Inception Cat Food Review 2024

Inception is a new pet food brand on the block that launched its first products in 2019. Inception cat food sounds great on paper—its dry foods consist of 70% animal protein ingredients, and its recipes comply with World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) food guidelines. So, is Inception cat food good for your cat?

Overall, Inception cat foods are a good choice for cats. Each recipe lists a quality cut of meat as the top ingredient. They're low in carbohydrates and contain limited ingredients.

Inception loses out on a top rating as some of its recipes feature high levels of fat. Its dry recipes are grain-inclusive and list meat meals as a top three ingredient.

Let's take a closer look at Inception cat food, including pros and cons, product lines, recalls, and FAQs.

Inception has a fairly limited cat food range, which is understandable for such a new brand. You'll find three dry cat foods and three canned wet cat foods for your feline to feast on.

Inception cat foods are "complete and balanced," meeting the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) nutrient profile guidelines for all life stages or maintenance (adults).

Inception dry cat food

In each Inception dry food recipe, a quality cut of meat is the top ingredient. A meat meal is the second most abundant ingredient in each offering. While meat meals aren't harmful, they're highly processed and may be less nutritionally complete than real meat. Meat meals aren't fit for human consumption.

All recipes consist of eight or fewer primary ingredients, excluding nutritional supplements. As a result, Inception dry cat food is a good choice for cats with food allergies or sensitivities. 

One of the biggest downsides to Inception dry cat foods is that they're grain-inclusive, with oats, milo (sorghum), and millet as common top five ingredients. While these are high-quality grains, cats find them difficult to digest and offer less nutritional value than protein or nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables. 

Inception dry cat food contains an average of 33.3% protein as dry matter, which is average for dry cat food. Each recipe contains 15.5% fat as dry matter, which is average for dry cat food.

Inception dry cat food flavors:

• Chicken
• Fish
• Turkey & Herring Meal

Inception wet cat food

Inception wet cat foods are high quality—the top five ingredients in each recipe are cuts of meat or broth. The inclusion of novel protein sources like boar, guineafowl, and catfish means these recipes might suit cats with specific meat protein allergies. 

Each recipe consists of nine or fewer primary ingredients aside from nutrient supplements. Aside from natural flavors and thickeners, every primary ingredient is an animal protein source or a broth. Inception adds agar agar to each recipe, a plant-based alternative to gelatin. 

Inception wet cat food contains an average of 46.1% protein as dry matter, which is above average for canned wet cat food. Each recipe contains 31.8% fat as dry matter, which is high, meaning these wet foods might not be suitable for obese cats. 

Inception wet cat food flavors:

• Red meat
• Poultry
• Fish

Here are a few reasons why Wag! rates Inception cat food an excellent 4 out of 5 paws up!

High-quality protein as the top ingredient

All Inception cat foods list a quality meat protein source as the number one ingredient. The use of real meat cuts as the top ingredient suggests Inception is a premium cat food. 

Quality cuts of meat ensure your feline friend the most nutritionally complete protein source possible without the high levels of processing used to make meat meals. While Inception dry cat foods contain meat meals, they're a secondary source of protein.

Transparent ingredient sourcing and manufacturing

Inception is transparent about its ingredient sourcing and manufacturing. Inception manufactures all its dry and wet cat foods at facilities in the United States. Its cage-free chicken is sourced from Minnesota, while its oats are from Canada.

Transparent ingredient sourcing and manufacturing practices mean you can be safe knowing that most ingredients in your cat's food are locally sourced, which is better for the environment. 

Low in carbohydrates

Inception wet cat foods are low in carbohydrates, meaning they're higher quality than many alternatives on the market. Its wet foods are made almost exclusively of meat—perfect for your carnivorous kitty. Cats lack the liver enzymes to properly digest carbohydrates and are generally considered filler ingredients in cat food.

While Inception dry cat foods include grains like millet and oats, which are high in carbohydrates, they're better than alternatives like brewer's rice, which is a manufacturing by-product. Oats, for example, offer some nutritional benefits as they're rich in antioxidants, B vitamins, and fiber.

Reasonably priced

Inception cat foods are reasonably priced, considering they're premium products with superior ingredients. At the time of writing, a 13.5 lb bag of Inception Chicken Recipe Dry Cat Food costs $41.99 on Chewy, which works out to $3.12 per lb.

Think Inception might be a good option for your cat? Here are a few things to consider before you purchase Inception cat food for your feline friend.

Some filler and lower-quality ingredients

Several ingredients included in Inception cat food recipes could be considered fillers or lower quality.

Meat meals are used in Inception dry cat foods. While rich in protein, meat meals are highly processed and less nutritionally complete than quality cuts of meat. That said, some meat meals have nutritional benefits. Herring and catfish meals are sources of omega-3 fatty acids, which support your cat's skin and coat health.

Inception dry cat foods are grain-inclusive. Although grains aren't necessarily harmful to cats, they're difficult for cats to digest and offer few nutritional benefits to cats. Grain allergies and sensitivities can be an issue for cats, which can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and skin irritation.

High fat contents

Inception wet cat foods have a minimum fat content of 31.8%, which is high for cat food.

AAFCO nutrient profile guidelines state that adult cats need a minimum of 5.5% fat as dry matter, which is considerably less than the levels found in Inception wet cat food.

While older cats require higher fat levels to maintain a healthy body weight, high-fat cat foods may not be suitable for adult indoor cats. Plus, higher fat levels can lead to more serious conditions like liver disease and pancreatitis.

"I was pouring this new (to us) cat food into storage bin and I guess they smelled it because all sudden the 3 swarmed in and started chowing down like I've never seen. They had just ate their wellness canned food dinner and I keep a bowl of dry food full 24/7; there's no way they were hungry let alone so ravenously! Turkey & Herring is a instant hit!!!"

"Our cat has an allergy with chicken or any fowl and it's really hard to find anything that they like wo fowl as a by-product. They love the food and we love that our cat isn't reacting like he was with other food and treats. Both cats love it."

Pets Global Inc. launched the Inception pet food brand in November 2019. It's the fourth pet food brand by Pets Global Inc., along with Zignature, Fussie Cat, and Essence.

Pet Global Inc. introduced Inception during SuperZoo 2019 as a limited-ingredient pet food that's a "great product at a great price."

Pet Global Inc., based in Valencia, CA, markets itself as "an independent holistic wellness company founded on a passion for animal welfare."

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