11 Best Poultry-Free Cat Foods in 2023 – Reviews & Top Picks

Cats are obligate carnivores which means they need to consume animal proteins to get all the necessary nutrition. Chicken is a cost-efficient and delicious way to get your cat all the nutrients required to be healthy. However, not all cats can have poultry. Some are allergic—poultry is one of the most common cat allergies, believe it or not—and others don’t like chicken. For these cats, poultry-free food formulas can be a literal lifesaver. Pet parents with picky or allergic cats will find themselves pouring over reviews trying to find the best food options for their cats. Finding food without poultry or poultry by-products can be difficult. Even if a food isn’t marketed as being chicken flavored, there might still be poultry products in the formula. For cats with allergies, this could be harmful or even fatal. Always make sure to check the ingredients label to look for sneaky poultry products!

A Quick Glance at Our Favorites (Updated 2023)

The 11 Best Poultry-Free Cat Foods

1. Smalls Human Grade Fresh Cow Cat Food – Best Overall

Smalls is the best overall poultry-free cat food. The Smalls cat food brand emerged in 2017 and has developed a reputation as one of the best human quality cat food options in the market. All of their cat food is inspected by animal nutritionists and is USDA-certified. Their human-grade cat food is fresh and comes in a variety of textures, including dry kibble, minced, and pate. They also have freeze-dried food options for your convenience.

Smalls foods uses high protein meats that are sourced sustainably to maximize nutrient deficiency. The brand offers a food Subscription Service, which means that you don’t have to leave the kitchen to feed your cat healthy and wholesome food options. If you are new to the cat food brand, you can try their trial offer to determine which options your cat likes best. You can easily cancel your subscription or make changes such as switching the recipes, changing quantities, or skipping shipments. Many reviewers mention the awesome customer service provided by the brand, with mentions of easy order accommodations and seamless delivery being at the forefront.

One downside to Smalls is that since it is a human-grade pet food subscription service, it’s a bit pricey compared to other foods. If you have a cat that is a picky eater, you may also have to try different flavors in order to find what your cat likes best.

That said, we choose Smalls as our number one choice for the best poultry-free cat food on the market today.

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2. Natural Balance L.I.D. – Best Value

The best poultry-free cat food for the money that we could find is Natural Balance L.I.D. It’s hard to beat Natural Balance’s formulas at that price point. Natural Balance L.I.D features a high protein content at 30% crude proteins. Natural Balance’s foods are a favorite amongst pet parents as a low-cost-of-entry high-protein option, and their L.I.D line has a wide variety of poultry-free options for pet parents to choose from.

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3. Go! Solutions Carnivore

Go! Solutions addresses a problem pet parents have raised over the years: the lack of doctors involved in the formulation of cat foods. Go!’s nutrition manager has a Ph.D. in companion animal nutrition, and it shows. Go! Solutions Carnivore boasts a stunning 42% crude protein content, higher than any other food on this list. This level of species-appropriate nutrition comes at a high cost, but it’s worth every penny for those willing to take the dive!

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4. Taste of the Wild PREY – Best for Kittens

Taste of the Wild is an up-and-coming pet product brand that has become a favorite of many pet parents. Their Angus Beef cat food is poultry and grain-free. It also lists Beef as the primary ingredient. One of the most attractive features of Taste of the Wild is its limited recall history. Taste of the Wild was part of a recall by Diamond Pet Food in 2012 and hasn’t had any recalls since. Pet parents can rest assured that Taste of the Wild takes proper precautions to keep their pets safe.

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5. Instinct Limited Ingredient

Another great choice for poultry-free cat food is Instinct’s Limited-Ingredient Diet. Instinct’s Limited-Ingredient Diet comes in three flavors—Rabbit, Turkey, and Salmon—made for cats with allergies. Instinct also has canned food within their Limited-Ingredient line for the picky eaters that won’t eat dry food. Each Limited-Ingredient food contains one protein source and one vegetable source. All the other ingredients are vitamin and mineral supplements to ensure that the food delivers balanced nutrition for your cat. Their food is also coated with freeze-dried raw proteins that your cat will love!

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6. Orijen

Orijen’s cat foods claim to have 85-90% animal protein content, perfect for obligate carnivores. They also make sure that the first five ingredients of every cat formula are high-quality protein sources like raw meat and organs. Their Six-Fish blend is exactly what it says on the tin. The first six ingredients are fish meats and organs, which provide essential nutrients that cats can’t get from other sources. Orijen’s foods are a little more expensive than the average cat food, and you’re paying for the quality of the ingredients.

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7. American Journey Salmon

American Journey is a famous pet food brand that boasts species-appropriate nutrition for cats and dogs. Their cat formulas have a 40% protein content for every recipe and are sourced and produced in the USA. The first ingredient in American Journey’s foods is meat, but a higher concentration of meat by-products may leave some pet parents feeling cautious about the food.

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8. Blue Buffalo Limited Ingredient

Blue Buffalo is an industry favorite and a trusted brand by pet parents globally. Their limited-ingredient diet fish diet is completely poultry-free and made with allergen-sensitive cats in mind. However, Blue Buffalo has been known to sneak a higher-than-desirable concentration of lower quality ingredients into their foods. The second ingredient in their fish formula is a meat meal which can put some pet parents off.

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9. Acana Wild Atlantic

Acana’s Wild Atlantic blend is special because it’s specifically advertised as being “chicken-free.” The labeling for chicken-free blends hasn’t caught on much, but we can always appreciate it when a company goes out of its way to look out for those of us with allergen-sensitive cats. Acana’s cat foods boast a 75% concentration of high-quality meat products to ensure species-appropriate nutrition for our obligatorily carnivorous friends. Not only is the concentration of meat products high, but there’s a wide variety of meat products in each blend to give your cat variety with every bite.

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10. Canidae Limited Ingredient

Canidae is primarily famous for their dog foods for which they are named. However, their cat foods have a small but dedicated following. Their foods are high-protein and grain-free but, like some other foods on the list, have a worryingly high concentration of low-quality ingredients that can leave some pet parents feeling nervous about feeding them to their cats.

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11. Merrick Limited Ingredient Diet

Merrick is another darling in the pet care industry. Their limited-ingredient diets are… limited. Pet parents cannot try any other selections, and the reviews on the fish blend are mixed at best. While most pet parents who tried it would recommend it, a disturbingly high number gave the blend 1-star reviews. Thankfully, the reviews don’t tend to cite problems with food safety, but instead just that their cats didn’t like the food. It’s pretty split. Cats either love or hate this food.

Buyer’s Guide

How to Choose a Poultry-Free Cat Food

Regardless of what your reasoning is, choosing a new cat food can be a daunting prospect. We love our pets and want the best for them, which means becoming more informed about the foods we feed them.

Consider a Limited-Ingredient Formula

Limited-ingredient formulas are made especially for cats with food sensitivities. Whether your cat is allergic or detests chicken, a limited-ingredient food will be made specifically with no chicken and chicken by-products. Their focus on cats with allergies means they’ll take special precautions against cross-contamination as well.

Double Check All the Ingredients

Just because the food isn’t advertised as being made of chicken doesn’t mean there aren’t any chicken or chicken by-products in the food. If the food isn’t made with allergen sensitivity in mind, there may also be a risk of cross-contamination. If you aren’t sure what an ingredient is made of or the component is vaguely labeled, this could be a bad sign for a cat with poultry sensitivity.

Check with Your Vet

If you aren’t sure where to start, ask your veterinarian. They’ll have a good idea of what products are on the market and which ones best satisfy your cat’s needs. Your vet will also be able to help you formulate a specific meal plan to help your cat get all of the necessary nutrients they need to live a long and healthy life.

Best Alternative Sources of Animal Proteins

Beef

Beef is an excellent source of protein for cats. It has a wealth of natural antioxidants and minerals like zinc and iron that your cat needs in its diet. Beef is also an excellent source of taurine, which cats need to support healthy eyes, digestion, and immune systems.

Fish

Fish are a fantastic low-fat alternative to chicken. Fish formulas are packed to the gills with calcium and omega fatty acids, promoting healthy bones and making your cat’s coat silky smooth.

Rabbit

Rabbit meat is a low-calorie and low-fat white meat alternative for your cat’s primary protein source. Rabbit also contains less sodium than other meats and is an excellent source of phosphorous and calcium.

Lamb

Lamb is another popular alternative protein source for cats. It’s red meat like beef because it contains more myoglobin than white meats. Just like beef, it’s jam-packed with essential antioxidants, minerals, and taurine.

Turkey

While turkey may not be an option for cats who are intolerant or allergic to poultry, it can be a cost-efficient alternative for pet parents of picky eaters who don’t like chicken. Turkey is nutritionally similar to chicken but has fewer calories.

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Can My Cat Have Hydrolyzed Chicken Protein?

Hydrolyzed chicken protein is a broken-down form of the amino acids that are present in chicken. Veterinarians recommend it for cats sensitive to poultry because the hydrolyzed protein doesn’t trigger poultry allergies as chicken meat does.

What About Eggs?

An intolerance to poultry doesn’t necessarily mean that your cat is intolerant to eggs. Eggs are a fantastic source of protein and nutrients that cats need to thrive. However, if your cat is impatient with poultry, your veterinarian may recommend that you avoid egg products in your cat’s food as a precaution.

Conclusion

Choosing a new food for our furry friends can be a monumental task. Since they rely on us, we can’t help but want to select the best and never disappoint them. Unfortunately, when your cat can’t eat one of the most common pet food ingredients, there’s a lot of research to be done. Pet parents looking for a chicken-free diet will want to consider our best overall choice, Smalls Human Grade Cat Food If you’re on a tighter budget, Natural Balance L.I.D was our best value item. Last but certainly not least, Go! Carnivore got two thumbs up as the third option for poultry-free cat food. Hopefully, you’ve found some new information and will be well on your way to a happy, chicken-free life with your cat.

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Featured Image Credit: AlexanderDubrovsky, Shutterstock