Guide Cats Taste Test: Premium Dry Foods

Test Number One

In the past years, we've tested and reviewed a number of premium dry cat foods on our GuideCats, Jaspurr and Joey, with the help of their mentor, Bubba. Based partially on their likes and dislikes, and mostly on the nutritional contents of the foods, my Top Ten list has been revised. To supplement the list and reviews, I decided to try an experimental taste test, using four of the Top 10 products I happened to have on hand. The results were interesting, and I offer them with these caveats: Cats can change their minds from day to day. Yesterday's favorite food may today be considered fodder for the litter box. Newly-introduced foods may be loved, simply because they are new, or hated, for the same reason. Cats' taste preferences vary widely. The food my cats adore may be anathema to your furballs. How the Test was Done We started with four paper plates, each marked with the name of the food therein. The choices offered were: Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul Nutro Natural Complete Care NOTE>:Due to a series of events in 2008/2009, Nutro food products have been removed from my top picks lists, and I no longer feed this food to my cats. Go! Natural Felidae Chicken and Rice Ten ounces of each food was placed on its own labeled plate.No canned food was offered during the two days of this test period.Note: canned food should be the basic staple of a feline diet, with dry food offered only as a supplement. Many experts recommend that cats only eat canned food, unless they can be fed a raw diet. The cats were photographed as often as they could be caught at the "food service center." Day One 2:15 p.m. Jaspurr eats a few bites of Go! Natural, sniffs the Felidae Chicken and Rice, and walks away. 2:45 p.m. Jaspurr eats several bites of Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul, sniffs the Nutro Natural, then "covers the plates" by vigorously scratching on the floor; walks away. Day Two 12:00 p.m. Jaspurr eats a healthy serving of Go! Natural. At 3:40 p.m. he helps himself to a snack of Nutro. 6:35 p.m. Bubba eats a small amount of Go!, sniffs the Nutro Natural, then settles down to eat Chicken Soup for several minutes. The "Phantom Tester" Joey has taken an academic interest in the whole taste test phenomenon, but remains aloof from personal participation (within camera range.) However, as can be seen from the photos below, someone has been snacking surreptitiously when the dreaded "flashbox" is nowhere in evidence.

End of Test Day Two

End of Day Three

Clearly, Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul was the favorite during this short test period. However, it was neck-and-neck for the first day between Go! Natural, and the GuideCat's ongoing staple at that time, Nutro Natural. Right up until the end of Day Two, I would have proclaimed Go! Natural as the second choice, however, Nutro made a last minute dash, and after leaving the plates out one more night, it appeared that our "sneak eaters" confirmed their old standby Nutro as a strong second choice, as evidenced by the second photograph.The Felidae offering was steadfastly ignored throughout the whole test, although the cats had eaten it with apparent approval when it was the only food offered during the testing for review of this food. This only helps to confirm the first caveat above, that cats' tastes can vary from day to day.

This completes our first purely non-scientific taste test. Another test will be given in the future, using the top choice from this test, along with two other cat foods in my Top Picks list.

More Reading on Feline Nutrition:

Understanding Cat Food Labels
Tips on Choosing Cat Foods
A-Z Food Comparison