Review Summary
We give Purina Beyond Cat food a rating of 4.6 out of 5.0 stars.
Purina Beyond is a pet food line from the familiar name Purina. Purina has been making pet food for nearly a hundred years, so their name is not new on the market. Due to pet owners wanting to carefully source their pet’s food more and more, Purina joined the ring of “real food” pet food brands with Purina Beyond. Under this name, they have several different recipes, including grain-free options, GMO-free, and wet food inspired by real prey.
This cat food brand is best for owners who want to take the step from the average dry kibble towards more quality food, but don’t want to fully commit to a subscription or spend a ton of money. You can find Purina Beyond recipes pretty much anywhere pet food is sold and for a moderate price. The ingredients in the Purina Beyond line are generally high quality and healthfully balanced.
The cat owner who wants the healthiest and best on the market is probably better off looking elsewhere, as there are better options out there. This is by no means that Purina Beyond is bad for your cat. There are many types of recipes to choose from to suit your and your cat’s needs. Let’s find out more.
At a Glance: The Best Purina Beyond Cat Food Recipes:
| Image | Product | Details | ||
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Best Value
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Purina Beyond Simply Grain-Free Ocean Whitefish & Egg Recipe Dry Cat F |
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Premium Choice
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Purina Beyond Simply White Meat Chicken & Egg Recipe Grain-Free Dry Ca |
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CHECK PRICE |
Best Overall
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Purina Beyond Wild Prey-Inspired Grain-Free High Protein Salmon, Liver |
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CHECK PRICE |
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Purina Beyond Grain-Free Wild Salmon Pate Recipe Canned Cat Food |
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Purina Beyond Grain-Free Turkey, Sweet Potato & Spinach Recipe |
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CHECK PRICE |
Purina Beyond Cat Food Reviewed
Who Makes Purina Beyond and Where Is It Produced?
The company Nestle-Purina has been making reputable Purina products for over 90 years. They also make Purina Beyond out of widespread demand for more nutritional and “real” food. Purina Beyond is produced within several factories, located in Colorado, Illinois, Georgia, and Pennsylvania.
Which Types of Cats Is Purina Beyond Best Suited For?
Purina Beyond is a good choice for all healthy cats. Because they don’t use wheat, soy, or corn in most of their products, they are best for cats with allergies to these products or for cats who have mild tummy issues or other sensitivities.
Discussion of the Primary Ingredients (Good and Bad)
Purina goes “beyond” the normal expectations for cat food by sourcing most ingredients from the US and keeping wheat, corn, and soy out of most of their food. No artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives are found in their Beyond line of foods.
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! 
Real Sources of Protein
A familiar protein will be listed first in each of the Purina Beyond recipes, and sometimes even a second ingredient. This means that most of that recipe has that first ingredient in it. Cats need protein for energy throughout the day, and you can feel good knowing they are actually eating real chicken or fish.
Organ Meat
The WILD line of recipes sources some of its protein from organ meat, which is rich in iron and other essential nutrients.
Chicken Meal
A good source of protein, chicken meal is present in several of the Purina Beyond dry cat foods. The name is slightly mysterious, and that’s purposeful. Chicken meal is ground-up chicken parts, that were otherwise useless, and turned into pet food.
The only problem with the chicken meal is that it’s handled with much less care than edible chicken meat, which means it’s susceptible to contamination.
While there is no specific information for the cat food recipes, Purina states that the chicken meal in their dog food is steroid-free and contains no feathers, heads, feet, or intestinal contents.
Pea Starch
Pea starch is added to some of the dry food products within the Purina Beyond brand. It’s considered a filler, and fillers usually mean something of insignificant nutritional value. When pet food manufacturers remove grain from their recipes, they usually turn to peas to fill in the gaps. Peas are better than grains, but some argue that too much could be distressing for your cat’s intestinal tract.
Cassava Root Flour
As another attempt to fill in the gaps with grain-free food, Purina Beyond adds cassava root flour to some of its products. When cassava root flour is prepared carefully in a specific way, it is safe for cat consumption. When it is raw, it is harmful to cats. Ultimately, it is a filler with no significant nutritional value for cats.
Guar Gum
Guar gum is found in some Purina Beyond foods and is a thickening agent, emulsifier, and stabilizer. It is real food and comes from the guar bean. It’s an alternative to carrageean, but is considered safer for human consumption. In fact, in humans, it lowers LDL cholesterol, triglycerides and increases glucose tolerance. So what could be wrong with feeding it to cats?
For healthy cats, it may present no issues. But for otherwise GI-compromised cats, it could intensify these problems. This is due to the fact that legumes are difficult for the digestive system to process, and guar gum comes from a legume. The benefits it may give to cats usually do not outweigh the cost in this situation.
Ingredient Sourcing
Purina emphasizes integrity by transparently tracing its ingredients. Most ingredients are sourced from North America, but they have also chosen to source some ingredients from France, New Zealand, Chile, Japan, China, and other countries. There is an interactive map on their website where you can see exactly where the ingredients come from.
Categories Within Beyond
Purina Beyond has four different subcategories of recipes that are crafted for different types of cats.
1. Purina Beyond Grain-Free
Grain-free cat food options are great for cats who have tummy issues. There are no grains, corn, or soy found in this line of recipes.
2. Purina Beyond Indoor
Recipes labeled “Indoor” contain 10% less fat. Additionally, to help with immune health, they include extra antioxidants and fiber. The Indoor line of cat food has two recipes, one dry and one wet.
3. Purina Beyond Simple Origins
A recipe labeled “Simple Origins” means that is non-GMO verified by the Non-GMO Project.
4. Purina Beyond WILD
WILD recipes focus on what cats might eat in the wild. There are dry and wet versions, containing mostly protein, and are completely grain-free.
Price & Availability
Purina Beyond is a reasonably priced dry cat food when you look at the daily costs of feeding. When you choose Purina Beyond dry food, you will spend about 30–40 cents per day feeding your cat. The wet cat food, having slightly higher-quality ingredients (like organ meat in some cases) will cost upwards of 3 dollars per day to feed your cat.
The Beyond products are widely available on Chewy, Amazon, and most major retailers.
Want to see more cat food reviews? Check out our review page here!
A Quick Look at Purina Beyond Cat Food
- Grain-free options
- Dry food is reasonably-priced
- High protein content
- Indoor-cat specific formulas
- Transparent ingredient sourcing
- Some recipes have questionable ingredients
- Some recipes have high plant and carbohydrate content
Recall History
Purina Beyond recipes have never been recalled, but other Purina products have.
Reviews of the 3 Best Purina Beyond Cat Food Recipes
1. Purina Beyond Grain-Free Ocean Whitefish & Egg
The Grain-Free Ocean Whitefish & Egg is one of Purina Beyond’s most popular recipes. On Chewy, it comes in 3, 5, and 11-pound bag options. Up to a cup, a day will feed your feline. The first three ingredients are ocean whitefish, chicken meal, and pea protein.
In addition to the protein sources, there are a fair bit of plant products in this recipe, including yeast, canola meal, and dried sweet potatoes. These ingredients drive the carbohydrate content way up. This could be harmful to cats prone to obesity and diabetes.
Cats with known chicken, fish, or egg allergies should steer clear of this recipe. However, if your cat needs a grain-free food that’s relatively inexpensive, this could be great for you.
Calorie Breakdown:
- Good protein source
- Contains 3 sources of protein
- Comes in 3 bag sizes
- Contains fillers like cassava root flour and pea starch
- Carb-heavy
2. Purina Beyond Simply White Meat Chicken & Egg Grain-Free
This grain-free dry food recipe is very similar to the ocean whitefish kind but with more chicken and no fish products. The first ingredients are chicken (fresh chicken meat), chicken meal (dried chicken by-products), and pea protein. “Dried egg product” finally makes its appearance as the 4th ingredient on the list.
Chicken is considered a low-allergy food, so many cats will be able to enjoy this product who otherwise would have a reaction to a fish product. We like this recipe more because of its lower carbohydrate content for dry cat food.
Like the ocean whitefish recipe, pea protein, starch, and cassava root powder are present, which isn’t necessarily bad for all cats but could contribute to already-present GI issues. Also, cat parents who want to avoid plant products may not be as satisfied with this recipe, as it contains plenty of them.
Calorie Breakdown:
- Contains real chicken as 1st ingredient
- Cats like the flavor
- Grain-free
- Additive-free
- Includes added probiotics
- Contains unnecessary fillers like cassava root flour and pea starch
- Plant ingredients
3. Purina Beyond Wild Prey-Inspired Wet Cat Food
Low-carb is the name of this recipe’s game and is potentially the healthiest of all three. Wild Prey-Inspired Salmon contains top-notch quality ingredients and nutrition. The first six ingredients come from real meat sources: salmon, chicken liver, liver, salmon broth, arctic char, and chicken heart. Your cat will get a nutrient-packed meal every time she eats this food.
While high-protein and low-carb are the shining stars of this recipe, downsides include the use of guar gum. As we learned before, guar gum could be potentially harmful to cats with digestive issues but can be perfectly fine for healthy cats. It also might cost a lot to feed your cat this food as their main diet, as a daily serving will cost around $3.
This recipe’s only plant ingredients are guar gum and carrot, making it a great low-plant sourced food if that is your preference.
Calorie Breakdown:
- High protein
- Low carb
- Quality main ingredients
- Lower plant content
- Guar gum added
- Expensive
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!
What Other Users Are Saying
- AllAboutCats – “Thanks to its ingredient quality and the absence of potentially harmful additives, Purina Beyond appears to be one of the best brands in the Purina family.”
- The Spruce Pets – “Purina Beyond Grain Free Cat Food is worth trying based on its high-quality ingredients, its reasonable price tag, and the fact that cats seem to enjoy it.”
- Amazon – As cat owners, we always double-check with Amazon reviews from buyers before we buy something. You can read these by clicking here.
Conclusion
Purina Beyond makes fresh, quality cat food available to all at reasonable prices and availability. It’s not the best cat food out there as there are still additives and fillers that are questionable to some cat owners. Overall, Purina Beyond does a great job of maintaining integrity by sourcing most ingredients locally and by including enough of what’s important in their recipes.
If you choose Purina Beyond as your next cat food to try, we hope we have informed you fully of its pros and cons. Bon Appetit!
Review Summary
