PetSmart Fancy Feast Cat Food Review

Nutrients and Quality

Nestle Purina is the second-largest manufacturer of pet foods globally. The company markets a wide variety of pet care brands, including Fancy Feasts, which is marketed as a gourmet brand that even the most finicky cats will enjoy. 

Nestle Purina does a fine job documenting the nutritional content of Fancy Feast cat foods. Consumers will find complete ingredient lists and crude ingredient analysis for each Fancy Feast product. The company also provides feeding guidelines so you can be sure your cat is taking in enough nutrients to sustain him or her. Most Fancy Feast products are made in the USA. The few that are made in Thailand are produced in Nestle Purina-owned facilities, where the company can control manufacturing quality.

Vets recommend Fancy Feast for its palatability. Cats like the stuff. So if you have a fussy feline on your hands—one who needs to be coaxed into eating—it's a great brand to try. From a nutritional standpoint, however, Fancy Feast resembles bargain-priced meals for humans. To keep costs low, Nestle Purina includes more less-than-nutritious fillers than premium brands. One way to judge how nutritious a cat food is to check whether meat is the first ingredient listed on the label. In Fancy Feast's case, the first ingredient listed is often a meat or fish broth, not actual solid meat. While overall the protein content of Fancy Feast Foods meets is relatively high—on average about 50% of crude nutrition values—the company uses certain inexpensive  ingredients, including soy protein and gluten to boost protein content. Fancy Feast formulae may also contain added color and other non-essential ingredients. So if you're looking for ingredient purity in a cat food, Fancy Feast may not qualify as your best choice.

That being said, the food rates highly for overall safety—unlike many cat food brands, Fancy Feast has never been subject to a recall. That's pretty impressive and speaks well of Nestle Purina's quality control standards. 

Price

Fancy Feast is available in supermarkets and specialty pet stores alike. Compared to brands like Nine Lives or private label grocery store brands, you'll pay quite a bit more ounce for ounce for Fancy Feast. Fancy Feast cans are smaller than average—about half the size of some other brands'—and if you share life with a six-pound cat, you'll be feeding him or her two cans a day. But Fancy Feast is not a premium-priced brand by any means. You'll find plenty of boutique cat food brands manufactured by smaller companies that cost twice as much. 

Variety

Fancy Feast comes in a plethora of flavors and textures, from smooth pates with gravy centers to broths brimming with tiny bits of meat to meat, fish, and vegetable combos. It's hard to imagine a cat that won't find something to like on the Fancy Feast menu—although there's one in every crowd. But if your cat turns its little pink nose up at one food, you can count on Fancy Feast to provide alternative after alternative until you find one your feline gourmet enjoys.

Fancy Feast wet foods are packaged in cans and pouches. And if you can't stand the smell of wet cat food, there's a Fancy Feast food for you, too. The brand offers several dry kibble choices, including Salmon and Ocean Fish to Filet Mignon and Seafood flavored options. 

The essence of the Fancy Feast brand is gourmet taste. If you're the kind of cat owner who has fun tracking your cat's food preferences carefully and offering him or her new flavor experiences, you'll have plenty to work with when you choose the Fancy Feast brand.