Is Applaws human grade

8 Best Human-Grade Cat Foods in 2024 Reviews & Top Picks

The information is current and up-to-date in accordance with the latest veterinarian research.

Learn more

Cats are obligate carnivores, meaning meat protein should be their primary nutrient source to keep them at their healthiest. Whats even better is if that protein source is high-quality. Unfortunately, many cat foods are made with feed-grade ingredients, meaning they arent of the best quality and are often highly processed meat meals instead of actual raw meat.

But you dont have to be stuck feeding your cat low-quality ingredients when better products are out there. Thats where human-grade cat food comes in. Human-grade cat food is made with the same ingredients that you and I would eat, and its both delicious and nutritious for your cat. If youre interested in making the switch, weve rounded up the best human-grade cat foods, complete with reviews of each one, to help make your decision easier.

A Glimpse at Our Favorites in 2024

The 8 Best Human-Grade Cat Foods

1. Smalls Fresh Cat Food Subscription Best Overall

+ Get Free Shipping & Treats!

Ingredients:	Chicken, turkey, or ground beef with green beans, peas, and kale
Protein Content:	1520% min.
Fat Content:	513.5% min.

We think that the best overall human-grade cat food is Smalls. Smalls human-grade cat food comes in three different chicken flavors, a turkey flavor, and a beef flavor, all containing vegetable ingredients, including green beans, peas, and kale. All their recipes have a high protein content, which is exactly what your cat needs to be at its healthiest. We also like that a few vegetable ingredients are included in each recipe, as they provide additional nutrients that your cat wont get from meat. However, meat is still this foods primary and most important ingredient.

Smalls is a subscription delivery service, meaning you receive their cat food directly at your door in regularly scheduled intervals based on your needs. Because of this, it is hard to determine exactly what the cost will be as it depends on how many cats you have and the frequency of your deliveries, but they do charge you regularly, so you have to make sure that whatever price you pay is feasible with your monthly budget. Some people may see that as a downside, but Smalls is a great option for human-grade cat food.

• High in protein
• Variety of recipes
• Regular delivery ensures you dont run out

• It may not be budget-friendly if you have multiple cats

2. Applaws Fish Selection in Broth Variety Pack Wet Cat Food Budget Buy

Ingredients:	Tuna fillet, fish broth, rice, seaweed, and prawn
Protein Content:	15% min.
Fat Content:	0.5% min.

We think the best human-grade cat food for the money is Applaws Fish Selection in Broth Variety Pack Wet Cat Food. Not only do you get three different flavors for your cat to enjoy: Tuna, Tuna with Shrimp, and Tuna with Seaweed. Besides tuna fillet being the main ingredient in each food, there is a maximum of only three other ingredients. And the price is very affordable per can.

This wet cat food has a high protein and low-fat content, and there are only 40 calories in each can so that your cats muscles will stay lean while maintaining his ideal weight. Plus, Applaws is accredited by the Ethical Company Organization for sustainably sourcing their fish using dolphin-friendly methods.

While Applaws wet cat food is made with only the best quality and 100% natural ingredients, it is not a complete and balanced food. It is meant to be served complementary to a complete wet or dry cat food, including their own product Applaws complete dry cat food, for a balanced diet.

• Budget-friendly
• Each flavor has a maximum of only three ingredients
• Accredited by the Ethical Company Organization for sustainable sourcing

• Not a complete and balanced diet

3. Open Farm Harvest Chicken Rustic Blend Wet Cat Food

*Use code PETKEEN20 and save on your first auto-ship order.

Ingredients:	Humanly-raised chicken, chicken bone broth, pumpkin, carrots, red lentils
Protein Content:	7% min.
Fat Content:	6% min.

Open Farm Harvest Chicken Rustic Blend Wet Cat Food is another premium choice. Not only is this food made with 100% human-grade and natural ingredients, but the chicken in the recipe is humanely raised, which means the chicken was raised on a farm, living cage-free to display natural behaviors and fed a healthy vegetarian diet without the use of hormones or antibiotics. This results in the best quality meat you can feed your kitten as a protein source. The rest of the ingredients in this amazing recipe are chicken bone broth and healthy veggies such as pumpkin, carrots, red lentils, garbanzo beans, spinach, kale, and cranberries to provide sources of fiber, beta carotenes, antioxidants, and vitamins. The recipe also contains turmeric, a natural anti-inflammatory with antioxidant benefits to help neutralize the negative effects of free radicals at a cellular level. This quality food has everything your little carnivore needs to thrive. It is a species-appropriate diet that is high in all animal-derived protein, low in carbohydrates, and moisture-rich, closely resembling the diet a cat would eat in the wild.

The unique tetra paks are resealable, so you can safely save any leftovers back in the fridge if you are not feeding a whole portion. Obviously, just as in the case of human food in the fridge, this should be consumed within three days after opening.

Having a single source of protein and limited ingredients, this product is a great choice for cats with sensitivities or intolerance to certain foods. If your cat is allergic to chicken, this brand also offers turkey, salmon, need, and mackerel recipes.

The only downside of this amazing product is that it is not as widely available everywhere!

• Humanely raised chicken
• Loaded with antioxidants
• Low in carbohydrates

4. Applaws Tuna Fillet in Broth Wet Kitten Food Best for Kittens

Ingredients:	Tuna, rice, rice flour, fish broth
Protein Content:	14% min.
Fat Content:	0.1% min.

Applaws Tuna Fillet in Broth Wet Kitten Food is the perfect choice if youre looking for human-grade food for your cute little kitten. This food is high in protein, so it is great for helping your kitten gain muscle mass. It also contains taurine (naturally found in fish) to help your kittens eyes and heart function properly. Plus, the food only contains four ingredients, so you can be assured that your kitten isnt eating anything that isnt beneficial or nutritious for him.

While this food is a great way to add good quality protein to your growing kitten, it is important to note that it is not a complete and balanced diet. This product is meant to be used only as a complement to add up to a complete kitten formula. This food has an extremely low-fat content, so it may not be the best choice if your kitten is too small and needs to gain a little weight.

• High in protein
• Made with only four ingredients
• Contains taurine for heart and eye development

• Not a complete and balanced formula

5. The Honest Kitchen Human-Grade Dehydrated Grain-Free Chicken Cat Food

Ingredients:	Dehydrated chicken, dehydrated eggs, dehydrated potatoes, dehydrated sweet potatoes, organic flax seed
Protein Content:	39% min.
Fat Content:	28% min.

The Honest Kitchen Human-Grade Dehydrated Grain-Free Chicken Cat Foodis made with 100% human-grade and natural ingredients and is free of artificial preservatives, by-products, fillers, corn, wheat, and soy. Its a great choice if your cat has a sensitive stomach or intolerance to certain foods.

The dehydrated formula is also meant to add water or broth, which rehydrates and softens it. Its good if you have an older cat who cant chew dry food and you want something that you wont go through as quickly as wet food. This food is high in protein, which is exactly what cats need, but its also a bit higher in fat than what is normal for cat food. That said, it may not be the best choice if your cat is overweight.

• Great for older cats
• Free of artificial ingredients
• Good for cats with sensitive stomachs

6. Caru Classic Wild Salmon and Turkey Stew Grain-Free Wet Cat Food

Ingredients:	Salmon, fish broth, water, turkey, tapioca starch
Protein Content:	9% min.
Fat Content:	2% min.

Caru Classic Wild Salmon and Turkey Stew Grain-Free Wet Cat Food is a semi-liquid cat foodin other words, its very wet. With that being said, it may not be the best choice for the average adult cat, but its great for older cats that might have trouble eating other types of food. Since this food is called Wild Salmon and Turkey Stew, we will say that it is also cooked like stew very slowly so that it maintains its nutritional value, which is a good thing.

We like that this food uses salmon and turkey as the main protein ingredients, which most cats love. It also contains carrots, sweet potatoes, and apples that provide extra nutritional value and contain no grains, gluten, or preservatives. But it does contain tapioca starch, which is generally used as a filler ingredient and provides no nutritional value. Plus, its lower in protein than other wet cat foods.

• Slow-cooked
• Great for older cats
• Free of grains, gluten, and preservatives

• Contains a filler ingredient
• Lower in protein than other wet cat foods

7. Open Farm Wild-Caught Salmon Dry Cat Food

*Use code PETKEEN20 and save on your first auto-ship order.

Ingredients:	Wild Pacific salmon, ocean whitefish meal, ocean herring meal, chickpeas, red lentils
Protein Content:	37% min.
Fat Content:	18% min.

Open Farm Wild-Caught Salmon Cat Food is another great dry cat food that uses human-grade ingredients in the formula. It contains more meat-based protein ingredients that your cat is sure to love. It contains plant-based ingredients considered superfoods such as pumpkin, cranberries, and apples that are more easily digestible and provide essential vitamins and minerals plus antioxidants that help to support different aspects of your cats body. Overall, this is a super product, and the only reason it is last on our list is that it is not 100% human-grade. It contains natural flavor in the formula; these are natural ingredients from sustainably caught fish or from non-GMO yeast cultures used to increase the palatability for cats but that we humans do not consume.

This food is free of grains, corn, wheat, and soy that your cat may have trouble digesting. All ingredients are humanely and sustainably sourced, and pet owners can even trace where the ingredients come from with information provided on the bag. Besides this food is a bit expensive, the only other downside is that although the kibbles are small, older cats may still have a hard time chewing them.

• High in meat-based proteins
• Contains superfood ingredients
• Ingredients are traceable back to the source

• Older cats may have a hard time eating it

Buyers Guide: How to Choose the Best Human-Grade Cat Foods

Now that youve seen what we think are the best human-grade cat foods, there are a couple of things to consider when deciding which food is best for your cat. Hopefully, these tips will help make your decision easier when youre ready to choose one.

Ingredients

One of the first things to consider when choosing cat food, in general, is the ingredients. Since cats are obligate carnivores, at least 70% of their nutrition needs to come from meat. At least the first ingredient of any cat food you buy should be meat, but its even better if the first two or three ingredients are meat.

You dont have to worry about that too much with human-grade cat food, especially the ones weve reviewed, because they all have meat listed as at least the first ingredient. But whats going to be important to consider is the types of vegetables and plant ingredients the food contains.

Vegetables can provide essential nutrients to your cat that he or she cant get from meat. However, there are certain types of vegetables and plant ingredients that cats cant digest easily, such as grains and fruits and vegetables that are high in sugar.

Pumpkin, spinach, green beans, carrots, and peas are all great additives to cat food that most cats shouldnt have any trouble digesting. They can also add a nice flavor to the food. However, even if a food does contain these ingredients, meat should still be listed as at least the first ingredient.

Hepper 360 Cat Feeder, Stainless Steel, Anti-Chew...

• NO MESS - The 360 tray on this cat food and water bowl set has a raised design to catch and...
• WHISKER FRIENDLY - Shallow and wide metal containers with flat bottoms ensure your kitty can enjoy...
• CHEW-SAFE MATERIALS - Kittens and cats love chewing on silicone and soft rubber - but it's a choking...

High-quality cat food is an important part of fostering a long and healthy life for your cat but the right cat food and water dish will promote good posture, offer whisker relief, and aid in good digestion. The Hepper NomNom Cat Bowl is our favorite bowl since it offers all of the above and is beautifully crafted to meet modern home stylings. The wide tray design catches any food and water spills and the entire setup is dishwasher safe. Learn more about the Hepper NomNom Cat Bowl here.

At Pet Keen, weve admired Hepper for many years and decided to take a controlling ownership interest so that we could benefit from the outstanding designs of this cool cat company!

Your Cats Health/Age/Preferences

Something else to consider when deciding which human-grade cat food to choose for your cat is their health, age, and personal preferences. For example, some cats may have trouble digesting certain meats or just may not like the flavor of them. For example, they may prefer turkey over chicken.

Youll also want to consider whether or not your cat is overweight or underweight, as different cat foods have different levels of protein and fat content in them. Adult cats with a healthy body weight should eat food that contains at least 26-40% protein regardless of whether the food is wet or dry, and some senior cats might need at least 50%.

Dry cat foods have a protein content that is generally pretty accurate. However, the protein content of wet cat food can be deceiving because they often show low protein percentages on the packaging since moisture is being taken into account. In reality, the protein content of wet cat food is much higher than what is listed on the packaging. This article from PetMD explains how to calculate exactly how much protein is in wet cat food.

The same is true of fat in cat food, with cat food needing to contain a minimum of 9% fat on a dry matter basis. However, the amount of fat healthy cats need in their diet may be as much as 2025%. Cats that are overweight or underweight may require more or less protein or fat, but that would be something you would need to discuss with your veterinarian before choosing cat food.

Finally, consider your cats age when deciding whether to choose wet or dry food. Kittens and senior cats often cant chew normal dry cat food as easily as adult cats can, so you may need to feed your kitten or senior cat wet food or dry cat food that is designed for kittens or seniors, as these are easier for your cat to eat or digest, and have different nutrient contents.

Budget

The last thing to consider is your budget. What you should know about human-grade cat foods is that many of them can be expensive since they are made with higher-quality ingredients. Plus, the cost can be even more if you choose a fresh food subscription and delivery service.

When choosing human-grade cat food, make sure that your budget can sustain paying for that food over time. Consider how many cats you have if you intend to feed them all the same food. More cats mean youll go through the food faster and purchase it more frequently.

And remember that just because a particular cat food is more expensive doesnt necessarily mean that it is better for your cat. You still need to take the ingredients and your cats health and preferences into your account as well. You may find that cheaper human-grade cat food is actually better for your situation than a more expensive one.

Final Thoughts

Human-grade cat food is a great way to ensure that your cat is getting nutritious food that is made with high-quality ingredients. For the best human-grade cat food, we like Smalls Fresh Cat Food, a subscription and delivery service. For the best human-grade cat food for the money, we like the Applaws Fish Selection Variety Pack Wet Cat Food. Whichever human-grade cat food you end up choosing,even if it isnt from this list, we hope you found these reviews and Buyers Guide helpful in making your decision.

Featured Image Credit: Seattle Cat Photo, Shutterstock