What is the Best Dry Cat Food For Indoor Cats | iPetCompanion

What is the Best Dry Cat Food For Indoor Cats

For those pet owners of an indoor cat it is important to ensure that you provide them with a healthy and enjoyable life. It is likely that you have put lots of effort into choosing the best toys, treats, and even litter for your pet cat so it is only right that you do the same with the food that you feed them. However, this can be over whelming and even off putting for any owner given the sheer amount of choice that is currently available on the market. There are many different varieties and types for you to choose from, with many of them claiming to be the best or most beneficial for your cat.

To make the process of finding the best food for your indoor cat that bit easier we have reviewed some of the best products and taken a look at their ingredients and nutritional content. As well as this we have also answered some of the most frequently asked questions for dry cat food so that you are fully informed.

The Best Dry Cat Food For Indoor Cats: Our Top Picks

diamond naturals dry cat food

  • All sustainable ingredients
  • Cage free chicken
  • Healthy GI tract

Rated by: Amber

purina beyond grain adult dry cat food

  • Several different flavors
  • Recognizable ingredients
  • Maintain a healthy weight

Rated by: Amber

9 Lives indoor dry cat food

  • Contains vitamins & minerals
  • Cheap
  • Full of nutrients

Rated by: Amber

1. Purina Beyond Grain Free Adult Dry Cat Food

Quick Summary

Rated by: Amber

This Purina dry food comes packed with all recognizable ingredients so you can feel positive about giving it to your feline friend.

It is rich in protein and has been specifically formulated with indoor cats in mind, ensuring that they maintain their best weight.

Available in five different flavors, including Pacific Tuna, Chicken & Egg, Ocean Whitefish & Egg, Icelandic Arctic Char, and Salmon, Egg and Sweet Potato, you will be sure to find one that your cat likes the taste of. 

As well as being rich in protein, antioxidants, natural fiber, the food is also free from any grain or soy in order to help with supporting your cat’s immune system and aid digestion. It contains 10 percent fewer fats than most other similar indoor cat foods to ensure that your cat does not become overweight. Additionally, there are no flavors, colors, or preservatives that are artificial, so you can rest assured that what you are feeding your cat is nutritionally beneficial.

All of these ingredients help to control the production of hairballs within your cat. The Purina food comes in four different sized bags, including 3 pounds, 5 pounds, 11 pounds, and 16 pounds. This is a high quality product that has been crafted in the United States of America.

PROS

  • Comes in several different flavors
  • Packed with all recognizable ingredients
  • Helps your cat to maintain a healthy weight

CONS

  • Can cause some cats to shed excessively

2. Nutro Max Cat Indoor Adult Dry Cat Food

Quick Summary

Rated by: Amber

This dry cat food contains all of the nutrients that your indoor cat requires.

This includes antioxidants and ingredients that are of the best quality, ensuring that your cat’s immune system is boosted and its heart and eye function improved. 

As well as this, the oat fiber and tomato pomace in the food helps your cat to pass any hairballs it may have and aid overall digestion.

Finally, the omega fatty acids leave your cat with a healthy and shiny coat.

All of the ingredients in this food product have been sourced from a network of highly trusted suppliers and farmers to ensure that only the best quality components are used. Further to this, no artificial flavors, soy, poultry by products, or artificial preservatives have been used in the formulation of the Nutro Max Cat Indoor Adult Dry Cat Food. This leaves the food packed with flavors that your cat will love. If they do not then you can get your money back under the 100 percent satisfaction guarantee.

The food has been proudly cooked in the United States of America and comes in two different flavors – Salmon and Roasted Chicken. As well as this, it also comes in three different sized bags to ensure your get the right size for your cat. These sizes are 3 pounds, 6 pounds, and 16 pounds.

PROS

  • High quality ingredients
  • Boosts your cat’s heart and eye function
  • Makes your cat’s coat healthy and shiny

CONS

  • Does not come in different flavors

3. 9 Lives Indoor Complete Dry Cat Food

Quick Summary

Rated by: Amber

The 9 Lives Indoor Complete Dry Cat Food has been specifically put together to have all the necessary nutrients required by indoor cats whilst combining flavors of chicken and salmon.

It contains targeted vitamins and minerals that are essential for your cat maintaining its perfect weight and overall general health. 

The B vitamins (B1, B2, B6, and B12) and lean meat protein that are included help your cat to maintain a healthy metabolism and weight.

Thanks to these ingredients your cat will be able to control its production of hairballs and also makes cleaning up the litter tray much easier.

It’s cheaper price point makes it ideal for those cat owners that are on a limited budget. The dry cat food comes in five different sizes bags, including 3.15 pounds, 12 pounds, 13.2 pounds, 20 pounds, and 28 pounds. Because this is a dry food, 9 Lives recommend that you always serve it with a bowl of water, as water is very important in keeping your cat fit an well.

PROS

  • Contains targeted vitamins and minerals
  • Cheaper than most similar indoor cat foods
  • Provides your cat with all the necessary nutrients

CONS

  • Ingredients are not the best quality

4. Iams Proactive Health Adult Indoor Weight & Hairball Control Dry Cat Food

Quick Summary

Rated by: Amber

For those pussy cats that are prone to suffering from hairballs, the Iams Proactive Health Adult Indoor Weight & Hairball Control Dry Cat Food is the ideal choice of food for them.

It contains both beet pulp and lots of different prebiotics that are rich in fiber that work to stop hairballs from forming in the first place.

The real chicken (main ingredient) and turkey that is included within the food is rich in meat protein and so helps to improve your cat’s strength and overall health, providing them with all the energy needed to play.

The amino acids that are included allow your cat to both maintain its weight as well as lose weight. L-Carnitine in the Iams dry cat food helps your cat with both losing and maintaining a healthy weight. With important nutrients such as potassium and calcium included your cat will be provided with everything it needs to create a healthy heart. Additionally, it contains no fillers so you can rest assured that your feline friend is receiving a complete and balanced diet when eating this food.

Thanks to all these health benefits, Iams comes recommended by veterinarians. The food comes in four different weight bags, including 3.5 pounds, 7 pounds, 16 pounds, and 22 pounds.

PROS

  • Stops hairballs from forming
  • Improves your cat’s strength and overall health
  • Good for maintaining a your cat’s weight

CONS

  • Off putting stale smell

5. Diamond Naturals INDOOR Real Meat Recipe Dry Cat Food

Quick Summary

Rated by: Amber

This is a dry cat food, which is specially formulated for indoor cats, is made using ingredients that have been sourced sustainably and includes no fillers. Additionally, there are no artificial preservatives or flavors.

The main protein source is real chicken meat, which has not been bred in a cage.

It contains amino acids that are helpful in building up your cat’s muscles and keeping them both strong and lean.

The prebiotic fibers that are included are easily digestible and help to promote a healthy GI tract in your cat.

With added antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, the Diamond Naturals INDOOR Real Meat Recipe Dry Cat Food helps to keep your cats coat and skin in good condition. This product is made by a United States of America based family company that uses ingredients from only trusted suppliers from around the globe that work to strict food safety protocols. The food comes in two different weight bags, including 6 pounds and 18 pounds.

PROS

  • Includes all sustainable ingredients
  • Chicken included is cage free
  • Promotes a healthy GI tract

CONS

  • Can cause some cats to poop excessively

6. Hill's Science Diet Dry Cat Food

Quick Summary

Rated by: Amber

Hill's Science Diet Dry Cat Food has been specifically to provide indoor cats with everything that they need in terms or both nutrition and taste.

The completely natural ingredients and fibers that are included work to promote good digestion, as well as support your cat’s stools, skin, and coat. 

They also work to keep your pet cat full between meals.

The use of these such ingredients makes cleaning up your cat’s litter tray much easier. Because of this, the food comes highly recommended from veterinarians. 

The protein that is used in this product is all good quality, having been sourced from across the globe. The finished product is made in the United States of America where a great taste can be guaranteed. This is because the product is developed by a large team of the best scientists, veterinarians, nutritionists and technicians. Coming in variety of different weights, including 3.5 pounds, 7 pounds, and 15.5 pounds, you will be sure to find the best size bag of Hill’s cat food no matter the size or breed of your cat.

PROS

  • Promotes good digestion
  • Comes highly recommended by veterinarians
  • Supports your cat’s stools, skin, and coat

CONS

  • Food pieces can be difficult to eat for some cats

FAQ - A Buyer's Guide

So there you have it, those were our best picks for dry cat food for indoor cats. By now you should have a good idea as to which food product is best for your indoor cat, but you may still have questions relating to ingredients and how healthy cat food is. So carry on reading below to get the answers to those questions that you always wanted to ask.

What ingredients should I look for in cat food?

As a rule of thumb, the order in which ingredients are listed in the recipes is equally important as the type of ingredients included in the food. Other than on specialist food, the source of protein will always be put at the top of the list and then followed by all the other ingredients. These are listed in order of their total weight in the food.

What the most important ingredient to look out for is the source of protein. This includes the likes of organs from animals such as salmon, turkey, chicken, and lamb. This is because all cats are carnivores and you must feed your cat meat in order for them to thrive. They do not necessarily need to eat carbohydrates, however pretty much all dry cat food contains some sort of carbohydrate for a filler. Other things to look out for are the vitamins and minerals that are included.

What's the best dry food for cats?

From the research that we did, we found that the Purina Beyond Grain Free Adult Dry Cat Food is the best dry cat food for senior indoor cats. This is because it contains only natural ingredients, nothing artificial, and provides your cat with lots of different health benefits, such as improving digestion and the immune system.

Other dry cat foods that did not quite make our list of best picks but are still good for your cat include, Meow Mix Dry Cat Food Indoor Health, Purina Cat Chow Indoor Dry Cat Food, Royal Canin Feline Health Nutrition Indoor Adult Dry Cat Food, and Blue Buffalo Freedom Grain Free Natural Indoor Dry Cat Food.

Is dry cat food bad for cats?

As any cat owner will know, they can be very picky eaters . This is why it is very important to find dry cat food brands that not only taste good but are also packed with all the best nutrients that your cat requires. With most cat owners opting for dry foods, it inevitably raised the question  of whether or not it is good for your cat.

Some claim that it can be detrimental to a cat’s teeth, urinary tract, and kidneys. Throughout a typical day a cat will drink very little water and so much of the water that they do take on would come from their wet food. Therefore, if your pet cat only eats dry food it is important to ensure that they drink plenty of water. One way of getting this into your cat is by pouring it onto their food. 

What is the healthiest wet cat food?

Because of wet cat food having a high moisture content it provides cats with many health benefits, including support for their kidneys and urinary tract. This type of food is also good for those cats that have issues with their mouth or teeth as chewing on none wet food can be a challenge.

Having looked at numerous different wet cat foods and examining their nutritional contents we found the following products to be the best in terms of health for your cat. These are Meow Mix Seafood Selections, Sheba Perfect Portions Pate, Purina Pro Plan FOCUS Urinary Tract Health Formula, Wellness Complete Health Grain Free Pate for Kittens, and Purina Fancy Feast Creamy Delights.

Dry Cat Food For Indoor Cats - The Best Of All

Having looked at the above list of what we think are the best recommended dry cat foods for indoor cats we have decided on a product that we think is the best one of all; this is the Purina Beyond Grain Free Dry Cat Food. The reason that we chose this was due to the fact that it not only contains nothing artificial, but has also been specifically formulated for indoor cats in order to help them maintain their best weight and improve their immune system and digestive system.

Should your cat not take to this food then any of the others on our list of best picks should make an adequate alternative. However, no matter which type of food you go for, we recommend always sticking to one that has been specially formulated for indoor cats as these are best. 

About the Author Amber