Unbiased Freshpet Cat Food Review

Kirsten McCarthy / Cats.com

Freshpet may be some of the only cat food you’ll buy from a fridge, but is it any fresher, safer, or more nutritious than the average cat food brand? Find out in our unbiased Freshpet cat food review.

The Cats.com Standard—Rating Freshpet on What Matters

We’ve analyzed Freshpet and graded it according to the Cats.com standard, evaluating the brand on species-appropriateness, ingredient quality, product variety, price, customer experience, and recall history. Here’s how it rates in each of these six key areas.

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Ratings

Species-Appropriateness – 7/10
Ingredient Quality – 6/10
Product Variety – 5/10
Price – 7/10
Customer Experience – 3/10
Recall History – 6/10

Overall Score: 5.5/10

We give Freshpet cat food a 33 out of 60 rating or a C grade.

About Freshpet

In 2006, John Phelps and Cathal Walsh launched Freshpet, a brand of refrigerated pet food. Freshpet claims to cut back on processing to amp up nutrition and says their foods are made with “whole ingredients”, then “gently cooked without preservatives, and kept refrigerated where meats belong.”

Sourcing and Manufacturing

All Freshpet foods are steam-cooked in Freshpet’s company-owned Pennsylvania facility.

About 97% of the ingredients in Freshpet foods are sourced from the United States and Canada. While all food ingredients are sourced in North America, the company sources vitamins and minerals from other regions. Though China is the biggest supplier of synthetic vitamins and amino acids, Freshpet maintains that they don’t source any ingredients from that country.

Has Freshpet Cat Food Been Recalled?

Freshpet cat food has never been recalled.

What Kinds of Cat Food Does Freshpet Offer?

Kirsten McCarthy / Cats.com

Freshpet offers three lines of cat food.

They include Freshpet® Select, the brand’s original line, Vital® foods with 80% meat, poultry, or fish content, and Nature’s Fresh®, which uses chicken and turkey from farms that follow the Step 1 and Step 2 animal welfare standards established by the Global Animal Partnership.

Freshpet Cat Food – Top 3 Recipes Reviewed

Product Name	Food Type	Price	Our Grade
Freshpet® Vital™ Grain Free Complete Meals Chicken, Ocean Whitefish, & Egg	Fresh Chunks	$0.49 per oz	B
Freshpet Vital Grain Free Chicken & Beef Cat Roll	Fresh Roll	$0.33 per oz	C
Freshpet Select Chicken & Beef Cat Roll	Fresh Roll	$0.29 per oz	C

#1 Freshpet Vital Cat Food Grain Free Chicken & Chicken Liver

$47.94 At Chewy $7.99 At PetSmart

Chicken and ocean whitefish appear to be the primary protein sources in this cat food.

This Freshpet food is made with chicken, ocean whitefish, eggs, and a smattering of veggies. It’s one of their kibble-style foods and comes in bite-sized soft chunks.

Kirsten McCarthy / Cats.com

The first three ingredients are chicken, chicken liver, and ocean whitefish. Chicken is a species-appropriate source of nutrients, as is nutrient-dense liver. Ocean whitefish is less than ideal due to its potential for heavy metal and toxin contamination. Note, also, that ocean whitefish isn’t a single species of fish. The term may refer to haddock, cod, and a host of other fish with similarly white flesh and mild flavor.

After the primary meat ingredients—remember that meat accounts for 80% of each Vital™ recipe—the next item is something called “natural flavors”. This vague name, according to Freshpet, is assigned to “a proprietary blend of natural ingredients used to enhance the flavor of our fresh foods.”

Eggs are added as an additional source of animal protein. The food is supplemented with carrots and spinach, ingredients with little nutritional benefit for cats.

The food contains pea protein, a concentrated source of plant protein. It’s also made with pea fiber, a pea derivative that boosts the food’s fiber content. The food contains vinegar, possibly as a type of preservative, and is supplemented with potassium chloride—sometimes marketed as lite salt. This salt alternative is lower in sodium but has some of the same preservative effects as standard salt.

In addition to potassium chloride as a type of preservative, the food contains celery powder. This ingredient is a natural source of nitrates. So much for “no preservatives”.

Overall, this food is high in protein with moderate fat and low carbohydrate content.

The food has 231 calories per cup.

Ingredients

Chicken, Chicken Liver, Ocean Whitefish, Natural Flavors, Eggs, Carrots, Spinach, Pea Protein, Pea Fiber, Vinegar, Vitamins & Minerals (Zinc Chelate, Calcium Sulfate, Potassium Chloride, Iron Proteinate, Niacin, Vitamin E Supplement, Copper Proteinate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Manganese Proteinate, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Salt, Taurine.

Ingredients We Liked: Chicken, Chicken Liver, Eggs

Ingredients We Didn’t Like: Carrots, Spinach, Pea Protein, Pea Fiber

Guaranteed Analysis

Crude Protein: 17%

Crude Fat: 11%

Crude Fiber: 1.5%

Moisture: 65%

Dry Matter Basis

Protein: 48.57%

Fat: 31.43%

Fiber: 4.29%

Carbs: 15.71%

Caloric Weight Basis

Protein: 34.54%

Fat: 54.28%

Carbs: 11.18%

Pros

Rich in animal protein
Virtually free of plant protein
Low carbohydrate content
Made with named meats rather than by-products
Provides more moisture than traditional kibble
Free of artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives

Cons

Contains multiple plant ingredients

#2 Freshpet Vital Grain Free Chicken & Beef Cat Roll

$47.92 At Chewy $5.99 At Petco

Chicken and beef appear to be the primary protein sources in this cat food.

Like all foods in the Vital line, this slice-and-serve roll is 80% meat. In the case of this recipe, that meat is chicken and beef. The food has a paté texture, but instead of coming in a can, it’s squeezed into a tight roll that you slice and serve.

Kirsten McCarthy / Cats.com

The first ingredient is chicken, cooked in chicken broth and mixed with beef and chicken liver. The food is flavored with “natural flavors”, which Freshpet describes as “a proprietary blend of natural ingredients used to enhance the flavor of our fresh foods.” The term typically refers to a flavor additive made from hydrolyzed animal tissues, but Freshpet’s proprietary blend may incorporate other ingredients.

In addition to the main protein sources, the food contains fresh eggs as a highly bioavailable protein source.

Tapioca starch and carrageenan are both added to help bind and stabilize the food. While food-grade carrageenan is generally considered safe, it could be contaminated with degraded carrageenan. The latter is a known inflammatory agent with potential carcinogenic effects.

In addition to its primary animal protein ingredients, it contains pea protein, a plant-derived protein concentrate sometimes used as a cost-effective alternative to animal protein sources. Another pea derivative, pea fiber, is included as a source of soluble and insoluble fiber.

Though Freshpet promises that the product doesn’t contain any nitrates, it does contain celery powder, a natural source of sodium nitrate. Instead of potassium chloride, the food is made with salt.

The food is high in protein with moderate fat and low carbohydrates.

The food has 272 calories per 8 ounces or 34 calories per ounce.