Purina Cat Chow Cat Food Review 2024 – Is Cat Chow a Good Cat Food?

Cat owners are always on the lookout for healthy, protein-rich pet food made from natural, human-grade ingredients. Purina Cat Chow is known to make nutritious meals appropriate for the cat’s age group. Purina Cat Chow cuts out the flab and delivers only nutritious food that tastes great and keeps your fur babies looking and feeling good.

For over 80 years, Purina has working to bridge the gap between pets and people.  The company invests time, money, and a whole lot of thought into manufacturing pet food to make sure the quality is top notch. According to their website, every person associated with the company is a pet lover, and pet nutrition is what drives the brand ahead.

Purina’s love and commitment towards pets goes a lot deeper than just making pet food.  The brand is also associated with a lot of pet welfare projects and always strives to draw attention to the needs of pets. Purina runs the Pets for People welfare community, which is a network of almost 6,000 pet welfare organizations across the country. Pets for Seniors is also part of this community, and partners with over 150 shelters across the country to provide senior citizens with reduced costs for pet adoptions.

Purina’s origin dates back to 1894 when William H. Danforth partnered with George Robinson and William Andrews and founded the Robinson-Danforth Commission Company, to feed farm animals. The name of the company is changed to Ralston Purina in 1902. In the year 1926, Purina establishes the first pet nutrition and care center at Purina Farms near Gray Summit, Missouri. It is now known as the Nestle Purina Pet Care Center.

Purina introduced the Purina Cat Chow range in 1963 to cater to the growing population of household cats in the country. Not only does Purina make high quality cat and dog food today, but it also runs the Canine Reference Family DNA Distribution Center, to provide assistance to researchers mapping the canine genome.

Purina is a trusted name in pet food. With a range of meals for different types of cats, you can rest assured that your cats are getting proper nutrition when feeding on Purina Cat Chow.

Types of cat food

There are seven types of cat food from Purina Cat Chow, catering to the different life stages of your fur babies.

• Complete Formula Cat Food
• Indoor Cat Food
• Healthy Weight Cat Food
• Gentle Cat Food
• Kitten Chow
• Naturals Cat Food

The Complete Formula Cat Food is a dry meal, suitable for cats of all ages. It is 100% complete meal, and the balanced formula provides essential nutrients like protein, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals for the health and strength of your pet. While protein helps in gaining strength and keeping excess weight at bay, the fatty acids make the skin and fur smooth and healthy. The wholesome grains in the meal are a vital source of energy and carbohydrates.

The Cat Chow Indoor Immune Health Blend provides complete and balanced nutrition for adult cats. This dry food is good for everyday feeding and is specially formulated for an indoor adult cat. The meal provides kitties with antioxidants to boost their immune system, along with 25 vital vitamins and minerals and just the right amount of calories and fiber to control hairballs.

The Healthy Weight Cat Food is formulated to help your kitties gain or maintain the ideal weight for their life stage.  This dry cat food is healthy but in no way does it compromise on taste. Tasty and lip-smacking, your cats will love this dry food for everyday meals. The meal provides balanced nutrition with vital vitamins and minerals that every adult cat need. This food has 10 percent lower calories than Purina Cat Chow Complete, and it still fills them and keeps them full and satisfied, besides promoting lean muscle.

The Gentle Cat Food is meant for cats with digestive issues. If your cat has trouble digesting normal cat meals, then the Gentle Cat Food should be easier on her stomach. You can use this either as a complete meal or as a topping for wet food. You can also mix this with other food, and puree it in a blender to aid in easy digestion. Like all other Cat Chow meals, this one is also full of nutrients. Just because your kitty has a weak tummy, doesn’t mean she should lose out on the taste and flavors. The meals are tasty and crunchy and keep your kitty healthy.

The Kitten Chow, as the name suggests, is made for kittens. If you’re raising a kitten without mother’s milk, then this is a good option. The Kitten Chow provides age-appropriate nutrition like that found in mother’s milk to help kittens grow and thrive. This dry food helps kittens develop a healthy appetite while growing bigger and stronger.

The Naturals Cat Food is another great everyday feeding option, with the proper blend of protein, calories, fiber and fatty acids. You can mix this with regular cat food, use it as a topping for wet food, or use it as a complete meal in itself.

Allergen warning

While there is a lot of stress on grain free and gluten free pet food these days, Purina Cat Chow goes against the wave and makes pet food high in gluten. This could cause serious health issues in sensitive cats. Do not switch to a new diet without the advice of a vet. Since all of Cat Chow’s meals are high in grain and gluten, they should be fed to cats only under the guidance of a vet and stopped if there is any health concern.

Besides gluten, there are several other low-grade ingredients in the Cat Chow meals, including poultry by-product meal (which isn’t real meat at all and a poor source of protein), corn meal, soy and corn gluten, all of which could cause severe allergic reactions in cats. There is no real protein source in any of the meals. Real meat isn’t used, only byproducts are used.

Recall history

There has been a lot of noise about the ingredients used in the Cat Chow products. In 2012, several cat food batches from Friskies and Cat Chow were recalled from Colorado, Idaho and Oregon because of potential Salmonella contamination. No other products have been recalled so far.

What customers think

Most cat owners seem to like the products from Purina Cat Chow. The Cat Chow Complete Dry Cat Food on Chewy.com has a 4.8 rating out of 5, and is recommended by 98 percent of reviewers. If your cat isn’t sensitive and doesn’t suffer from allergies, Purina Cat Chow could be a good option.

Here are some of the reviews on Chewy.com:

Positive:

“Over the lives of ALL our cats, this is the ONLY dry cat food they all like. We have finally stopped trying other dry foods. Thank you Purina. Please never discontinue this product.” – Mark

“I have multiple cats in age from year old kitten to senior. Have tried many other brands costing a lot more and there was always at least one cat who would not eat or had diarrhea or vomiting. All my cats eat this with no issues. I have 10 pure breeds and 2 rescues and this is enjoyed by all. Several other breeders have recommended Cat Chow Complete.” – PapillonMomma

“I have a farm with numerous cats. I’ve been feeding Purina for over 20 years. The cats are healthy and live long lives. In addition, with so many cats to feed, the price is right.” – Sgdancer

“I have several semi-feral cats that have adopted me. This food seems to be their favorite. It is a good value too. I am very pleased and so are my fur babies.” – Sandi86

Negative:

“This cat food caused both of my cat’s feces to stink like no other. It’s insane. Hoped that it would get better after a bit but it did not.” – Stinky

“The crystals are so big they barley fit through the slots on the scooper. It does clump but the clumps break apart as soon as you scoop them. Not to mention the intense smell it gives off.” – Moose

The Cat Chow Complete Dry Cat Food Review

Rating: 4.8 out of 5

First five ingredients: Poultry by-product meal, corn meal, corn gluten meal, ground whole wheat, and brewers rice

According to Purina, Cat Chow Complete Dry Cat Food is made with high-quality protein that builds strong and lean muscles, healthy carbohydrates that provide energy, fatty acids that make skin and coat shiny and healthy, and vital vitamins and minerals that boost the immune system. This product is made for all stages of adult life but should be given under the proper guidance of a vet since it contains potential allergens.