Acana Cat Food Review

Is Acana a Good Cat Food?

Provided that your cat doesn’t suffer from any of the common cat food allergens that plague cats with sensitive stomachs, Acana’s cat foods could be an excellent alternative to the pet food that you’re currently using for your cat’s daily meals. Acana put a lot of effort into creating kibble out of high-protein ingredients, but they do use every common meat allergen from chicken to various breeds of fish.

We wouldn’t suggest feeding your cat the products from our Acana cat food review unless you know that they’ve never had a bad reaction to the main proteins in each kibble product. Basically, if your cat has eaten chicken-based pet food before and they were fine with it, there shouldn’t be any harm in feeding them Acana’s chicken-based dry foods. Thankfully, there are plenty of options within Acana’s cat food range, so you can pick whichever food you believe your cat with enjoy and tolerate more.

Moving away from allergens, Acana uses fresh, regional ingredients to create some of the best cat food products around. They stand by the need to make biologically appropriate food for cats because cats are obligate carnivores and need meat – whether that’s fish meat or poultry etc. – to live a healthy and whole life. They do use a few meat meal ingredients, like lamb meal, but these aren’t ever the first ingredient, which means the percentage of meal ingredients is lower than the main protein used in each dry food product.

These are champion pet foods, made with everything from the freeze-dried liver to whole pinto beans, but always using a solid source of protein to create high-quality food for cats. Regular dry cat foods just don’t put in the same amount of effort that Acana does for all of their products, and they certainly stand out from other brands in the pet food industry.

The Short History of Acana

Founded in 1985, Acana is actually a branch brand under the company Champion Petfoods. This is a brand of pet food manufacturers and pet lovers who use quality animal ingredients that are delivered to their kitchen fresh or raw so that they can create their better-than-average cat food using those fresh, regional ingredients. Acana food products are crafted for both cats and dogs, though we’ve focused on the cat versions of their pet food products for the sake of this review.

Their parent brand – Champion petfoods – is an award-winning pet food making that has a reputation for making trusted dog and cat food that is biologically appropriate for each species. They never outsource any of their product makings; keep all of their ingredients fresh, and make every part of their products, from start to finish, in their own kitchens.

Acana also has a sister brand that caters to cats – Orijen. They produce similar products with only slight differences in ingredients and nutritional value.

Where is Acana Cat Food Made?

Acana’s biologically appropriate cat food products are made in their Canadian kitchen. NorthStar, which is the name of their pet food kitchen in Canada, is apparently the most advanced pet food kitchen in the country. It’s here that Champion Petfoods makes all their products for their Acana and Orijen brands.

Where Do They Source Their Ingredients From?

According to the information available on their website, all of Acana’s ingredients are sourced across the region and delivered either fresh or raw to their kitchen in Canada. They don’t outsource any of their manufacturing and keep everything about their brand in-house.

Product Lines – Differences and Which One You Should Choose

There are two main product categories for Acana cat food. Of their two main lines, one branch is grain-free, while the other isn’t. Acana doesn’t actually have a huge range of cat food products, which makes choosing a product much easier for pet parents. Some brands have innumerable amounts of products that are all really similar and it can make it confusing for cat owners who want to switch brands.

ACANA CAT

With just four products, the Acana cat line consists of First Feast, Homestead Harvest, Bountiful Catch, and Indoor Entrée. Of these, only First Feast is suitable for kittens.

We’ve reviewed all four of these cat food products during this Acana cat food review, so there isn’t much more to say about them. If you have a kitten, First Feast should be your go-to choice from Acana. Indoor cats would be better using Indoor Entrée, and both Homestead Harvest and Bountiful Catch are suitable for adult cats of all kinds.

If your cat has poultry allergies, use Bountiful Catch. For fish sensitivities, Homestead Harvest would be better suited for your furry friend.

ACANA GRAIN-FREE

The grain-free range has a further three cat food products produced by Acana. We’ve reviewed these above, so you can make an informed decision about whether that particular grain-free product is suitable for your kitty. Remember, only feed your cat grain-free food if your veterinarian has advised it. They’re created for cats with grain allergies and sensitivities and can cause weight gain in cats that don’t have these issues.

Thankfully, all three grain-free products are suitable for cats in all life stages, so you can feed a grain-sensitive kitten Wild Prairie (Meadowlands), Pacifica (Wild Atlantic), or Grasslands without any further problems. Other reasons you may decide on one grain-free product over another may be the proteins used or any other allergies your cat has.

Let’s Take a Closer Look at Ingredients

We’ll be focusing on ingredients that aren’t meat or fish for the purposes of this section, instead of looking at the benefits of other additions to Acana’s cat food that pet owners might not know the benefits of.

Red Lentils

Lentils are used in almost 10% of dry cat food recipes in the pet food industry. They may seem like a strange ingredient to include in cat food, but there are some decent benefits, even if they aren’t the best choice of ingredient to include. In small amounts, your cat can eat and digest lentils with no issues, but too many of them can cause gastrointestinal distress. Red lentils have a slightly sweet and nutty flavor. They’re also high in fiber and protein, as well as a good source of Vitamin B6, iron, and more.

Pinto Beans

Though beans aren’t as good for cats as they are for humans, your kitties can eat them. Outside of cat food, they should be served cooked and plain. They have a decent amount of protein and fiber, but that’s about all they’re useful for. Cats can also eat black beans and kidney beans, but they shouldn’t be anywhere near refried beans or baked beans because these are over-processed, over-seasoned human foods that aren’t good for your cat.

Pumpkin

An excellent source of fiber, pumpkin is a great addition to any cat food. This super vegetable can also prevent hairballs, which is hugely beneficial when you have cats who are prone to overgrooming or live in a household with multiple cats. The fiber in pumpkins will help fur move through your cat’s digestive system, instead of it coming back up as a hairball. You may also like our guide on cat food for hairball control.

Cranberries

Cranberries carry similar benefits for cats as they do for humans. They’re extremely beneficial in felines because cats are often prone to urinary tract infections, which cranberries are known to help prevent. They’re also a good source of Vitamin C and fiber, so if you want your cat to have a little extra protection, look for cat food that contains cranberries.

Apples

Though apples are safe for cats to eat, they aren’t considered a necessary part of a cat’s diet and your cat shouldn’t eat too much apple. Like oatmeal, you could consider apples a non-harmful filler ingredient. They aren’t toxic and won’t hurt your cat, but there’s little point in having them in cat food. There are some antioxidant benefits, but nothing special that your cat wouldn’t get from other ingredients in their cat food.

Cat Food Recall History

Though Acana has never been recalled, the brand has had some issues in the past. Back in 2019, Acana was one of the 16 pet food brands that were investigated by the FDA for potentially having links to heart disease in cats and dogs. Despite this, the FDA announced that it was a complex issue that involved multiple factors and they cannot be certain that diet was the cause of the heart disease concern.

Beyond that investigation, there was a class-action lawsuit against Acana’s parent brand, Champion Petfoods. The lawsuit filed against Champion Petfoods accused the company of negligent and reckless practices, as well as false advertising and failure to disclose the presence of heavy metals and toxins in their Acana and Orijen brand dog foods. The allegations were rebuked by the company, which called them “meritless and based on a misinterpretation of the data”.

Price

Considering the quality of the ingredients, Acana has a great price point for any pet owners looking to switch brands. We’ve included the current non-sale prices of all of the reviewed cat food products from this review below:

Where Can I Buy Acana Cat Food?

Stockists of Acana’s cat food include:

• Amazon
• Chewy
• Local pet stores

Acana is committed to supporting your local neighborhood pet store, so they stock their product across over 8,000 independent pet retailers in the United States. You shouldn’t be able to find their pet food on the shelves of Walmart or Petsmart because they aren’t authorized to sell it.

In a Nutshell, Is Acana a Good Choice?

For pet parents searching for mid-priced pet food that is made with high-quality ingredients by a company that understands the biological needs of felines, Acana is a great choice. They aren’t particularly allergy-friendly beyond their grain-free products, though, so that’s something to watch out for if you have cats with sensitive digestive systems. Otherwise, it’s a brand full of good cat food made with a range of protein sources, and no awful filler ingredients.