Several years ago a cat client with kidney disease was going downhill on vet food. I recommended to my client that she take her cat off the Vet food she was eating and gave her some references to help her pick a new wet food. Not only did her cat stop losing weight after changing foods but her health improved. I am happy to say she lived to be 23 years old using these recall free cat foods!

Summary: the best cat foods I found after several days of researching food and reading the ingredient labels. Including why certain vitamins are added to cat foods, how to get rid of synthetic vitamins, warnings about canned pet food, copper-free cat food, and cat food top recommendations from several 2023 pet food lists.

No matter your lifestyle, I have options for people who want cooked food, freeze-dried or raw cat food, and cat food with vegetables or without vegetables.

3 cat food brands that have not been Recalled

For me picking good food for your cat (or any pet) should consist of finding a company that has control of their food. That means they share their food sourcing, do regular batch testing, and manufacture their own food.  

Why is this so important? Remember in 2007 the pet food recall that affected 5300 pet foods?  That is because most brands use 1 of 2 of the major pet food manufacturers. Once contamination happens it could quickly spread to the other brands.

Recalls happen all the time from things like the above or people have found non-food objects like rocks, plastic, and screws. Yikes!

Here you will find Recall free cat foods. Each brand has various lines of cat food (and dog food). One company had a one-time event with one line due to a vitamin deficiency that happen many years ago but it was handled quickly.

TIP: you may need to transition your cat slowly to the new food or your cat could experience more trips to the litter box.

1. Carrageenan free cat food: this shredded chicken cat food is made from a single source of protein.
2. Chicken breast cat food without by-products: cat food made with chicken and chicken broth.
3. Chicken and Turkey cat food: Gluten-free and starch-free cat food.
4. GMO free chicken and duck cat food:  cat food in a pouch without grains.
5. Grain free Chicken cat food: chicken cat food pouch without grains and added pumpkin.
6. Chicken and pumpkin cat food: it does contain tapioca starch. Tapioca is made from cassava, a well-known MM ingredient in his recipes.
7. Funky Chicken: chicken cat food with pumpkin and carrots.

Low mercury fish cat food

Medical medium says some of the safest fish are wild salmon and mackerel. 

Here are some cat foods with low mercury fish.

1. Wild Salmon and chicken cat food: canned salmon cat food contains no gluten or added hormones.
2. Mackerel cat food: canned cat food with mackerel, and pumpkin can help with hairballs.
3. Mackerel and green mussel cat food:  I choose this because a joint & pain supplement my dog took that had green lipid mussel in it. My dog temporarily had an issue getting up and this made him get up with ease.

Humanely raised cat foods that are also Recall Free cat foods

1.  Grass-fed beef and chicken cat food: Cage-free chicken and beef cat food without grains, gluten, and carrageen.
2. Cage Free Turkey cat food: Cage-free chicken and turkey cat food are Gluten and carrageenan-free.  
3. Cage free Chicken and Duck cat food: cat food with duck meat may be an option if you want to rotate protein. However, I believe duck is higher in fat so you may not want to use this on a regular basis.
4. Grass fed Beef cat food: cat food with grass-fed beef, pumpkin, sweet potato, and carrot.

Best Cat foods without vegetables

1. Air dried Lamb cat food:  This raw alternative cat food contains mackerel and is great for traveling. They have several other protein options as well.
2. Wet Beef cat food:  Canned beef cat food with kelp. If you prefer chicken that is an option too.
3. Rabbit cat food canned: wet rabbit cat food with meat and organs.
4. Raw cat food without copper added:

   

   1. • Save 20% off, use code HAPPYTRAILS
      • Food is not HPP.
      • 2023 Best cat foods
      • Meat only Cat food
      • Made in USDA kitchen.
      • 2 Textures: cat food options are smooth or chunked.
      • Humanely raised and without antibiotics or hormones.
      • Single source protein cat food.Several protein sources such as turkey, beef, duck, and rabbit.

Low copper Cat foods

1. Raw Venision cat food:  Wild game low copper cat food without veggies and organs is a Made in USA pet food. Buy cat or dog food with confidence with a 7-day money-back guarantee. Per the manufacturer, each package contains only 0.63 mg, which is really low and a good thing.
2. Raw Turkey cat food:  Frozen Hormone & Antibiotic free turkey cat food with organs. The supplements make up less than 1% of this cat food, 2.5 mg copper. *This cat food brand is on the 2023 most trusted Cat Foods List!
3. Copper free Meal Topper for cats:  It comes in several other protein options and can be used as a Copper-free cat treat as well! *This cat food brand is on the 2023 Top Cat Foods List!
4. Gently Cooked chicken cat food: I ❤️ so many things about this company. This no copper added cat food comes from a family-run business that lightly cooks and then freezes their cat food before shipping it to the customer.
   • Use coupon code PETS20 to get 20% off your first full order
   • 4 cat foods: chicken, turkey, and both versions come with pumpkin.
   • NO added vitamins, nutritional requirements are met using food only!
   • Lab tested for pathogens.
   • Packaging used for shipping is either recyclable or biodegradable.
   • Offset the shipping emissions.
   • FREE shipping in 48 states, Hawaii and Alaska has a shipping fee.
   • Featured in many pet-related websites including Susan Thixton’s Most Trusted Food of 2023!

How to counteract synthetic supplements in your cat food

Copper is in many pet foods because the AAFCO requires it to be considered nutritionally complete. However, they don’t allow certain forms of copper like copper oxide. Instead, you will generally see copper sulfate or the chelated form such as copper proteinate. Wet canned food levels should be 8.4mg/kg and 5mg/kg for growth, reproduction, and adult maintenance or based on metabolizable energy 2.0mg and 1.25mg respectively.

To remove synthetic forms of copper MM says you can use dulse, parsley, and spirulina. These will help disarm, bind, and remove copper from your cat. An additional benefit of spirulina is it may also help slow kidney disease progression.

Pet food packaging insights and warning

Cat food pouches can be made from plastic or a mixture of aluminum and plastic. However, 3 to 3.5 oz cans are made from aluminum lined with one of BPA’s chemical relatives. Whereas larger cans tend to be made from steel with a BPA coating (an estrogenic chemical).

If you store cans in the fridge with a lid topper you may want to stop. Why? According to MM, aluminum cans placed in the refrigerator can cause the metal to contract and weakens the liner inside of the can. This happens because metal expands quickly, pulling apart the liner inside the can.  This is why you hear stories of people tasting metal. The liners also disintegrate over time on the store shelf if not, purchased soon after manufacturing.

If canned food is the only food you can afford, a good practice would be to empty a newly opened can of pet food and put it into a container to store in the fridge.

I hope this helped you in picking the best cat food for your cat(s). If you are looking for dog food, I have an article about copper-free dog food.

Please comment below if you tried one of these foods and saw an improvement in your pet’s health.

Other articles that may interest you are How to dose your pets which lists 20+ cat-safe herbal tinctures and my non-toxic cat litter blog. If you cook for your pets, learn why I choose to get a Non Toxic toaster oven and Teflon-free pans. Finally, to have a clean sleep routine, I purchased a nontoxic mattress so there was no issue if my dog was sleeping on or near my bed and then I found a non-toxic dog bed and cat bed.