Merrick Cat Food Review
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Every now and then, a new competitor will enter the cat food market. Sometimes, they won’t offer anything above the most basic animal derivatives and fillers. Other times, they offer far more than the standard cat and kitten food – and one such company is Crave. Crave cat food boasts an impressive background and intriguing offer – making your cats healthier through better food choices.
But is Crave cat food all it’s cracked up to be? We put the leading favorites in Crave dry cat food, Crave kitten food and Crave wet food up to the test and decided we would give you the definitive Crave cat food reviews. Read all about our favorites, and learn more about what exactly the company offers your pets, below.
Crave Cat Food Review
1 Crave with Protein from Chicken Adult Dry Cat Food
Crave with Protein from Chicken Adult Dry Cat Food
Easily one of the best cat foods on the market, Crave dry cat food is a great option for switching your cat over to the Crave brand. Created with chicken as the main ingredient, and using no soy, corn or wheat in the process, this is kibble with a difference.
Ideal for outdoor cats, most customers noted that the biggest benefit with this cat food compared to competitors of a similar nature is just how much their cats loved this option. In fact, 90% of owners rated this food as 5 or 4 stars and would recommend it to other cat owners.
Key Features:
Crude protein: 40.0% min
Crude fat: 18.0% min
Crude fiber: 4.0% max
Moisture: 10.0% max
Taurine: 0.16% min
Omega 6 fatty acids: 3.0% min
Specification:
- Brand: CRAVE
- Model: 10164805
- Weight: 10 pounds
2 Crave Grain Free High Protein Wet Cat Food Trays
Crave Grain Free High Protein Wet Cat Food Trays
If you prefer to feed your cat wet food, Crave wet cat food is a great choice for you. Whether you’re feeding wet alongside kibble or looking to solely feed your cat wet food, this particular choice comes with 48 servings, making it ideal as a long-term buy for your pet.
With 9.5% protein (according to the guaranteed analysis, see below for further details), this is a great choice for both indoor and outdoor cats who won’t entertain dry food. Better yet, all the ingredients come without fillers and are therefore ideal for those with sensitive stomachs.
You may also like our review of the Cat Food for Sensitive Stomachs.
Key Features:
Crude protein: 9.5% min
Crude fat: 3.0% min
Crude fiber: 1.0% max
Moisture: 82.0% max
Ash: 3.0% max
Taurine: 0.06% min
Specification:
- Brand: CRAVE
- Model: 10169358
- Weight: 3.97 pounds
3 Crave with Protein from Salmon & Fish Dry Cat Food
Crave with Protein from Salmon & Fish Dry Cat Food
Another great choice in kibble and this option works for those pets who may have a sensitivity to chicken. Using salmon and ocean fish as the main ingredients, you’ll find that your fish-friendly puss will happily munch away on this option without any qualms.
Tasty, affordable and, as always, made with high quality ingredients, both customers and cats love the Crave dry cat food. While slightly more expensive than the chicken kibble, this is still a great choice for animal lovers.
Key Features:
Crude protein: 40.0% min
Crude fat: 18.0% min
Crude fiber: 4.0% max
Moisture: 10.0% max
Taurine: 0.16% min
Omega-6 fatty acids: 3.0% min
Specification:
- Brand: CRAVE
- Model: 10164813
- Weight: 10 pounds
4 Crave with Protein from Chicken & Salmon Cat Food
Crave with Protein from Chicken & Salmon Cat Food
Ideally suited for apartment cats and new cats who have yet to venture outdoors, this indoor cat food is a great choice for your pet. Utilizing both chicken and salmon as the main ingredients, you’ll find your cat will soon be diving into their latest bowl of Crave kibble.
This particular adult cat food gives a great balance of protein, fat and fiber to keep your pet happy, by giving them plenty of energy for playtime, without overloading them with fat and making them feel lethargic.
Key Features:
Crude protein: 40.0% min
Crude fat: 16.0% min
Crude fiber: 6.0% max
Moisture: 10.0% max
Taurine: 0.16% min
Omega-6 fatty acids: 3.0% min
Specification:
- Brand: CRAVE
- Model: 10164819
- Weight: 10 pounds
5 Crave Grain Free High Protein Wet Cat Food Trays
Crave Grain Free High Protein Wet Cat Food Trays
Wheat free, corn free and soy free, this is a wet food that provides everything a grown cat needs without the risk of an allergic reaction! These protein packed pouches are perfect for outdoor cats to help keep their strength up during those long walks.
With only real chicken and no chicken by-products you know you’re giving your little four-legged friend the best quality food to fuel their day! With the added bonus of each box containing up to a month worth of meals in perfectly portioned packs you never have to worry about running out too quickly.
Key Features:
Crude protein: 9.0% min
Crude fat: 3.5% min
Crude fiber: 1.0% max
Moisture: 82.0% max
Ash: 3.0% max
Taurine: 0.06% min
Specification:
- Brand: CRAVE
- Model: 10169355
- Weight: 3.97 pounds
Crave Cat Food Review Buying Guide
Company Information
Owned by the Mars brand, Crave has a solid background when it comes to bringing quality cat food to the market. Having worked with pet food since 1939, there’s a solid 80 years of extensive research behind what makes a brand work – and top of those factors is providing high quality food to the masses, at a reasonable price.
In 2017, the owner of Mars Petcare released a statement that the company would be introducing Crave cat food and Crave kitten food to the market as part of a new branch of pet food. Separated from it’s competitors with a no-nonsense approach to creating quality cat food, this brand would have no soy, wheat or grains as part of the ingredients, as standard.
The idea behind Crave cat food ingredients is to utilize a “back to nature” approach that bases the ingredients on what a cat would naturally eat in the wild, or in the same vein as their ancestors. Because of this, real meat is the number ingredient of all the Crave cat food offerings, and this gives your cat a much higher intake of protein.
Why Choose This Brand?
Crave Cat Food Ingredients
The biggest pull for Crave cat food is the makeup of the ingredients. While there are a few options out there for high quality, protein-rich cat food, these are few and far between. Often, these competitors are based at more independent stores and can be hard to get hold of on a regular basis, so as not to upset your cats stomach by changing their food every month.
Crave Cat Food Reviews
Taking in the reviews of both professionals, who look into Crave cat food ingredients in-depth, and customers who have the opinions of their cats to work with, it’s clear that Crave has some storming reviews. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a wet or dry food option from Crave without being inundated with positive reviews from both sides of the coin.
Affordable High-Quality Cat Food
As well as being hard to find, it’s no secret that filler-free food for cats can easily rack up the expenses. Both Crave dry cat food and Crave wet cat food, on the other hand, have the benefit of being both freely available in most supermarkets as well as online, and coming to stores at a great price. Thus, most shoppers get to feed their pets high-quality, nutritional cat food, without breaking the bank.
Great for Allergies
Because there is no soy, wheat or corn used in Crave cat food, you may find that cats with a more sensitive stomach can eat freely again. This can come as a huge relief to owners, as you’ll no longer be worrying about problems that come with high protein food, which often uses plenty of fillers.
You may also like our Hypoallergenic Cat Food Review.
Ingredient Analysis
The biggest factor when looking into the ingredients is to consider the guaranteed analysis AND the dry matter basis. This is because it’s easy for some companies to slip through the cracks of what we expect by playing around with the moisture content of the food. In other words, having the main components of nutrients displayed clearly helps to stop companies from getting away with packing their content with fillers and water.
The guaranteed analysis is a great way of comparing the basic food groups required as, just like humans, cats require certain levels of protein, carbohydrates, fat, and water. Having this available lets you see what you’re feeding your pet straight from the pack – also referred to as the “as fed” basis.
The dry matter basis is about taking away the entirety of the moisture content, so you can see what the food is actually made up of. Using the right formula can help you to see whether wet or dry cat food has a greater level of protein per serving. So, as an example, if your kibble showed that you had 75% moisture within a bag of food, and a protein level of 10% – both shown in the guaranteed analysis – you could work out the dry matter basis of protein available using the formula:
Dry Matter Protein Content = the protein level :(10/25) :the remaining moisture x 100 = 40%
This shows you that your kibble is made up of at least 40% protein, once all the moisture is removed. That’s almost four times as much as the guaranteed analysis shows, and that difference can make or break a purchase from yourself, depending on how much protein you’d like in your cats’ daily intake. Thus, this is the best way to compare wet food to dry food, as you can easily see which option provides a better nutrient level for your needs.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- As with any specialist food, there is always the risk that the same thing you may be searching for that can be a major pro for your specific needs, can also be the same that is a con for others. A big consideration here is the level of protein available in Crave cat food.
- For some, having extra protein is a huge pro, as it provides the building blocks for a healthy, strong body that your cat relies on to get about, hunt and so on. However, for others, too much protein can result in a cat that is skittish, and this type of diet isn’t suitable for older cats. Indeed, older cats may even develop an illness through a high protein diet, such as kidney disease.
- For the same reason, the company has created Crave kitten food, which is designed for younger cats who need a more specific diet to help them grow in a healthy, sustainable way. Similarly, they have also offered Crave adult food for outdoor cats who need higher levels of protein and Crave indoor cat food, which uses a little more fiber and different sources of protein to better suit their activity levels.
Cons
- As with any cat food, a lot of the results are based entirely on whether or not the kibble or wet food is a good fit for your cat. If you notice a change in behavior or your cat simply turns their nose up at new food, whether it be canned or dry, then another brand may be a better fit for you and your pets.
- It is also important to change over food at a slow pace so as not to upset their stomach. As of writing, there haven’t been any Crave cat food recalls, although Mars Petcare have naturally had a few recalls over the years from their other varieties such as Pedigree and Royal Canin (both known for their dog food).
- The biggest con for Crave cat food, at the moment, is the lack of variety. This is simply down to being a new brand that is likely still working on introducing new flavors and mixtures to the market, without straying too far from the high protein diet it provides for your pets.