Tuft & Paw Wet Review

Tuft + Paw wet cat food receives the Cat Food Advisor highest rating, 5 stars

This food is made up of just one recipe – Really Great Cat Food Chicken & Rabbit Stew. It is rich in fat and moisture, with salmon oil added to offer omega-3.  Protein content is high and is derived from animal meat, in addition to some plant-based proteins.

The table below shows the recipe rating and the AAFCO nutrient profile.

Recipe and Label Analysis

Label and nutrient data below are calculated using dry matter basis.

Ingredients Analysis

The first ingredient is chicken broth. Broths are of only modest nutritional value. Yet because they add both flavor and moisture to a cat food, they are a common component in many wet products.

The second ingredient is pumpkin puree. Pumpkin is a nutritious addition high in complex carbohydrates, beta-carotene and dietary fiber.

The third ingredient is rabbit. Rabbit is considered “the clean flesh derived from slaughtered rabbit” and associated with skeletal muscle or the muscle tissues of the tongue, diaphragm, heart, esophagus or other tissues accompanying the flesh. ¹.

Rabbit is naturally rich in all 11 essential amino acids required by a cat to sustain life.

The fourth ingredient is carrots. Carrots are rich in beta-carotene, minerals and dietary fiber.

The fifth ingredient is ground golden flaxseed. one of the best plant sources of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Provided they’ve first been ground into a meal, flax seeds are also rich in soluble fiber.

However, flaxseed contains about 19% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this cat food.

The sixth ingredient is natural flavor. Natural flavors doesn’t give us much information about the particular ingredients included in this cat food for flavoring purposes. 

We’re pleased that the flavorings used are natural, but more details are required to give any further information about these natural flavoring ingredients. Flavorings are used to make the foods more appealing and tasty for our cats.

The seventh ingredient is tricalcium phosphate, a beneficial source of calcium and phosphorus. In addition, this additive is used in wet foods as an emulsifier — an agent designed to disperse a food’s fats more evenly in water.

The eighth ingredient is agar agar, a natural vegetable gelatin derived from the cell walls of certain species of red algae. Agar is rich in fiber and is used in wet pet foods as a gelling agent.

From here the list goes on to include a number of other items. But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to affect the overall rating of the product.

This food also contains chelated minerals that have been chemically attached to protein. This makes them easier to absorb. Chelated minerals are usually found in better cat foods.

Nutrient Analysis

Based on its ingredients alone, Tuft + Paw Really Great Cat Food recipe looks like an above-average wet product.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 52.5%, a fat level of 24.2% and an estimated carbohydrate level of 12.4%, alongside a fat to protein ratio of 46%.

This means this Tuft + Paw product contains higher than average protein, lower than average carbohydrate and higher than average fat, when compared to typical wet cat food.

Has Tuft & Paw Wet cat food been recalled in the past?

No. Tuft + Paw has not had a product recall.

You can view a complete list of all cat food recalls since 2021 here.

To stay on top of any cat food product recalls, sign up for our free email alerts, here.

About

Tuft + Paw was founded by Jackson Cunningham in 2016.  Its headquarters are in Palm Desert, USA. 

The company started out by making good quality furniture for cats such as cat beds, cat trees, scratching posts and litter boxes. It has recently broken into the cat food market with this one wet recipe.