The Catological Verdict On 9lives Dry Cat Food
From top to bottom, this is a below average dry product.
From the abundance of corn in the recipe, to meat not being the first ingredient, to the use of artificial coloring, it just ticks none of the right boxes.
This is a perfect example of a very cheap food that is cheap for a reason.
Since meat only shows up a couple of times, and not that often at the top of the ingredient list, we can assume that this is a plant-based cat food, without enough meat to make it biologically appropriate for a cats dietary needs.
To review, on a dry matter basis, this food is 34% protein, 10% fat, and 47% carbs.
As a group, the brand has an average protein content of 35%, and average fat content of 10%, and an average carb content of 46%.
Compared to the other 2000+ foods in our database, this food has:
- Below average protein.
- Below average fat.
- Above average carbs.
Because it is full of corn and lower quality meat products, our rating for this brand is 1 star.
Not recommended.
To compare the 9Lives dry foods against their wet food options, see our review of the canned food here.
What Kinds Of Cat Food Does 9lives Offer
The 9Lives cat food lineup includes six varieties of dry cat food and an expansive selection of wet products. 9Lives wet food lines include Tender Morsels, Meaty Paté, Protein Plus®, and Hearty Cuts.
9Lives products have ingredient lists similar to most budget cat foods. Poultry and meat by-products outnumber named meats, plant proteins appear in all of the dry foods, and all of their recipes contain at least one artificial additive.
Lives Daily Essentials Dry Cat Food
SKUaccount icon
Item No. 0387450
Give your cat the flavors of salmon, chicken, and beef with 9Lives Daily Essentials dry cat food. Our delicious formula helps support heart health, clear vision, strong muscles, and healthy skin and coat. It’s the great taste they want with the balanced nutrition they need to help provide a long, healthy life.
- 100% complete and balanced nutrition for all cat life stages
- Omega 3 fatty acids help promote healthy skin and coat
- High quality protein helps support strong muscle growth
- Taurine helps maintain heart and vision health
| 9Lives Daily Essentials Dry Cat Food – 3.15 lbs | |
| Package Count | |
|---|---|
| 310 | |
| Nutritional/Supplemental Facts |
Crude Protein30.0%, Crude Fat9.0%, Crude Fiber3.0%, Moisture12.0%, Calcium1.0%, Phosphorus0.8%, Iron180 mg/kg, Selenium0.475 mg/kg, Vitamin E100 IU/kg, Taurine0.10%, Omega |
| Prop 65 | No |
A single morning serving will allow your cat to nibble freely throughout the day. The serving size should be adjusted based on your cats age and activity level. Water is essential to your cats good health. Always provide your cat with a bowl of fresh water.Adult Cat 5 – 10 lb. Amount Daily 1/2 – 3/4 cup 11 – 15 lb. Amount Daily 3/4 – 1 cupUsing a standard 8oz cup
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Lives Daily Essentials With Chicken Beef & Salmon Dry Cat Food
With whole ground corn as the first ingredient, 9 Lives Daily Essentials with Chicken, Beef & Salmon Dry Cat Food is lower quality compared to most foods on the market. Preferably, whole meat or meat meal needs to be the first ingredient in any cat food not a grain. Chicken by-product is included as the second ingredient. This is a meat product, but it is of lower quality than some of the other options.
The third and fourth ingredients corn gluten meal and soybean meal are both protein additives that raise the foods protein content. However, this protein does not come from meat, making it a poor choice for most felines. This food does have a protein content of 30%, which is about average.
This food claims to contain beef and salmon. However, it does not include much of either of these animals. Beef fat is included. Meat and bone meal are also added, but this is one of the lowest quality meat options out there. It is literally mystery meat and could be anything. Salmon meal appears further down on the list and there is no other beef to be found.
Omega fatty acids are added, likely due to the fish meal.
Who Makes 9lives Cat Food
The brands dry cat food products are manufactured in Pennsylvania and Kansas. Their wet variants are made in the US, with some made in international facilities. The ingredients are sourced mostly in North America.
9 Lives offers both wet and dry cat foods. The brands dry foods come in 5 variants. Their wet cat foods are available in 4 different textures with various flavors. Read the comprehensive review below to help you pick the right food for your kitty.
The review is based on quality of ingredients, affordability, results delivered, as well as feedback from other cat parents.
You love what you see? Purrfect! Rest assured that I put these products on the list specifically due to their genuine quality and not for other reasons. I would just like to be transparent with you and inform you that FelineLiving may obtain a share of sales or other monetary compensation from the links on this page. I hope your furry friends will love these reviewed products and that it will spark joy in each pair of feline eyes!
Mary Nielsen
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Lives Plus Care Dry Food
Pros
Helps resolve urinary issues. This product has received numerous positive reviews from owners of kitties who were suffering from various urinary issues such as blockages, infections, and crystals.
Many have also used it as maintenance after being on a prescribed diet. The cat parents noticed a huge improvement in the health of their kitties. They were also able to save a lot of money from vet bills and expensive prescription foods.
Cats love it! Many cat parents are having a hard time looking for a urinary tract health food that their picky felines would like. A lot of them have found the perfect solution in this product. Not only is it inexpensive, but kitties actually enjoy eating it.
Cons
Small kibbles. A few customers find the kibbles of this dry cat food too small. Their pets end up swallowing the food without chewing them well.
This is a good dry cat food product to try for picky felines who need urinary health food. Many kitties who were previously suffering from urinary conditions have thrived on this brand.
Cat parents who could not get their kitties to eat food made especially for urinary health found success with this particular product. However, some find the kibbles to small. As this is a dry cat food made for senior kitties, the kibbles are designed to be smaller and easier to chew.
The Catological Verdict On 9lives Wet Cat Food
From top to bottom, this is a below average wet product.
From the abundance of corn in the recipe, to meat not being the first ingredient, to the use of artificial coloring, it just ticks none of the right boxes.
This is a perfect example of a very cheap food that is cheap for a reason.
Since meat only shows up a couple of times, and not that often at the top of the ingredient list, we can assume that this is a plant-based cat food, without enough meat to make it biologically appropriate for a cats dietary needs.
To review, on a dry matter basis, this food is 34% protein, 10% fat, and 47% carbs.
As a group, the brand has an average protein content of 35%, and average fat content of 10%, and an average carb content of 46%.
Compared to the other 2000+ foods in our database, this food has:
- Below average protein.
- Below average fat.
- Above average carbs.
Because it is full of corn and lower quality meat products, our rating for this brand is 2 stars.
Not recommended.
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Lives Cat Food Top 3 Recipes Reviewed
| Product Name |
Chicken by-product meal and corn gluten meal appear to be the primary protein sources in this dry cat food.
Lets take a closer look at this popular 9Lives recipe. Its a dry food called Daily Essentials.
Well be evaluating the ingredient list in a moment, but first, lets talk about whats on the front of the bag. Unlike some foods that highlight protein sources in the name, this food is simply called Daily Essentials. The words with the flavors of chicken, beef, and salmon appear in a text bubble located close to the bottom of the bag.
This isnt an accidentFDA labeling regulations outline the meaning of certain words and phrases on cat food labels. This label appears to adhere to the with and flavor rules. A food named with the word with in the title must consist of at least 3% the named ingredient on a dry matter basis. The phrases beef flavor, flavor of salmon, and other uses of the word flavor mean that the food must taste like the ingredient mentioned, but doesnt have to contain that ingredient.
That said, how much chicken, beef, and salmon is in this cat food and is it a species-appropriate, nourishing recipe? Well have to look at the ingredient list to find out.
Chicken by-products are followed by corn gluten meal, soybean meal, and whole wheat. These plant ingredients contribute to the foods protein and carbohydrate content.
The food has 306 calories in each cup.
Lives Cat Food Review 202: Tasty & Economical Cat Food
One of the most popular cat food brands in world, 9 Lives probably has the most recognizable packaging among all brands. They are endorsed by none other than Morris the cat.
With every pack and can signed by the worlds most finicky cat, it is no wonder the brand has taken one of the top spots in the cat food market.
To find out if this brand is good enough for your own finicky kitty, we have created this 2022 9 Lives cat food review of the brands top-rated products on Amazon.com.
Here at FelineLiving.Net we have a dedicated mission to provide cat owners like you with well-researched information so they can provide the best care and nutrition to their cat.
Our readers rely upon the cat food reviews, articles and recall alerts that we research and publish. We also routinely update and review our own reviews ensuring that any changes by manufacturers are brought to your attention.
FelineLiving.Net is maintained by Mary Nielsen & her staff. Mary is an animal lover of both cats and dogs. She and her staff are passionate about animals and work hard to provide you with a wealth of information for you and your cat.
FelineLiving.Net is supported by our readers. If you make a purchase through one of our links, we may earn a referral fee. This helps cover the cost of operating our free blog. Thanks for your support!
9 Lives is now owned by Big Heart Pet Brands of the J.M. Smucker Company. The company also owns other brands of cat food such as Meow Mix and Rachael Ray Nutrish.
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Lives Cat Food Comparison
| IMAGE |
|---|
Pros
Tasty. Daily Essentials is very popular with kitties. This cat food even passed the high standards of some known finicky kitties, according to their owners.
Its ingredients include chicken by-product meal, meat and bone meal, and salmon meal. The flavor is enhanced by adding beef fat and rosemary extract in the ingredients. It really is no wonder kitties love this cat food.
Affordable. 9 Lives has some of the most affordable cat food in the market. Many cat owners find great value in this cat food as their pets are happy to eat Daily Essentials, and they save a lot of money too.
Cons
Plant ingredients. According to a few reviews, they find that this cat food contains too much carbohydrates from plant sources in its ingredients. Some if its protein are from plant-based ingredients as well, such as soybean meal and corn gluten meal. This product also has whole ground corn as the first in its first ingredients.
Daily Essentials is a dry food product that is popular among kitties for being tasty, and among cat owners for being affordable. It has been the dry cat food of choice for people who have quite a number of feline mouths to feed.
Looking at its protein content, it really is not so bad at a minimum of 30% crude protein. However, a few reviews note that it has too much plant-based ingredients.
What Other Users Have To Say
Many consumers reported that the wet food was no longer edible once it had been opened. At every meal, a new can is required.
Saving the can in the fridge causes the food to harden, which will likely turn off your cat. When food is left out, it hardens quickly. It must be consumed immediately, which may or may not be feasible in your situation.
Some cats dislike the moist formula, but every cat food certainly has a cat who dislikes it.
Cats are notoriously fussy eaters, making it difficult to locate food that they will consume. This does not necessarily imply anything about the cuisine.
Many users said that their cat enjoyed the taste of both the dry and wet food. It appears to be determined by the cat and their tastes. However, more people said that their cat enjoyed it than claimed that their cat did not.
There appears to be a lot of powder at the bottom of the dry food bags. Because much of the kibble isn’t usable, some customers feel cheated. This also speaks to the overall quality of the kibble.
Many folks thought the kibble was also little. If you have a little cat, this may not be a big deal. Larger cats, on the other hand, may dislike the smaller kibble.
Others reported that their cats gained weight and had poor fur health while eating this diet. This is to be anticipated given the low quality of the cuisine.
However, some folks did not notice any issues. Again, this is most likely due to your specific cat. Some people require higher-quality food than others.
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Lives Indoor Complete Dry Food
Pros
No hairballs. This 9Lives dry cat food product has received good feedback from cat parents of numerous indoor kitties. The problem of hairballs seems to have been resolved or reduced since the pets were fed this 9Lives product.
More active kitties. Some cat owners have noticed that their pets have shown more activity since they were switched to this dry cat food.
Cons
First ingredient is not meat. According to some reviews, they find that this product is of inferior quality compared to other dry cat foods due the fact that the first of its ingredients is whole ground corn instead of animal protein. Chicken by-product meal is actually the primary source of protein and is listed as the second of its ingredients.
This food has received good feedback from owners of indoor cats as far as results are concerned. It has been able to resolve the common problem of hairballs for many kitties.
Some pets have even been noticeably more active after being regularly fed this product. Some customers however, find this product of lower quality compared to other brands because of its ingredients. This mainly due to the fact that animal protein is not the first in the list of ingredients.
Who Makes 9 Lives And Where Is It Produced
9 Lives is owned by Big Heart Pet Brands and is crafted alongside their other brands. Their facilities are located in Kansas and Pennsylvania. Their formulas are crafted in these facilities, as well as a few international manufacturers. Not all of their recipes are made in the USA, though they dont disclose precisely what recipes are made where.
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Lives Cat Food Dry Daily Essentials Chicken Beef & Salmon Bag
Cat Food, with the Flavors of Chicken, Beef & Salmon, Daily Essentials
Caring for cats since 1959. 100% complete & balanced. Healthy skin & coat. Strong muscle growth. Healthy heart & vision. Morris. Living Well With Morris: We believe your cat deserves to live a long, healthy and happy life. Just ask our favorite rescue cat, Morris. 9Lives cat food is the only food for Morris because the delicious taste and balanced nutrition help keep a smile on his face and a shine on his coat. For over 50 years, he has made it his mission to share 9Lives and spread the word that every cat deserves to live well. Everyday nutrition for every life stage! Omega 3 fatty acids helps support healthy skin and coat. High quality protein sources helps support strong muscle growth. Taurine helps support a healthy heart and clear vision. Try all of our great dry flavors. Or mix it up with one of our delicious wet flavors. Contents filled by weight and not volume. Some settling of contents may occur during handling. Questions or Comments: Visit our website at www.9lives.com or call 1-800-4-9Lives weekdays, with the information contained in the best if used by date box. www.9Lives.com. Calorie Content : Metabolizable Energy 3430 kcal/kg 306 kcal/8 oz cup. Nutritional Statement: 9Lives Daily Essentials Chicken, Beef & Salmon Flavor cat food is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Cat Food Nutrient Profiles for adult maintenance. Packed with pride in USA.
What Other Users Are Saying
Many people complained that the wet food wasnt useable after being open. A fresh can is necessary at every mealtime. Saving the can in the fridge causes the food to grow hard, which will likely turn your cat off from the food. Once put out, the food also grows hard quite fast. It needs to be eaten right away, which may or may not work for your situation.
Some cats dont like the wet formula, though every cat food likely has a cat that doesnt like it. Cats are often picky, which can make it challenging to find a food that theyll eat. This doesnt necessarily say anything about the food itself.
Many people did claim that their cat loved the flavor of both the dry and wet food. It seems to depend on the cat and their preferences. However, more people claimed that their cat loved it than those that claimed that their cats didnt like it.
There does seem to be quite a lot of powder in the bottom of the dry food bags. This makes some customers feel a bit ripped-off, as much of the kibble isnt useable. This also speaks somewhat to the quality of the kibble.
Many people felt that the kibble was also tiny. If you have a very small cat, this may not be a huge issue. However, larger cats may not like the smaller kibble.
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