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“Natural” has a real, if limited, legal definition on a cat food label. “Holistic” has none at all — no regulatory body defines it, which means it’s carrying as much weight as a marketing department decides to give it. Being aware of this difference is a very useful thing when strolling a cat food aisle, as it is the difference between reading a label accurately and being sold a feeling.
This guide covers what “natural” and “holistic” actually mean on a cat food label, what real indicators of quality look like, and where three well-regarded natural and holistic cat food brands — The Honest Kitchen, Zeal, and Stella & Chewy’s — land on those indicators.
What does “natural” and “holistic” actually mean on a cat food label?
Only one of these is a defined term, and it’s not the one most owners assume.
“Natural” has a real definition — with real limits. AAFCO (the Association of American Feed Control Officials) maintains a model definition for “natural” pet food, and in the majority of states that have adopted AAFCO’s model regulations, a label using the term has to comply with it. In plain terms, an ingredient can be called natural if it’s derived from a plant, animal, or mined source and hasn’t gone through a chemically synthetic process. A whole product can only be labeled “natural” or “100% natural” if every single ingredient meets that standard.
Two caveats worth knowing before that word carries any weight in your decision. First, this is a sourcing and processing definition. AAFCO is explicit that “natural” carries no claim that a food is safer or more nutritious than one that isn’t. Second, most natural foods still include synthetic vitamins and minerals (which is normal and often necessary for nutritional completeness), so you’ll frequently see a companion disclaimer like “natural, with added vitamins, minerals, and trace nutrients.” That disclaimer isn’t a red flag; it’s the label doing exactly what it’s supposed to do.
The FDA, for its part, hasn’t defined “natural” for pet food at all. It relies instead on the general legal requirement that labeling can’t be false or misleading. So “natural” is really an AAFCO-and-state-level standard, not a federal one, which is a nuance worth knowing if you ever see a brand claim federal certification for the term.
“Holistic” isn’t defined anywhere. Not by AAFCO, not by the FDA, not by any body with regulatory authority over what goes on a pet food bag. There’s no compliance test, no minimum standard, no enforcement — a brand can put “holistic” on a $12 bag or a $90 bag with equal legitimacy, because there’s nothing legally stopping either one. Even WSAVA, the veterinary body whose nutritional-adequacy standards guide the rest of this guide, specifically calls out “holistic” as an unregulated term that offers little practical value when you’re actually assessing a food’s quality.
That doesn’t mean every holistic-labeled food is low-quality; plenty of excellent foods use the word. It just means the word itself isn’t doing any verification for you. Treat “holistic” as a marketing signal, not a nutritional one, and look instead at the things that actually indicate quality: who formulates the recipe, what nutrient profile it’s built to meet, and whether the company is transparent about both. That’s exactly what the next section covers.
What should you look for in a natural or holistic cat food?
If “natural” and “holistic” aren’t reliable quality signals on their own, what is? The World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) — a global veterinary body, not a pet food marketer — publishes selection guidelines that skip the label language entirely and focus on the manufacturer instead.
Who formulates the recipe, and with what credentials. WSAVA’s benchmark is a nutritionist with a PhD in animal nutrition or board certification through ACVN or ECVCN, not a consultant brought in for a single project, and not a recipe written by a founder without a nutrition background. A brand that names its nutritionist and their credentials is telling you something real; one that doesn’t is a gap worth noticing.
Whether the food is actually “complete and balanced.” This phrase has a specific meaning: a food formulated to meet AAFCO’s nutrient profiles for cats, verified either through nutrient-database analysis or lab testing of the finished product. A food without this designation isn’t automatically bad — it may be an intentional topper or treat — but it shouldn’t be your cat’s only source of nutrition unless a vet has said otherwise. Always check the actual label; a company’s marketing copy can say “complete meal” without the formal AAFCO statement backing it up, so the two aren’t interchangeable.
Life stage matching. AAFCO and FEDIAF set different nutrient profiles for growth/reproduction versus adult maintenance. A food labeled “for all life stages” is formulated to the higher demands of kittens and pregnant or nursing cats, which an adult cat can eat safely, but it’s not necessarily the leanest, most efficient choice for a healthy adult. Match the label to your cat’s actual life stage rather than defaulting to “all life stages” out of convenience.
Quality control and transparency. WSAVA looks for ingredient validation, finished-product nutrient testing, and screening for contaminants like bacteria and toxins, not just at launch, but as an ongoing practice. A manufacturer that’s willing to share this information, and can name where and by whom the food is actually made, is a stronger bet than one that answers those questions vaguely or not at all.
Research behind the formula. Peer-reviewed nutrition research isn’t legally required to sell pet food, but WSAVA treats it as a meaningful signal — a brand that’s invested in studying its own formulas is investing in more than packaging.
None of this shows up in bold letters on the front of a bag. It’s the boring, unglamorous stuff — credentials, lab testing, life-stage accuracy — but it’s also the actual difference between a food that’s genuinely well-made and one that’s just well-marketed. The three picks in this guide were evaluated against these criteria, not just their branding.
Wet food vs. dry food vs. freeze-dried vs. raw: which format actually matters more?
The natural-vs-holistic question gets most of the attention, but format — wet, dry, freeze-dried, or raw — often matters more day-to-day than the label language does.
Dry cat food (kibble) is the most convenient option. It’s shelf-stable, doesn’t spoil quickly once opened, and works well for free-feeding or automated feeders. The tradeoff is moisture. Dry food typically runs 6–10% moisture, compared to 70–80% in wet food, which matters for cats prone to urinary or kidney issues, since cats evolved as desert animals with a naturally low thirst drive and often don’t fully compensate for a dry diet by drinking more water.
Wet cat food (also called canned cat food) solves the hydration gap and tends to be more palatable, which matters if you have a finicky eater. It’s pricier per calorie and spoils quickly once opened, but for many cats it’s the better long-term choice specifically because of the moisture content — you’ll see brands like Tiki Cat and Weruva lean heavily into canned formats with high moisture and simple ingredient lists for exactly this reason.
Freeze-dried cat food splits the difference: raw or gently cooked food with the moisture removed for shelf stability, then rehydrated with water before serving (or fed dry, though rehydrating is generally recommended). It’s a genuinely popular middle ground in the natural/holistic space — brands like Feline Natural and Open Farm build much of their lineup around it — because it preserves more of the original ingredient structure than kibble’s high-heat extrusion process does, without wet food’s short shelf life once opened.
Raw cat food goes a step further, skipping the freeze-drying and cooking process entirely. It’s the format most associated with an “ancestral” or obligate-carnivore-first philosophy, and brands like Solid Gold and Carna4 include raw or minimally processed lines aimed at that audience. Raw food does require more careful handling (thawing, storage, and the same food-safety practices you’d use for raw meat in your own kitchen), and it’s worth confirming any raw product you’re considering carries an AAFCO complete-and-balanced statement rather than assuming “raw” automatically means nutritionally complete.
Toppers and broths (including bone broth) aren’t meant to replace a complete diet at all — they’re a supplemental layer, often used to boost palatability, add moisture, or coax a sick or finicky cat into eating. If a product’s label says “intermittent or supplemental feeding only,” that’s not a lesser product, it’s just doing a different job than a full meal.
One more format worth a mention if you’re weighing convenience alongside quality: fresh, refrigerated cat food — brands like Smalls fall into this category — is a distinct approach from any of the above, typically delivered on a subscription and stored in the fridge rather than the pantry. It’s a strong option for owners prioritizing minimal processing above all else, but the price point and commitment are different enough from shelf-stable natural and holistic food that it deserves its own comparison. We’ll cover fresh and subscription cat food in a dedicated guide.
For most cat parents weighing the three picks in this article, the real decision is simpler than it looks: wet food if hydration and palatability are the priority, freeze-dried if you want raw-adjacent nutrition with more shelf stability, and dry food if convenience and cost matter most — with the option to combine formats rather than choosing just one.
Does grain-free cat food cause heart problems in cats?
Grain-free pet food built a reputation almost overnight, partly on the logic that cats are obligate carnivores — they evolved to get the bulk of their nutrition from animal protein, not grain — so a grain-free formula seemed like a more natural fit for feline biology. Then, starting around 2018, the FDA opened an investigation into a possible link between certain diets and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), a serious heart condition, and grain-free food got swept into a lot of alarming headlines.
Here’s what the FDA’s own findings actually say, as of its most recent public update: the connection is unresolved, not confirmed. The agency has explicitly stated it has not established that grain-free diets cause DCM, and its case reports involved both grain-free and grain-containing diets — grain-free wasn’t the common thread. The pattern the FDA did flag was diets with non-soy legumes and pulses, like peas and lentils, high on the ingredient list, though the agency has been clear that legumes themselves aren’t inherently dangerous and that no recall has ever been issued based on this concern. The FDA now frames non-hereditary DCM as a complex condition likely influenced by genetics, underlying health issues, and diet together, not diet alone.
It’s also worth knowing that this investigation was overwhelmingly about dogs. Of the FDA’s original case reports, 515 involved canines and just 9 involved cats. Cats are more prone to a different heart condition (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy) entirely, and the ongoing DCM research and public discussion is almost entirely dog-focused — a lot of the “grain-free is risky” messaging you’ll see online is really about dogs, applied to cats without much basis for doing so.
None of this means grain-free is automatically the right or wrong choice for your cat. It means the decision shouldn’t be driven by fear of a headline. If you’re choosing between a grain-free and grain-inclusive natural or holistic food, base it on your cat’s actual needs — sensitivities, preferences, vet guidance — rather than a blanket assumption that one is safer than the other.
Verified specs
| Field | Value | Source domain | Confidence | Exact source wording | AI-aggregated? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product name | Chick, Chick Chicken Freeze-Dried Raw Dinner Morsels for Cats | stellaandchewys.com | High | og:title meta: “Chick, Chick Chicken Freeze Dried Raw Cat Food: High Protein, Grain Free Cat & Kitten Food” (source) | No |
| Current price | 3.5 oz — $9.99; 8 oz — $23.99; 18 oz — $46.99 (as of Aug 24, 2026) | stellaandchewys.com | High | Variant JSON: {"title":"3.5 oz / Chicken"..."price":999}, {"title":"8 oz / Chicken"..."price":2399}, plus displayed “18 oz” price “$46.99” (same page) | No |
| Format | Freeze-dried raw | stellaandchewys.com | High | og:title: “Freeze Dried Raw Cat Food”; page description: “This recipe is made with chicken, organs & bone” (same page) | No |
| Protein % (Guaranteed Analysis) | 45.00% min | stellaandchewys.com | High | Guaranteed Analysis table: “Crude Protein (min.) — 45.00%” (same page) | No |
| Fat % (Guaranteed Analysis) | 25.00% min | stellaandchewys.com | High | Guaranteed Analysis table: “Crude Fat (min.) — 25.00%” (same page) | No |
| Caloric content | 4,360 kcal/kg; 123 kcal/oz (metabolizable energy, calculated) | stellaandchewys.com | High | “Calorie Content — 4,360 kcal/kg” / “(metabolizable energy, calculated): — 123 kcal/oz.” (same page) | No |
| Grain-free/inclusive | Grain-free (and notably pea-free, lentil-free, potato-free — stricter than most “grain-free” competitors that substitute legumes/potato) | stellaandchewys.com | High | On-page bullet: “Pea-free, lentil-free, and potato-free”; og:title: “Grain Free Cat & Kitten Food” (same page); corroborated by retailer: “Grain-Free… Never contains grains, gluten, fillers…”[chewy] | No |
| AAFCO adequacy statement — exact wording | Unverifiable. The product page states “100% complete & balanced diet” but does not display the literal printed label statement | stellaandchewys.com | Medium (general claim) / Unverifiable (exact legal wording) | On-page bullet: “100% complete & balanced diet” (same product page) | No |
| AAFCO life stage classification (secondary corroboration) | All Life Stages (“A” rating) | catfoodadvisor.com | Medium | “It is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO cat food nutrient profiles for all life stages”; table entry: “Stella & Chewy’s Chick, Chick Chicken Freeze Dried Dinner Morsels — Rating 4.5 — AAFCO: A”[catfoodadvisor] | No |
| Primary protein source | Chicken | stellaandchewys.com | High | First ingredient: “Chicken with Ground Bone, Chicken Liver, Chicken Gizzard, Pumpkin Seed, Potassium Chloride…” (same page) | No |
| First five ingredients | Chicken with Ground Bone; Chicken Liver; Chicken Gizzard; Pumpkin Seed; Potassium Chloride | stellaandchewys.com | High | Same ingredient string as above | No |
A note on the numbers above: each brand states its food is complete and balanced and confirms an AAFCO nutrient profile in its marketing copy, but none publishes the exact legal statement that appears on the physical label. We’ve backed these claims with independent review data where available, but if AAFCO compliance is a hard requirement for you, we’d recommend confirming the wording on the can or bag itself before buying.
Our picks: best natural and holistic cat food
Three brands, three different formats, three different reasons to choose them. Here’s how each one held up against the criteria that actually matter.
The Honest Kitchen — Grain Free Turkey Câté
$37.51 5.5 oz x12 – The Honest Kitchen Grain Free Turkey Câté
The Honest Kitchen has built its brand around human-grade sourcing, and this turkey pâté is a straightforward example of what that looks like on the label: turkey, turkey broth, and turkey liver lead the ingredient list, with pumpkin and carrots rounding out the first five. It’s a wet, high-moisture format — a meaningful plus if hydration or urinary health is part of why you’re shopping for a new food — with 157 kcal per 5.5 oz can and a guaranteed minimum of 11% protein and 5.0% fat.
The company states its complete-and-balanced recipes are developed with board-certified veterinary nutritionists and PhD food scientists, tested at an independent ISO-accredited lab, and made in US facilities under the same manufacturing standards used for human food — claims that go further than most brands are willing to make in writing. This recipe is labeled across kitten, adult, and active adult life stages, making it a flexible option if you’re feeding cats at different life stages in the same household.
Zeal — New Zealand Wet Food, Chicken Recipe
$54.45 6 oz (Case of 12) – Zeal Chicken Wet Cat Food
Zeal’s chicken recipe leans hard into ingredient simplicity and traceability: chicken, water, chicken liver, New Zealand green-lipped mussel, and salmon oil make up the first five ingredients, sourced from company-owned, BRC-certified facilities in New Zealand and Canada. The green-lipped mussel is a nice inclusion worth knowing about specifically — it’s a natural source of glucosamine and chondroitin, commonly used to support joint health in cats, particularly as they age.
At 10% protein and 4.0% fat (guaranteed analysis), it’s a lighter formula than the other two picks here — worth factoring in if you’re comparing calorie density across brands, since Zeal’s own site and its retail listings show some inconsistency in published kcal figures for this product, landing somewhere around 1,000 kcal/kg. Zeal doesn’t display a formal AAFCO life-stage statement on its retailer listing the way the other two brands do, so if strict life-stage labeling matters to you, this is the one pick where we’d recommend double-checking the physical can before buying.
Stella & Chewy’s — Chick, Chick Chicken Freeze-Dried Raw
$23.99 – Stella & Chewy’s Chick, Chick Chicken Freeze-Dried Raw
If you’re drawn to raw feeding but want the shelf stability of a dry product, this is the pick built for that. Chicken with ground bone, chicken liver, and chicken gizzard lead the ingredient list — a genuinely meat-forward formula, reflected in its guaranteed analysis of 45% protein and 25% fat, well above the other two picks here. At 123 kcal per ounce, it’s calorie-dense, so portioning matters more with this food than with a lower-calorie wet option.
It’s also grain-free in the stricter sense. No grains, but also no pea, lentil, or potato substitutes, which some “grain-free” formulas quietly lean on instead. The company states this line is formulated to AAFCO’s nutrient profile for all life stages, though as noted above, that’s a marketing claim rather than a viewed label statement. One thing to note: Stella & Chewy’s human-grade claim applies only to its wet food and broth toppers — not this freeze-dried raw line — so don’t assume “human-grade” here even though the brand does carry that claim elsewhere in its catalog.
How do I choose the right natural cat food for my cat?
The best natural or holistic food isn’t necessarily the one at the top of this guide — it’s the one that fits your cat’s actual needs. Here’s how to think through the more common ones.
Kittens. A kitten’s nutritional needs are higher and more specific than an adult cat’s — more protein, more calories per pound of body weight, and a nutrient profile formulated for growth rather than maintenance. Look for cat food for kittens labeled for “growth” or “all life stages” rather than “adult maintenance,” and don’t assume a food is appropriate for a kitten just because it’s labeled natural or holistic — those words say nothing about life-stage formulation.
Sensitive stomachs. If your cat deals with regular vomiting, soft stool, or general digestive upset, a simpler ingredient list is usually a better starting point than a trendy one. A cat food for sensitive stomachs typically means fewer novel proteins, minimal fillers, and consistent formulation batch to batch — wet food can also help here, since higher moisture content is generally easier on digestion than dry kibble. If symptoms persist regardless of food, that’s a conversation for your vet, not a label to shop around.
Urinary and kidney health. Cats are prone to urinary tract issues partly because of their low natural thirst drive, which is where moisture content in food becomes a real, practical health factor rather than a nice-to-have. Wet, canned, and freeze-dried-then-rehydrated foods all deliver meaningfully more hydration than dry kibble. For kidney health specifically, controlled phosphorus and high-quality, digestible protein matter more than raw protein percentage — a cat with diagnosed kidney disease needs a vet-guided prescription diet, not just a “natural” label, so treat general natural/holistic food as a wellness choice for cats without a kidney diagnosis, not a treatment for cats who have one.
Joint health. Older cats and larger breeds can benefit from ingredients like glucosamine and chondroitin — naturally present in some formulas (green-lipped mussel is one real source, as in Zeal’s recipe above) or added directly. This matters more for senior cats than kittens or younger adults, so weigh it against your cat’s actual age rather than defaulting to it as a universal priority.
Gut and digestive health. Beyond sensitive-stomach concerns, general gut health increasingly shows up in “natural” and “holistic” marketing — probiotics, prebiotic fiber, pumpkin, and similar ingredients are common additions aimed at supporting digestion. These aren’t harmful, but they’re also not a substitute for addressing an actual digestive issue with your vet; think of them as a mild, ongoing support rather than a fix.
The honest takeaway here: none of this is unique to natural or holistic-labeled food. A well-formulated food that happens to carry neither word can meet all of the same needs. What actually matters is whether the specific product in front of you — natural, holistic, or neither — is formulated for your cat’s life stage and addresses whatever’s actually going on with them.
FAQ
What’s the best cat food — natural, holistic, or something else entirely?
There’s no single best cat food that fits every cat, which is part of why “best holistic cat food” lists can be misleading — the right choice depends on your cat’s age, health, and preferences more than which label a bag carries. A high-quality food built on high-quality protein and real, identifiable food ingredients will usually serve your cat better than one chosen for marketing language alone.
How do I actually compare cat food brands?
Skip the front-of-bag claims and go straight to the guaranteed analysis and ingredient list. Compare protein and fat on a dry matter basis rather than as printed (wet and dry foods report these differently because of moisture content, so an as-printed comparison across formats isn’t apples to apples). Beyond that, look at whether the company names its protein source clearly (real chicken vs. vague “meat by-products”), whether essential amino acids like taurine are confirmed rather than assumed, and whether the brand is transparent about where and how it manufactures.
Are grain-free cat food brands and raw cat food actually better for cats?
Not automatically. Grain-free and raw food options both have genuine advocates and genuine tradeoffs — grain-free isn’t linked to DCM risk in cats the way it’s sometimes discussed for dogs, and raw or freeze-dried cat food can offer higher, more concentrated protein and fat. But “better” depends on your specific cat’s needs, not the format alone. A well-formulated kibble can support a cat’s overall health just as well as a raw diet, provided it’s actually complete and balanced.
What ingredients should I watch for — good and bad?
On the positive side: named proteins (chicken, turkey, salmon), organ meats like chicken liver (a natural source of nutrients, not a filler), and functional additions like superfoods or green tea extract, which some brands include for antioxidant support. On the caution side: watch for vague “meat meal” or “chicken meal” listed without a named species, excessive fillers, and unnecessary artificial ingredients — dyes and preservatives your cat doesn’t need regardless of what else is on the label.
Does wet or dry food matter more for palatability and health and happiness?
Both, in different ways. Wet food tends to win on palatability for picky eaters and delivers more hydration; dry food is easier to free-feed and typically lower in carbs relative to protein when well-formulated. Neither format alone determines your cat’s overall health and happiness — consistency, appropriate portioning, and actually meeting your cat’s nutritional needs matter more than the wet-vs-dry debate itself.
What other natural and holistic cat food brands are out there?
The three picks above aren’t the only credible options. Brands like Open Farm, Solid Gold, Feline Natural, and Carna4 all compete in the same natural/holistic space with their own takes on sourcing and format — Tiki Cat’s After Dark line, for instance, leans into high-protein, low-carb wet recipes, while Feline Natural focuses heavily on freeze-dried raw. If none of the three picks above fit your cat or budget, these are reasonable brands to research using the same criteria covered in this guide.
What if I want fresh, refrigerated food instead?
Fresh food brands like Smalls take a different approach entirely — human-grade ingredients delivered on a subscription, stored in your fridge rather than your pantry. It’s a legitimate category with its own tradeoffs in cost and convenience, different enough from the shelf-stable food options in this guide that we cover it separately in our dedicated fresh cat food guide.
Are there specific cat foods for different life stages or dietary needs?
Yes — kitten, adult, and senior formulas differ in protein and calorie density, and specialized diets exist for sensitive stomachs, weight management, and urinary or kidney support. A food labeled “for all life stages” is formulated to meet the higher demands of growth, which most adult cats don’t need day to day. If your cat has a diagnosed condition, a vet-recommended therapeutic diet takes priority over any general natural or holistic pick in this guide.
What cat foods should I avoid?
Be cautious of foods with vague protein sources (“meat by-products” or unnamed “meat meal” instead of a named animal), a long list of fillers with little nutritional purpose, or a brand that can’t or won’t answer basic questions about formulation and sourcing. A “natural” or “holistic” label doesn’t rule any of this out — always check the ingredient list and guaranteed analysis over the front-of-bag claims.
Read our guide for Best Pet Insurance for Cats here.
Sources
- AAFCO — Understanding Pet Food: Natural
- FDA — Animal Foods & Feeds: Pet Food
- FDA — Animal Food Labeling and Pet Food Claims
- FDA — Complete and Balanced Pet Food
- FDA — Investigation: Potential Link Between Certain Diets and Canine DCM
- FDA — Q&A: FDA’s Work on Potential Causes of Non-Hereditary DCM in Dogs
- WSAVA — Selecting a Pet Food for Your Pet (Global Nutrition Toolkit)
- The Honest Kitchen — Vet Resources
- The Honest Kitchen — Why Human Grade
- The Honest Kitchen — Grain Free Turkey Câté (Pâté)
- Zeal — Chicken Wet Cat Food
- Zeal — Our Story
- Zeal — FAQ
- Stella & Chewy’s — Chick, Chick Chicken Freeze-Dried Raw Dinner Morsels
- Stella & Chewy’s — Addressing the DCM Concern
- Stella & Chewy’s Help Center — Food for Specific Pet Needs
- Stella & Chewy’s Help Center — Safety & Ingredients