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The Honest Kitchen is the world’s first human-grade pet food for dogs and cats. Its recipes only use ingredients that are human edible, non-GMO, and thoughtfully sourced. They also follow human safety food standards, which have over 100 requirements!
For more than 20 years, The Honest Kitchen has been helping as many companion animals as possible achieve good health through good food. From its founder’s kitchen, it has grown to become a popular pet food brand that’s recommended by veterinarians and loved by pet parents.
Wag! gives The Honest Kitchen cat food 5 out of 5—it’s 100% human-grade with excellent
protein levels and a wide variety of flavors. Dr. Georgia Jeremiah, a pet nutrition expert and one of
Wag! ’s veterinary consultants, recommends The Honest Kitchen cat food.
So, is The Honest Kitchen right for your cat? Read our full The Honest Kitchen cat food review for its benefits, recall history, and more to help you decide!
The Honest Kitchen cat food product ranges and flavors
The Honest Kitchen offers more than a dozen products for cats created with a veterinary nutritionist.
Read the guaranteed analysis printed on each
cat food's label for more information.
The Honest Kitchen Clusters Dry Cat Food
The Honest Kitchen Clusters dry cat food
Whole Food Clusters are the first ever 100% human-grade dry cat food. These protein-packed recipes feature
turkey or chicken as the first ingredient. They also include
cranberries to promote urinary tract health,
flaxseeds to help reduce
hairballs, and
probiotics to support digestion. Common secondary ingredients across the range include
peas,
eggs, lentils, and potatoes.
After the ingredients are mixed and cold-pressed into bite-sized clusters, they’re then baked and gently dehydrated to preserve important nutrients. These recipes are an excellent alternative to traditional cat kibbles.
The Honest Kitchen Clusters have superior protein-to-fat ratios compared to standard dry cat food. Grain Free Chicken Clusters consist of 38% protein as dry matter and 17.3%
fat as dry matter.
The Honest Kitchen Clusters dry cat food flavors:
- Grain Free Turkey & Chicken
- Grain Free Chicken & Whitefish
- Grain Free Chicken
The Honest Kitchen Dehydrated Cat Food
The Honest Kitchen dehydrated cat food
This range is ideal for cats who need to avoid
dry food and lets pet parents feed healthy,
homemade meals to their moggies without having to cook. All you have to do is add water, stir, wait a few minutes, and serve. You can also customize the consistency to your cat’s liking by adding more or less water.
Each high-protein recipe lists chicken or turkey as the first ingredient and is boosted with probiotics for better digestion and bone broth for extra flavor. Common nutritionally beneficial secondary ingredients across the range include eggs,
sweet potatoes, spinach, and
pumpkin.
The Honest Kitchen's dehydrated cat foods are high in protein but have above-average fat percentages. The Dehydrated Grain Free Chicken recipe consists of 44.2% protein as dry matter and 29.4% fat as dry matter.
The Honest Kitchen dehydrated cat food flavors:
- Grain Free Chicken & Fish
- Grain Free Chicken
- Grain Free Turkey
The Honest Kitchen Wet Cat Food
The Honest Kitchen wet cat food
The Honest Kitchen’s wet cat food comes in two lip-smacking varieties: minced and pâté. The minced recipes feature chunks simmered in savory bone broth gravy, while the pâtés have a smoother texture.
Both varieties are made with whole muscle and
organ meats, with chicken, turkey,
salmon, or beef as the first ingredient. These recipes also contain fruits and vegetables such as pumpkin,
carrots,
blueberries, and cranberries, as well as added vitamins and minerals for extra nutrition.
The Honest Kitchen wet cat foods are high in moisture to prevent
dehydration and have decent protein and fat percentages. The Minced Chicken in Bone Broth Gravy recipe consists of 55.5% protein as dry matter and 22.2% fat as dry matter.
The Honest Kitchen Wet Cat Food flavors:
- Minced Chicken in Bone Broth Gravy
- Minced Turkey in Bone Broth Gravy
- Minced Turkey, Chicken & Duck in Bone Broth Gravy
- Minced Salmon & Cod in Fish Broth Gravy
- Grain Free Chicken Câté (Pâté)
- Grain Free Turkey Câté (Pâté)
- Grain Free Beef & Chicken Câté (Pâté)
- Grain Free Salmon & Turkey Câté (Pâté)
- Grain Free Salmon & Cod Câté (Pâté)
The Honest Kitchen Cat Toppers
The Honest Kitchen Mmmixers cat food toppers
Variety is the spice of life, and sometimes it’s good to “mmmix” it up! These toppers can be given as a treat or added to your cat’s regular meal to make it a bit more special. Made with only four ingredients and without any meat meals, these toppers provide a boost of protein with salmon, pollock, chicken, and
duck.
The Honest Kitchen Mmmixers cat food topper flavors:
- Salmon & Pollock
- Chicken & Duck
The Honest Kitchen Smittens White Fish
The Honest Kitchen Smittens cat treats
The Honest Kitchen Smittens are super straightforward and are very high quality. They're made with three or fewer ingredients, with dehydrated meat and rosemary extract as the most common ingredients. They make nutritious everyday snacks for your feline friend at only two calories a piece.
The Honest Kitchen Smittens cat treat flavors:
- White Fish
- Herring
- Herring & Cranberry
Why Wag! likes The Honest Kitchen cat food
Here are some reasons that make The Honest Kitchen a “purrific” pet food brand!
The first human-grade pet food
The Honest Kitchen is the world’s first human-grade food for companion animals. This means that it’s made in a human food facility, uses the same quality ingredients as people food, and meets the same strict standards as people food. Finished products are also tested at an independent third-party lab for food safety and quality.
High-quality ingredients
The Honest Kitchen uses only the best ingredients from trusted suppliers who must follow a strict code of conduct. All of its cat food recipes contain no feed-grade ingredients, GMOs, fillers, meat meals, artificial preservatives,
artificial colors or flavors,
corn, wheat, or soy.
Vet recommended
Dr. Georgia Jeremiah, pet nutrition expert and one of
Wag!’s veterinary consultants, personally recommends The Honest Kitchen to her clients. “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.”
Certified B Corporation
The Honest Kitchen is a
Certified B Corporation, which means that it meets the highest standards of social and environmental performance. For example, the company uses solar energy and renewable packaging materials, has a program to reduce food waste, chooses local suppliers when possible, and gives its employees volunteer time off.
Money-back guarantee
Because The Honest Kitchen wants pet parents to find the right recipe for their felines. As a result, all of its recipes come with a 90-day money-back guarantee. Purchases made on the company’s website are eligible for returns if at least half of the product is still in the bag or box.
Concerns & considerations
Here are some things to consider before purchasing The Honest Kitchen.
Not for finicky eaters
The most common complaint pet parents have about The Honest Kitchen cat food is that their cats won’t eat it. While cat moms and dads love the healthy ingredients, some felines turned their noses up at the food.
Small clusters
A few pet parents found the Whole Food Clusters too small and said that their cats could swallow them whole without chewing.
Lack of senior recipes
Only two recipes are suitable for senior cats: Minced Salmon & Cod in Fish Broth Gravy and Grain Free Salmon & Cod Câté (Pâté).
What pet parents say about The Honest Kitchen cat food
“I am fostering 2 four month old kittens and the vet said to continue feeding them this food. They love it and their coats are amazing looking. They don’t have that crazy kitten fur. They look like mini adult cats, being they look so healthy. I’ve tried feeding this food to my senior cat that eats everything and he refused it several times. I waited a week and separately tried feeding it to my 2 four year old cats and they won’t touch it. I wish they would eat it [because] the food looks and smells like a quality product. Especially if the vet recommends it. [Oh] well, I will continue feeding it to the kittens who love it.”
“One of my cats loved it right away. I had to put a treat on top for my other cat to try it. He seems to like the turkey flavor better. I like the fact that it's human grade and made in the USA.”
“My cat had been struggling with diarrhea on and off for weeks. I was trying so many different brands, wet and dry. This brand was the only food that worked. Healthy stool within a week and she loves both the turkey and chicken. Thank you [Honest Kitchen] for making such a healthy product!”
Read more reviews on
Chewy.
The Honest Kitchen brand history
The Honest Kitchen began in 2002 in Lucy Postins’ kitchen. Mosi, her
Rhodesian Ridgeback, had frequent skin problems and ear infections, and Lucy knew that changing his diet could help him feel better. Since there were no healthy, whole-food options for pets on the market back then, she decided to make it herself and started experimenting with recipes.
When Mosi’s health improved, Lucy realized other pets could also benefit from a diet with human-grade ingredients. What began as a way to help her dog evolved into a company, and Lucy set about finding suppliers of human edible ingredients and met with human food producers.
Because human-grade pet food was unheard of at the time, The Honest Kitchen had to overcome several regulatory hurdles to be recognized as such. In 2007, the Ohio Department of Agriculture denied the company a license to sell its products in
Ohio, stating that the human grade label was misleading. The Honest Kitchen had to take the department to court, eventually winning the right to commercial free speech.
Over the years, The Honest Kitchen has remained true to its mission. According to Lucy, “No matter how popular we become or how many products we offer, we’ll never move away from my original promise — to bring the highest quality standards of ‘people food’ to foods made for pets.”
The Honest Kitchen recall history
The Honest Kitchen has had one recall in its history. In
February 2013, the company voluntarily recalled five lots of its Verve, Zeal, and Thrive dog food products due to possible
Salmonella contamination. Though no illnesses were reported, The Honest Kitchen took this precautionary action after learning that one of its suppliers had recalled a batch of parsley that may contain the bacteria.
Following this recall, The Honest Kitchen stopped purchasing any ingredients from the supplier. It also added extra steps to its food safety program, i.e., steaming all dehydrated leafy greens and conducting additional tests on all leafy greens upon delivery.
The Honest Kitchen also advised customers to discard the recalled products and mail the UPC and lot code from the packaging for a replacement or full refund.
All product images sourced from the Chewy website. Copyright The Honest Kitchen.
FAQ
Is The Honest Kitchen recommended by vets?
Yes. The Honest Kitchen is recommended by vets, including Dr. Leilani Alvarez, who appears on the company’s website, and Dr. Georgia Jeremiah, one of Wag!’s veterinary consultants. Dr. Georgia personally recommends The Honest Kitchen to her clients.
Is The Honest Kitchen raw or cooked?
The Honest Kitchen is cooked and dehydrated. Meats,
fish, and
eggs are gently cooked and leafy greens are steamed to make sure they’re free of any pathogens. Potatoes and grains are flash heated to help break down the cellulose.
How long does The Honest Kitchen cat food last?
The Honest Kitchen cat food has a shelf life of 12 to 24 months depending on the product and environmental factors.
Is The Honest Kitchen formulated to meet AAFCO standards?
Yes, all of The Honest Kitchen’s complete and balanced cat food recipes are formulated to meet
AAFCO standards. Each recipe’s guaranteed analysis can be viewed on the company’s website.
How does Wag! determine paw ratings for pet food?
Our editorial team conducts independent research when choosing which foods to feature and how to rate them. Our paw ratings are largely based on the ingredients and nutritional content of each food. Here’s a quick guide to what our paw ratings mean:
- 1 paw: High filler content, meat not listed as first ingredient
- 2 paws:Meat meal, bone meal or meat by-products listed as first ingredient
- 3 paws:Named meat listed as first ingredient (e.g., chicken)
- 4 paws: Same as 3 paws, but also made with whole, limited ingredients and minimal processing
- 5 paws: Same as 4 paws, but is also veterinarian or veterinary body approved and includes human-grade ingredients
- Half-paws may be awarded for extra benefits, like affordability, trustworthiness, etc.