Best Beef Cat Food 

Cats who crave beef are a special breed that are often hard to satisfy. Many different cat foods include beef, but few are dedicated to appeasing the intense beef cravings that beef loving cats may exhibit.

To make matters more complicated, not all beef-based cat foods are nutritious for your cat, meaning that picking the right beef-based cat food can be a risky endeavor.

In this article, we’ll investigate seven of the best beef cat foods on the market and provide you with critical information about, which will be healthy for your cat and which will leave you with a dissatisfied kitty on your hands.

Top 7 Best Beef Cat Foods

Ready to check out our top picks? Read more.

Smalls for Smalls

Smalls for Smalls carefully formulates recipes for your cat based on a profile you create when you sign up. Their cat foods have high protein content because cats are primarily carnivores and get most of their nutrition from meat. They also have high water content, because cats rely on their food to help them stay hydrated. Smalls for Smalls says that if the ingredients wouldn’t be good enough for humans to eat, then they don’t deem it good enough for your cat, either–something you can feel great about! They gently cook all their recipes so the nutrition is locked in, and the benefits are numerous.

Fresh Beef Nutritional Facts

Because cats are primarily carnivores, most of their nutrition should be derived from meat, and in Smalls for Smalls recipes, they do just that. The first five ingredients in their minced beef recipe are: Ground Beef 90% Lean, Beef Liver, Green Beans, Peas, Beef Heart. As you can see, beef is definitely the most abundant ingredient in this recipe. The reason it’s important to call attention to the beef in this recipe is because it is human-grade. Human-grade ingredients are fit for human consumption, so there is no guess work involved in figuring out if this food is safe for your cat or not.

Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Poultry and Beef Feast 

Fancy Feast’s Gravy Lovers line of canned cat food is an excellent choice for beef-loving cats everywhere as a result of its rich and creamy texture. The gravy in the can is the main value of this cat food, and it’s sure to make your cat lick the bowl after every meal.

For beef purists, however, the chicken content in this cat food may be a bit off-putting. Likewise, for cats with sensitive stomachs, the plethora of ingredients contained in this cat food means that there are a lot of different potential triggers for a bad stomach day.

Most cats will find this can to be delectable and nutritious. Uniquely for canned cat food, humans in the vicinity of the cat’s feast will not be disgusted by the smell of the food in the can.

Gravy Nutritional Facts

The gravy featured in this cat food is remarkably dense in nutrients because it is made from a base of turkey and beef meal. Because the sauce is hearty and creamy, it also contains a handful of critical nutrients for your cat, including taurine, choline, and B vitamins.

While your cat can’t subsist on gravy alone, cats who eat a diet rich in gravy will experience good overall health thanks to its vitamin constituents. The only caveat to be aware of is that not all cats will enjoy the texture of juice if they prefer solid foods.

9 Lives Daily Essentials Dry Cat Food with Chicken, Beef, and Salmon Flavors

The 9 Lives Dry Cat Food is a veritable cornucopia of tasty ingredients like salmon, chicken, and, most of all, beef. This cat food uses beef matter as the core protein and then supplements the core with animal protein from other sources.

Because beef is only the anchor ingredient, true beef lovers who dislike other protein sources may not be happy with this cat food. On the other hand, for cats with a broader palate, this cat food is an excellent daily choice that incorporates many delicious flavors.

Biotin Nutritional Facts

The 9 Lives cat food includes a hearty helping of biotin, a protein which is necessary for hair growth, hair strengthening, and skin cell maintenance. When your cat eats a diet rich in biotin, their coat will exhibit less shedding and be more resilient to stress and the environment.

Biotin isn’t a critical nutrient for your cat, however. Nor can your cat make use of massive amounts of biotin, which it may eat when consuming this cat food. Extra biotin won’t harm your cat, but it will go to waste after a certain point, so if you’re a stickler for efficiency, it may be a minor drawback with this cat food.

Fancy Feast Classic Tender Beef Feast

Fancy Feast’s Tender Beef can is undoubtedly the best choice for cats who will accept nothing less than the ultimate collection of beefy flavors. As far as taste goes, the Fancy Feast Tender Beef is the most focused for beef-loving cats.

For cats with unique dietary needs who also love beef flavors, however, this cat food may not be the right choice. Beef isn’t something that cats would eat in the wild, nor is it naturally equipped with the vitamins and nutrients which cats need to flourish.

Many cats will love the broth and the texture of the beef in this can of food. Cats who are picky about the textures of their meals will probably struggle to make their way through the heterogeneous mixture of the food in the can, however, so make your purchase accordingly.

Zinc Nutritional Facts

Unlike other cat foods, this Fancy Feast Beef Feast is rich in zinc. Cats don’t need very much zinc to be healthy, but it’s a necessary cofactor for certain enzymes involved in digestion. This means that your cat’s digestive system will operate more efficiently when you feed them this cat food.

There’s a potential downside to giving your cat food that is rich in zinc, however. While it’s more or less impossible to give your cat enough zinc in their diet to cause them to have health issues, the amount of zinc which you will probably offer to your cat via this can of cat food can increase your cat’s appetite.

The reason behind this phenomenon is unknown, but it also holds true in humans that zinc supplementation leads to a more massive appetite. So long as you control your cat’s caloric intake, you won’t need to worry about them gaining weight from the zinc when they eat this cat food.

Tiny Tiger Pate Beef and Poultry Grain-Free Canned Cat Food

Tiny Tiger’s Pate Beef and Poultry cans are high-protein and energy-packed offerings that your active outside cat will love to chow down on. Unlike other cat foods, this beef-based cat food has a plethora of ingredients, great taste, high energy density, and many obscure vitamins and nutrients which you may not find elsewhere.

In particular, ingredients like potassium, phosphate, and selenium are great for keeping your cat healthy by promoting bone health and skin health. Not all of the components inside are equally valuable, however.

Ingredients like sodium nitrite are intended to improve color retention of the food matter, but your cat probably won’t care very much what their food looks like either way. This means that there are a handful of extraneous ingredients that provide features primarily intended for human consumption rather than feline consumption. Unless you plan on eating your cat’s food, your cat’s food doesn’t need to have the perfect color or consistency.

Potassium Nutritional Facts

One of the most beneficial ingredients in the Tiny Tiger pate is potassium. Potassium is critical for bone health as well as muscle contractility. When your cat has insufficient potassium, they may cramp up or be less graceful than normal.

In contrast, when your cat’s food is rich in potassium, they’ll have the energy and springiness that they deserve. There’s no downside to feeding your cat a portion of food which is slightly heavier in potassium than they need according to their nutritional requirements.

Tiny Tiger Beef Chunks in Extra Gravy

For cats who love the texture of chunky beef covered in a salty and savory gravy, the Tiny Tiger Beef Chunks will be right up their alley.

While the beef chunks in the can are unlikely to appeal to cats that aren’t crazy about beef, thanks to ingredients like poultry meal, there’s a good chance that you can use this to test the waters if you aren’t sure which protein source your cat prefers.

For cats who are active but not necessarily constantly in a state of athletic exertion, this cat food will provide a good mixture of dense energy and high-satiation thanks to its fat sources like fish oil.

However, for cats who can’t stand a hint of chicken or fish flavors in their beef dinner, this cat food may be a bit too heterogenous for their pleasure.

Potato Starch Nutritional Facts

This cat food includes potato starch as its primary carbohydrate source. As a carbohydrate, potato starch is relatively rich in fiber, A vitamins, D vitamins, and trace minerals like copper and manganese. Potato starch is also one of the carbohydrate sources, which is easier to digest than grains.

However, for cats with extremely sensitive digestive tracts, potato starch may not necessarily be a good choice. Potato starches aren’t as easy to digest as pea-derived starches, and they are also more satiating, meaning that your cat may not want to eat their entire bowl of food even when their nutritional situation requires it.

Fancy Feast Classic Tender Beef and Chicken Pate

Similar to the other Fancy Feast beef cat food offerings, this Fancy Feast Classic Tender Beef and Chicken Pate is an excellent choice for cats who enjoy beefy flavors but who don’t mind the inclusion of other protein sources like chicken.

Unlike the other Fancy Feast beef-based cat foods, this can is very light on the broth and gravy. Similarly, the beef only constitutes one half of the can’s total protein content, but thanks to the pate format, your cat may not be able to tell the difference.

Riboflavin Nutritional Facts

This can of Fancy Feast is fortified with additional riboflavin. Riboflavin is an essential B-vitamin that is responsible for a handful of functions ranging from your cat’s basic metabolism to the health of its skin and hair.

Cats who spend a lot of their time tumbling around outside will need more riboflavin than other cats, and there isn’t any disadvantage to giving your cat more riboflavin than it uses in the course of its daily life.

The only downside to cat foods rich in riboflavin is that it can make the scent of your cat’s urine slightly acrider. In most cases, you won’t be able to tell the difference in the smell, however, so you shouldn’t worry too much.

American Journey Pate Poultry and Beef Grain-Free Canned Cat Food

The American Journey’s Pate Poultry and Beef cat food is a potent mixture of proteins that your cat will enjoy, especially if they favor fruity flavors from cranberries and blueberries.

Unlike other pates, this cat food has a hearty helping of fruits and sweet vegetables, meaning that your cat will have a full spectrum of protein, carbohydrates, fats, and fiber with every can that they eat.

Blueberry and Cranberry Nutritional Facts

Blueberries and cranberries are common additives to cat food on account of their sweetness, carbohydrate-rich flesh, and colorant potential. While some cats may be turned off by the tartness of the berries, many cats will relish the novel and exotic flavor which these berries provide.

Critically, the berries also have high concentrations of A and B vitamins as well as calcium and vitamin E. These vitamins will positively impact your cat’s health in a plethora of different dimensions ranging from eye health to digestive efficiency.

Best Beef Cat Food FAQ

Now that you’re up to speed regarding the most compelling food options for beef-loving cats, we’ll answer several of your most common questions so that you’ll know how to discern between great beef-based cat food and a less suitable one.