Published May 1, 2019
Is this iconic brand a healthy, safe choice for your cat? Find out in our unbiased Fancy Feast cat food review.
The Cats.com Standard—Rating Fancy Feast on What Matters
We’ve analyzed Fancy Feast and graded it according to the Cats.com standard, evaluating the brand on species-appropriateness, ingredient quality, product variety, price, customer experience, and recall history. Here’s how it rates in each of these six key areas.
Ratings
- Species-Appropriateness – 8/10
- Ingredient Quality – 3/10
- Product Variety – 8/10
- Price – 8/10
- Customer Experience – 6/10
- Recall History – 6/10
Overall Score: 6.5/10
We give Fancy Feast cat food a 39 out of 60 rating or a B- grade.
Fancy Feast Video Review
About Fancy Feast
Fancy Feast was created in 1982 and was likely the first cat food brand to capitalize on the “gourmet” concept. Though it’s now one of the cheaper brands on the market, Fancy Feast is advertised as a luxurious food experience for cats.
Three years after its inception, the brand was purchased by Purina, which later merged with Nestlé. As of 2017, Nestlé-Purina was the second-highest-earning pet food company in the world with over 12 billion dollars in revenue.
Sourcing and Manufacturing
Most Purina products are sourced and manufactured in the United States. A few products are made in Thailand—Fancy Feast Purely, Broths, and Flaked Fish & Shrimp. Regardless of location, all products are made in company-owned facilities.
Has Fancy Feast Cat Food Been Recalled?
Fancy Feast cat food has never been recalled, but other Purina brands have been recalled multiple times. Click here to read our full Purina review and to learn more about the company’s recall history.
What Kinds Of Cat Food Does Fancy Feast Offer?
Fancy Feast includes over 100 recipes, including patés, broths, morsels in gravy, and two varieties of dry cat food. Here’s a summary of what Fancy Feast has to offer:
Wet Cat Food
- The Gourmet line is the original Fancy Feast, including a wide range of wet foods, including patés, morsels in gravy, sliced foods, milk-infused meals, foods with extra gravy, chunky paté, and more.
- Gourmet Naturals offers recipes similar to those in the Gourmet line, but Naturals foods don’t contain artificial colors or flavors.
- Purely Fancy Feast Natural entrées are made with chicken, seafood, or beef without by-products or fillers.
Dry Cat Food
- Gourmet Dry Cat Food is Fancy Feast’s original dry cat food.
- Gourmet Naturals Dry Cat Food is made without artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives.
Food Toppers and Complements
- Purely Fancy Feast Filets are filets of chicken or seafood.
- Gourmet Broths involve tender bites of chicken or seafood in broth.
- Fancy Feast Appetizers are delicate portions of chicken or fish in broth.
Fancy Feast Cat Food – Top 3 Recipes Reviewed
| Product Name | Food Type | Price | Our Grade |
| Fancy Feast Classic Chicken Feast Canned Cat Food | Wet | $0.25 per oz | B- |
| Fancy Feast Classic Tender Beef Feast Canned Cat Food | Wet | $0.27 per oz | B- |
| Fancy Feast Gourmet Savory Chicken & Turkey Dry Cat Food | Dry | $0.29 per oz | D |
#1 Fancy Feast Classic Chicken Feast Canned Cat Food Review
Chicken appears to be the primary protein source in this wet cat food.
This cat food is one of Fancy Feast’s essential recipes.
It’s from the Classic line and is a straightforward paté featuring chicken as its primary protein source. The first ingredient is chicken, followed by poultry broth and liver. Note that this isn’t called chicken liver, turkey liver, or any other specific type of liver. This type of vaguely-named ingredient isn’t necessarily bad for your cat, but it’s indicative of cheaper food and is associated with feed-grade ingredients.
The same applies to the next two ingredients, which are meat by-products and fish. Meat by-products may include tissues from cows, sheep, pigs, or goats. The vague label fish may refer to various farm-raised or wild-caught fish species.
The next ingredient is “artificial and natural flavors”. Both are vaguely named, but we know that “natural flavor” is usually derived from animal tissues. Artificial color, however, refers to something synthetic that flavors the food. Though artificial flavors aren’t considered harmful, the vagueness and artificiality might repel some customers.
The food is stabilized with guar gum, a relatively safe binding agent and stabilizer derived from guar beans. It’s colored with unnamed artificial colors and contains sodium nitrite to promote color retention. It’s supplemented with synthetic vitamins, minerals, and amino acids that make it nutritionally complete.
Overall, this food is high in protein with moderate fat and low carbohydrate content.
Though this food loses a few points for artificial ingredients and possibly low-quality meats, it has a few good qualities. It has a species-appropriate macronutrient distribution that respects your cat’s carnivorous needs. It’s thickened without carrageenan, a potentially inflammatory and carcinogenic thickener common among comparable budget brands, including Friskies.
The food has 99 calories per 3-ounce can or about 33 calories per ounce.
Ingredients
Chicken, Poultry Broth, Liver, Meat By-Products, Fish, Artificial And Natural Flavors, Tricalcium Phosphate, Guar Gum, Added Color, Salt, Minerals [Potassium Chloride, Magnesium Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Potassium Iodide], Taurine, Vitamins [Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B-1), Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin (Vitamin B-3), Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B-5), Vitamin A Supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Vitamin K), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B-6), Riboflavin Supplement (Vitamin B-2), Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Biotin (Vitamin B-7), Folic Acid (Vitamin B-9), Vitamin D-3 Supplement], Sodium Nitrite (To Promote Color Retention).
Ingredients We Liked: Chicken
Ingredients We Didn’t Like: Meat By-Products, Fish, Artificial Flavors, Guar Gum, Added Color
Guaranteed Analysis
Dry Matter Basis
Caloric Weight Basis
Pros
- Low carbohydrate content
- Thickened without carrageenan
- Rich in animal protein
- Affordable
Cons
- Contains artificial ingredients
- Made with possibly low-quality animal by-products
#2 Fancy Feast Classic Tender Beef Feast Canned Cat Food Review
Beef appears to be the primary protein source in this wet cat food.
Like the chicken recipe reviewed above, this food comes from Fancy Feast’s Classic line. It’s a straightforward paté featuring beef as the first ingredient. The beef is cooked in something referred to as meat broth and infused with generic liver. The paté contains vaguely-named fish and meat by-products. This vagueness makes the food a poor choice for cats with food sensitivities and people who want to know what’s going into their cats’ bodies.
The food contains a combination of artificial and natural flavors. Artificial flavors don’t appear to be harmful and nor do “natural flavors”—an additive most likely made from hydrolyzed animal tissue.
The food is thickened with guar gum. Though it’s not a species-appropriate ingredient and shouldn’t be a large part of any cat’s diet, guar gum appears to be safe in small quantities.
The food is fortified with vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. It contains sodium nitrite as a preservative. Interestingly, this food deviates from the usual Fancy Feast recipe blueprint and doesn’t contain any added colors.
Overall, this dry food has high protein content with moderate fat and low carbohydrate content.
The food has 92 calories in each 3-ounce can or about 31 calories per ounce.
Ingredients
Beef, Meat Broth, Liver, Fish, Meat By-Products, Artificial And Natural Flavors, Guar Gum, Tricalcium Phosphate, Salt, Minerals [Potassium Chloride, Magnesium Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Potassium Iodide], Taurine, Vitamins [Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B-1), Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin (Vitamin B-3), Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B-5), Vitamin A Supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Vitamin K), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B-6), Riboflavin Supplement (Vitamin B-2), Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Biotin (Vitamin B-7), Folic Acid (Vitamin B-9), Vitamin D-3 Supplement], Sodium Nitrite (To Promote Color Retention).
Ingredients We Liked: Beef
Ingredients We Didn’t Like: Meat By-Products, Artificial Flavors, Guar Gum
Guaranteed Analysis
Dry Matter Basis
Caloric Weight Basis
Pros
- Low carbohydrate content
- Primarily made from meat and organs
- Thickened without carrageenan
- Unlike other Fancy Feast recipes, doesn’t contain dyes
- Affordably-priced
Cons
- Contains artificial additives
#3 Fancy Feast Gourmet with Savory Chicken & Turkey Dry Cat Food Review
Poultry by-product meal appears to be the primary protein source in this dry cat food.
Though Fancy Feast is best known for its wet recipes, we have to see what they have to offer in the dry food department.
This food’s name indicates that it’s made “with” savory chicken and turkey. According to FDA labeling regulations, this means that savory chicken and turkey must constitute at least 3% of the total recipe.
This considered, it’s not a surprise that chicken nor turkey are the first ingredients in the food. Instead, that spot goes to ground rice, a minimally-nutritious ingredient that increases the food’s carbohydrate content without adding much else. The food contains poultry by-product meal as the first protein-rich ingredient, followed by a mix of corn gluten meal and other grain-sourced ingredients.
Beef tallow is the food’s primary fat source, providing the fatty acids cats need to thrive. Fish oil appears later on the ingredient list, a species-appropriate source of omega-3 fatty acids. The food is flavored with a combination of “liver flavor” and “natural and artificial flavors”. Again, these ingredients aren’t necessarily harmful, but the vagueness is indicative of a lower caliber of food.
The chicken and turkey mentioned on the front of the bag don’t appear until after these added flavors.
After a series of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids that make the kibble nutritionally complete, the ingredient list concludes with Red 40, Yellow 5, and Blue 2, all of which are potentially-harmful artificial colors.
Overall, this food has moderate protein content with moderate fat and high carbohydrate content.
This food has 469 calories per cup or about 113 calories per ounce.
Ingredients
Ground Rice, Poultry By-Product Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Beef Tallow Naturally Preserved With Mixed-Tocopherols, Whole Grain Corn, Soybean Meal, Liver Flavor, Chicken, Turkey, Phosphoric Acid, Calcium Carbonate, Natural And Artificial Flavors, Salt, Brewers Dried Yeast, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Fish Oil, Minerals [Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite], Taurine, Vitamins [Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin (Vitamin B-3), Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B-5), Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B-1), Riboflavin Supplement (Vitamin B-2), Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B-6), Folic Acid (Vitamin B-9), Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Biotin (Vitamin B-7), Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Vitamin K)], Dl-Methionine, Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 2.
Ingredients We Liked: Chicken, Turkey
Ingredients We Didn’t Like: Ground Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Whole Grain Corn, Soybean Meal, Artificial Flavors,
Guaranteed Analysis
Dry Matter Basis
Caloric Weight Basis
Pros
- Economical
Cons
- High carbohydrate content
- Contains vaguely-named meats and by-products
- Rich in plant protein
- Made with artificial colors and flavors
What Do Customers Think Of Fancy Feast Cat Food?
As one of the world’s leading cat food brands, thousands of people feed their cats this brand every day. Just as it’s earned multiple generations of loyal customers, the brand has garnered plenty of complaints.
Some customers observe that Fancy Feast can be inconsistent, saying that Fancy Feast’s quality and calorie content vary depending on the product’s manufacturing origin. Others blame Fancy Feast for making their cats sick, but these stories don’t seem to show a clear connection between the food and the illness.
Here’s what a few customers have to say about Fancy Feast:
Positive Reviews
“This is my boy’s favorite flavor of Fancy Feast. He loves it and always eats it really well. And I love that Fancy Feast Classic Pate line is generally low carb, low-to no grain, and meat based. Also no carrageenan for sensitive kitties. It’s really great bang for you buck and super tasty for your kitty!” – Emily13, reviewing Fancy Feast Beef Feast
“I’m tired of opening cans after cans of high end cat food, and they just walked away, refusing to eat. I’m tired of throwing my money into the trash can. Fancy Feast doesn’t have the fanciest reputation, but my cats like and eat it. So what can I say? I guess I will just deal with the artificial flavor and meat byproduct.” – Eleni, reviewing Fancy Feast Chicken Feast
Negative Reviews
“There are many other products which are healthier for your cat and have meat as the first ingredient; this one does not. I am trying to wean my cats off this and start them on something that is healthier.” – bearbaby, reviewing Fancy Feast Gourmet Savory Chicken & Turkey Dry Cat Food
“FF Classic Chicken Feast had been my cat’s favorite FF wet food for a couple of years. She would happily eat 1 can daily. But over the last year and half, she gradually began eating less and less. Now she refuses to eat more a bite or two. Even when I mix it with another mild chicken formula (Sheba). Like another reviewer, I noticed the product is DENSER and a MUCH DARKER COLOR. And I assume FF made a SIGNIFICANT CHANGE TO THE FORMULA. Did they increase the amount of chicken BY-PRODUCTS, like LIVER, which my cat hates? Badly done, Fancy Feast.” – TortiMom8, reviewing Fancy Feast Classic Chicken Feast
How Much Does Fancy Feast Cat Food Cost?
Most of the Fancy Feast product lineup is inexpensive, but their product variety spans the price spectrum. Let’s take a look at the typical daily feeding costs of several Fancy Feast lines.
Their wet cat food costs about $1.63 per day if you choose the Classics line. Fancy Feast Medleys and Gourmet Naturals are both little more expensive at closer to $2.50 daily. If you buy the Fancy Feast Purely Flaked line, the food will cost around $4-$5 per day.
Fancy Feast’s dry food is significantly less expensive at around $0.29 per day.
Overall, Is Fancy Feast a Good Choice?
It really depends on which recipe you choose. There’s a lot of Fancy Feast cat food to try and a lot of variety between the various lines.
Fancy Feast’s Classic Patés and classic flaked recipes like Flaked Fish & Shrimp Feast are some of the lowest-carbohydrate products at this price point. They’re affordable options for cats with diabetes or those otherwise seeking low-carbohydrate food that won’t break the bank. In our article on the best kitten food, we recommended Fancy Feast’s turkey paté for kittens as one of the best options for kitten guardians on a budget.
If you try Fancy Feast’s natural recipes like Fancy Feast Purely White Meat Chicken & Shredded Beef, you’ll be putting good food in your cat’s bowl, but you’ll also spend a lot more than you might when buying comparable foods from another brand.
Unlike their wet foods, Fancy Feast’s dry food doesn’t give you much meat for your dollar. The brand’s dry recipes are some of the most carbohydrate-heavy and additive-laden kibble foods on the market.
Overall, Fancy Feast cat food appears to be a reliable, trustworthy economy choice. It’s a good option if you want to avoid excessive plant ingredients but don’t mind feeding your cat by-products or vaguely-named ingredients and are comfortable with some artificial additives.
Where To Buy Fancy Feast Cat Food?
Fancy Feast cat food is sold in pet specialty retailers, groceries, and big box stores around the world. Online, you can buy it on Amazon, Chewy, PetSmart, Walmart, Shipt, and Instacart.
Also Read:
My cat refuses to eat ANY food from a can. All he will eat are the Fancy Feast Appitizers and those usually only the two Tuna flavors. Every once in a while we can get him to eat a chicken or salmon. And I thought I was finicky being a meat and potatoes guy.
My 15-year-old cat has kidney disease and while she is a good eater, she prefers Fancy Feast flaked trout. It seems to sit well on her stomach, and she is always ready to finish it. She is a nibbler, but finishes each can to the last bite.
Has fancy food changed their recipe formula ?
My cats use to like chicken liver pate. Now they won’t eat that and most other flavors
I’m trying other brands but they have become very fussy. I’m afraid they are starving cause they just l won’t eat
Hi Mary, I’ve reached out to Fancy Feast with your question and will get back to you once I receive an answer. Thanks for your patience!
Did you ever get a response from Fancy Feast? I have noticed similar issues with the Turkey Pate which my cat with diabetes and IBD has been eating for years. It now has the consistency of cooked hamburger and much darker in color. He won’t eat it.
Hello Ellen, no, I haven’t received an answer since asking in November. Sorry to hear that your cat is also not enjoying it anymore.
It’s a shame that Purina never responded to the inquiry. I just wanted to say that I noticed the same thing after 2020. It seems that once Covid hit, Purina (and other manufacturers) switched formulas. Not only did several flavors look different, like yours, my cats suddenly stopped eating several different varieties.
I think it would be a good idea for sites like this one to revisit their reviews done pre-covid because there have been a lot of changes since then to many different brands.
I text and called Purina numerous times and always got results so that’s not true I guess that all depends on how you ask the question
Our two cats both seem to like the Fancy Feast Savory Centers . Before the Covid pandemic you could buy individual varieties (chicken, beef, salmon, or tuna). But now it’s only available as a ‘variety pack’ — 3 of each.
Recently I’ve discovered (what I am guessing are) specks of bone fragments in the food. I don’t remember them being there before and I am leaning toward not buying it for them anymore.
Hi Dori, I can buy it in Walmart and on Chewy in a variety 12-pack with Chicken, Tuna, Beef, and Salmon flavors. I too am annoyed that I can’t buy individual flavors, because my cats won’t eat the tuna or the chicken ones. I’ve been buying it for maybe 2 years, and I have never seen it packaged any other way than a variety pack. I agree with you about the specks, I have recently noticed these little white things in the food that I haven’t seen before. I’m ready to start shopping around for another brand, it’s too expensive to throw out half a box every time!
Meijer carries all the individuals
Try Target for single Fancy Feast variety, My cat is a finicky eater. Variety packs don’t work for us.
I am trying to find a low ash content dry food to feed ti my foster cats because a few hav me been getting uti’s. Any recommendations besides urinary tract food which they won’t eat.
Hi Katie, we have recommendations for non-prescription food that can support urinary tract health here.
In addition to high quality wet food-You might want to try Methigel- I have several cats with constant reoccurring UTIs- it has worked keeping them vet free for several years.
Katie,
I have had two cats with Urinary tract issues and stones. They started out on prescription food but with multiple cats got too expensive. I did sone research and put them in Iams dry. Any of the flavors worked. The indoor cat, regular, healthy weight. They ate without any issues.
I’m nervous about feeding my new cat fancy feast dry food. Financially it is cheaper but quality is important. I get the cat tomorrow. I might go with pro plan
Good call. You can learn about the best dry cat food here.
Honestly there’s not too much difference between standard and the Pro Plan quality-wise. There other other cat foods in the price range of Pro that are better quality.
I have 3 cats ,1 Burmese, 1 Russian Blue, and 1 Rescue. All of my cats were bought up on Fancy Feast, but something has dramatically changed with the product. Not one of them will go near it anymore, sniff and walk away. Obviously the formula has changed for cheaper ingredients since covid. I live in Australia, and for months nothing was on the shelves as it is made in USA,and the price here is not cheap, but thanks to stocking up , my cats got there food. But now, I refuse to waste my money on a product that I know will end up in the bin.
Thank you for sharing this.
It may be a good idea to revisit your reviews. As you can see there are numerous comments about the quality taking a nose dive. I do not believe your review is still accurate and could unintentionally mislead people.
Hi, thanks for the suggestion—we’ll get this one updated.
I also noticed a change in the fancy feast food cat . I have 3 cats 1 Burmese 1
Singapore 1 Russian Blue. They have eat always fancy feast since 10 years and now they smell their food and won’t eat it. I am from Quebec City in Canada.
It’s the same in the US. We also couldn’t get the food for quite a while during Covid. They obviously switched to cheaper ingredients. Perhaps at first because it’s all they could get. But now, almost 4 years later, they don’t seem to have any intention of going back to more quality ingredients. There are several flavors my cats used to love that they will now absolutely not touch.
Thanks for your feedback it has been so helpful. I have 3 cats that only eat wet food 2x a day in the am I give them Fancy Fest Turkey and at night they got Pro Plan Chicken . For the last few weeks they have upchucked all they ate I stopped the Pro Plan Chicken and they stopped throwing up .But then in the last case of Fancy Feast Turkey I have noticed that it has changed too to a much darker darker food and they didnt want to eat that too .So I now have had to change to Core wellness and hope all this is in the past . Not sure why all this has been happening
I would really appreciate a review of the FF naturals pate. Thanks so much for all of this important information. We are so very grateful!
Please review the Naturals Pate regular (not gravy) & kitten Pate! Thanks!
Hi Angela, we’ll consider it! Thank you.
I just noticed your reply after Joseph already messaged you. Thanks for the reply & thank you for considering the review! 🙂
Love it! 😀
Hello. Maybe I don’t understand the info on carbs & dry matter. How are these two canned FF foods considered low carb when their carb is around 9% but Iams Perfect Portions Indoor Chicken Recipe Grain-Free is considered high carb at around 3% or so compared to other wet cat foods. I really want to feed low carb wet foods & Im a bit confused. Also will you please look at the canned FF Gourmet Naturals Pate? I think the label looks good other than unnamed Fish & liver. I have been feeding the FF Gormet Naturals Turkey & chicken too, canned. What do you think about those two? Please review when & if you have time! I’m not interested in the FF Gormet Natural gravy because the gravy has wheat. I’m thinking the Pate’ will score well & get a fairly high letter grade. Thank you so very much! 🙂 You are doing important & impressive work! 😀 😀
Yes I would like to know this as well.
Me too. I’d like to know if FF Naturals is a healthier option than the regular FF line which is full of additives, by-products and dyes, thank you for your unbiased reviews, finding an option that my cat actually likes the taste and that is on the healthy side is most times overwhelming.
I rescued a cat and been feeding blue buffalo. he’s been throwing up everything until i switched to fancy feast chicken gravy. after a week of feeding him that, he is much better
Blue Buffalo caused diarrhea for my cat. Fancy Feast is the only cat food that doesn’t give my cat diarrhea so I’m sticking with that.
Mallory is the best.
I have seen all of her youtube videos.
Very knowledgeable and truly helpful she is.
So. Keep UP the great work young lady 🙂
TY kindly
Thank you for the kind words! 😊
I would like to add to the chorus encouraging one of your future reviews to be the FF former naturals pates please!! That’s actually what I came to this site to compare others to. Thank you!
Thank you; will take note of that for the next round of updates.
My cat loves Fancy Feast Beef Chunks in gravy. In my last two purchases, the cat food does not resemble beef, it could be chicken or tuna , I don’t know the difference. Originally the beef chunks looked like beef with dark beef gravy, now it could be anything. Somewhat deceiving!
We recently bought 5 boxes of Fancy Feast Cheddar Delights.
The cat would eat these and have nothing left in the morning.
These new ones, she will not touch or even eat the gravy.
We even noticed a change in the smell and the color of the cheese it is not cheddar.
Did Purina change their recipe or how they are processing this product?
She will not touch her plate.
I have 5 cats who all loved the two fancy feast with cheese flavours and now have all gone off it. Mostly now they will lick the cheese gravy and leave the meat chunks, but none of them are enjoying it as they did in the past where they devoured it all and left the bowls licked clean.
I can say the same for all the the flavours across the range actually. I always alternate food flavours and brand varieties so it’s definitely a product related change not 5 cats taste changing all at the same time.