Lotus Cat Food Review 2024 – Is Lotus a Good Cat Food?

Kate Barrington

Researched & Written by

Kate Barrington


At Pawster, we are committed to presenting the most accurate and up-to-date information to assist you in your pet care journey. When appropriate, we consult licensed and practicing veterinarians to fact-check our professionally written articles.

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One of the most important things pet guardians look for in a pet food company is honesty. The market these days is saturated with pet food manufactured by multinationals. Most of these companies tightly guard their production process, and use unpronounceable ingredients in the formulas. For so long, pet parents relied on these types of food for feeding their furry friends. But these days, people are more conscious, not only about what they themselves eat, but also about what they feed their pets. That’s the reason why there is a huge demand for transparency in the pet food production process. People want to know how the food is manufactured, what goes into them, and how high the safety standards are. Since bigger companies refuse to be so transparent, pet owners gravitate towards smaller brands that offer more honesty and transparency.

One such company that has nothing to hide is Lotus Pet Foods, a small company that was formed in 2003 by a group of pet lovers who also owned another pet food retail store called Centinela Feed and Pet in Los Angeles. The major difference between Lotus and other pet food brands is that they oven-bake their dry food instead of extruding it. Extrusion is the process used by most pet food companies to manufacture dry food (or kibbles). Lotus bakes the foods just like normal foods are baked. This not only makes them different, but also helps retain the maximum nutrients because it isn’t damaged by heat. Although baking takes three times longer than extrusion, the company still uses the process because the ingredients remain intact.

Lotus is a pet food company that puts a lot of thought into their products. The use high-quality ingredients fit for human consumption, in their most wholesome state. The dry foods are baked in real ovens, the same ones used by humans to bake cakes and cookies. The dry kibbles are browned, have grill lines, and are never perfectly shaped, just the way home-baked cookies never have the perfect shape.

The ingredients used to make the products are mostly sourced in the US and Canada, with the exceptions being Green Mussel, Deboned Lamb and Lamb Meal, which are sourced from New Zealand. While the dry food is manufactured at a small, family owned bakery in Canada, the canned products are made at the company’s own cannery in California. The food is made in small batches and the production process is strictly controlled.

Types of Cat Food

Lotus Pet Food Company manufactures three types of cat food: dry, canned, and juicy pâté. All products are made from the finest ingredients in their natural, wholesome form. The minimal processing and the stringent quality standards make sure your little guy gets the best food always.

Not only does Lotus use high-quality ingredients, but their production process is meant to preserve the natural flavors and nutritional value of the food. Not many companies use baking to manufacture kibbles because it takes a long time and results in higher cost, but Lotus does, simply because they want to offer the best for the soft and furry felines. Yes, they don’t come cheap, but if you can eat high quality expensive food yourself, won’t you want the same for your pet?

Oven-Baked Dry Cat Food

Most people wouldn’t believe that pet food can be baked in a regular oven, but that’s exactly what Lotus does. While extrusion is the most common process to manufacture kibbles because it takes a short time, it damages most of the ingredients and removes their nutritional value.  That’s the reason why Lotus bakes all the dry cat food, just like you bake cookies at home. Meat-rich, high protein ingredients like chicken and duck are the main ingredients, while there’s also a healthy dose of wholesome fruits and vegetables, besides added vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids. Even though the oven-baked dry foods take longer to make, they are nutritionally rich and flavorful. Here are the oven-baked dry cat food recipes the company makes:

  • Oven-Baked Chicken Recipe
  • Oven-Baked Duck Recipe
  • Oven-Baked Low Fat Chicken Recipe

Canned

Lotus offers two different kinds of canned cat food – pâté and and juicy pâté. The pâté is made with natural wholesome ingredients with their original flavor and taste intact. Some of the ingredients used to make the pâté recipes are New Zealand Green Mussel, which is a natural source of glucosamine and chondroitin; fresh asparagus, carrots, blueberries and cranberries to provide essential antioxidants; salmon as well as wild salmon oil to contribute DHA and omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids for the development of brain health, prevention of inflammation, and for a shiny coat. The products don’t come with added taurine because the ocean fish like salmon are already rich in taurine.

The recipes in this range are:

  • Chicken & vegetable pâté
  • Turkey & vegetable pâté
  • Salmon & vegetable pâté
  • Pork & vegetable pâté

Just Juicy

The Canned Just Juicy range of cat food is meant to satiate the carnivore in your little friend. Where did the wildcats get their water from? Of course, from fresh juicy meat. Even though they are tamed now, cats can’t resist the urge to indulge in some fresh juicy meat once in a while. That’s the reason why this line of cat food consists of USDA-inspected meat preserved in a simple, tasty gravy. The natural amount of water in the products is free from fillers and artificial additives, so your kitty gets the healthiest, juiciest meat, sitting right at home. All canned foods by Lotus are made in their own cannery in small batches to monitor the production process and preserve the nutritional integrity of the food. The recipes are:

  • Chicken Stew
  • Salmon & Pollock Stew
  • Pollock Stew
  • Pork Stew
  • Venison Stew

Recall history

Lotus Pet Foods was formed in 2003, so it’s a fairly new company. The natural pet food industry is not huge yet and Lotus has made a name for itself in this short time. Based in California, the company has several manufacturing facilities in the US and Canada. Although they don’t own the bakery where their dry foods are manufactured, the same quality and safety standards are followed. With this information, it is not surprising that Lotus Pet Food products have never been recalled since their inception in 2003. This alone is never enough, but it does prove that their products are of the highest quality and won’t make your kitty sick.

Where to buy

Lotus cat food is available all over the US and Canada. They can be found at leading pet stores, chain stores like Walmart, and online at Chewy, PetSmart, or Petco.

What customers think

Lotus products are expensive; as a result, not many people buy them. There are mixed reviews on Chewy.com for the Wholesome Chicken Recipe Dry Cat Food. It scores 4.1 out of 5, and is recommended by 81 percent of the reviewers. Some of the reviews are as follows:

Positive

“We absolutely love this food. Since switching to this food, our cats have been so much healthier!” Ashleigh

“To be fair, my cat pretty much eats whatever cat food hits the bowl! That being said, I was impressed with the quality of the product. The individual kibble are sort of flower shaped. It looks like they were baked in a muffin mold tray like you would use for humans (but the muffins are sized for cats). The food also smells really good. It doesn’t smell so good I want to eat it myself, but it makes me feel good about feeding my cat. I also noticed that some of her recent constipation and weird looking stools went away almost entirely. Her stools look normal and healthy again – I can save myself the $70 for a trip to the vet 😉 I’ve been very happy with Lotus products, and Chewy’s prices make it easier to stomach the cost” – CrazyCatGal

“It’s been over 1 year on this product. My cats still love it. Most importantly, I am very happy with their health. Their coat is silky, no allergies, teeth look great, and it’s gobbled up within minutes.” – Meandmykiddies

Negative

“2.5-year-old male cat stopped eating it a few days after trying this food, paying no attention that it is so pricey; and all I can do now is enjoy a lovely pack design.” – Jellybean

The ingredients are good & healthy but none of my cats would even give it a try. Maybe other cats would, that is just my cats. I still gave it 3 stars because it is a healthy food.” – catmommy6

Lotus Wholesome Chicken Recipe Dry Cat Food

Rating: 4.2/5

First five ingredients: Chicken, Chicken Meal, Whole Ground Brown Rice, Whole Ground Barley, Chicken Liver

The first five ingredients tell the quality of the product. In this case, the first ingredient is chicken, which is a quality source of protein. In addition, the food also contains chicken meal and chicken liver, which are also rich in protein.

However, the recipe also contains brown rice, which is mostly nonessential for cats, even though it has calcium and protein. Brown rice is usually added to pet food as fillers, because they help dry kibble get their shape. If your cat isn’t allergic to seafood, soy, or eggs, you can safely try this premium cat food.

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