Ziwi Peak Cat Food Review 2023: Recalls, Pros & Cons

You really can’t get much better than this cat food. It is made using some of the best ingredients and uses almost exclusively animal meat in its formulas. Their foods are high in protein and include many nutrient-dense ingredients, like organ meat.

However, they are a bit more expensive than most other options.

Introduction

Ziwi Peak is located in New Zealand and seems to lean on the fact significantly in their advertising. The founders seek to give the rest of the world a little taste of New Zealand. This brand often prides itself on its high-quality ingredients and unusual offerings.

But, does this company stand up to its reputation? In this article, we’ll look at several different cat foods offered by this company and carefully check the ingredients and nutritional value. Even the best cat foods aren’t perfect for all cats, so we’ll also help you figure out if this brand is suitable for your feline.

At a Glance: The Best Ziwi Peak Cat Food Recipes:

Ziwi Peak Cat Food Reviewed

Ziwi Peak cat food is usually considered a higher-end cat food. The company emphasizes that they use higher quality ingredients directly from New Zealand, but how much this benefits your cats is negotiable.

Who Makes Ziwi Peak, And Where Is It Produced?

Ziwi Peak produces its food in New Zealand. They use an innovative air-drying system unique to their company, as it was invented by Kimberly and Peter Mitchell, who founded Ziwi Peak. Peter worked in the meat industry when he began to understand the need for all-meat pet food.

Peter and Kimberly then invented a system that allowed them to recover waste meat from local slaughterhouses and then air-dry it. Their air-drying system allows the meat to be suitable for travel and exportation. It makes it last longer, without all the extra stuff.

This unique system is what sets the company apart from other brands out there. While they do sell kibble-like dry food, it isn’t kibbled at all. Instead, it is dried meat.

Where Does Ziwi Peak Get Their Ingredients?

As advertised, Ziwi Peak gets its ingredients from New Zealand. Because New Zealand has a warmer climate, the company has access to free-range and grass-fed cattle, sheep, and deer year-round. This allows them to offer the same ingredients of the same high-quality continuously.

All their fish ingredients are specifically caught in self-sustainable fisheries in New Zealand. Much of their fish comes from the south seas of New Zealand.

New Zealand is known for its strict guidelines involving livestock. They have strict procedures that prevent the spread of infectious diseases in livestock, including things like rabies and chronic wasting. Facilities located in New Zealand have to follow strict requirements, so their animals are typically better treated than elsewhere in the world. Ziwi Peak gets all of its ingredients from these strict facilities.

Ziwi Peak also owns its manufacturing plant in Mount Maunganui and Christchurch, New Zealand. Their dry food options are made at these facilities. Their wet food options are made by a manufacturing partner that is also located in New Zealand.

What Does Ziwi Peak Cost?

Ziwi Peak is one of the most expensive cat foods on the market. This is primarily because they source their ingredients from more expensive sources. This leaves them with very high-quality ingredients, but it also means that they have to price their food higher. You’ll have to decide if the benefits are worth the extra cost.

Their wet food tends to be cheaper than their dry-food options. However, it also includes more calories. In the long-run, this makes the dried food cheaper by quite a bit. If you want to try Ziwi Peak but don’t want to pay much for it, select the dry food.

What Cats is Ziwi Peak Best Suited For?

Ziwi Peak offers very high-quality cat food. However, it also comes at a cost, as we have discussed. For this reason, they are best suited for cats that genuinely need high-quality food. While all cats will thrive on a better food source, some cats genuinely need it to live comfortably. This includes felines with health problems or is more sensitive to some other cat food’s inferior ingredients.

Ziwi Peak is grain-free, and its ingredient lists are straightforward. For this reason, they may also be suitable for cats with allergies and sensitivities. If your cat is allergic to chicken, it is straightforward to avoid it, for instance.

If you have a bit of extra money, you may decide to purchase this cat food even if your feline doesn’t have any underlying problems. This cat food is typically very suitable for any feline; it’s more of a matter of cost vs. benefit.

What Cats Might Do Better with a Different Brand?

Several cats may find Ziwi Peak unsuitable. Because of the ingredients often included in this cat food, formulas are often very high in protein. For this reason, they are not suitable for felines that need a low-protein diet. Cats that need a low-protein diet usually have some underlying health problem, like kidney disease, that may be upset by a high-protein food.

In this case, we recommend something specifically made for these issues, like Hill’s Prescription Diet K/D Kidney Care. These are the only foods that will likely be low-protein enough for cats with these sorts of health problems.

We also found that Ziwi Peak may not be best for picky eaters. It doesn’t seem to be as flavorful as some other brands, so certain felines may refuse to eat it all together. In this case, we recommend a wet cat food that provides plenty of variety, like the Tiki Cat Aloha Friends Variety Pack. Foods that are high in moisture typically contain more flavor.

Want to see more cat food reviews? Check out our review page here!

A Quick Look at Ziwi Peak Cat Food

Recall History

Ziwi Peak does not currently have any recalls or problems reported with their cat food.

Reviews of the 3 Best Ziwi Peak Cat Food Recipes

1. Ziwi Peak Beef Recipe Canned Cat Food

The Ziwi Peak Beef Recipe Canned Cat Food is one of our favorites that this company produces. It is designed with the whole-prey in mind, including everything from meat to organs to bones. This is unusual for cat food, but it does represent how cats would eat naturally in the wild.

The ingredients are almost entirely meat, alongside water for processing purposes. The only veggie included is chickpeas. The rest is different parts of beef, including beef lung and beef kidney. Green-lipped mussels are provided as a natural source of many vitamins, including chondroitin and glucosamine.

This food is 100% grain-free and suitable for cats of all life stages. It does not include any hormones, preservatives, fillers, grains, rice, potatoes, antibiotics, or GMOs. It is made with 92% animal products, all of which are grass-fed and free-range. The food is created through a small-batch canning process, which ensures that it is safe for your feline to eat.

Calorie Breakdown:

2. Ziwi Peak Air-Dried Lamb Recipe Cat Food

Ziwi Peak is most well-known for its unique air-dried process. While they do sell dry food, it is not the kibble that other companies usually sell. Instead, it is dried meat. The ingredients are naturally preserved, so it doesn’t require any preservatives, sugars, or other similar ingredients. The food is also completely safe and easy to handle, though it is relatively similar nutritionally to a raw diet.

This food is primarily made out of meat—lamb meat, to be specific. It includes parts of the whole lamb, including the liver, kidney, lung, and even bones. This is similar to what our pets would eat in the wild, so it is typically a good choice for most felines.

The food is sourced from lambs that are free-range and grass-fed. The meat is free of antibiotics and other hormones. The formula includes 96% animal products, including New Zealand green mussels. This diet is highly calorie-dense, so don’t let the high price throw you off. You will need to feed your feline significantly smaller amounts of food, which means you’ll need to re-purchase it less often than regular kibble.

For a 13-pound feline, you only need to feed one 2-ounce scoop.

Calorie Breakdown:

3. Ziwi Peak Air-Dried Venison Recipe Cat Food

Ziwi Peak Air-Dried Venison Recipe Cat Food is similar to the previous food we reviewed. It is made using the same two-part drying process, which naturally preserves the meat without any needed chemicals or fillers. It is similar to a raw diet when it comes to digestibility and nutrition. However, it is entirely safe to handle and doesn’t carry the same risk for diseases. The drying process eliminates pathogenic bacteria.

This formula is made with 96% animal products, including meat, organs, and bones. The large majority of the meat comes from venison, though there are New Zealand green mussels included. All parts of venison are included, including the heart, lungs, liver, and kidney. This provides more nutrition to the cat, as organ meats are very dense.

This formula is specifically high in protein and a bit lower in fat. This is generally because of the higher-protein nature of venison. If your cat needs extra protein, this food can provide the necessary ingredients. This formula is limited-ingredient and uses a novel protein to be suitable for cats with sensitivities.

Calorie Breakdown:

What Other Users Are Saying

Many users were blown away by this company’s food, especially for felines with GI or weight problems. One customer on Chewy says: “I cannot say enough good things about this food. I had difficulty finding food high enough in protein and low enough in carbs to manage my cat’s weight. My cat does not find most wet food palatable, and he also requires novel proteins due to GI sensitivities. This food hits all the right spots. His weight is ideal, his coat looks healthy, and he seems to show more vitality overall. I highly recommend it!”

However, some found the texture of the dry food a bit strange. It is more of a jerky-like texture than regular kibble, which may throw some cats off. For instance, another Ziwi Peak purchaser on Chewy states: “I bought this for my raw diet cat (raw venison and Rabbit) to put in his timed feeder for his lunch since I would be working. I started by adding 3-4 little pieces into his raw…..he wouldn’t go near it! He would eat around these pieces, and that’s what was left in the bowl. The texture is exactly like jerky but cut into smaller pieces. I am now sitting on two bags of different flavors that he won’t even take as treats. DARN, I wanted this to work for him!”

The flavor seems to be off-putting to some cats, so it may not be suitable for very picky felines. A few people reported that their feline didn’t like the flavor, though they loved the cat food otherwise. Some complained about the price, as this food is more expensive than most. This is especially true about wet food, which is extremely expensive.

Some felines didn’t like the taste of specific recipes. Many owners reported that their felines didn’t like one specific recipe but would eat the others. For this reason, you may want to try more recipes if your feline doesn’t prefer the first one you try.

Lastly, we always like to check reviews on Amazon before we take the plunge on a new pet product, especially one that is somewhat costly. For reviews of Ziwi Peak products, click here.

Conclusion

Ziwi Peak is one of the most high-quality cat food brands out there. They source their ingredients from grass-fed, free-range animals that are raised under strict New Zealand guidelines. The large majority of the ingredients they use are meat products, including many different types of organs. Their foods are usually made with one protein type, though formulas using two are available.

If you have spare money, this food can be perfect for a range of felines. It is particularly suitable for cats that need a high-protein diet to avoid health problems or those that are sensitive to common cat food ingredients, like chicken or grains.