Taste of the Wild Cat Food Review
Taste of the Wild cat food is a mix of good reputation and affordability. There’s a standard range of dry food (we’ll take a look at Rocky Mountain for most of this review), and an even more premium PREY range which may be a good choice for cats with food sensitivities.
There’s also a decent Taste of the Wild wet cat food range which, if I’m honest, is probably the best of the lot (after all, cats have a strong dependency of moisture in the diet).
In our Taste of the Wild cat food review we’ll give you a good understanding of these foods and you can decide for yourself if it’s what you want to feed your cat.
Taste of the Wild cat food review – Rocky Mountain
What the marketing says
Taste of the Wild market their cat foods as “high-protein”, and “packed with nutrient-rich energy for cats of all ages”.
The marketing on the packaging is refreshingly simple with no wild claims. That said, when we consider Rocky Mountain being a formula with “Roasted Venison & Smoked Salmon” it’s worth noting these aren’t the main ingredients in the food. We’ll take a look at that more later.
For the Rocky Mountain formula we find the Taste of the Wild website boasts a very respectable 42% protein, but is this protein from meat, or protein from something else?
Let’s take a look at the ingredients of Taste of the Wild Rocky Mountain Feline…
What the ingredients really say
Unlike the “Roasted Venison & Smoked Salmon” on the bag, we find chicken meal as the first ingredient.
Notice I said first and not main, as it’s possible the 2nd and 3rd ingredients are in similar proportions. These are peas and sweet potatoes. The venison and salmon are actually 6th and 7th and in reality may not amount to much of the formula.
Given the high protein and fat (42% and 18%) I estimate only 22% carbohydrates. That’s a good thing as cats don’t have much use for carbs, and it suggests the sweet potato is kept to a decent moderation. All dry cat foods contain a starch to bind the kibble, and sweet potato is one of the best, most nutritious, and least harmful choices.
So, back to the “main ingredients” – it would seem Taste of the Wild Rocky Mountain is mostly chicken meal and peas. This explains the high protein and low carbs. Out of the two the chicken is the most beneficial for a cat as a carnivore, whereas peas are used to keep cost down.
There are far worse cat foods, but for more $ per kilo you can definitely buy better. I feel this formula is targeted at cat owners who want something relatively decent but can’t afford anything like Orijen.
I haven’t intended to make this review overly negative, as Taste of the Wild is still a good cat food, and there’s lots of positives to say about it.
None of the ingredients are bad choices. There’s a good mix of meat and fish, and a whole host of minor fruits and veggies to mimic the gut content of prey. It’s far better to offer a cat a high protein/high fat diet than low protein/low fat and the inevitable high carbohydrates.
There aren’t any grains in any of the Taste of the Wild formulas, and no matter how much the big corporate manufacturers justify grains in cat foods, grains shouldn’t be fed to a carnivore. Potato as an alternative arguably shouldn’t be either, but if you want to avoid ingredients like that you need to move away from dry cat foods altogether.
To end on a positive point, Taste of the Wild cat foods contain pre and pro biotics to support digestion and gut health, which means your cat will get more nutrients from this food than any of those rubbishy cereal-based excuses for a cat food.
What about Taste of the Wild PREY?
To offer a short Taste of the Wild PREY review, these limited ingredient cat foods may be a welcome option for a cat suffering itchy skin, itchy ears, or other symptoms common with food sensitivities.
These formulas have three main ingredients, and a simplified ingredients list all round. We still find pre and probiotics which will help your cat’s digestion, but we don’t find the minor inclusions of fruits and veggies, or the peas and potato common in the original formulas.
Interestingly Taste of the Wild tell us the percentage of the main ingredients, which for Taste of the Wild Aberdeen Angus PREY is 55% beef to 43% lentils.
It’s nice to see beef rather than a meal (Rocky Mountain used chicken meal for example). A regular real meat is a better inclusion, but on the flip side will contain more moisture. Without getting too technical, it means once cooked into a kibble it won’t be 55% beef to 43% lentils dry weight, it will likely be more in favour of lentils.
The above is a small point though, and the main point of note is this food is a combination of meat (great) and lentils (not as great, but we can live with this).
Taste of the Wild PREY seems the better option for a cat than the original formulas, especially for an itchy/scratchy cat, but read the next section and I’ll give a tip which means it doesn’t really matter.
Should I feed Taste of the Wild to my cat?
I rarely hear of any problems with Taste of the Wild, and the manufacturer Diamond Pet Foods has a decent reputation. The original and PREY formulas could make a good base diet for your cat, and for many will be as much as people can afford. With that considered, Taste of the Wild cat food is a good choice.
If you’re worried about the amount of peas and potato in the Original formulas, or the amount of lentils in the PREY formulas, then add some variety to your cat’s diet with another product. This could be the Taste of the Wild wet food range, another wet/raw product, or even some fresh meat/offal/bones.
After all, cats need moisture in their diet, so these are good recommendations for anyone feeding a dry kibble to their cats.
Where to buy Taste of the Wild cat food
For the best prices why not order on Amazon.com?
Ingredients
Ingredients of Taste of the Wild cat food (Rocky Mountain):
Chicken meal, peas, sweet potatoes, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), potato protein, roasted venison, smoked salmon, natural flavor, ocean fish meal, methionine, taurine, choline chloride, dried chicory root, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, yucca schidigera extract, Enterococcus faecium, LChicken meal, peas, sweet potatoes, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), pea protein, potato protein, roasted venison, smoked salmon, natural flavor, ocean fish meal, DL-Methionine, potassium chloride, taurine, choline chloride, dried chicory root, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, yucca schidigera extract, dried Lactobacillus plantarum fermentation product, dried Bacillus subtilis fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product, dried Bifidobacterium animalis fermentation product, 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 B12 supplement, sodium selenite, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid.
Guaranteed analysis
Guaranteed analysis of Taste of the Wild cat food (Rocky Mountain):
| Protein | (min) 42% |
| Fat | (min) 18% |
| Crude Fibre | (max) 3% |
| Carbohydrates * | Estimated 22%. |
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I feed my cat blue buffalo wet food and taste of the wild dry food… would you suggest me using taste of the wild dry food, or using blue buffalo dry food.
You could rotate between the two 😉
I just bought taste of the wild salmon and trout and taste of the wild venison and salmon for her dry food and Im using blue buffalo meaty morsels for her wet food 🙂 thanks for your help <3
Hello:)
Thanks for your great job here!
We feed Taste of Wild our boy all his six years,but just yesterday I found out,that the food produces in China. Now U”m pondering should we swtich to an another dry food. What do you think about this food being Chenese? 🙂
Thanks a lot!
Hi Vicky, as far as I’m aware it’s produced entirely in America
hello! i have been debating between royal canin and taste of the wild for my cat.. which one do you suggest would be better?
Hi Sakina, it always depends on a number of factors and all cats are different, but Taste of the Wild is the food we rate the most highly of the two.
hi! between orijen cat&kitten and totw rocky mountain, which one is the best for my persian cats and which one has the lowest carbs?
Alex I did try this for a few months I would not recommend taste of the wild to any one. I would go with Origen or Wellness Core I like Core a bit more as it has a resealable bag. My personal experience of this brand was that my cat was never excited about it and at the end would barely even touch it even though I could tell he was hungry. I still have at least half a bag of it and don’t plan on ever giving it to my cat again I know this is less expencive then either but when your watching your cat practically starve themselves cause they hate there food you don’t care about saving money.
I have 3 cats and they all love TOTW.. it’s the only dry food I will give them.
They’re both very good high protein/low carb foods. It depends which one works best for you, your cat, and your budget.
oh, i thought that totw has higher carbs than the others cat food. anyway, thanks!
I fed my cat the Rocky Mountain formula the majority of his life. He was diagnosed with diabetes and we lost him 3 months ago. My other cat a couple years younger and 2 dogs are all on TOTW. Switched my other cat to raw primal wet diet and the dogs we are reevaluating the food. I still don’t know if it was TOTW but for those of you considering it for kidney or diabetic solution I’ve read it’s higher carb content than it advertises and I think it did cause long term harm to my cat. I can’t say for sure it could have been genetic but he was only 9 years old. He always had plenty of water but I guess it wasn’t enough. I feel horribly guilty that I should’ve known. Wanted to post this to make others aware. He loved the food but in hindsight I always brushed off the “all wet food” comments as optional when I should’ve seen it as mandatory. Too late now.
I don’t think it had anything to do with the food. I lost a cat at 9 due to kidney failure.
I wouldn’t be so sure, Amanda. One of our cats is diabetic and we use TOTW to bring her lower blood sugars up. One night she was a 40 (!), gave her 1/4 cup of TOTW and her blood sugar went up to 280. While the ingredients are not “grains” they certainly are not “low carb”.
I just got my kitty about 2 months ago and she was a scrawny little stray who looked about 4 months old. i wanted to get her some food that was really good for her and she would love. I selected taste of the wild for a few reasons (lots of meat, no grains, good for all stages of life and just sounded tasty) and decided she deserved a mix of both wet and dry. she has never left her food bowl empty by the end of the day and hasnt had the desire to hunt the mice in the shed. so obviously this is keeping her satisfied and that is really the only downfall of this food, she doesnt want to hunt the mice! although she will chase birds for fun. Her fur is so pretty now and she really is a happy satisfied cat. I have a feeling i will not change her food and she will be a taste of the wild cat for life!
When compared to royal cannin which is better for indoor persian cat??
Royal Canin Persian isn’t a bad food, but I’d be inclined to try TOTW. I recommend TOTW more than Royal Canin.
I’m searching for a dry cat food that isn’t loaded with grains, especially corn. My 5 cats are getting into the elderly range (one is just 4, but the others range from 10 to nearly 13), and they are not as active as before. For years, I’ve fed all the cats I’ve had 9-Lives Plus Care (because a couple had crystal problems, and Hill’s food for that problem was less than useless). But now these 5 seem to be putting on more weight, and I think the grains might be to blame. I’d also like them to get more good quality meat into their diets.
However, so many dry cat foods have fruits in them, and, while cranberries might be good for urinary tracts (there’s some debate on the efficacy of it, though, as cranberries don’t actually prevent bacteria from growing; they just make it harder for the bacteria to stick to the urinary tract walls), in the wild, cats don’t eat fruits and vegetables. They eat the whole animal and get any plant material already digested from the stomach and intestines of the omnivore or herbivore they eat.
One cat has no teeth, so he gets a can of wet food each day as well as the bit of dry he insists on eating. I mix some of the wet food with water and put it on the other cats’ dry food twice a day as well to keep enough fluids in them.
But there are so many dry foods and so many ratings that I’m just not sure which to use. Also, I’m a retiree and on a tight budget, which makes feeding 5 cats canned food impossible. So, what benefit, really, are the fruits and veggies, and how good is a meat meal compared to whole meat?
Thanks!
Hi Ree, meat meals are denser protein sources which means they’re better ingredients. Many pet foods list a meat as the top ingredient as it helps sell the product, but in reality it becomes far less prominent once cooked – it’s definitely worth opting for a food with decent meat meals high in the ingredient list. It’s nice to see fruits and veggies in a food and they do provide nutritional and health benefits. The caveat is most of these ingredients are in small proportions so can also be used as a sales gimmic.
Hi,
I have a cat with FLUTS. He has had the surgery to prevent blockages. I was told low magnesium food. Why is that not shown on cat food. He is still having flare ups. Need to find a food he can eat that isn’t Hills
raw meat.i just saved my cat from FLUTS and herbicide/pesticide poisoning with raw meat,not ground but cut up into small bites.grass fed steak,free range chicken breast,raw turkey,cooked fish ,ground grass fed beef heart.thought we were going to lose him for sure,but raw meat brought him back.now he gets raw meat once a day .and lots of purified water
Hi Joan, have you considered a decent quality wet food? Water intake is key, and a wet food is better for that than dry.
I feed this to my cat and he looks amazing. He get huge compliments on his coat and eyes. He does have some soft stools on this and his vet says he is prone to stones and would like to see him on a wet diet. I just do not have that kind of money to feed him straight wet so we started giving a urinary health treat everyday. It has cranberry, blueberry and other natural ingredients that seem to be doing a beautiful job. He’s not had anymore urinary distress. Just wish he liked the taste more.. he picks and nibbles at it.
Taste of the Wild and also Blue Buffalo , because of the ratings and ingredients, peak my interest. My cat ,age 8, was diagnosed with early stages Kidney disease. Vet recommended I go with Hills Science gourmet wet. She’s a dry food eater. Hills doesnt rate too high in your listing. Vet recommends avoiding phosphorous, protein and sodium in her diet. Any comments.
Much appreciate hearing from you.
Hank B
Hi Hank,
Firstly, I always recommend you take the advice of your vet. That being said, yes I don’t rate the Hills products very highly (although they are low in phosphorous). Any cat with kidney problems needs sufficient water intake, which is why wet food is recommended as it contains more water. If you wish to continue with dry food then try wetting it with water to see if your cat continues to eat it. That ensures they’re getting a regular water intake. Always ensure they have water available as well.
Choosing a low phosphorous food will certainly help. There’s excellent information here showing dry foods by phosphorous level – http://www.felinecrf.org/dry_food_usa.htm
I personally wouldn’t be concerned about feeding a decent high protein food to a cat with CKD, it’s not that factual that high protein foods can worsen the kidneys. The benefits of feeding a decent food will outweigh this anyway. Cats don’t need much salt/sodium, so that’s a no brainer.
Hi! I have 2 adult cats and 2 kittens and I feed them Orijen 6 Fish for lunch and a bit of Friskies canned tuna for breakfast and dinner. Sometimes stocks run out and I have to find an alternative dry food for them. I get Taste of the Wild Venison and Salmon Formula when this happens and they seem to love it more than their regular fare. I stick with Orijen because of its high protein content. I also heard that TOTW is grain free but not carbohydrates free, which might be bad for them in the long run and could cause diabetes. They do eat more when I get them this so I am worried about managing their weight and sugar levels. Is a high protein diet really better for cats? Are the carbs in TOTW harmful in the long run? Thanks in advance for your help!
carbohidrates are a must for all species your brain needs them to function which is part of why the Atkins diet is so bad for people heck the guy died from it after all i’m not saying you should eat nothing but carbs as yes you will get fat but they are part of a balanced diet for anything with a brain
Atkins died from massive injury to the brain caused by a slip-fall on an ice covered sidewalk and not from lack of carbohydrates in his system. Geeze! Get it right if you are going to post it.
As for energy systems in the human body we evolved eating mostly fats and proteins. Large amounts of carbohydrates were generally unavailable to our diets until the agricultural revolution a few thousand years ago. We didn’t evolve eating much more carbohydrates, if that much, than what is normal on the Atkins Maintenance Program recommendation–somewhere around 50+ grams of carbohydrates daily.
And yes, your are wrong again in that your brain can function very nicely on the energy available from stored and ingested body fats (think about lions for example) for quite a long time after your body has used up all the available carbohydrates in your system. We evolved doing just that. Normally your body fluctuates back and forth from carbohydrate for energy if available to ingested/stored fat energy based on availability.
Dahlia…which formula are you using?…vension & smoked salmon or trout & smoked salmon? I have a couple with skin
issues & diarreha as well. .wanted to try formula you are having luck with. Thanks
I feed this to my cats. When we switched to Taste of the Wild Grain Free for the dogs, the cats were attracted to it. They left the food they were eating and started crunching on the dogfood nuggets so we decided to give it a try.
My outdoor animals are showing superior health with their combination of this food and their usual hunting. My 10 and 13 pounders look like bears! Huge and cuddly! My Siamese suffers from skin problems and diarrhea. With the introduction of this food I am seeing a decrease in skin lesions, no more skin redness, hair is now thick and gorgeous where it used to be thin and sad. Diarrhea is gone.
I recommend this food to anyone who asks. I just wish it came in a bigger bag.