Merrick Cat Food Review 2024

Merrick Pet Care is a Texas-based pet food manufacturer with a simple goal: to make the best pet food possible. It offers an extensive range of cat and dog food products made with ingredients like USDA-certified meats and real fruits and vegetables.

But is Merrick cat food the right choice for your fur-baby? To help you decide, we’ve put together this Merrick cat food review. Keep reading to find out about Merrick’s cat food product range, its pros and cons, and the brand’s recall history.

You really are spoiled for choice when shopping Merrick’s cat food range. There are dozens of recipes and multiple product lines to choose from, with a variety of wet and dry foods available. Let’s take a closer look at each product line and what it has to offer.

Backcountry

Merrick Backcountry is a selection of high-protein recipes designed to be similar to the diet your cat’s ancestors would have eaten in the wild. All recipes are grain-free and made with no corn, soy, wheat, or gluten.

All foods in the Backcountry range are wet recipes, with cuts in gravy as well as pates available. These foods feature real deboned meat, fish, or poultry as the first ingredient, are a good source of taurine for heart health, and provide the vitamins and minerals your cat needs to stay happy and healthy.

The wet foods in the Backcountry range are:

• Grain Free Kitten Recipe Cuts
• Grain Free Real Beef Recipe Cuts
• Grain Free Real Chicken + Trout Recipe Cuts
• Grain Free Real Chicken Recipe Cuts
• Grain Free Real Duck Recipe Cuts
• Grain Free Real Rabbit Recipe Cuts
• Grain Free Real Turkey Recipe Cuts
• Grain Free Real Whitefish Recipe Cuts
• Grain Free Real Beef Recipe Pâté
• Grain Free Real Rabbit Recipe Pâté
• Grain Free Real Turkey Recipe Pâté

Limited Ingredient Diet

Merricks Limited Ingredient Diet range is designed for cats with food sensitivities. There are 5 wet recipes to choose from in this range, each of which starts with a single animal protein source. The rest of the ingredients are carefully selected to minimize the risk of your pet having any unpleasant reaction to their food, with no grains, corn, wheat, soy, or gluten.

At the same time, each recipe offers complete and balanced nutrition for adult cats. They’re rich in omega fatty acids to maintain skin and coat health, and they’re high in protein to support muscle development and maintenance.

The 5 Merrick Limited Ingredient Diet recipes are:

• Grain Free Real Chicken Recipe Pâté
• Grain Free Real Duck Recipe Pâté
• Grain Free Real Salmon Recipe Pâté
• Grain Free Real Tuna Recipe Pâté
• Grain Free Real Turkey Recipe Pâté

Purrfect Bistro

Purrfect Bistro cat food from Merrick is designed to provide highly digestible nutrition for cats at all life stages. Each recipe in the range features real meat, fish, or poultry as the first ingredient, and includes added vitamins and minerals to provide complete nutrition for your fur-baby.

Dry recipes in the range include both grain-free and grain-inclusive formulas to suit your feeding preferences. There are also recipes designed to help combat specific health issues such as hairballs, a sensitive stomach, and weight control.

Wet recipes in the Purrfect Bistro line include morsels and real meat chunks in gravy as well as pates. These recipes are grain-free and are designed to provide high-quality protein for your furry friend.

The dry recipes in the Purrfect Bistro range are:

• Grain Free Healthy Kitten Recipe
• Grain Free Real Chicken + Sweet Potato Recipe
• Grain Free Real Salmon + Sweet Potato Recipe
• Healthy Grains Real Chicken + Brown Rice Recipe
• Healthy Grains Real Salmon + Brown Rice Recipe
• Complete Care Hairball Control Recipe
• Complete Care Sensitive Stomach Recipe
• Complete Care Weight Control Recipe

The wet foods in the Purrfect Bistro range are:

• Bon Appétits Beef Recipe Chunks in Gravy
• Bon Appétits Chicken Recipe Chunks in Gravy
• Bon Appétits Salmon Recipe Chunks in Gravy
• Bon Appétits Turkey Recipe Chunks in Gravy
• Bon Appétits Beef Recipe Morsels in Gravy
• Bon Appétits Chicken Recipe Morsels in Gravy
• Bon Appétits Salmon Recipe Morsels in Gravy
• Bon Appétits Turkey Recipe Morsels in Gravy
• Soirees Chicken a la King
• Soirees Chicken Divan
• Soirees Turkey Cassoulet
• Soirees Chicken A La King
• Grain Free Kitten Dinner Pâté
• Grain Free Beef Pâté
• Grain Free Chicken Pâté
• Grain Free Duck Pâté
• Grain Free Rabbit Pâté
• Grain Free Salmon Pâté
• Grain Free Turkey Pâté
• Grain Free Tuna Pâté
• Grain Free Tuna + Tilapia Pâté
• Grain Free Indoor Adult Pâté
• Grain Free Indoor Senior Pâté
• Grain Free Surfin’ + Turfin’ Pâté
• Grain Free Minced Grammy’s Pot Pie
• Grain Free Minced Thanksgiving Day Dinner
• Grain Free Morsels Chicken Casserole
• Grain Free Morsels Cowboy Cookout

Bone Broths

Finally, Merrick also offers 3 grain-free bone broths for cats. These broths are designed to be used as toppers to increase the palatability of kibble, or they can be used as a treat when you want to reward your fur-baby. 

The 3 flavors to choose from are:

• Grain Free Beef Bone Broth
• Grain Free Chicken Bone Broth
• Grain Free Turkey Bone Broth

Vet recommended

Merrick is one of the cat food brands that Dr. Georgia Jeremiah, pet nutrition expert and one of Wag!’s veterinary consultants, recommends to her clients. “Merrick offers high-protein diets with meat as the primary ingredient,” she says. “Recipes are free from corn, wheat, soy, artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives and rich in omega fatty acids and include probiotics for overall feline well-being.”

Huge range

There’s an enormous selection of cat food products to choose from in the Merrick range. Whether you want to give your cat dry or wet food, grain-free or grain-inclusive diets, or feed a kitten or adult cat, you’ll find something in the range to suit. And with so many flavors available, you’ll be able to find a recipe your cat will love.

High-quality ingredients

Merrick is committed to providing wholesome food to pets. It uses USDA-certified meats, freshly caught fish, and real fruits and vegetables to provide complete and balanced nutrition for cats.

Made in the USA

Merrick cat food recipes are made in the USA in facilities that meet FDA guidelines, with most recipes produced at the company’s 3 manufacturing facilities in Hereford, Texas. This provides important peace of mind to pet parents who care about quality and safety when feeding their fur-baby.

Not the cheapest

There are other cat food brands that offer more affordable products than Merrick. If you’re on a tight budget, you might want to consider other options.

Recall history

Merrick products have been the subject of recalls in the past, which may concern some pet parents. We’ll go into more detail about Merrick’s recall history further down the page.

“My cat is very picky and usually doesn't like pate, but when I gave her this pate for dinner, she loved it. I'm glad I found this Merrick Purrfect Bistro Chicken Pate Wet Cat Food for her. As soon as I opened it, she was meowing. When I served it to her, she ate it all up. I am very happy with this product. I recommend this Merrick Purrfect Bistro Chicken Pate Wet Cat Food.”

“My little fur baby loved this! I do not typically give her wet food, so I was curious on how she would react. It ended up being a wonderful experience for her and left her begging for more. I personally love the natural ingredients of this food. Looks like I may need to keep this on hand for her.”

“My cats absolutely love pate! They prefer this recipe over others. As soon as I pop the lid they come running to eat! Great size and product for fulfilling my cat's needs.”

Read more reviews on Chewy.

Merrick was founded in 1988 in Hereford, Texas. Garth Merrick, the company’s founder, wanted to feed his dog, Gracie, a high-quality and wholesome diet. He started preparing home-cooked meals for Gracie, and Merrick Pet Care was eventually born from these humble beginnings.

Today, Merrick’s recipes continue to be developed in Garth’s kitchen. But Merrick now offers a wide range of dog and cat food recipes, all of which are made in manufacturing facilities that meet strict FDA guidelines.

Merrick was acquired by Nestle Purina in 2015.

Merrick has been the subject of a few pet food recalls in the past. In May 2018, Merrick recalled multiple dog treats because they may have potentially contained elevated levels of beef thyroid hormone. Prior to that, there were 2 separate recalls in 2011 of treat product lines due to potential Salmonella contamination. And in 2010, Merrick recalled some of its beef dog treats due to a potential Salmonella contamination.