for your cat.
At a Glance: The Best Pure Balance Cat Food Recipes:
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Our Favorite
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Pure Balance Dry Cat Food, Chicken & Brown Rice |
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Best Grain-Free Diet
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Pure Balance Wild & Free Grain Free High Protein Formula Food for Cats |
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Pure Balance Grain-Free Limited Ingredient Wet Cat Food |
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Pure Balance Pro+ Kitten Formula Dry Cat Food |
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Pure Balance Pro+ Senior Formula Dry Cat Food |
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Pure Balance Cat Food Reviewed
Let’s dig into all of the details about this rather obscure cat food selection.
Who Makes Pure Balance & Where Is It Produced?
Pure Balance is a good made specifically for the Walmart company by Ainsworth Pet Nutrition. The base is in Meadville, Pennsylvania. They might be a little more well-known for producing Rachel Ray Nutrish cat food line, which is also found in Walmart among many other pet food shops.
Which Types of Cats Is Pure Balance Best Suited For?
Pure Balance tailors recipes for healthy house cats. They have recipes specifically designed for kittens, seniors, and adult kitties. You can choose from the varieties of dry kibble or wet cat food. Each ingredient series covers all of the bases of recommended cat nutrition.
Which Types of Cats Might Do Better with a Different Brand?
Pure Balance is not an ideal choice for cats with known allergies to grains or specific proteins. Its protein selections are limited to salmon, chicken, and turkey. Many cats who develop allergies are sensitive to these types of proteins.
If your cat suffers from one of these allergies, you might want to look for a brand such as Natural Balance instead. They have a vast selection of recipes close to the same price as the Pure Balance brand, but a bit more expensive.
Discussion of the Primary Ingredients (Good & Bad)
Pure Balance cat food offers both dry kibble and wet food. They have no raw foods to speak of at this point in development. But you can use either the dry kibble or wet cat food as a standalone diet—or combine the two to broaden your cat selections.
Let’s discuss the primary ingredients to see if this food offers the nutrition you seek.
Dry Kibble
- Meat: chicken, salmon, turkey, meat meal, meat fat
- Vegetables: dried peas, potato, pea fiber, dried beet pulp, chickpeas, dried carrots
- Grains: brown rice, ground barley
- Other Ingredients: dried egg, tapioca starch, sunflower oil, fish oil
Wet Food
- Meat: chicken, salmon, turkey
- Vegetables: potato starch, carrageenan
- Grains: none
- Other Ingredients: broth, dried egg white, flaxseed, salt, mineral, vitamins
The fact that animal protein is the number one ingredient in these recipes means that your cat is getting the full dose they need. It’s followed closely by meat meal, which is a more concentrated protein source. However, the protein source used in these recipes is very common, leading to allergies in some felines.
Chickpeas, otherwise known as garbanzo beans, are a controversial ingredient. Scientific evidence shows that they can cause allergy reactions in some cats. While grain allergies are uncommon in cats, these products do contain certain grains like rice and barley. However, these grains are quite easily digestible in comparison to wheat, corn, or soy fillers.
There is some speculation that the use of peas in cat food recipes isn’t the best option, so it is always best to ask a veterinarian about their opinion.
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Pure Balance Is Carbohydrate Dense
Many Pure Balance recipes have high carbohydrate content, which can pose certain risks for cats. A food that is rich in carbohydrates can cause unwanted weight gain, especially among less active or fixed cats.
Always ensure that you portion the food correctly to avoid unwanted weight gain for your kitties.
Pure Balance Affordability
Pure Balance is a middle-of-the-road, moderately priced cat food. For the nutritional benefits, we would say that it’s priced correctly. Since it is only a Walmart brand, there might be a bit more difficulty finding it elsewhere. Luckily, you can find Pure Balance in both Walmart Department stores and on their website.
Pure Balance Offers Selected Recipes
Since its modest beginning, Pure Balance has broadened its recipes by adding in senior and kitten formulas, which it didn’t offer before. They even have grain-free, indoor, and limited-ingredient diets for sensitive cats. However, they still don’t provide select recipes that some other major companies do.
Granted, over time, they could very well develop more specialized diets for cats, but if your cat requires something particular, you’re not going to find it here.
Pure Balance Has Less Transparency Than Some Brands
Because Pure Balance is relatively new and privately owned, they don’t have as much transparency as some other brands. With less transparency comes not knowing whether the recipes are tested on animals, for example.
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A Quick Look at Pure Balance Cat Food
- High protein recipes
- Real meat as the #1 ingredient in all recipes
- Affordable prices
- Broadening recipe line
- No recalls
- A Walmart-only brand
- Carb dense
- Less transparency than some brands
- Potential allergens in recipes
Recall History
Based on all of our research, Pure Balance has no recalls to account for. This upside shows a very positive direction and the cat food line, ensuring safety for your kitties.
Reviews of the 3 Best Pure Balance Cat Food Recipes
1. Pure Balance Dry Cat Food Chicken and Brown Rice – Our Favorite
Over all of the other recipes, the Pure Balance Dry Cat Food Chicken and Brown Rice recipe is our favorite. It contains whole chicken protein is the first ingredient, which we love. For most adult house cats, this recipe has everything you could want.
In one cup, there are 354 calories, totaling 3,563 in the whole bag. This recipe contains 34.0% crude protein, 13.0% crude fat, 4.0% crude fiber, and 12.0% moisture. It’s also full of all the essential fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals that your cat needs in its daily diet.
This product also contains no corn, wheat, or soy, so you know there are no unnecessary fillers. Instead, it has easily digestible grains like brown rice to keep your kitty’s digestive tract on track. This recipe will work wonders for most cats with no allergies or special dietary needs.
- Well-balanced nutrition
- Works for most healthy adult cats
- Whole protein
- No wheat, corn, or soy filler
- Might not be suitable for every diet
2. Pure Balance Wild & Free Grain Free High Protein Formula Food
If your kitty benefits more from a grain-free diet, check out the Pure Balance Wild & Free Grain Free High Protein Formula Food for Cats. This recipe is packed with all protein and no irritating friends that will upset your cat’s overall skin and digestive tract.
This recipe has a whopping 40.0% crude protein, 18.0% crude fat, 4.0% crude fiber, and 10.0% moisture. Grain-free diets can be pretty controversial in the cat food world, so always make sure that you check with your veterinarian to make sure you’re making the right choice for your feline.
If you have already established that your cat does have a grain allergy, this is a well-balanced recipe that you can try out for your kitty.
- Grain-free for sensitive cats
- High protein
- Improves skin and aids in digestion
- Check with your vet to ensure your cat has an allergy to grain
3. Pure Balance Grain-Free Limited Ingredient Diet Wet Cat Food (Turkey & Sweet Potato)
If your cat has a sensitive belly, you might want to check out the Pure Balance Grain-Free Limited Ingredient Diet Wet Cat Food. This food is completely grain-free, so you don’t have to worry about triggering grain-related allergic reactions. It’s full of easy-to-digest ingredients that will help your cat’s digestive tract work correctly.
One serving of this cat food contains 8.0% crude protein, 7.0% crude fat, and 1.5% crude fiber—with a full 78.0% moisture that our cats need more of. It’s jam-packed with tons of vitamins and minerals that are completely essential for your cat’s well-being.
You can use this cat food as a topper to their regular dry kibble or use it as a standalone diet. If you are only feeding wet food, keep in mind that your cats need crunchy substances to keep their teeth clean and tartar-free.
- Grain-free
- limited ingredient diet
- High moisture content
- Perfect as a dry kibble topper
- Might cause plaque or tartar buildup
What Other Users Are Saying
The best way for you to ensure that you’re making your cat’s proper nutritional decisions is to ask other owners. We took a look at what other users had to say about this product. We believe it’s the best way to get an honest opinion about each recipe’s success in every brand.
Here’s what users are saying about Pure Balance:
Walmart—”Great cat food! I like that it is all-natural without fillers and for a good while even the prescription cat food I was feeding my boy, made him very ill with vomiting and diarrhea. The change to the food was a quick relief and he seems to gobble it up so quickly and contently. Happy with the switch.”
You can read more by clicking here.
Conclusion
So, there you have it. These are all the details we know about the Pure Balance brand. Because of the lack of variety and recipes and lack of online availability, we give this recipe four out of five stars. Keep in mind that this cat food line is still in the process of developing. We feel because they have no recalls to mention, it’s a positive sign of their cat food quality.
If your cat needs a specialized diet, keep in mind that this might not be the best brand for them. However, if you have a healthy kitten, adult, or senior cat, these recipes contain high amounts of protein and nutrients to keep your kitty feeling their best.
Review Summary
2 Responses
Why is dry pro balance dry unavailable everywhere???
Julia, if you are looking for Pure Balance Pro+ (the Walmart-exclusive brand), you aren't alone in your frustration. As of March 2026, many cat owners are reporting that while the wet food and treats remain on shelves, the dry kibble has become nearly impossible to find. It looks like several dry formulas in the Pro+ and Pure Balance lines have been discontinued or are being "phased out" due to low demand or a shifting focus toward their wet food and "starters" lines.