Best Budget-friendly Cat Food 2024

Fresh cat food is never cheap, but Raised Right is one of the most affordable options around. In fact, it's one of the highest rated cat foods we’ve reviewed due to its ingredient quality and manufacturing practices. 

Raised Right’s cat foods are human-grade with limited ingredients, making them suitable for cats with food allergies. All recipes list quality cuts of muscle meat or organ meat as the top three ingredients. 

Dr. Georgia Jeremiah, pet nutrition expert and one of Wag!'s veterinary consultants, agrees that Raised Right produces some of the finest fresh cat food on the market:

“Raised Right cat food offers a whole-food diet with real meat as the initial ingredient, ensuring a high-protein meal. Including organ meats for vital nutrients and antioxidants, their recipes often feature limited ingredients for simplicity and digestibility. Notably, they exclude grains, potatoes, and preservatives while prioritizing safety with batch testing and traceable ingredients.”

All Raised Right recipes are "complete and balanced," meeting the AAFCO nutrition guidelines for maintenance (adults).

Raised Right isn't cheap, but is reasonably priced compared to fresh products of similar quality. Raised Right cat food costs $10.99/lb when bought in bulk. 

Raised Right cat food is available in four variations: 

• Chicken
• Turkey
• Chicken & Pumpkin
• Turkey & Pumpkin

The Honest Kitchen produces 100% human-grade dehydrated cat food that's budget-friendly, considering its outstanding quality. 

Dehydrated chicken is the top ingredient, while dehydrated white fish is the sixth ingredient. Other notable ingredients include sweet potato, potato, flaxseed, and eggs.

"The Honest Kitchen offers high-protein, human-grade cat food that's grain-free and devoid of artificial preservatives, GMOs, corn, wheat, and soy. Prioritizing meat as the first ingredient, their range includes both wet and dry varieties in multiple flavors to satisfy picky eaters - all with a money-back guarantee." notes Dr. Georgia Jeremiah.

A 2-pound box of The Honest Kitchen Dehydrated Grain-Free Chicken & Fish Cat Food costs $31.99 at the time of writing on The Honest Kitchen. A 2-pound box makes around 8 pounds of cat food. 

The Honest Kitchen Dehydrated Grain-Free Chicken & Fish Cat Food is "complete and balanced," meeting the AAFCO nutrition guidelines for all life stages. 

Check out Weruva B.F.F. Tuna & Salmon in Gravy Pouches if you're searching for quality, affordable wet cat food. Cooked in a tasty gravy with a strong fishy taste, it's purrfect for picky eaters. 

Weruva B.F.F. Tuna & Salmon in Gravy Pouches list tuna broth, tuna, and salmon as the top ingredients. It's made with only quality cuts of fish, including wild-caught salmon. 

This recipe includes no fillers like grains, gluten, or carrageenan. Weruva B.F.F. Tuna & Salmon in Gravy Pouches consist of 86% moisture, helping to keep your kitty hydrated. 

Dr. Georgia Jeremiah recommends Weruva to her clients:

"Weruva cat food offers a variety of recipes and flavors suitable for different life stages and palates, always ensuring high-protein, real-meat ingredients without grains, gluten, or non-nutritive thickeners such as carrageenan..."

Weruva B.F.F. Tuna & Salmon in Gravy Pouches are "complete and balanced," meeting the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) nutrition guidelines for maintenance (adults).

At the time of writing, $16.14 for a case of 12 3-oz pouches at $0.45/oz on Chewy. 

Read our full Weruva review to find out why we highly rate this cat food brand!

Freeze-dried foods are an excellent way to feed your cat a raw diet, and Stella and Chewy's Freeze-Dried Dinner Morsels are among the most affordable options. 

Eight available recipes mean you’ll find something to please your fussy feline. Every recipe consists of 90% to 98% animal protein, making this an exceptional cat food. 

All recipes list a quality cut of meat as the top ingredient and include no animal by-products. Stella and Chewy's enriches its recipes with a vitamin and mineral blend, which includes iron, zinc, and vitamin A. Stella and Chewy’s use no fillers, artificial flavors, or artificial preservatives — just quality meat!

Dr. Georgia Jeremiah highly regards Stella and Chewy’s and recommends the brand to pet parents:

"Stella and Chewy's cat food offers raw and freeze-dried options with high-quality, sustainably sourced ingredients that are minimally processed for nutrient retention. It provides a variety of protein sources, is free from artificial additives and grains, and is a trusted choice for raw and natural pet diets."

At the time of writing, an 18-oz bag of Stella & Chewy's Chick Chick Chicken Dinner Morsels Freeze-Dried Raw Cat Food costs $46.99 on Chewy, at $2.62/oz.

Stella and Chewy's Freeze-Dried Dinner Morsels recipes are "complete and balanced," meeting the AAFCO nutrition guidelines for all life stages. 

Stella and Chewy's Freeze-Dried Dinner Morsels is available in the following eight recipes:

• Rabbit
• Beef
• Chicken
• Duck
• Pork
• Turkey
• Salmon & Cod
• Salmon & Chicken

IAMS Proactive Health Healthy Adult Original with Chicken Dry Cat Food is our choice as the best budget-friendly dry cat food. It's specially designed to help maintain the ideal body weight and aid digestion. 

This recipe lists a quality cut of chicken as the top ingredient. That said, it includes less nutritionally valuable ingredients like chicken by-product meal, ground whole grain corn, and corn grits.

Ingredients like fish oil and dried beet pulp ensure this food is rich in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and fiber. 

IAMS ProActive Health Healthy Adult Original with Chicken Dry Cat Food is very affordable, with a 22-pound bag costing $39.98 at the time of writing on Chewy.

IAMS ProActive Health Healthy Adult Original with Chicken Dry Cat Food is “complete and balanced,” meeting the AAFCO nutrition guidelines for maintenance (adults).