We Tried JustFoodForCats Fresh Cat Food: JustCats Review

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JustCats Fish & Chicken Cat Food

$11.45
7.6

Species-Appropriateness

7.0 /10

Palatability

10.0 /10

Product Variety

3.0 /10

Customer Experience

9.0 /10

Price

9.0 /10

Pros

  • Made from human-edible ingredients
  • Low in carbohydrates
  • Contains animal-sourced fats
  • Transparent proteins and named organs

Cons

  • Only one recipe available
  • Packaging isn't very convenient

Thinking of switching over from conventional dry or canned cat food? You might be interested in JustFoodForDogs’ cat food recipe. JustFoodForDogs cat food (JustCats or JustFoodForCats) joins other market-changing cat foods with its human-grade ingredients and fresh presentation. JustFoodForDogs calls their JustCats line a new take on healthy cat food.

How does JustCats food stack up to other cat foods? We were given the opportunity to try a free pouch of JustCats food. Read on to learn about our experience and about whether or not JustFoodForDogs cat food is a good choice.

Disclosure: “Wildernesscat received this product for free in exchange for an honest review. Although the product was gratis, all opinions in this review remain my own and I was in no way influenced by the company.”

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What makes JustFoodForDogs cat food different?

Since 2010, JustFoodForDogs has been creating dog food, and more recently, cat food, differently from many other pet food companies. Their model involves higher-quality ingredients, more transparency, and expert-developed nutrition for healthier pets.

The company is based in California and operates several kitchens across the United States. In these kitchens, the company combines USDA-inspected ingredients to make nutritionally-complete meals that honor cats’ and dogs’ nutritional needs. 

Interestingly, JustFoodForDogs also operates a number of retail kitchens that are open to the public. There, you can see the ingredients and preparation process, then purchase the food directly from the kitchen. 

In addition to high-quality ingredients and transparent production, JustFoodForDogs develops recipes hand-in-hand with their nutrition team of 13 vets and specialists. The company also offers one-on-one nutrition consultations to help pet guardians decide if JustFoodForDogs’ diets are right for their pet. 

JustFoodForDogs also runs feeding trials on all of their dog food recipes and has done extensive research on the digestibility of dog food. While this is great, we would love to see more research and trials done on their cat food.

What is fresh pet food?

The term fresh pet food isn’t regulated, but it generally indicates a food made from fresh ingredients, minimally processed with few to no preservatives, and refrigerated or frozen. Imagine you’re making dinner from scratch—throw some chicken on a pan with a few fresh vegetables, add some seasoning (in this case, a nutrient blend to make sure the food contains everything your pet needs), and voila! Your dinner is ready to be served. If you don’t finish it over the next couple of days, you can freeze it for the future. Essentially, that’s JustFoodForCats.

Like a homemade meal, there’s no high-heat extrusion or canning involved in the production of JustFoodForCats. The food also doesn’t include any preservatives, artificial colors, or artificial flavors. 

JustFoodForDogs only offers one cat food recipe right now.

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At the moment, Fish & Chicken is the only JustFoodForCats recipe available. It’s an adult cat food and meets the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Cat Food Nutrient Profiles for maintenance. This means that it should work as your cat’s sole food. However, I would recommend offering it as part of a rotational diet instead. 

Cats often do well on varied diets, and it’s a good idea to mix up your cat’s primary proteins. This lack of variety also means there aren’t any recipe options for cats who are sensitive to chicken or fish, which are two of the most common food allergies in cats.

Just Food for Cats and Wessie
Wessie takes a look at JustFoodForCats Fish & Chicken recipe.

While the Fish & Chicken recipe is the only complete meal the company offers, it’s not the only cat product JustFoodForDogs sells. The brand also offers salmon bark treats for cats. These treats contain only two ingredients—wild-caught salmon and yuca root.

Now that we’ve talked about what the brand has to offer, let’s discuss our experience with JustFoodForCats.

JustFoodForCats ships frozen. The shipping box was well-insulated, so if you miss the package while you’re at work, it’s unlikely that the food will defrost before you get home.

Our JustCats food was frozen rock-solid when it arrived. You can defrost the food for a day in the refrigerator or in a bowl of cold water for a few hours. If you’re not using the food right away, you can also store JustCats food for up to a year in the freezer.

We got one 18-ounce pouch of cat food. This is the only size available and should last approximately three days if you’re feeding one cat.

Wessie loved the food right away. 

opening just food for cats
Wessie oversees the cat food opening process.

As soon as I got the top of the package peeled back a bit, Wessie dove into the food. I’m guessing he was attracted to the food’s strong scent. It reminded me of bonito flakes, which are strong-scented fish flakes often used as treats or as food toppers to encourage cats to eat. 

While scooping the JustFoodForCats into Wessie’s bowl, I notice the food’s texture was really interesting. It’s very light and fluffy, reminiscent of rehydrated freeze-dried raw food, like Stella & Chewy’s. JustFoodForDogs mentions that they include yuca root in their recipes, which contributes to the light, crumbly texture.

Wessie eats JustCats food
Wessie didn’t wait for the food to reach his bowl.

The packaging isn’t the most convenient.

While Wessie loved the food, I found the packaging a little inconvenient. The 18-ounce pouches aren’t resealable, and since they’re not single servings, you have to transfer the food into your own storage containers. I found this process to be a bit messy and inconvenient.

I transferred serving-sized portions of food into reusable storage containers and fed my cats out of those over the next couple of days. While this worked out well, it’s not as easy as meal-sized pouches or single-serving cans. 

Dividing the food into storage containers.

Over the next couple of days, Wessie continued to eat the JustCats food with enthusiasm. He usually breaks mealtime into a few sessions, leaving half a bowl and coming back throughout the next couple of hours.

Not so with JustCats Fish & Chicken food. He would sit down and eat his entire serving at once. This enthusiasm is typical of our experience with fresh cat foods. Forest also seemed to really enjoy the JustFoodForCats.

Let’s take a closer look at the ingredients of the JustCats Fish & Chicken recipe.

Wessie and Forest loved the food, but is JustFoodForCats a species-appropriate choice for cats? Let’s take a closer look at the food’s ingredient list. 

Ingredients:

Alaskan Pacific Wild-Caught Cod, Chicken Thighs, Chicken Heart, Chicken Liver, Dried Yuca Root, Atlantic Sardines, Calcium Carbonate, Sodium Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Dried Seaweed Meal

JustCats Fish & Chicken is a primarily meat-based food with a low percentage of carbohydrates on a dry matter basis. Its primary protein sources are cod and chicken. The food also includes chicken organs, all named so you know just what’s in the food. JustCats Fish & Chicken contains Atlantic sardines which are high in Omega-3 fatty acids.

A small amount of dried yuca root is added to retain water and it helps give the food its consistency. Finally, the food contains JustFoodForDogs’ recipe-specific nutrient blend to ensure the food is nutritionally complete and meets the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Cat Food Nutrient Profiles for maintenance.

Guaranteed Analysis:

Crude Protein12.0% min
Crude Fat4.5% min
Crude Fiber0.5% max
Moisture 77.0% max
Ashn/a

Has JustFoodForDogs ever been recalled?

JustFoodForDogs issued a voluntary recall in 2018 due to potential Listeria contamination of green beans used in three of their dog food recipes. However, their cat food has never been recalled.

How much does JustCats food cost?

JustCats cat food costs $11.45 for one 18-ounce pouch on the JustFoodForDogs website. Depending on how much food your cat requires, this evens out to approximately $3.18 – $4.48 per day

This is a middle-of-the-range price. It’s comparable to many quality canned cat foods and a bit lower than other fresh cat foods.

Where can you purchase JustCats food?

While JustFoodForCats lacks recipe and package-size options, they do offer a variety of options for purchase. This is refreshing compared to some other fresh cat food brands available which only offer cat food through subscription.

You can make a one-time purchase from the JustFoodForDogs website or select auto-ship at checkout. Automatic shipments can be set up to deliver from once a week to once every eight weeks. 

JustFoodForCats screenshot

 

Depending on your location, you can also select free local pickup. This option allows you to buy online and pick up the food from select pet retailers.

These retailers include JustFoodForDogs’ retail kitchens, select veterinary clinics and hospitals, and Pet Food Express stores within California. You can also find JustFoodForDogs food in some Petco stores across the United States. Try their Find a Location tool to find out if your local store carries JustCats food. 

Is JustCats cat food a good choice?

Overall, I had a good experience with JustFoodForCats. The shipping was fast, the food arrived completely frozen, and both of my cats loved it. JustCats cat food seems to be filled with high-quality meat ingredients with minimal plant ingredients and low carbohydrate content, making it a good option for our obligate carnivores.

I’d like to see more recipe variety and serving options similar to JustFoodForDogs’ dog line before I’d consider switching to JustCats full-time. It would also be great to see some more research and feeding trials for the cat recipe, as well.

That said, I would definitely offer it to my cats again as a rotating meal in their diet, even if I had no other reason than how much they enjoyed it!

If you want to try JustCats food, purchase through our link for 20% off your first order.

If you’re interested in trying JustCats cat food with your cats, you can save by purchasing through our links. JustFoodForDogs is offering our readers 20% off their first order from the JustFoodForDogs website. If you purchase through our links, we’ll get a small commission from the sale, which helps keep Wildernesscat up and running. We appreciate it!  

>> Click Here and Save 20% on Your First Order at JustFoodForDogs.com

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