Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover’s Soul (Adult)
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| Price: $$ | Website
Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover’s Soul
The ingredient list stacks up very nicely with just about any ultra-premium food you can find out there on the market. The first two ingredients are both named meat products, as is the 5th. They do throw in salmon, turkey and duck later on in the ingredient list, and while it’s far enough down where it probably doesn’t make TOO much of a difference, my bet is that altogether it’ll at least matter somewhat. Plus, it gives the food more variety. I’m counting 5 different meat sources in this food, which is incredible.
They do have a lot of grain varities in the food as well, but they’re all quality grains, so it’s not really a big deal because the meat content is high.
If you’ll notice, they also have put in quite a few veggies and fruits, such as carrots, peas, apples, tomatoes, blueberries and spinach. That’s quite the list.
If you’re looking to get a great cat food at a good price, this is one of the top bets. The price is actually very similar to foods like Purina One but light years better in quality.
Where to buy?
What’s good about this food….
Many meat sources, no fillers, no by-products or animal digest, many fruits and vegetables, flax, and potatoes for carbs. Low price as well.
….and what’s not so good.
Nothing to speak of.
Ingredients:
Chicken, chicken meal, cracked pearled barley, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), ocean fish meal, white rice, potatoes, oatmeal, millet, natural chicken flavor, salmon, turkey, duck, flaxseed, sodium bisulfate, egg product, methionine, potassium chloride, choline chloride, dried chicory root, taurine, kelp, carrots, peas, apples, tomatoes, blueberries, spinach, dried skim milk, cranberry powder, rosemary extract, parsley flake, yucca schidigera extract, L-carnitine, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation solubles, dried Aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, zinc proteinate, vitamin E supplement, niacin, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin A supplement, biotin, potassium iodide, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, manganous oxide, sodium selenite, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.
‘Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover’s Soul’ is a very good cat food for the price. I consider it the minimum quality I will feed my pet cat; even though I’m living on a modest fixed income. He really likes this food. Anyone who buys lower quality food due to price is being ‘penny wise but dollar foolish’ because by spending just a bit more for the ‘Chicken Soup’ brand will benefit from a healthier, longer lived pet, and fewer vet bills.
To further boost the quality of my cat’s diet, and to provide dietary variety, while controlling costs – I buy Acana cat food, which is at or near the top of the heap in quality (and price) and mix it about 50%-50% with the Chicken Soup brand. I can increase or decrease the ratio of the two brands, and my cat seems to enjoy the degree of taste variety, yet within a degree of digestive consistency. I ‘free feed’ this mix, so it is in his dry food dish 24/7.
I store the open cat foods in air-tight 1-gallon containers ($1 @ Dollar General) and put about 50%-50% of the Acana and CS brands in another Gallon container, leaving some room, and then gently shake it to mix the two. My adopted stray now has great muscle tone, good stools, and a glossy coat. I also give him Fancy Feast, half of a can in the morning, and half of a can in the evening.
Your pet’s food is not the place to skimp on quality, and I think this is a good way to provide premium nutrition at a reasonable cost.
For anyone new looking into this. I would NOT recommend this brand. It’s affordable, yes, but incredibly sketchy. They had a massive recall due to a salmonella contamination and while they removed the products from stores the FDA firmly said that this brand (owned by Diamond) is NOT taking the necessary precautions to prevent future contsminations. Don’t let your cat be another victim of their negligence!
I’ve had my 5 housecats on this for months now and they’re continually throwing up undigested food. I had tried other foods to eliminate this problem and the only one I found they didn’t throw up was Natural Balance – expensive but I guess I’ll be going back to it as I’m tired of this. Thought it was good food but now I’m reading lots of negative comments about it.
All good until I saw Rosemary Extract! This is a alternative preservative but causes seizures in cats. This is not my choice for my cats.
I bought a bag for my two cats.
I noticed dry stool.
Not sure why or if maybe this type of food is not rigth for them.
I need an answer.
Thanks!
Hi Nael, it’s worth ensuring your cats are getting a sufficient water intake. Perhaps mix the dry with wet, or moisten the dry with water or chicken broth. If you think Chicken Soup isn’t working for your cats then have a look at the other foods on our best rated list – https://www.petfoodratings.org/best-dry-cat-food/
I wish I had come here first! I was so excited to find a food that was less expensive and better quality than the Royal Canin that my kitties had come home with from the local H.S. , but unfortunately after a week of transition my kitties have developed the runny light-colored poop described by the last two posters and they always seem to want more food as well. I guess it’s back to the pet store for another kind of food.
We switched our two cats to this food over the course of three months. One of our cats has IBS, so we err on the side of caution when it comes to his food. He made the transition like a champ! Oddly though, our other cat with no health issues and a propensity to eat literally anything he feels like eating, started having soft poop issues. After they had been solely on Chicken Soup for one month, the problem periodically persisted. We went to the vet who informed us that the *digestibility* of some of the Chicken Soup ingredients cause some cats, who otherwise are healthy, to have random soft poop issues. We switched him back to his old food the next day and problem resolved immediately. The vet said this is a fairly well known side effect of this food and there seems no way to know if it will impact your cat or not without giving it a try.
I looked at this review and the comments when I was looking for a good dry food for my 2 kittens and two older cats.
My experience was not good. My kittens who are 7 months old had a light colored stool which was soft or completely liquid diarrhea through the entire 12 lb bag. They were drinking a lot of water, defecating 3-4 times a day and continuously hungry.
Maybe this was once a good food but I’ve changed to the grain free Wellness CORE and as I’ve mixed in more of the latter, their stools have darkened and hardened to the normal 2 times a day. They are also not crying for food anymore.
The older cats are inside/outside in the back yard so I don’t know how their stool was but by the end of the 6 weeks they wouldn’t eat the Chicken Soup. They like the Wellness CORE so far.
I don’t write this negative review lightly but this is expensive food that is supposed to be healthy but something in the ingredients is not good.
I work at a small pet supply store and I recommemd this to many customers looking for a cheaper, but good quality food. With multiple protien sources and grain, I don’t suggest cats with allergies try this but picky cats do alright with it I have noticed. My cats get Orijen and my boy is very very picky, yet eats the kitten Chicken Soup that I feed my fosters (which is still lower in protien and fat than Orijen cat and kitten) . Its well rounded and I’ve had no customer complaints on it, other than the slight increase in bag sizes. We sell for 12$/ 5lb bags and I find it is worth it. Though, if you want a grain free with fewer protien sources, taste of the wild is a better choice and it runs for the same price (at my store, anyway).
Where can I find this food. I have a problem with smelly feces
Hi Pamela, your easiest option with Chicken Soup is to buy it online, such as from Amazon – click here.
I posted earlier, and have used this food for years.
The new higher price and new smaller bag means I will no longer be using this product.
Too bad, as was a good value/middle of the road food.
At the new higher price/smaller size, there are better choices. So long Chicken Soup.
As long as they have’t changed the recipe, I wouldn’t think that switching because of a repackaging or price increase warrants moving away from a product that your cat likes and does well on.
I’m upset about the downsizing for the same price, as well. My cats have done very well on what was the ‘light’ formula. It’s now ‘mature/indoor.’ They are now 12 and 15. They’ve been on Chicken soup for 11 years. I’m leery of switching. Let me know if you come up with something comparable at the former value for quality.
I’ve been educating myself from the resources online referencing cat food brand labels. Many brands appear to offer quality ingredients but the protein/carb/fat ratio can be tremendously different in each variety, I have a diabetic cat. Finding non prescription formula foods has been an expensive and somewhat frustrating challenge. I found the rating information helpful but additional information or comparisons for P/C/F between the brands you mentioned would be a tremendous benefit to pet owners who have pets with health conditions or require a unique diet. i would love more of the same info for dogs,. Or a suggestion, reference to the information. Thanks for the article!
I try and take into account the levels of protein, carbs, and fats in a food. Generally if a food lists a range of meat meals but has a low protein level then we can assume the quantity of those meats isn’t as much as we’re led to believe. Pet food manufacturers also use other ingredients (such as peas) to bulk up protein levels, so we need to be wary of that too. It’s hard to gauge, but generally the levels of proteins, carbs, and fats should tally with the ingredients. In cases where it doesn’t I try and mention this, and it’s been on my mind for a while now to cover these percentages more thoroughly.
Thanks for your feedback, it’s very useful to hear and I will definitely make more of an attempt at doing this from now on. Thanks!
I’m not sure if Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover’s Soul is still worthy of only two $$. If you noticed, they recently repackaged their product giving you three pounds less but charging the same price!
They have also changed the ingredients significantly. So, lesser quality, at a higher price.
New ingredient list;
Chicken, Salmon, chicken meal, whole grain brown rice, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), oatmeal, whole grain white rice, potatoes, cracked pearled barley, millet, turkey, duck, flaxseed, natural chicken flavor, salt, choline chloride, chicory root extract, dl-methionine, potassium chloride, taurine, carrots, peas, apples, dried skim milk, kelp, cranberry powder, rosemary, parsley flake. Vitamins and minerals.
It’s also not been that long(2 years?) since it was a 20 lb bag, also down-sized at the same price.
Too bad. My ferals did very well on it. Now I have to re-think my dog’s TOTW as well. Probably next for the downgrade.
Margo, thank you so much for sharing this information. I finally thought I found the perfect cat food for my sweet 9 year old cat who recently has developed food allergies. So sad another brand has sold out for profit.
When my wife and I fostered our two little ones, they came with a bag of Purina One Smartblend for Kittens. I bought another bag not knowing if we were going to keep them so rather than disrupting their diet I kept it the same.
Once we knew that we were going to adopt them, I started blending in the Chicken Soup and they seem to really like it. They are still young (3 mos and 5 mos) so they are eating a lot. Its hard to tell if the food is satiating their appetite at this point but they both seem healthy. In the short time we have had them they have both been recovering from spaying/neutering, chipping and shots.
The local pet shop I bought it in highly recommended it for the price and I have to agree. Its actually cheaper, per pound, than the Purina One. That speaks volumes to me that something so high quality can be affordable.
What’s the biggest bag they make of this?
Thanks for a really useful review and a great site, I’ve learnt loads from your reviews.
I have a feed & grain store get mine for me. The biggest bag I’m aware of is 18 pounds.
Hi Jessica, you can buy it in 6lb and 18lb bags.
I switched our two cats to Chicken Soup after learning more about what is actually in the grocery store food I was buying for them. They love this food, and they have never been healthier. My dogs were already eating the dog version, which they love as well. My only annoyance is that I need to make an extra trip to the pet store to buy this- but the health and well-being of my fur babies is well worth it!
I use this for my cats, and their dog formula for my dog.
The animals love it, and it seems to strike a nice balance between reasonable price and reasonable quality.
What sold me is that there is no corn, just real meat at the top of the list. The animals are all healthy, with shiny coats and lots of energy.
Of course there are better foods available, but for me, this seems quite good enough, and light years ahead of many products that are sometimes more expensive.
I’ve actually been looking for a better cat food to feed my 7-year-old once I move out of home, and after some research around the area I’m moving to, I’m definitely going to try switching her to this (: She’s been raised on iams and other junky types of cat foods, I’m sure this’ll do wonders for her health!
My cat was diagnosed with cancer (lymphoma) at 13 years old. I fed her this almost exclusively after the diagnosis, and she lived another 3 years (longer than the expected lifespan of a cat with her condition) before what we suspect was pancreatic cancer caught her. Because the lymphoma was in her GI tract, I wanted to make sure she got a quality food. She liked this food, and I think it did help contribute to her longevity.
Best of luck to your own cat!
That’s great to hear. My first cat Rodney was diagnosed at 14 and given 6 months, but lived to 21! It’s great to know a food has kept them healthy for longer, and also that you’ve done your best for them.
Good plan!