Meal time can be a struggle when your cat is a picky eater. You probably tried countless cat foods in the past but noticed that your pet still isn’t touching their bowls. This experience can cause a lot of stress, especially if your cat goes on days without eating anything.
Cats have distinct preferences when it comes to their food, and as a pet owner, it’s your responsibility to figure out what kind of food they like best. This process isn’t an easy feat, but we’re here to help. We’ve listed the best tasting cat foods for picky eaters to save you time and effort from going through thousands of product reviews.
Table of Contents
Best Tasting Wet Cat Foods for Picky Eaters
- Best Overall: Merrick Backcountry
- Premium Pick: Tiki Cat Puka Puka Luau
- Best on a Budget: Taste of the Wild Rocky Mountain Flavor
Best Tasting Dry Cat Foods for Picky Eaters
- Best Overall: Merrick Backcountry Raw Infused
- Premium Pick: Tiki Cat Born Carnivore
- Best on a Budget: Purina Fancy Feast Dry Cat Food
5 Things to Consider When Choosing Cat Food for Picky Eaters
- Fat Content
- Healthy and Nutritious
- Protein Source
- Smell
- Texture
Best Tasting Cat Food for Picky Eaters
While some pet owners choose to give their cats wet foods, others prefer dry foods. We considered this status quo, which is why this article presents our top three choices for the best wet and dry cat foods for picky eaters.
Best Tasting Wet Cat Foods for Picky Eaters
Do you feed your cat with wet cat food? If this is the case, this section is for you. Here, we’ve listed three of the best tasting wet cat foods for picky eaters, along with their best features.
- Best Overall: Merrick Backcountry
The Merrick Backcountry tops our list in the best tasting wet cat food category because it comes in seven different flavors, such as beef, chicken, chicken and trout, duck, turkey, rabbit, and whitefish, and features a strong-smelling aroma. This cat food is also packed with a lot of gravy that motivates cats to dig in.
We also love how the Merrick Backcountry offers the following:
- Contains real deboned duck that helps build and maintain healthy energy levels and muscle tissues.
- It’s free from common allergens, like corn, gluten, and wheat.
- Made with proteins and antioxidant-rich vegetables.
- Premium Pick: Tiki Cat Puka Puka Luau
Cats are carnivores, which is why it’s important to choose foods that align with their roots. The Tiki Cat Puka Puka Luau can help with this one because it’s made from simple ingredients and doesn’t contain any thickening agents. Instead, it primarily uses chicken and chicken broth — ingredients that your cat would have eaten if they were still in the wild.
Your cat can also enjoy the following from the Tiki Cat Puka Puka Luau:
- Comes in different flavors, namely chicken, chicken and egg, salmon, salmon and chicken, seabass, tuna and mackerel, and tuna and chicken.
- Contains taurine that helps maintain normal vision, heart health, digestion, and muscle function in cats.
- Ideal for cats in all life stages.
- Best on a Budget: Taste of the Wild Rocky Mountain Flavor
With the Taste of the Wild Rocky Mountain Flavor, you don’t have to break the bank just to feed your picky eater cat! This budget-friendly cat food contains animal-based ingredients that your carnivore cat will surely love.
The Taste of the Wild Rocky Mountain Flavor doesn’t compromise the quality of its ingredients for the price. In fact, with this wet cat food, your pet can still enjoy animal proteins for stronger bones and joints and nutrients for healthy energy levels.
Buy the Taste of the Wild Rocky Mountain Flavor and let your feline friend enjoy these:
- Primarily uses salmon, which is an excellent source of high-quality fatty acids.
- Ideal for cats of all breed sizes.
- It’s free from grains.
Best Tasting Dry Cat Foods for Picky Eaters
If you feed your cats with dry foods, you’ll love this section. Listed below are our top three picks of the best tasting dry cat foods for picky eaters.
- Best Overall: Merrick Backcountry Raw Infused
What makes the Merrick Backcountry Raw Infused ideal for picky eaters is that it mixes freeze-dried fish or meat with traditional kibbles. This combination ensures a better-smelling cat food and enhanced taste. The ingredients of this cat food also give variety to the dry texture of your cat’s traditional kibbles.
Here are other reasons why the Merrick Backcountry Raw Infused deserves a position on our list:
- Contains high-quality protein that builds and maintains healthy muscle tissues.
- Has omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids that support healthy skin and fur.
- It’s free from corn, gluten, wheat, and soy.
- Premium Pick: Tiki Cat Born Carnivore
The ingredient list of the Tiki Cat Born Carnivore focuses on what your feline friend needs in their diet — meat! This dry cat food uses different animal-sourced ingredients and is packed with protein. And because it’s baked, expect that the Tiki Cat Born Carnivore has a better taste and softer texture compared to other dry cat foods.
One thing we love about the Tiki Cat Born Carnivore is that it contains a very low amount of carbohydrates. This is beneficial, especially if your cat is prone to obesity or you’re trying to put them on a weight loss diet.
You and your cat will surely enjoy these features from the Tiki Cat Born Carnivore:
- Contains around 4.5 pounds of fish and chicken ingredients.
- It’s free from animal by-products, corn, wheat, and soy.
- Supports natural grazing.
- Best on a Budget: Purina Fancy Feast Dry Cat Food
The Purina Fancy Feast Dry Cat Food is a godsend for pet owners who have a tight budget as it contains high-quality ingredients without the expensive price tag. It offers 100% balanced nutrition to cats and features real poultry flavors. It’s also packed with different vitamins and minerals essential for your cat’s overall health.
We also love these from the Purina Fancy Feast Dry Cat Food:
- Comes in three flavors: chicken and turkey, filet mignon, seafood and shrimp, and ocean fish, salmon, and garden greens.
- It’s formulated based on decades of pet nutrition research to ensure quality.
- Uses sustainable ingredients.
5 Things to Consider When Choosing Cat Food for Picky Eaters
As a cat owner, it’s important to understand what makes food appealing and tasty to picky eaters. You don’t want to spend your hard-earned money on cat food that your pet won’t even touch, right? Aside from affecting your finances and causing you stress, this situation can also impact your cat’s overall health.
When choosing cat food for picky eaters, it’s crucial to consider the following:
Fat Content
Although giving your pet cat foods with high-fat content isn’t an assurance that they’ll start eating again, it can surely pique their interest. Cat foods with high-fat content align with your cat’s natural diet and help keep their coats healthy.
Healthy and Nutritious
Just because your cat is picky doesn’t mean that you should compromise their nutritional requirements just to have them eat. On the contrary, you should prioritize feeding them healthy and nutritious foods to ensure that they stay strong and active in the long run.
Protein Source
Protein is important to cats because it fuels their bodies, ensures a functioning immune system, and helps hair grow continuously. When picking cat food for a picky eater, check the protein source. Cat foods usually use chicken or fish as their protein source but some picky eaters prefer protein from beef, duck, lamb, or rabbit.
Smell
Picky eaters are often introduced to “stinky food” to encourage them to eat. With this in mind, it’s important to find cat foods with a strong smell to entice your feline friend to eat again. You can also heat the food for a few seconds to enhance its smell.
Texture
Picky eaters usually prefer a certain texture on their cat foods. Some might even require you to prepare their food in a particular way. Because it’s difficult to determine which type of texture your cat prefers, consider letting them try cat foods with different textures.
You can feed them wet cat foods with soupy consistency one day and then dry cat foods the next. Check if they prefer one texture over the other, and continue feeding them foods with that texture.
Talk To Your Vet
Before changing your cat’s diet, set an appointment with your vet first. Inform your vet about the cat food you’re planning to introduce to your pet’s diet and ask if it’s ideal for your pet’s age, breed, and nutritional needs. Never change your cat’s diet unless approved by your vet.