An adult tabby cat sitting on a table looking at stacked cans on Untamed cat food

Mittens choosing her dinner

Untamed Cat Food Review by My Cat & I

AD Being up front, this post is in partnership with Untamed cat food. If you are a regular reader of my content you will know that I don’t recommend products or services I don’t like. If you have found this post while looking for honest reviews of Untamed cat food and you are wondering whether to try it for your cat then I promise everything in this post is my honest opinion and the information should help you decide for yourself.

First Impression: It Actually Looks Like Food

Let’s face it, most cat food looks and smells disgusting to us humans. Cats obviously have different views on what is appetising though because while Mittens will suddenly appear and weave through my legs with intent while I’m carving a roast chicken, she also tries to lick her own bottom.

My cat may have been happily eating the chunks of heavily processed, rubbery looking food covered in gravy that she has been fed for years, but it does make me wonder what goes in it. Increasingly I’m trying to give my children and myself better quality food that contains less artificial preservatives. I also care more about how the food is sourced and processed so it makes sense to look for better options for my fur baby too.

We were sent 8 different flavours of Untamed to try for this post: four were jelly based, two in gravy and two from the ‘Finest selection’ which are in broth. Currently in their full range they have: 19 varieties of wet food in small 75g tins, two varieties of kibble and six different treats.

While I am not brave enough to actually try eating the cat food myself, it looks much closer to human food than our normal cat food (and it smells like human food too). The fish based tins have junks of what is obviously actual fish, the meat looks like shredded meat. It instinctively feels like this has got to be better for my cat.

Ok I get that some animal feeds are high tech, carefully nutritionally balanced, well researched, highly processed products. On paper they might provide everything the animal needs, but it still makes me uncomfortable. I could drink a perfectly nutritionally balanced shake for every meal, but as long as I have free will over what I get to eat each day that’s not what I am going to be choosing. Likewise I want to offer my cat something that tastes good because it comes from actual meat, not because it is filled with artificial flavourings and scents research has suggested will make it appealing to animals.

A close up of an open can of cat food containing actual pieces of cooked fish

Untamed Ocean-fresh Fish in gravy has obvious flakes of cooked fish

A can of chicken and beef cat food being put on a plate

Untamed Chicken Breast with Beef in Jelly

What Goes Into the Cat Food

Looking at the ingredients list on an Untamed can at random I know what it is talking about. Just like on other food labels they list the ingredients from the largest amount to the least, but unlike many other labels they also share the percentage. The Chicken Breast in Jelly for instance is 60% chicken breast. It also has chicken broth, tapioca (1%), Vitamin E (177 mg) and Taurine (500mg). Just as a comparison a certain avian name related brand of chicken nuggets that children love is only 51% chicken breast. So the quality meat content is high.

The ‘gourmet’ pouches which were Mittens last food of choice has for instance (on the chicken pouch): meat and animal derivatives (17% of which chicken is 6%), vegetable protein extracts, fish and fish derivatives, minerals, various sugars and flavourings. While they provide more specific information about the nutritional additives I am left wondering what all these derivatives my cat has been eating are. I’m also not surprised that the outcome doesn’t remotely resemble something that looks edible. Untamed are committed to not using animal derivatives and they use human grade whole meats and fish.

The Real Price of Cat Food

Just like with human food, you get what you pay for. Cheaper food has to make savings somewhere and while for larger companies some of that will be purely through efficiencies it’s ultimately going to mean workers and farmers in the chain get paid less and both ethical standards and welfare will suffer. And yes of course, when you pay more for something it can just mean there is a greedy person taking a big cut and delivering low quality products, but based on the look of the Untamed food, and the commitments they make on their website it doesn’t feel like that is the case. Their sourcing philosophy states that they partner with producers who have high standards for animal welfare, sustainability and ethical guidelines.

The price of Untamed depends on the size of your order and what you choose, but after the trial it’s a little over £1 a can. They will make the recommendation for the subscription size when you sign up so make sure you check the amount it will cost and when they will take the first payment after the trial. As a large fully grown cat Mittens eats 3 or 4 cans a day, but mixing wet and dry food can make this cost less.

Close up of a tabby cat licking a plate with real fish cat food on

Enjoying a purrfect fish dish

How Much Untamed To Feed Your Cat

This was one of the things I found a bit confusing when I received the food. If you do a trial they ask for information about your cat and I think then provide recommendations on what to try, but as I bypassed this process I wasn’t sure. The boxes suggest 1 to 2 cans a day for cats under 3kg (although the quantities for kittens are different), 2 to 4 cans for cats 3 to 5kg and 3 plus cans for cats over 5kg. If you include dry food in their diet you obviously need to give them less cans a day.

The cans which have meat or fish and gravy offer a complete and balanced diet on their own. If you are using the jelly or broth versions you should also include the gravy option or some dry food to ensure they have everything they need.

What Mittens Thought of Untamed Cat Food

As soon as Mittens has been given any of the Untamed food she has happily eaten it. She is particularly keen on the fish and even eats the bits she knocks off her plate (normally she will only eat food on her plate). In the past she has refused to eat some (low cost) cat food so she normally has more expensive pouches, but we haven’t had any issues switching to Untamed. She currently seems to show a preference for Untamed, but she happily eats her old food too. For me this isn’t really about what food she likes best though, it’s about which is likely to be better for her. It’s also really important to me to buy products from better companies. I have long hated that her preferred brand of cat food has been for a HUGE corporation that I refuse to buy other products from. If my children ask for food from this company I say no, but I can’t say no to my cat if it’s all she would eat. So finding an alternative brand that cares about ethics and welfare and that my cat enjoys is really important to me).

A cat with her paw on the plate, licking it clean to get every last bite of the cat food

Eating every last piece

Is Untamed Better For My Cat’s Health?

Honestly I can’t answer this one. On paper, yes it makes sense that it’s healthier for her than her previous brand, but have I noticed any changes yet? No. She didn’t have any known health problems before and she doesn’t have any now. She is a happy, relaxed cat. I haven’t searched the garden to try and identify her poo and whether it’s an improved consistency and quite frankly I have no intention of doing so. You can check Trustpilot for various owners saying they have noticed positive changes though.

Other things I like about Untamed:

They come in cans stacked in a cardboard box. Both the cans and the boxes are widely and easily recyclable (a big improvement on the pouches we used to use).
They ‘get’ cats. The message on the delivery box stating “Warning: If left empty and unattended this box will contain a cat” was enough alone to win my partner over. Mittens loves a cardboard box.
When you sign up to the trial it is the start of a regular subscription which you can cancel or change via your account. A subscription is how I get my cleaning products and some other products. It makes it so easy and means we don’t run out. Of course you do need to be organised so you don’t get deliveries or payments taken when you had forgotten about it, but I find a reminder in my diary helps with this.

Choosing Untamed Cat Food

Will every cat love Untamed? No, of course not. We all know how difficult cats can be. They sit on keyboards when you are trying to write, they lay down for a stretch in dark hallways tripping you up, they love to nap on a pile of clean washing. Cats are cats. Purrfectly unpredictable and independent. So while I don’t know if your cat will like Untamed, I do think it is worth trying. They offer a trial box of food (currently for £7) which has enough for you to see if your cat likes it.

If your cat has health problems or is on a medicated diet speak to your vet before changing their diet. For everyone else if you want to try feeding your cat a better diet of real food from a company that actually cares I would recommend giving Untamed a try.