10 Best Dry Cat Foods in Canada in 2025: Reviews & Top Picks

Did you bring a new cat home, or are you thinking about switching your cat’s current food? Dry cat food is a staple for most cat owners because it provides a nutritious, balanced diet. Due to the food texture, cats also get the added (and necessary) benefit of healthier teeth.

However, when you start shopping for new cat food, you’re bound to notice how much there is to choose from. The choices seem endless, and the prices can range quite drastically, particularly for Canadians! We hope to make things a little easier with these 10 reviews of the best dry cat foods in Canada, so you can find the right food for your little fluffball.

A Glance at Our Winners in 2025

Rating	Image	Product	Details
Best Overall		IAMS Proactive Health Adult Dry Cat Food	Affordable Prebiotics, beet pulp, and fibre for healthy digestion The main ingredient is salmon for energy and strong muscles	CHECK PRICE
Best Value		Friskies Grillers Dry Cat Food	Inexpensive Contains fatty acids for a healthy coat and skin Taurine and vitamin A for eye/vision health	CHECK PRICE
Premium Choice		CRAVE Adult Dry Cat Food	Available in two sizes and three flavours Whole chicken or salmon are the main ingredients 40% protein	CHECK PRICE
		Hill’s Science Diet Dry Kitten Food	Balanced diet for growing kittens Contains DHA for healthy brain and eye/vision development High protein for growing muscles	CHECK PRICE
		Nulo Freestyle Cat & Kitten Dry Cat Food	40% protein — high in meat sources and low in carbs Contains BC30 probiotics for gut health No grains, soy, corn, or artificial ingredients	CHECK PRICE

The 10 Best Dry Cat Foods in Canada

1. IAMS Proactive Health Adult Dry Cat Food — Best Overall

The best overall dry cat food for cats in Canada is IAMS Proactive Health Healthy Adult Dry Cat Food. It’s quite well-priced and contains salmon as its first and main ingredient, making it a high source of protein to support your cat’s muscles and energy needs. It’s also high in fibre and contains beet pulp and prebiotics to aid your cat’s digestion. It includes omega-6 fatty acids for a healthy coat and skin, and the texture of the kibble will help keep your cat’s teeth clean.

However, it might cause stomach issues in some cats, and it contains animal by-products, corn, and wheat.

2. Friskies Grillers Dry Cat Food — Best Value

The best dry cat food in Canada for the money is Friskies Grillers Tender & Crunchy Dry Cat Food. It’s well-priced and has essential fatty acids for your cat’s skin and coat. It contains taurine and vitamin A for healthy eyes and vision, as well as antioxidants for a strong immune system. Most cats seem to enjoy the grilled flavour.

The flaws, though, are that it contains corn and wheat as the top three ingredients instead of meat and that it has artificial dyes and preservatives.

3. CRAVE Adult Dry Cat Food — Premium Choice

CRAVE’s Adult Dry Cat Food is our pick for premium choice and is available in three flavours and two sizes. Whole chicken is the main ingredient in the chicken flavours, and whole salmon is found in the seafood option. At 40%, it’s quite high in protein, which supports the immune system, strengthens muscles, and is great for your cat’s digestion. It also does not contain soy, corn, wheat, by-products, artificial flavours, preservatives, or colours.

The issues here is that it is expensive and might cause gastrointestinal problems in some cats. One minor point is that you might want to store it in something other than the bag, as it’s on the flimsy side.

4. Hill’s Science Diet Dry Kitten Food

Hill’s Science Diet Dry Kitten Food has all the right balance of nutrients for a growing kitten up to the age of 1. It contains DHA from fish oil to aid in healthy eye and brain development, and it’s high in protein for supporting and growing lean muscles. Finally, it has the right balance of vitamins and minerals for building strong teeth and bones.

However, picky cats might not eat it, and it is quite expensive.

5. Nulo Freestyle Cat & Kitten Dry Cat Food

Nulo’s Freestyle Cat & Kitten Dry Cat Food is high in protein at 40% due to being high in meat sources and low in carbohydrates. It includes BC30 probiotics that can help support your cat’s gut flora, which means it produces the kind of bacteria that help the metabolism, aid digestion, and normalize the immune system response. This food doesn’t contain grains, corn, soy, or any artificial flavours, colours, or preservatives. It helps promote a healthy weight in cats and reduces the risk of arthritis, kidney disease, or respiratory infections.

However, Nulo is quite expensive, and unsurprisingly, picky cats might not like it.

6. Purina Pro Plan High Protein Dry Cat Food

Purina’s Pro Plan High Protein Dry Cat Food contains whole chicken as the main ingredient and is high in protein at 40%. It has guaranteed live probiotics that contribute to digestive and immune system health. It includes linoleic acid for skin and coat health, along with a healthy dose of antioxidants. It also has vitamin A and taurine for healthy vision and natural prebiotics for better digestion.

However, this food is expensive, and some cats experience gastrointestinal problems after eating it.

7. IAMS Proactive Health Indoor Cat Food

IAMS Proactive Health Indoor Cat Food is quite affordable and is suitable for indoor cats to help control any hairball and/or weight issues. It includes L-carnitine, which helps support a healthy metabolism and burns fat. Omega acids support your cat’s skin and coat, and the addition of beet pulp helps cats with hairballs.

The problems are that it doesn’t necessarily help all cats with hairball issues, and it contains corn, poultry by-products, and artificial preservatives and ingredients.

8. Purina ONE Instinct Grain Free Dry Cat Food

Purina’s ONE Instinct Grain-Free Dry Cat Food has whole chicken as the first and main ingredient and contains 35% protein. It doesn’t have any corn, wheat, or any artificial flavours, colours, or preservatives. It has added essential minerals and vitamins, including calcium, for stronger bones and teeth. It includes omega-6 fatty acids for healthy skin and coat and four sources of antioxidants for a robust immune system.

The issue is that while it doesn’t contain the usual fillers, it does use soybean meal, pea starch, and poultry by-products. Additionally, some cats still show signs of hunger after eating.

9. Hill’s Science Diet Adult Dry Cat Food

Hill’s Science Diet Adult Dry Cat Food is designed for adult cats for their energy needs and overall health. It includes minerals to support the bladder and kidneys and taurine for heart health. It contains high-quality protein at 35% for lean muscles, and omega-3 and -6 and vitamin E to support your cat’s gorgeous fur and skin.

Unfortunately, this food is quite expensive, and the second ingredient is wheat, which isn’t always the best choice for cats.

10. Whiskas Meaty Selections Dry Cat Food

Whiskas Meaty Selections Dry Cat Food is affordable and comprised of kibble mixed in with little crunchy treats that are filled with tasty, meaty morsels. It supports a healthy immune system and doesn’t contain any wheat, corn, soy, or artificial colours or flavours.

The issues are that some cats have gained weight after eating this food, and others have experienced stomach upset. Additionally, the top ingredients in this food contain fillers.

Buyer’s Guide: How to Pick the Best Dry Cat Food in Canada

Now before you spend your money on the next cat food that you see, check out this buyer’s guide. We go over a few points to consider that might impact your final decision.

Nutrition

Cats are obligate carnivores, which means the central part of a cat’s diet should be meat. They have difficulty digesting vegetation and plant matter. When looking at cat food, check the percentage of protein, since this is the most essential part of your cat’s diet. Cats need a minimum of 26% protein in their diet, sometimes more, depending on their life stage (kittens and seniors usually need extra protein). Speak to your vet if you’re unsure if your cat is getting enough protein in their diet.

Ingredients

The first ingredients listed in your cat’s food are the most important ones. The best cat foods have whole meat within the first three ingredients. While wheat, corn, and other by-products aren’t always necessary, with the right balance, these ingredients can add nutrients to your cat’s diet.

Introducing New Food

First, if your cat has any kind of health condition or food sensitivity or allergy, you’ll need to speak to your vet before switching your cat’s food. Your vet is also a good source for recommending food that they believe will be beneficial to your cat.

Otherwise, you need to introduce new food slowly and gradually. Start by adding a small amount of new food to the old, and gradually, over time, increase the amount until your cat is only eating the new food. This helps prevent stomach upset and allows your picky cat to get used to the new food. Many cat food reviews are full of people saying that it made their cat sick. In some (but not all) of these cases, the owner might simply have switched to the new food too quickly.

How We Determined This List of Dry Cat Foods in Canada

All the cat foods reviewed in this article were chosen by our writers, editors, and team of experienced veterinary professionals to ensure that they are safe and meet the care needs of your pet. When choosing which cat foods to feature, we took into account brand reputation, personal and hands-on experience, reviews from other customers, and of course, feedback from our beloved pets, to make sure to bring you only the best of the best. We at PangoVet want to give you only the best products to choose from in our reviews, to ensure that they meet your pets’ needs for optimal health and well-being.

Why Trust PangoVet?

We are a team of experienced veterinarians, writers, and editors who are pet owners ourselves, so we understand how important your pets and the products they use and consume are to you. Whether you are caring for a furry, scaly, or feathered friend, we make sure that you have honest and unbiased reviews of the top cat foods on the market, so you can make an informed decision.

Conclusion

Our overall favourite dry cat food in Canada is IAMS Proactive Health Healthy Adult Dry Cat Food. It’s well-priced and contains salmon as a high-quality source of protein to support your cat’s muscles and energy needs. Friskies Grillers Tender & Crunchy Dry Cat Food contains antioxidants for a strong immune system, and cats seem to love this food — and it’s all for an excellent price! Finally, CRAVE’s Adult Dry Cat Food is our premium pick. It’s high in protein (40%) and does not contain soy, corn, wheat, by-products, or artificial flavours, preservatives, or colours.

We hope that these reviews for Canadian cat owners have helped you find a food that will not only make your cat healthy overall but will also make their tastebuds even happier.

Featured Image Credit: Nataliia Dvukhimenna, Shutterstock