Open Farm Cat Food Review 2023: Pros, Cons & Final Veredict

Review Summary

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Open Farm is a relatively small pet food company that prides itself on its honesty and transparency. All its ingredients are 100% traceable, and the recipes incorporate a lot of non-GMO foods. The company also only works with farmers that produce humanely raised beef, poultry, and lamb.

As a result, Open Farm sells premium cat food with premium prices. Despite costs being higher than average cat food, you can rest assure that your cat is eating high-quality, clean food. If you have a cat with food sensitivities or allergies, you may have a particular appreciation for Open Farm cat food because most of the ingredient lists are short and simple. They also only contain one source of animal meat.

We’ve sampled several of Open Farm’s cat food recipes with our own cats. We have an average adult cat with no health issues and one senior cat who can have difficulty eating some solid foods because of his tooth extractions. Based on their reaction to these recipes, we believe it’s safe to say that Open Farm is a trustworthy and reliable pet food company that’s worth the premium prices.

Keep reading to learn all you need to know about Open Farm and what our cats have to say about it.

Click to skip ahead:

• Open Farm Cat Food Reviewed
• The Best Open Farm Cat Food Recipes
• Discussion of the Primary Ingredients (Good and Bad)
• Pros & Cons
• Recall History
• Reviews of the 3 Best Open Farm Cat Food Recipes
• What Other Users Are Saying

At a Glance: The Best Open Farm Cat Food Recipes

Rating	Image	Product	Details
Our Favorite		Open Farm Wild-Caught Salmon Dry Cat Food	High-protein diet Supports digestive and urinary tract health Wild-caught Pacific Salmon is first ingredient	Click to Save Up to 20% Use code HEPPER20
		Open Farm Homestead Turkey Rustic Blend	Easy for senior cats to eat Can help cats stay hydrated Only has one type of meat protein	Click to Save Up to 20% Use code HEPPER20
		Open Farm Grass-Fed Beef Bone Broth	Rich in protein, low in fat 100% human grade ingredients Adds moisture to your cat's favorite wet or dry food	Click to Save Up to 20% Use code HEPPER20
		Open Farm Harvest Chicken Bone Broth	Supports healthy digestion Humanely raised chicken bones Gently simmered in small batches	Click to Save Up to 20% Use code HEPPER20
		Open Farm Homestead Turkey Bone Broth	Humanely raised turkey bones Collagen-rich addition to mealtime Non-GMO pumpkin, carrot, and turmeric ingredients	Click to Save Up to 20% Use code HEPPER20

Open Farm Cat Food Reviewed

Here’s a breakdown of key information that cat owners should know about Open Farm before purchasing its cat food.

Who makes Open Farm and where is it produced?

Open Farm is a small pet food company that started in 2014. The founders are Isaac Langleben, Jacqueline Prehogan, and Derek Beigleman. Their search for healthy, high-quality dog food led them to starting up Open Farm.

Open Farm partners with farmers that grow high-quality produce and treat their animals humanely. It’s very thorough with ensuring that all its ingredients are ethically sourced and 100% traceable.

This company is based in Toronto, and its manufacturing facilities are in Minnesota. After launching its dog food line, Open Farm quickly worked on expanding its brand to cat food. It now sell dog food, cat food meal toppers, broths, and supplements.

Which Types of Cats is Open Farm Best Suited For?

Open Farm offers a variety of cat food, including dry food, wet food, broths, and other meal toppers. The ingredient lists for its recipes use one type of protein and all-natural produce. They’re also relatively simple compared to other pet food companies that have much longer and more complex ingredient lists with artificial flavors and preservatives. So, they’re a great choice for cats with food allergies and sensitivities.

A lot of Open Farm’s cat food is suitable for cats of all ages. So, a kitten could enjoy the same food as it reaches adulthood, and you don’t have to worry about the hassle of transitioning your kitten to a new type of food.

Which Types of Cats Might Do Better with a Different Brand?

Open Farm’s dry cat food indicates that it’s appropriate for all life stages. Its wet cat food doesn’t provide any specification. Therefore, if you want to feed your kitten wet food, you might be better off finding a different brand that clearly indicates that the formula is for kittens.

We also noticed that the recipes can contain a variety of produce, which very picky cats may not enjoy. For example, when we opened a package of Homestead Turkey Rustic Blend, it smelled strongly of lentils. This scent may deter some cats that don’t tend to enjoy eating vegetables and other plant-based foods.

Discussion of the Primary Ingredients (Good and Bad)

All the beef, chicken, lamb, and turkey are humanely raised with ethical practices, and the fish are all wild-caught. As we’ve mentioned before, all the ingredients are 100% traceable, and Open Farm has a strict vetting process so that it works with only the best farmers.

Open Farm is rather purposeful and intentional about all the ingredients it puts into its recipes. However, we did find it a little concerning that we found lentils in some of the food our cats sampled. A lot of the recipes also contain garbanzo beans.

Although garbanzo beans and lentils aren’t toxic to cats, they aren’t the best foods to serve them either. They may be high in protein, but cats are obligate carnivores. So, they thrive on consuming animal meat protein rather than plant-based protein. When cats consume too many lentils, they can also end up with gastrointestinal issues and experience vomiting and diarrhea.

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A Pet Food Company Built on Trust

What differentiates Open Farm from a lot of other pet food companies is its transparency and commitment to ethical practices. This company is very meticulous when it comes to partnering with farms, fisheries, and producers. It pays attention to the small details, so that cat owners don’t have to spend so much time finding high-quality cat food. Therefore, loyalty to Open Farm relies on consumer trust and the brand’s positive image and practices.

Detailed Ingredient Tracking

Each package of Open Farm’s cat food contains a lot code. It’s usually located on the back of the packaging. You can type the lot code into Open Farm’s website and locate the origins of every ingredient used in the recipe. So, you’ll always know exactly where your cat’s food came from.

This feature definitely goes the extra mile, and you may not even use it with every package of food you purchase. However, it’s a great move on Open Farm to keep itself accountable by creating an opportunity for transparency with their customers.

Environmental Sustainability

Another key component of Open Farm’s branding is its commitment to environmentally friendly practices. It currently has a pledge to reduce its carbon footprint by 42% by 2030. The practical steps this company is taking includes measuring, reducing, and offsetting emissions.

Open Farm’s partnership with Terracycle also enables its packaging to stay out of landfills. By signing up with TerraCycle, you can ship your bags to TerraCycle, and it’ll handle recycling for you.

Limited Line of Cat Food

Open Farm is a relatively young company, and it doesn’t have an extensive line of cat food just yet. We’d love to see more specialized diets added to the lineup, such as formulas specific for kitten nutrition and low-calorie weight management recipes.

A Quick Look at Open Farm Cat Food

Recall History

As of today, Open Farm’s pet food has a clean recall history. Neither its cat food nor dog food lines have had any recalls.

Reviews of the 3 Best Open Farm Cat Food Recipes

We’ve sampled three of Open Farm’s popular recipes with our cats. Here are our verdicts.

1. Open Farm Wild-Caught Salmon Dry Cat Food

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The Wild-Caught Salmon Dry Cat Food is a nutritious option for cats of all life stages. Its first ingredient is wild-caught Pacific Salmon, which is an excellent source of omega 3 fatty acids and DHA. You’ll also find a blend of other nutritious foods, such as cranberries, dandelion greens, and prebiotic fibers, that help support digestive and urinary tract health.

This cat food is also high in protein and consists of about 44% crude protein on a dry matter basis. Our only concern was that the recipe had both red lentils and green lentils pretty high up the ingredient list, which can be difficult for cats to digest.

When we first opened this bag, we were met with a strong fish odor. Although it might not have been very pleasant for us, it attracted our cats right away. This cat food passed the taste test, and one of our cats happily munched away at the kibble and didn’t have any issues digesting it. Our senior cat couldn’t chew on the kibble and wasn’t able to eat it.

2. Open Farm Homestead Turkey Rustic Blend

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The Homestead Turkey Rustic Blend was a fan favorite for both our cats. The consistency of the food was chunky, and we could see real bits of turkey inside. Our adult cat quickly devoured her portion when we served it as is. For our senior cat, we had to mash up the food and mix it with one of the bone broths for him to eat his portion easily.

The recipe contains one source of meat protein, so cats with beef allergies can safely eat it. It also holds a lot of moisture, so it can be a great way to help keep cats hydrated, especially if they don’t tend to drink from a bowl.

We did notice that this recipe has a higher fat content of 34% crude fat at a dry matter basis, and it was also relatively high in calories. Based on our experience, the Homestead Turkey Rustic Blend is a tasty dish for cats, but it’s probably not the best option for overweight cats that need weight management.

3. Bone Broth Bundle for Cats

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We tried out the Bone Broth Bundle for Cats, which contained the Homestead Turkey Bone Broth, Grass-Fed Beef Bone Broth, and the Harvest Chicken Bone Broth. All the bone broth recipes slow-cook meat with other healthy, non-GMO ingredients, such as pumpkin, carrot and turmeric. The ingredient lists are very simple, and we appreciate how they don’t contain multiple types of meat as some low-quality pet broths do.

None of the bone broth recipes contain any added salt, so they can help cats stay hydrated. You can serve them on their own as treats or as meal toppers. They’re also safe for dogs, so our dog was also able to join in on the feast and happily lapped up the Grass-Fed Beef Bone Broth. The ability for both cats and dogs to enjoy the same food makes these bone broths great options for multi-pet households.

We don’t really have any issues with the bone broths. They may be more expensive than other brands, but they use high-quality ingredients, and our pets loved them all. So, they’re definitely worth the price.

What Other Users Are Saying

Conclusion

Open Farm produces premium cat food that focuses on ensuring that all the ingredients used in the recipes are ethically raised and traceable. We had a few minor concerns, such as the use of chickpeas and lentils, but we didn’t find any major complaints with the recipes.

Overall, we were very impressed by how our cats enjoyed all their Open Farm food. So, we hope to see more recipes develop so that more cats can enjoy these tasty, high-quality meals.

See also:

• American Journey Cat Food Review: Top Picks, Pros & Cons
• 10 Best Dry Cat Foods – Reviews & Top Picks