Crave Cat Food Review 2024

Owned by industry behemoth Mars Petcare, Crave is a minor pet food brand serving up a handful of kibble recipes for canines and felines. Crave aims to tap into your cat's wild ancestral instincts with meals that include real meat, no grains, and high protein levels. But is Crave one of the best grain-free cat foods for your pint-sized panther?  

Wag! gives Crave cat food a respectable 4 out of 5 paws up. It wins points because its recipes use unprocessed fresh meat as the top ingredient and have high protein content. Crave misses out on top marks because it uses plant-based protein and meat meals.

Keep reading for a comprehensive review of Crave cat food, including its benefits, product ranges, and recalls.

Crave's cat food range is limited — you'll find only three dry cat food varieties on the market.

All Crave dry cat foods are "complete and balanced," meeting the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) nutrient profile guidelines for adult maintenance.

Crave dry cat food

Crave has two standard high-protein cat food varieties and one that caters specifically to indoor felines. All recipes list chicken or salmon slurry as the top ingredient, with chicken meal as a secondary protein source. 

While each recipe is grain-free, they include plant-based proteins as an alternative. Pea protein is the third most common ingredient in each Crave cat food. Split peas are the fourth ingredient in each recipe.

Pea protein isn't a complete protein as it doesn't have all the amino acids cats require. As a result, the protein content of cat foods with high plant-based protein levels can be misleading due to the use of incomplete plant-based proteins.

Crave incorporates fish meals into its recipes, an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids that reduce inflammation and provide immune support. Alfalfa meal is an unusual minor ingredient that's rich in fiber, helping with constipation. Plus, it's a source of vitamins A, C, D, E, and K.

Crave dry cat foods contain 44.4% protein as dry matter and 20% fat as dry matter, both of which are above average compared to standard kibbles. 

Crave dry cat food flavors:

• Chicken
• Indoor & Salmon Chicken
• Salmon & Ocean Fish

Thinking about feeding your feline Crave? Keep reading for a couple of the benefits of Crave cat food for cats.

Quality meat as the top ingredient

All Crave cat foods list a quality cut of meat as the top ingredient. Real cuts of meat are easier to digest than highly processed meat meals and are more biologically appropriate for cats.

Each recipe includes meat meals as a secondary source of protein. While meat meals are highly processed, they contain 300% more protein than fresh meat. Overall, the use of fresh meat as the top ingredient suggests Crave is a premium cat food.  

All recipes are grain-free

All Crave cat foods are grain-free, with plant-based proteins used as alternative secondary ingredients. Peas, which are the most common alternative to grains in Crave cat foods, are a good source of potassium, manganese, folates (vitamin B9), and vitamin B6.

Grains are a protein and fiber source but shouldn't be a primary ingredient in cat foods as they offer little nutritional value compared to meat and vitamin-rich produce. Crave cat foods also don't include soy, which can contribute to thyroid and digestive issues in large quantities.

Reasonably priced 

Considering its quality, Crave cat food is reasonably priced, especially when you buy in bulk. At the time of writing, a 10-lb bag of Crave Chicken Adult Grain-Free Dry Cat Food costs $37.98 on Chewy, at $3.80 per lb.

By comparison, a 16-lb bag of Purina Beyond Chicken & Egg Recipe Grain-Free Dry Cat Food costs $60.07 on Chewy, at $3.76 per lb. Both recipes use similar quality ingredients, with chicken and chicken meal as primary protein sources.

It's worth noting you can save up to 35% on both cat foods when ordered through Chewy Autoship.

Let's check out a few considerations and concerns before you purchase Crave for your purring pal.

Plant-based proteins

Crave cat foods may not contain grains, but they are high in plant-based protein. Pea protein is the third most common ingredient in all Crave cat food recipes. Despite being 80% protein and rich in some vitamins and minerals, pea protein is less nutritionally complete than animal-based proteins.

Not all 11 essential amino acids can be found in plant-based proteins, which are key to your cat's bodily functions. Taurine is one essential amino acid missing from pea protein, which is crucial to your cat's heart and eye health.

Another issue with using plant-based proteins in cat food is that protein percentages are misleading, as they include less biologically appropriate proteins than animal-based proteins.

Lack of flavor variety

Crave cat foods are made with either chicken, salmon, or a combination of the two. So, if your feline has a chicken or fish allergy, your choice of Crave cat foods is limited.

No recipes for kittens

All Crave cat food recipes are suitable for adult cats only, meaning you shouldn't feed Crave to a kitten or pregnant queen. So, you may need to switch up your cat's diet if they're pregnant or nursing, or change your kitten onto Crave as they grow.

"I have fed my two cats Crave ever since kittenhood. They have never been sick especially no urinary tract problems. It may cost a few more coins but the payoff is healthy pets."

"I have had cats for over sixty years and have used lots of different wet and dry food. However the latest rescue adoptees now with us five years and love Crave and have done really well on it. Excellent poops they stay well. Their coats are good. This is their main food with a very small amount of fresh or canned a day."

"My cats tend to turn their nose up at products with ocean fish in them but they did like this mix with salmon. I like to change up their food so they aren't eating the same thing all the time so this one will be in the rotation going forward. In general, the Crave brand has changed my cats' fur to very soft and healthy."

Read more reviews on Chewy.

Mars Petcare, a subsidiary of Mars Inc., launched Crave pet food back in 2017. Mars Inc. is the fourth-largest private company in the United States and owns several other pet food brands, including Acana, Iams, Royal Canin, and Whiskas.

Crave's main selling point is that it's a high-protein, grain-free pet food brand that mimics the diets of cats' and dogs' wild ancestors — all at an affordable price point.

Initially, 12 wet and dry pet food recipes were available; however, Crave has since discontinued its wet cat food range and currently only produces dry cat and dog food.

There have been no recalls of Crave cat food as of September 2024.