applaws cat food

Applaws Cat Food Deep Dive & Review

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Applaws cat food recipes are crafted from cuts of human-grade meats and ethically sourced ingredients. The dry food is a complete and balanced food.

Our favorite dry food: chicken with country vegetables kibble

Applaws wet food makes a great topper and is a good choice for complimentary feeding, especially as a tasty treat!

Our favorite wet food:  chicken breast and pumpkin recipe

 

Applaws Tasty Broth wet cat food

Applaws’s wet cat food in Tasty Broth is available in two lines: Cat Pots and Pouches.

Applaws Cat Pots in Tasty Broth’s small portions make this wet cat food a great supplemental choice to your kitty’s diet. The easily digestible meats and animal proteins make this a good choice for senior cats who may have very little appetite and need to be encouraged to eat enough. This is also a great way to bring moisture to the diets of cats who prefer hard and dry kibble over wet cat food.

Applaws Cat Pouches are deli-inspired recipes featuring ingredients like prawns, anchovies, and even celery!

Applaws Cat Pots in Tasty Broth Succulent Tuna Fillet with Crab 

Crafted from just four ingredients like omega-3 rich tuna and whole grain rice in a convenient plastic cup, all you need to do is peel back the lid, plop it on the ground, and your kitty can gobble up as much tuna and crab as their little heart desires, no bowl necessary!

Other Applaws Cat Pots in Tasty Broth wet cat food flavors include Tender Chicken Breast with Tuna Roe, Tender Chicken Breast, Tasty Sardine with Mackerel, Juicy Chicken Breast with Duck, Tasty Tuna Fillet with Prawn. All without artificial preservatives.

Pros

  • No corn, wheat, soy, or meat byproducts
  • High protein and high moisture
  • Can be used to encourage cats to eat and gain weight

Cons

  • It’s not a complete food
  • Premium price

Applaws Cat Pouches in Tasty Broth Chicken with Asparagus 

This pouch is a great compliment to Applaws’s dry cat food or whatever kibble your cat may prefer with just three simple ingredients. Its high protein and moisture content is also very good for senior cats who may have much smaller appetites and are more prone to dehydration than an adult cat or kittens.

Other Applaws Pouches in Tasty Broth wet cat food flavors include Tuna with Whole Anchovy and Seaweed, Tuna with Seabream, Tuna with Pacific Prawn, Chicken with Pumpkin, Chicken with Asparagus, Chicken Breast.

Pros

  • No grains, gluten, corn, wheat, or soy
  • High protein and moisture
  • This flavor contains no fish

Cons

  • It’s not a complete food
  • The packaging is wasteful
  • Premium price

 

Applaws Original Recipe wet cat food

Applaws’s Original Recipe Additive Free Wet Cat Food line features flaked tuna and chopped chicken in a savory broth. Many of these recipes include four ingredients or less and provide a good source of essential minerals and nutrients like potassium, iodine, and iron.

Note: two flavors include cheese, which is hard for lactose intolerant cats to digest.

Applaws Original Recipe Additive Free Chicken Breast and Pumpkin 

Flaked chicken breast joins forces with superfood, pumpkin, in this canned wet cat food. Crafted from ingredients you can pronounce and recognize, and this can be used as a topper for cats who need more moisture, protein, and fiber in their diets.

Other Applaws Original Recipe Additive Free wet cat food flavors include Chicken breast, Chicken breast with cheese, Applaws Ocean fish, Tuna fillet with seaweed, Tuna fillet, and shrimp, Tuna fillet with cheese, Tuna fillet.

Pros

  • No meat by-products, corn, wheat, or soy
  • High fiber, protein, and moisture content
  • Good for cats with sensitive stomachs and digestion issues

Cons

  • It’s not a complete food
  • Some cats may not like the pumpkin taste
  • This recipe contains rice, so it’s not grain free
  • Premium price

 

Applaws Flakes in Gravy

Applaws Flakes in Gravy wet cat food is sold in two forms: pouches and plastic cups. These flaked offerings may appeal to texturally sensitive cats. Potato starch and plant-based thickeners like Locust Bean Gum and Carrageenan appear in all of Applaws’s Flakes in Gravy Pouches and Pots.

Applaws Chicken Flakes with Duck in Gravy Pouches

Flaked human-grade chicken and duck are the second and third ingredients in this pouch of broth-based wet cat food. Considered a limited ingredient and complimentary food, this grain free offering from Applaws brings extra protein and hydration to dry kibble.

Other Applaws Flakes in Gravy Pouches flavors include Chicken Flakes in Gravy, Chicken with Duck Flakes in Gravy, Pollock Flakes in Gravy, Tuna Flakes in Gravy, Tuna Flakes with Shrimp in Gravy, Tuna Flakes with Sockeye Salmon in Gravy.

Pros

  • No grains, meat by-products, corn, or soy
  • High protein and moisture
  • Limited vegetable ingredients

Cons

  • It’s not a complete food
  • Contains thickeners
  • No appropriate for cats with fish allergies or sensitivities

Applaws Flakes in Gravy Cat Pots Variety Pack 

Applaws Flakes in Gravy Cat Pots contain the same high protein, high moisture content, and lean hand-cut meats as the Applaws Flakes in Gravy Pouches. This variety pack of peel and serve wet cat food includes flavors like Grilled Tilapia Flakes with Sockeye Salmon.

Other Applaws Flakes in Gravy Cat Pots flavors include: Chicken Flakes in Gravy, Grilled Tilapia Flakes with Shrimp in Gravy, Grilled Tilapia Flakes with Sockeye Salmon in Gravy, Grilled Tilapia Flakes with Tuna in Gravy, Tuna Flakes in Gravy, Tuna Flakes with Shrimp in Gravy.

Pros

  • No, corn, wheat, soy, or meat by-products.
  • High protein and moisture
  • Limited vegetable ingredients

Cons

  • It’s not a complete food
  • Contains carrageenan and locust bean gum thickeners
  • Contains fish or fish broth

Applaws Limited Ingredient Mousse

Applaws’s Limited Ingredient Mousse is a softly textured pate type wet cat food that can bring more moisture to kitties’ diets and be mixed into kibble or served in between feedings for cats who may have more peckish appetites.

Other Applaws Limited Ingredient Mousse flavors include Chicken and Pumpkin, Chicken and Carrot, Chicken and Duck, Salmon and Parsley, Tuna, and Tuna and Sardine.

Applaws Limited Ingredient Mousse Tuna with Sardine in Broth Mousse

Pros

  • No grains, corn, wheat, soy, meat by-products
  • High protein and moisture
  • Limited vegetable ingredients

Cons

  • It’s not a complete food
  • Some cats don’t like the texture
  • Contains carrageenan and locust bean gum
  • Contains fillers

Applaws Grain Free Layers

Applaws describes this wet cat food as being “one good thing on top of another.” This appetizer-sized plastic container of wet cat food is intended to be used as a topper for kibble or supplement the wet cat food you’re already feeding your kitty.

Other Applaws Grain Free Layers flavors include Tuna with Mackerel in Aspic, Chicken with Carrots and Peas in Aspic, Chicken with Pumpkin in Aspic, Chicken with Lamb in Aspic, and Tuna with Anchovy in Aspic.

Applaws Grain Free Layers Tuna with Shrimp in Aspic

Pros

  • Made from whole tuna and shrimp
  • High protein, high moisture, and low fat
  • Easily digestible

Cons

  • Contains carrageenan as a thickener
  • It’s not a complete meal
  • Some cats may not like the texture

Applaws Whole Fish Loins Cat Treats

Available in three varieties: Whole Tuna Loin, Whole Mackerel Loin, Whole Tilapia Loin, these pieces of human-grade fish are a simple and high-quality healthy treat for cats.

Pros

  • High in protein and omega fatty acids
  • Easily digestible
  • Made from just one ingredient

Cons

  • Premium price

Applaws Purees

Applaws Purees are available in two flavors: Chicken and Tuna. Made from chicken and fish broth, these purees can be mixed into dry cat food or wet cat food and can also be served as a treat.

Pros

  • High moisture
  • No grain, soy, corn, wheat, or meat by-products
  • Can easily be added to dry kibble or mixed into wet cat food

Cons

  • Contains potato starch and locust bean gum thickeners
  • Includes fish, so it’s not for cats with fish allergies or sensitivities

applaws cat food reviews dry food

Applaws Grain Free Dry Cat Food

Applaws’s dry cat foods are complete and balanced. In other words, this kibble contains enough whole foods and essential vitamins, minerals, and nutrients to give your kitty everything they need on a daily basis.

Other Applaws Grain Free Dry Cat Food flavors include Chicken and Ocean Fish.

Pros

  • No meat by-products, corn, wheat, soy, or gluten
  • High-quality meats are the first two ingredients
  • High protein and highly digestible

Cons

  • High in carbohydrates
  • Premium price
  • The kibble may be too hard for cats with sensitive or missing teeth

Applaws Grain Free Whitefish with Country Vegetables Dry Cat Food

Pros

  • No meat by-products, corn, wheat, soy, potatoes, or gluten
  • High-quality fish is the first two ingredients
  • High protein and highly digestible

Cons

  • High in carbohydrates
  • The source of the “animal fat” ingredient is undisclosed
  • The kibble may be too hard for cats with sensitive or missing teeth

What is Applaws cat food?

Applaws hit the cat food scene in 2006, where it appeared at specialty retailers in the United Kingdom. Not long after that, Applaws cat food expanded to North America and Australia.

One of Applaws’s claims to fame is that they created the world’s first grain-free high animal protein (a whopping 80 percent of the protein comes from animal sources) dry cat and dog food. Applaws now offers several lines of wet food to supplement their dry cat food.

Let’s start by unpacking where and how Applaws cat food is made.

Where is Applaws cat food manufactured?

Applaws gets the ingredients for their cat food from all around the world. Factories for Applaws’s dry cat food line are located in the United States, while factories for their wet cat food are in Thailand. Both factories adhere to strict quality and food safety standards. All the factories in Thailand are British Retail Consortium-certified.

Applaws has a comprehensive ethical policy on their website where they share that all of the fish used in their natural cat food is sustainably sourced. All of the workers employed by their suppliers are paid fair wages in safe and healthy conditions.

Did Applaws have any recalls?

To date, there have been no recalls for any of Applaws’s cat food.

applaws cat food reviews

Is Applaws a good cat food?

Applaws cat food uses cuts of human-grade meats and simple ingredients in all of their products. Many of Applaws’s wet cat foods contain just three or four ingredients, with treats like their Applaws Whole Fish Loin treats containing only one ingredient.

Applaws’s wet cat food is designed to be served as a topper to be mixed in with their dry food. Applaws suggests adding their wet cat foods to their dry cat foods at a ratio of 60 percent wet to 40 percent dry food.

For more information on what the AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) considers complete and balanced pet food, visit the AAFCO website here: Association of American Feed Control Officials.

Both wet and dry varieties are low in fat. Fats are vital in cats’ diets help them absorb better vitamins like the crucial vitamins A, D, E, and K. Fats also play a huge role in your kitty’s nervous system health, maintaining muscle tissue, and fighting off bacterial infections.

Does Applaws cat food contain taurine?

Applaws wet cat food is not fortified with additional taurine because Applaws says their wet food contains enough naturally occuring taurine due to the high quanity of animal source protien.

Taurine is an essential amino acid and one of the most crucial nutrients for cats. We’ve written an article on why taurine is vital to your cat’s health where you can read more.

What types of cat food does Applaws make?

Applaws offers three lines of supplementary wet cat food toppers and one line of dry cat food.

Applaws cat food lines include:

  • Applaws Cat Pots in Tasty Broth: Available in 6 different flavors Applaws’s peel and serve Cat Pots contain limited ingredients like whole fish fillets or chicken breasts in a single-use plastic cup.
  • Applaws Original Recipe Additive Free Cat Food: This canned wet cat food comes in 8 flavors. Containing as little as three ingredients, this minced meat Applaws Original Recipe canned cat food is made to add extra protein and moisture to kitties’ diets.
  • Applaws Flakes in Gravy: Sold in both plastic cup and pouch form, this line of Applaws wet cat food comes in 6 flavors. It features novel protiens like pollock and duck.
  • Applaws Grain-Free Dry Cat Food: This dry cat food comes in 5 protein-dense varieties like Applaws Ocean Fish.

Applaws nutritional supplements, broths, and treats:

  • Applaws Cat Layers in Aspic: These appetizer-sized cups of wet cat food come in over six flavors and can be served atop kibble or in between meals.
  • Applaws Mousse: This softly textured pate style wet cat food comes in 7 flavors and is packaged in a peel-and-serve plastic container.
  • Applaws Tuna Flakes: These tuna flakes are a high protein treat that can be sprinkled onto your kitty’s foods or fed to them as a treat between meals.
  • Applaws Whole Fish Loin Cat Treats: These single ingredient treats are crafted from omega-3 fatty acid-rich fish like mackerel and tilapia.
  • Applaws Puree: These broth-based supplements are crafted from pureed tuna and chicken and can be used to add extra moisture to dry cat food.

applaws cat food reviews cat parents

What are cat parents saying about Applaws cat food?

Positive Applaws cat food reviews

“ This dry food is about as simple as it can be but still offers balanced nutrition. On a per-pound basis, this bag is competitively priced, and it’s superior.” KittenLitter on Petco.com (Applaws Whitefish with Country Vegetables Grain Free Dry Cat Food)

“About a year ago, I started buying this food for my cat. She has kidney disease, so I was looking for a food low in phosphorus that didn’t have a lot of unnecessary additives. I was so happy to find this food! ” Njm423 on Petco.com (Applaws Original Recipe Additive Free Chicken Breast Canned Cat Food)

“My cat loves this food! She was recently diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, and it is one of the few wet foods that does not contain potassium iodide or anything else that is high in iodine. ” KiwiSeeker on Petco.com (Applaws Original Recipe Additive Free Chicken Breast Canned Cat Food)

Negative Applaws cat food reviews

“My cat won’t eat this. She loves pate, but this is not mousse-like at all. It is hard and thick, more like gelatin. I tried to swirl it around and break it up and couldn’t even mix it well.” Tflc1985 on Petco.com (Applaws Chicken and Pumpkin Mousse Wet Cat Food)

“I buy this off and on. My cats start off liking it, then turn their noses up at it. Then I stop buying [it] for months, so it’s new to them again, but [the] same thing repeats. It smells and looks just like canned chicken, only shredded [so] I thought it would be a huge win for my kitties.” Dee S on Petsmart.com (Applaws Original Recipe Additive Free Cat Food – Chicken Variety Pack)

“When Applaws gets it right, it’s a great product. Unfortunately, we ordered a case of this and can after can is watery rice. I understand that delicate fish can fall apart during the steaming/retorting process, but this batch is mostly rice. Cats don’t want to eat and shouldn’t eat this much rice. A can of rice with a nugget of protein put on top for decoration isn’t acceptable in cat food, especially one marketed as premium.” Kitten Litter on Petco.com (Applaws Original Recipe Additive Free Tuna with Tilapia Wet Cat Food

applause cat food reviews brands

Alternatives to Applaws cat food

Tiki Cat

Founded by Christine Hackett and owned by Petropics, Tiki Cat creates cat food using bioavailability.

Tiki Cat’s protein-first recipes feature nutrient-rich, vitamin-packed, and highly palatable animal ingredients like organ and shredded meats and eggs. Fortified with extra nutrients and fiber superfoods like pumpkin Tiki Cat’s cat food is real food that appeals to cats’ tastes and supports their health.

To date, Tiki Cat has had no recalls.

Soulistic

Soulistic is a Petco-exclusive brand owned by Weruva.

Soulistic cat food sets itself apart from cat food competitors with its four-pronged approach to feline nutrition: weight management, proper hydration, urinary tract health, and attention to texture. Highly digestible meats and animal proteins make up the top ingredients in all of Soulistic’s grain-free and high-protein cat food offerings.

To date, Soulistic cat food has had no recalls.

Weruva

Weruva was founded in 2007 with the philosophy that our feline companions deserve to eat high-quality foods that you can see instead of the unappetizing mystery meats and by-product leftovers in so many other commercially available cat foods.

Weruva is a nutritionally balanced cat food made from high protein and highly palatable meat. Fortified with essential vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids, Weruva provides complete and affordable feline nutrition for kitty companions of ages and life stages.

To date, Weruva has never had a single recall.

Top takeaways

Applaws’s wet cat food is made from cuts of human-grade meats and is a truly limited ingredient cat food. It’s intended to be used in supplemental feeding as a topper or treat.

Applaws dry cat food is fortified with essential nutrients for cats and is considered a complete and balanced kibble in-line with holistic cat food brands like Orijen cat food.

 

Victoria Tomis
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