Taste of the Wild Cat Food Review
Taste of the Wild cat food is a mix of good reputation and affordability. There’s a standard range of dry food (we’ll take a look at Rocky Mountain for most of this review), and an even more premium PREY range which may be a good choice for cats with food sensitivities.
There’s also a decent Taste of the Wild wet cat food range which, if I’m honest, is probably the best of the lot (after all, cats have a strong dependency of moisture in the diet).
In our Taste of the Wild cat food review we’ll give you a good understanding of these foods and you can decide for yourself if it’s what you want to feed your cat.
Taste of the Wild cat food review – Rocky Mountain
What the marketing says
Taste of the Wild market their cat foods as “high-protein”, and “packed with nutrient-rich energy for cats of all ages”.
The marketing on the packaging is refreshingly simple with no wild claims. That said, when we consider Rocky Mountain being a formula with “Roasted Venison & Smoked Salmon” it’s worth noting these aren’t the main ingredients in the food. We’ll take a look at that more later.
For the Rocky Mountain formula we find the Taste of the Wild website boasts a very respectable 42% protein, but is this protein from meat, or protein from something else?
Let’s take a look at the ingredients of Taste of the Wild Rocky Mountain Feline…
What the ingredients really say
Unlike the “Roasted Venison & Smoked Salmon” on the bag, we find chicken meal as the first ingredient.
Notice I said first and not main, as it’s possible the 2nd and 3rd ingredients are in similar proportions. These are peas and sweet potatoes. The venison and salmon are actually 6th and 7th and in reality may not amount to much of the formula.
Given the high protein and fat (42% and 18%) I estimate only 22% carbohydrates. That’s a good thing as cats don’t have much use for carbs, and it suggests the sweet potato is kept to a decent moderation. All dry cat foods contain a starch to bind the kibble, and sweet potato is one of the best, most nutritious, and least harmful choices.
So, back to the “main ingredients” – it would seem Taste of the Wild Rocky Mountain is mostly chicken meal and peas. This explains the high protein and low carbs. Out of the two the chicken is the most beneficial for a cat as a carnivore, whereas peas are used to keep cost down.
There are far worse cat foods, but for more $ per kilo you can definitely buy better. I feel this formula is targeted at cat owners who want something relatively decent but can’t afford anything like Orijen.
I haven’t intended to make this review overly negative, as Taste of the Wild is still a good cat food, and there’s lots of positives to say about it.
None of the ingredients are bad choices. There’s a good mix of meat and fish, and a whole host of minor fruits and veggies to mimic the gut content of prey. It’s far better to offer a cat a high protein/high fat diet than low protein/low fat and the inevitable high carbohydrates.
There aren’t any grains in any of the Taste of the Wild formulas, and no matter how much the big corporate manufacturers justify grains in cat foods, grains shouldn’t be fed to a carnivore. Potato as an alternative arguably shouldn’t be either, but if you want to avoid ingredients like that you need to move away from dry cat foods altogether.
To end on a positive point, Taste of the Wild cat foods contain pre and pro biotics to support digestion and gut health, which means your cat will get more nutrients from this food than any of those rubbishy cereal-based excuses for a cat food.
What about Taste of the Wild PREY?
To offer a short Taste of the Wild PREY review, these limited ingredient cat foods may be a welcome option for a cat suffering itchy skin, itchy ears, or other symptoms common with food sensitivities.
These formulas have three main ingredients, and a simplified ingredients list all round. We still find pre and probiotics which will help your cat’s digestion, but we don’t find the minor inclusions of fruits and veggies, or the peas and potato common in the original formulas.
Interestingly Taste of the Wild tell us the percentage of the main ingredients, which for Taste of the Wild Aberdeen Angus PREY is 55% beef to 43% lentils.
It’s nice to see beef rather than a meal (Rocky Mountain used chicken meal for example). A regular real meat is a better inclusion, but on the flip side will contain more moisture. Without getting too technical, it means once cooked into a kibble it won’t be 55% beef to 43% lentils dry weight, it will likely be more in favour of lentils.
The above is a small point though, and the main point of note is this food is a combination of meat (great) and lentils (not as great, but we can live with this).
Taste of the Wild PREY seems the better option for a cat than the original formulas, especially for an itchy/scratchy cat, but read the next section and I’ll give a tip which means it doesn’t really matter.
Should I feed Taste of the Wild to my cat?
I rarely hear of any problems with Taste of the Wild, and the manufacturer Diamond Pet Foods has a decent reputation. The original and PREY formulas could make a good base diet for your cat, and for many will be as much as people can afford. With that considered, Taste of the Wild cat food is a good choice.
If you’re worried about the amount of peas and potato in the Original formulas, or the amount of lentils in the PREY formulas, then add some variety to your cat’s diet with another product. This could be the Taste of the Wild wet food range, another wet/raw product, or even some fresh meat/offal/bones.
After all, cats need moisture in their diet, so these are good recommendations for anyone feeding a dry kibble to their cats.
Where to buy Taste of the Wild cat food
For the best prices why not order on Amazon.com?
Ingredients
Ingredients of Taste of the Wild cat food (Rocky Mountain):
Chicken meal, peas, sweet potatoes, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), potato protein, roasted venison, smoked salmon, natural flavor, ocean fish meal, methionine, taurine, choline chloride, dried chicory root, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, yucca schidigera extract, Enterococcus faecium, LChicken meal, peas, sweet potatoes, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), pea protein, potato protein, roasted venison, smoked salmon, natural flavor, ocean fish meal, DL-Methionine, potassium chloride, taurine, choline chloride, dried chicory root, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, yucca schidigera extract, dried Lactobacillus plantarum fermentation product, dried Bacillus subtilis fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product, dried Bifidobacterium animalis fermentation product, zinc proteinate, vitamin E supplement, niacin, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin A supplement, biotin, potassium iodide, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride, vitamin B12 supplement, sodium selenite, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid.
Guaranteed analysis
Guaranteed analysis of Taste of the Wild cat food (Rocky Mountain):
| Protein | (min) 42% |
| Fat | (min) 18% |
| Crude Fibre | (max) 3% |
| Carbohydrates * | Estimated 22%. |
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