Kit & Kaboodle Cat Food Review
Purina is a Nestle brand. You know, the chocolate bar company. If you were to assume Kit & Kaboodle cat food is any better than a chocolate bar, then make sure you read this review in full.
It’s appalling.
In our Kit & Kaboodle cat food review you’ll find out exactly why…
Kit & Kaboodle cat food review – Original formula
What the marketing says
You’ll find a bag of Kit & Kaboodle cat food to be one of the most colorful on the shelves. The bag features a cartoon cat, lots of color, and examples of the four different colored kibble pieces within the bag.
For the Original formula they state, also very colorfully, “4 Tasty Flavors” – with a suggestion that these are Chicken, Liver, Turkey, and Ocean Fish.
Please don’t be fooled into thinking each kibble shape is one of the above. This is simply not the case. In fact they’re probably all the same but with a different food dye.
What the ingredients really say
The ingredients say a totally different story.
Corn, more corn, and soybean make up the main ingredients. Can you believe it? For meat-eating cats!?
Why aren’t these ingredients listed on the front of the bag?
The turkey and ocean fish are listed on the ingredients after salt. SALT IS 1%!!! It’s absolutely crazy how they can list these ingredients on the front of the bag when they’re almost non-existent on the ingredients list.
The liver we find on the front of the bag isn’t significant either, and it’s not even liver – it’s liver flavor.
This food is basically corn and soybeans with food colorings to trick you as a clueless consumer into thinking this food is good for cats.
You’ve heard about food colors being bad, right? In Kit & Kaboodle cat food we find RED 40, YELLOW 5, and BLUE 2.
We find phosphoric acid in the food, something we find in high carbohydrate or rubbishy foods which aren’t using ingredients appropriate for cats. It’s a way of getting the pH back to a suitable range so as not to harm your cat, but you’re still feeding colored-corn and soybeans to a carnivore.
It would be wrong for me to ignore the meat content in the food. Thankfully there is some, mostly in the form of meat and bone meal, ambiguous animal fat (what animal?), and chicken by-product meal, but my guess is this is very poor quality meat. Probably the leftovers thrown out the back of the factory down the road which gives you prime cuts for your dinner.
If you’re still thinking you should feed Kit & Kaboodle to your cat then I’ve failed in this review. I hope you don’t.
When I studied to be a pet nutritionist the first lesson taught me everything I needed to know about what a cat should eat, and it definitely wasn’t corn and soybeans colored with food dye.
Should I feed Kit & Kaboodle to my cat?
If you have a very tight budget or have a multiple cat household you may view Kit & Kaboodle cat food as the only option. If this is the case just keep in mind this is not a product formulated appropriately for a carnivorous cat (or kitten). If this is your only option, do your best to feed your cat as many meat off-cuts and scraps from your meals as possible.
Is Kit & Kaboodle suitable for kittens?
Honestly, speaking as a pet nutritionist, corn and soybeans with artificial colorings are not the best diet for the vital growth phase of your kitten.
Where to buy Kit & Kaboodle?
Kit & Kaboodle is available from Amazon using the link below, but if you go to Amazon, buy something else!
For the best prices why not order on Amazon.com?
Ingredients
Ingredients of Kit & Kaboodle (Original formula):
Ground yellow corn, corn gluten meal, soybean meal, meat and bone meal, animal fat
preserved with mixed-tocopherols, chicken by-product meal, animal liver flavor, phosphoric acid, salt,
choline chloride, turkey by-product meal, ocean fish meal, taurine, calcium carbonate, potassium chloride,
MINERALS [zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, calcium iodate, sodium
selenite], VITAMINS [Vitamin E supplement, niacin (Vitamin B-3), Vitamin A supplement, calcium
pantothenate (Vitamin B-5), thiamine mononitrate (Vitamin B-1), Vitamin B-12 supplement, riboflavin
supplement (Vitamin B-2), pyridoxine hydrochloride (Vitamin B-6), Vitamin D-3 supplement, folic acid
(Vitamin B-9), menadione sodium bisulfite complex (Vitamin K), biotin (Vitamin B-7)], DL-Methionine, Red
40, Yellow 5, Blue 2.
Guaranteed analysis
The guaranteed analysis of Kit & Kaboodle cat food (Original formula):
| Protein | (min) 28% |
| Fat | (min) 11% |
| Crude Fibre | (max) 3% |
| Carbohydrates * | Estimated 43%. |
this pet food is the worst , my cat misty ate it and threw up ,now she refuses to eat , have to bring her to vet shes only 9 yrs old. if she dies i’m going to sue purina
I used to buy premium until I read this. What a scam the pet food industry is.
https://www.interestinganswers.com/animals/is-premium-pet-food-healthier/
my cat scooter is always through up with this food i got change it
This is the only cat food I have found that my four cats do not throw up. So I buy it for them and they are all healthy and I am extremely happy.
Of course I have tried them all thinking exactly like the writer above that it is no good but I cannot argue with my cats. They eat it and it stays down and they are happy.
I would also add that I have found that all of the so called natural products out there that cost a fortune have one thing in common that Kit and Kaboodle does not have. They have all been recalled at one time or another by the FDA as unsafe and killing cats with their “superior ingredients”. Just search for the cat food product recalls and I am sure you will find the cat food you are wasting your money on somewhere on the list. I was amazed when I saw the recall list. Oh yeah that buffalo meat was one of the worst ones. Google and find out for yourself.
I have come to the opinion that the posters who knock this food are working for one of those product knocking groups who pay people to publish negative reviews in exchange for items or money.
I believe what I see with my cats, not these idiot reviews.
My cat got Pancreatitis from eating Origen even though I gave hime exactly the amounts they recommended. It is very high in fat.
Hi Cuyana, sorry for the delay in replying. Cats are slightly autistic and fail to recognise a new food as food. It’s not because they don’t like it, but because they don’t realise it’s food. They’re strange that way. You can add broth or gravy to it to entice them for a few weeks, and they’ll soon adjust to the new healthier food.
i don’t believe in all this nonsense. i bought the most expensive quality stuff. and they refuse to eat it. if all the stuff was bad for the animals.. they wouldn’t be allowed to sell it.
Yes, they are allowed to sell it. Perfectly legal.
THERE SHOULD BE A LAW ABOUT THESE GREEDY BASTURDS PUTTING THIS GARBAGE OUT.
I am heartbroken iv been feeding my poor simba this food all along I mean he’s okay but I def will be changing brands but it seems there are so many bad ones I just don’t know what to buy time if I can please have some feedback on what to buy I would greatly appreciate it and I’m sure my simba would too I want nothing but the best for him!!; ) please help
There is no proven differnce. Dont feel bad:
https://www.interestinganswers.com/animals/is-premium-pet-food-healthier/
Hi Dee, here’s a list of our best-rated cat foods. Hopefully you can find something suitable on that list – https://www.petfoodratings.org/best-dry-cat-food/
I bought this food for my 5 cats about 3 weeks ago. I first noticed a problem a few days after starting it. my one cat started having diarrhea. They then all went to a vet and were “fixed” and had vaccines. So I assumed the diarrhea they were all showing now was from that. however after 3 weeks. while all they all have different degrees of loose stools it’s one cat who is my sneaky one that can fit under the door and keeps getting into the bag that is very sick. the stool is just leaking out of his back side. I have called the vet and pulled all their food he will be going tomorrow to the vet for tests and medication. I pray he pulls through. The Vet isn’t so sure. I am heart broken.
It is the soy in it that’s giving your cat diarrhea.
My cat has a allergy to green food dye. Not to mention he doesn’t like fish flavored foods. I found that kit and kaboodle is the only thing that I can be sure doesn’t have green in it and is not fish flavored yes it has ocean fish but he seems to be okay with that. He has been eating this for a year now and is perfectly healthy! I do want to switch it up to give him something a little different rather than the same thing all the time does anyone have any suggestions to a food that is Chicken flavored without Green?
Hi Amanda, it’s worth noting this food is in our “Worst Dry Cat Food Category” and therefore something we definitely don’t recommend feeding a cat. Only the worst foods contain food colourings or dies of any sort. Yes, there’s Ocean Fish in this food but it’s marginal – it won’t contribute much to the food in flavor or nutrition.
We’d never fed this brand to our cats before, but I bought a bag about a week ago, and one of our two cats has been throwing up and acting listless for the past couple of days. (Come to think of it, we saw our other cat throw up once right after eating the Kit & Kabootle too). We wondered if it was from the new food, so we got rid of it, and we’re hoping he’ll start feeling better soon. Is that “Chicken Soup” food a brand name, and can I find it at Petco? I heard long ago that “Iams’ makes good quality pet food. Opinions on that brand?? (Now I can’t remember if Iams makes both dog and cat food, or only dog food).
I bought this food because the store was out of my brand and I bought a huge bag. Suddenly I start finding cat puke all over my house. I have 4 inside and one of my kittens Has been very lethargic. Thanks for the warnings! I will never buy this cat food again…..
I had 5 cat when I bought this horrible cat food they were fine then about 2 weeks into the bag I found 2 kittens (11 months old.) of the 4 from the same litter cats dead! my senior cat and the kitten started with diarrhea the same color as the cat food. The vet told me to stop feeding them the food immediately. The kittens were fine but my senior cat was in really bad shape. He lost 5lbs in 2 weeks.
Long story short all of my babies are fine now and my senior love is almost up to his normal weight. DON’T BUY THIS CAT FOOD!!!!
My cat tried it today, he didn’t seem much excited as with the other one (Kirkland) and he ate it, but slowly, while he would eat the Kirkland very fast.
I am on a new bag of kit n kaboodle, I have been feeding it to my cats for years, I am finding little piles of throw up everywhere, never have I had that problem before, I do have 15 cats, aome indoor and some outdoor. I even had one of my cats euthanized, vet said it was possibly a siezure.
Cindy, please transition to a much higher quality food. Fromm is pretty economical, and it is one of the best kibbles out there. Please stop going to grocery stores for your pet’s food, and go to a holistic chain, like MudBay, Pet Pros, PaddyWhacks, etc. and ask for a high quality kibble. The best thing you can do for your pet is look up the basics on what they should be eating, then actually read the ingredients on the food you give them. You should also make sure your kitties get a lot more moisture, it will help prevent hairballs and lower urinary tract issues later in life.
This review is a bunch of horse crap. The only possible comment that makes any sense is that filler may be too high on the ingredients list. However, ingredients lists are a relative comparison. Combined, the three main “meat” ingredients could outrank the “filler” ingredients. So you can not tell based upon the list the amount of filler vs actual meat content. However, if you wanted to say that Corn Meal, which is listed as a top ingredient gas a high protein content and that only having a 28% crude protein content per serving their may not be very much digestible protein, then your review would have more credence.
Ultimately though, you lose all credence when you give up on the idea of it being good or bad based solely upon your emotional reaction to how an ingredient might look visually during processing. That is the most idiotic standard to base anything that will ultimately come out of your ass, kind of like this review did.
George, having had some basic training on both cat and dog nutrition, I can tell you your ‘opinion’ is way off base. Cats are indeed carnivores and should be deriving the majority of their protein from animals – not plants. Kibble is already mostly plant and starch based – but this particular brand is so awful I wouldn’t feed it to my cats if it were the last kibble on Earth. Of course, my cat eats an all wet food diet from natural, quality companies like Lotus and Canidae, so I don’t feed my kitty kibble anyway, but they are definitely NOT made equal, and the ingredients are listed in order of most to least – corn should definitely NOT make up the bulk or a carnivores diet. If you don’t know that, then you need to do some research before you go around making statements about pet food.
Great job George…. Tell it like it is! If you don’t agree with these fanatical pet people, they’ll poke you in the eye with their finger and shout you down… Stand your ground!
Donna, I believe you are George are probably the same person. Or, at least, I wouldn’t be able to tell with your head so far up his a**.
You have a very sardonic nature George (I’ve been reading some of your comments on other websites).
Kit ‘N Kaboodle contains a number of ingredients that are known to be very poor quality, not speculatively but fact. I could detail these thoroughly within the review if I so wished, but it’s not necessary. The first five ingredients must be listed in order or prominence. I see it as a 1 star food, and I definitely wouldn’t feed it to my cat. If you think differently then that’s your prerogative.
since my cats are getting up there in age (7, 6, and 5) I wanted to switch them over to a better healthier diet. reading this broke my heart. i have been feeding kit & kaboodle to my cats for most of their lives. realizing that not one of the ingredients listed is natural i wanted to cry. today i switched them over to chicken noodle soup for the cat lovers soul. though i get alot less for the same price, i realize just like for myself if i want to eat better i need to pay more. its the sad truth but i love my cats and i want them in my life for as long as possible 🙂
Hi Ayla, I’m really glad this review has raised a bit of awareness. Chicken Soup is a fantastic food so I’m sure your cats will be happier, healthier, and love you for it.
Avoid this food at all costs! We switched to this brand for our 3 year old, Ripley. He died from kidney failure within a few days of opening the bag. He showed no signs of anything being wrong until it was too late. Please spend the extra to get a good food for your fur-baby!
I am a Registered Vet Tech in WV, and cats do not go into kidney failure and die within a few days just because of a brand of food. You clearly didn’t want to spend the extra money on your furbaby and have regular bloodwork done, some pets don’t show kidney failure signs until further along in the disease process but routine bloodwork would have found it early and maybe your cat could have lived. How many times did you declined bloodwork when asked, huh? The people at your vet clinic should record everytime you decline something, so when something does happen and you try to blame it on your vet, they can go back and be like “oh no, see, you declined this and it would have helped us determine exactly what’s wrong.” But your cat was clearly further along in the renal failure process for him to die from it. We have several renal failure cats that have been in failure for a few years, started as stage 4 kidney failure and with the proper treatment, we’ve managed to keep these cats kidney values between stage 1 and 2 failure. We techs and vets are not stupid, and we know neglect when we see it, kidney failure doesn’t happen overnight, and blaming your neglectfulness on a bag of cat food is ridiculous! People like you make me sick!
Keep in mind, kind vet, that most people have not been trained in pet health, as yourself. Calling people who are still mourning the loss of their pet “sick” or “stupid” really doesn’t help your cause. You have no idea what these people’s intentions were, nor whether they had had vet visits or bloodwork done. And in any case, the point about this pet food still stands, as it apparently is so bad it would have aggravated a pre-exisitng condition so much it caused death.
It is true that most pet owners are vastly ignorant of the health issues they impose upon their pets – driven by cost or by convenience – but most of them mean well, and it helps to spread the wealth of knowledge asap – not tell them what they should have done when it’s too late. Maybe you should use your apparent vast wealth of knowledge and schooling to help pet owners prevent this in the first place, and start an education movement. Hell, I’ve only had basic training in Nutrition and I can see a huge improvement in my own pets – and I’m spreading the word as much as I can. But if you put people on the defensive, they’re just going to cling to their bad food harder. So get off your high horse and start making a difference where it counts, instead of making people feel worse on a shitty food review about their dead pets. *Mic drop*
I agree Tryniti. I left a vet because she talked down to me and bullied me into taking test and buying medication that wasn’t helping my dog. He would continue to scratch his back on anything he could find until it bleed. Everytime she would tell me that it was fleas and tell me I wasn’t doing enough to protect my dog, although he was treated every month along with the house. The last two times he didn’t even show signs of fleas. Finally, I switched vets and now he doesn’t have a problem. He has been properly treated. The new vet said he probably developed a habit from when he did have fleas and that habit just needed to be broken. Sometimes vets and techs think they are right and know it all and don’t focus on the problem. It takes a partnership to make a pet healthy. Now on to the cat food. My cat has always had Purina Indoor Cat Food and has never had a problem. When I started working alot, my kids went to picking up Kit & Kaboodle. He started having seizures and tearing out his skin. I have switched back and now he is on the mend. Cat food affects animals differently and I still use a Purina brand , but not the generic side. The best thing you can do is watch the animal and see how he responds to diet. My lab can’t anything but Blue Wilderness or he has seizures.
It caused my cat to get bladder stones an she about died an it caused her kidneys to shut down. So I stated giving her Cat Chow..
Yes I am so sorry , I had been using it than all the sudden my cat died , and the others were throwing it up … I am so mad…