Abound cat food is sold under the Kroger brand, which aims to offer pet store quality food at grocery store prices. The brand is touted as a filler-free food, meaning that it doesn’t contain any corn, soy, or wheat. The Abound brand was launched in 2014 and has since become a popular cat food option for Kroger customers around the country who prefer to feed natural food to their feline family member.
This brand offers a line of dry food, wet food, and treats for cats of all ages. But is it as high-quality as Kroger portrays? If you are like us, you care deeply about what goes into your cat’s mouth. So, we decided to investigate and find an answer to this question once and for all. Following is our in-depth review of the Abound cat food brand. Hopefully, this information will help you determine whether the brand really is high quality.
At a Glance: The Best Abound Cat Food Recipes:
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Product
Details
Abound Grain-Free Chicken and Brown Rice Kitten and Adult Cat Food
Abound cat food features real meat as the first ingredient no matter the formula or recipe, but the foods also include plant proteins like legumes and carbohydrates like brown rice that cats wouldn’t eat in the wild. So, the food might be natural in the sense of what is in the ingredients list, but it isn’t natural in the sense of what a cat really needs, which is a strictly carnivorous diet.
With all that said, Abound is nutritionally complete due to the addition of synthetic vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. In this case, cats can do well on this food, especially if their diets are supplemented with real meat snacks. It’s an affordable middle-of-the-line cat food product that doesn’t contain any artificial ingredients or animal by-products like the lower quality and sometimes even more expensive brands do.
Where Is Abound Cat Food Produced?
Abound cat food is produced in the United States, but it isn’t clear where the ingredients it uses are sourced. Because the company hasn’t clarified, we assume that ingredients are sourced from different places around the world, which is a bit worrisome, as many countries don’t have the same ingredient standards as the United States.
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Primary Ingredients (Good and Bad)
The primary ingredient used in all Abound cat food products is animal meat of some kind. Chicken, turkey, beef, and salmon are the most common meats used in both dry and wet cat foods. The company doesn’t specify whether any of the meats they use are farm-raised, wild, or free-range. Other ingredients that are commonly found in the Abound cat food line’s ingredient list include the following.
Brown Rice
Brown rice seems to be included in any of this brand’s food that is not grain-free. While brown rice is healthier than white and is an excellent source of energy for humans, this isn’t the case for cats. They don’t need plant-based carbohydrates at all to stay healthy. However, most cats can do well on a diet with plant carbohydrates added, as long as the carbs aren’t the main ingredients.
Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are another ingredient that can be found in many of the Abound cat food recipes. Like brown rice, this isn’t necessarily a bad food for cats, but it isn’t what they would eat in their natural habitat. Still, it provides extra nutrition in the form of vitamins and minerals. It also provides energy to keep cats active throughout the day.
A Quick Look at Abound Cat Food
Pros
All recipes include real meat as the first ingredient
No artificial ingredients, corn, soy, wheat, or animal by-products
Wet food, dry food, and a variety of treats are available
Cons
Some packaging can be hard to get open
The wet food includes fillers like guar gum
Recall History
The Abound brand of cat food was recalled one time in late 2018 due to the potential for elevated levels of vitamin D. The recall only applied to some dry food recipes in the brand’s line, and there are have no further recalls announced for the brand since.
Reviews of the 3 Best Abound Cat Food Recipes
There are multiple flavors of dry and wet food by Abound to choose from, which can make it tough to decide which to choose for your cat. Here are reviews for our favorite Abound cat food recipes that we think offer the best bang for your buck.
1. Abound Grain-Free Chicken and Brown Rice Kitten and Adult Cat Food
Suitable for cats of all ages, this recipe features deboned chicken and turkey meal to provide quality protein, as well as whole ground barley and whole ground brown rice for healthy carbohydrate energy. Dried kelp, potatoes, carrots, and blueberries offer whole food sources of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Corn, soy, wheat, and artificial ingredients are nowhere to be found on the ingredients list.
Abound Grain-Free Chicken and Brown Rice kitten and adult cat food doesn’t contain any animal by-products either, but it does include chicken meal as the second ingredient. The kibble pieces are small enough for kittens to pick up, but their density can make it tough for them to chew until they have experience eating dry food. Therefore, kitten owners may need to hydrate this food until their cat’s teeth and jaws are strong enough to crunch the food when it is dry.
Calorie Breakdown:
Pros
Made for cats of all ages
Includes whole-food sources of antioxidants
Small kibble pieces are suitable for cats of all sizes
Cons
The kibble is dense and may need hydration before being offered to young kittens.
This food is made specifically for adult cats with real salmon, brown rice, peas, sweet potatoes, and cranberries for high-quality all-around nutrition. Like the other recipes this brand offers, Abound Salmon and Brown Rice adult cat food doesn’t have any fillers or artificial ingredients to worry about. The kibble pieces are firm but not too dense, so even older cats that are losing their teeth should be able to easily chew each bite they take.
Because there are no artificial colors, the food looks bland to the eye, but the intense seafood flavor can be recognized through smell. The food comes in a typical pet food bag, but it can be tough to open without the help of scissors. Once opened, though, the bag is easy to fold closed again.
Calorie Breakdown:
Pros
Includes real salmon as the first ingredient
No fillers or artificial ingredients
Features cranberries for optimal immune protection
Cons
Isn’t pleasing to the eye
The packaging may be tough to open
3. Abound Salmon and Sweet Potato, Chicken and Beef, and Turkey Stew Wet Cat Food
Abound’s wet cat food line includes a variety of interesting recipes that cats find hard to resist. Each recipe is made with real shredded meat and seafood broth for a rich flavor that ensures that no cat will leave a bite behind. However, the brand’s wet food doesn’t contain whole-food vitamins and minerals aside from the meat and a couple of vegetables in the stew recipes.
Instead, synthetic vitamins, minerals, and even amino acids are included to ensure that the diet is nutritionally complete for cats of all ages. Unfortunately, these foods are thickened with ingredients that are not nutritionally necessary for cats, such as guar gum. These fillers take up valuable nutrition space that could be better used to provide antioxidants or extra protein to cats eating the food.
Calorie Breakdown:
Pros
Offers irresistible flavor and texture that even the pickiest of cats are sure to enjoy
Stew recipes include fresh veggies
Cons
Includes thickening fillers like guar gum
What Other Users Are Saying
My Pet Needs That —“An inexpensive buy for this natural cat food brand.”
Pawsome Kitty — “An average brand made with quality ingredients.”
Amazon — We always read what other customers have to say about a product before deciding whether to invest in them. Check out what Amazon users think of Abound cat food here.
Conclusion
The Abound cat food brand is an affordable option that rivals the higher end options at the pet shop. It’s touted as a natural food brand, which is true for the most part, even if they do include ingredients that aren’t necessarily a natural part of a cat’s diet, such as cranberries. With dry and wet food and a variety of treat options available, it would be tough for cats to get bored with their diet when eating Abound.
But this isn’t a brand that stands out from the crowd when it comes to quality. Many other brands on the market feature the same, if not better, ingredients. What makes you want to try giving Abound food to your cat? We want to know your thoughts, good and bad, so leave a message in the comments section below!
Christian is the Editor-in-Chief of Excited Cats and one of its original and primary contributors. A lifelong cat lover, now based in South East Asia, Christian and his wife are the proud parents of an 11-year-old son and four rescue cats: Trixie, Chloe, Sparky, and Chopper.
