Cats are obligate carnivores. Unlike dogs, who are omnivores with some dietary flexibility, cats have no meaningful ability to derive nutrition from plant-based carbohydrates. They lack the liver enzymes required to convert plant precursors into essential nutrients like taurine and arachidonic acid — these must come from animal tissue. A cat fed a diet built around cereals and plant-based fillers is not just eating suboptimally. Over time, it is eating in a way that works against its biology.
This matters because a significant portion of the cat food market — including some well-marketed premium brands — still relies on cereals, maize, and plant derivatives as bulk ingredients. The meat percentage on the front of the pack often tells a different story to the ingredient list.
This guide covers four brands we stock at The Pets Larder, what makes each one worth considering, and a straightforward framework for choosing between them. If you want to browse first, the natural cat food collection has everything we stock with full ingredient information.
What to look for on a cat food label
Before the brand comparison, a brief note on reading labels — because the same principles apply to all four brands below, and understanding them makes the comparison more useful.
Named protein source as the first ingredient: "Freshly prepared chicken" or "salmon" tells you what the primary ingredient is. "Meat and animal derivatives" is a catch-all that can include almost anything and varies batch to batch.
Meat percentage: For a cat food to genuinely support feline biology, a high meat content is not a marketing premium — it is a nutritional baseline. The brands below range from 60% to 85% meat or fish content.
Taurine listed explicitly: Cats cannot synthesise taurine from other amino acids the way dogs can. It must be present in the diet. Good cat foods list it explicitly rather than relying on the assumption that it is present in sufficient quantity in the meat content.
Short ingredient list: The shorter and more readable, the less there is to hide. Grain-free does not automatically mean high quality — a grain-free food can still be bulked with potatoes, peas, or legumes that serve no nutritional purpose for a cat.
Evie
Own-brand natural cat food, exclusive to The Pets Larder.
Evie is our own natural cat food range, developed with the same criteria we apply to everything we stock: high meat content, grain-free formulation, and nutritional transparency. We launched it for the same reason we developed Aflora for dogs — because we wanted a genuinely high-quality natural option that did not carry the markup of established premium brands.
The recipes use 60–65% freshly prepared meat, are fully grain-free and hypoallergenic, and are balanced with vegetables, herbs, and essential vitamins including taurine. Made in the UK to the same welfare and sourcing standards we apply to our own-brand dog food.
The honest framing: Evie is not trying to compete with Eden on meat percentage. It is the option for cat owners who want a clean-label, high-meat, everyday natural food at a price point that makes long-term natural feeding practical rather than aspirational.
Key details:
- 60–65% freshly prepared meat
- Grain-free, hypoallergenic
- UK-made, taurine included
- Balanced with vegetables, herbs and essential vitamins
- Everyday nutrition at an honest price point
Best for: Cat owners who want high-quality natural feeding as the daily baseline without a premium brand price, multi-cat households where feed cost is a real consideration, and cats with grain sensitivities.
Canagan
Grain-free, high-meat recipes with strong UK provenance.
Canagan has been one of the most consistently reliable natural pet food brands in the UK for over a decade. Their cat food range applies the same philosophy as their dog food: high freshly prepared meat content, grain-free formulation, and a nutritional profile designed around biological need rather than manufacturing convenience.
Recipes are built around freshly prepared chicken, salmon, or duck — named proteins, not derivatives — combined with vegetables, herbs, and botanicals. The 60–65% meat content sits above most of what the mainstream market offers, and the grain-free formulation makes the food appropriate for cats with common cereal sensitivities.
Available in both dry and wet formats, which is worth noting. Many cat owners find that a wet food base with a dry food complement better supports hydration — cats have a low thirst drive and often do not drink enough water to compensate for a purely dry diet. A mixed feeding approach with Canagan wet and dry is nutritionally coherent and practically manageable.
Key details:
- 60–65% freshly prepared meat or fish
- Grain-free across the full range
- Named protein sources throughout
- UK-made, high sourcing standards
- Dry and wet formats available
Best for: Cats of all life stages, particularly those with grain sensitivities, owners who want a mixed wet and dry feeding approach, and those who want a brand with a strong track record in the UK natural pet food market.
Eden
85% meat content — one of the highest available in any UK cat food.
Eden takes the ancestral diet concept further than most. Their cat food contains up to 85% meat and fish, making it one of the highest meat-content complete cat foods available in the UK. Every recipe is grain-free, and formulations include taurine, glucosamine, and MSM as standard — the first for cardiac and eye health, the latter two for joint support across all life stages.
The protein digestibility is meaningfully higher than lower-meat-content alternatives. A cat eating an 85% meat food is not just eating more protein — they are eating protein in a form their digestive system processes efficiently, which translates to less waste, smaller stools, and better nutrient utilisation.
Eden is made in Britain with British ingredients. The omega-3 and omega-6 content from the fish inclusions supports skin and coat health directly, which is relevant for cats with recurring skin issues or dull coats.
At the higher meat percentage, Eden is more calorie-dense than lower-meat options. Portion sizes are smaller than the pack might suggest — worth being precise about feeding quantities, particularly for indoor cats with lower activity levels.
Key details:
- Up to 85% meat or fish content
- Grain-free, British-made with British ingredients
- Taurine, glucosamine and MSM included as standard
- Rich in omega-3 and omega-6
- High protein digestibility
- Dry and wet formats available
Best for: Active outdoor cats, cats with recurring skin or coat issues, owners who want the highest available meat content in a complete food, and those moving a cat away from a low-meat commercial diet.
Carnilove
Novel proteins and wild-inspired recipes for cats with sensitivities.
Carnilove is a Czech producer whose cat food range is built around the premise that cats should eat as close to their wild diet as possible — not just in terms of meat percentage, but in terms of protein variety. Their recipes use proteins that most commercial cat food never touches: reindeer, rabbit, wild boar, pheasant, duck. Every recipe is grain and potato-free.
The novel protein approach has a specific practical application: elimination diets. When a cat is showing signs of food sensitivity — recurring digestive issues, skin reactions, poor coat condition — identifying the trigger requires removing common proteins from the diet and reintroducing them systematically. If a cat has eaten chicken and salmon its entire life, switching to reindeer or rabbit gives a genuine diagnostic baseline. Carnilove's range makes that practically achievable.
The 70–75% meat content sits between Evie/Canagan and Eden. The recipes are balanced with herbs, forest fruits, and vegetables chosen for nutritional function. The range is broad enough to rotate proteins regularly, which has the added benefit of reducing the likelihood of developing sensitivities to any single protein source over time.
Key details:
- 70–75% meat or fish content
- Grain and potato-free
- Novel proteins: reindeer, rabbit, wild boar, pheasant, duck
- Balanced with herbs, forest fruits and vegetables
- Wide range for protein rotation
Best for: Cats with confirmed or suspected food sensitivities, owners running an elimination diet, cats that have become bored with standard chicken or salmon recipes, and multi-cat households that want to rotate proteins as a preventative measure.
Side-by-side comparison
| Evie | Canagan | Eden | Carnilove | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meat content | 60–65% | 60–65% | Up to 85% | 70–75% |
| Grain-free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Format | Dry | Dry & wet | Dry & wet | Dry & wet |
| Protein type | Named meat | Named meat/fish | Named meat/fish | Novel wild proteins |
| Made in | UK | UK | UK | Czech Republic |
| Key feature | Honest price point | Track record, mixed feeding | Highest meat content | Novel proteins, rotation |
| Best for | Everyday natural feeding | All life stages | Active / high-protein | Sensitivities, variety |
How to choose
Cat with grain sensitivity or recurring digestive issues: Any of the four brands will be an improvement on a cereal-based food. Start with Evie or Canagan as the baseline — clean label, grain-free, straightforward. If issues persist, move to Carnilove's novel proteins to rule out a meat protein sensitivity.
Cat with suspected food allergy: Carnilove. The novel protein range gives you genuinely different protein sources for an elimination approach. Reindeer or rabbit is a meaningful change from the chicken and salmon that appear in most natural cat foods.
Active outdoor cat or one that needs a higher calorie density: Eden. The 85% meat content and higher protein digestibility suits cats with greater energy demands. Be precise with portion sizes.
Indoor cat or one prone to weight gain: Evie or Canagan at controlled portions, or Eden at a reduced portion. High meat content foods are calorie-dense — a sedentary indoor cat eating Eden without portion control will gain weight.
Mixed wet and dry feeding: Canagan has the most developed wet range of the four brands and the dry and wet formulations are nutritionally coherent together. This is the easiest option if you want to run a mixed feeding regime for hydration support.
Budget consideration: Evie. The price-per-day difference between Evie and Eden is meaningful at scale, particularly in a multi-cat household. The meat quality and grain-free formulation are there — you are not sacrificing the nutritional fundamentals.
A note on wet food and hydration
Cats have a low thirst drive that evolved in desert-adapted ancestors who obtained most of their moisture from prey. A cat fed exclusively dry food typically consumes significantly less water than its biology requires, which over time creates low-level dehydration that puts cumulative pressure on kidney function — one of the most common health issues in domestic cats, particularly older ones.
Adding wet food to the diet — even partially — meaningfully increases moisture intake. It does not need to replace dry food entirely. A common approach is wet food once or twice daily with dry food available between meals. Canagan's wet range works well alongside their dry food for exactly this reason.
Browse the full range
The four brands above represent a cross-section of what we stock. Browse the natural cat food collection for the full range, including wet food options, kitten formulations, and single-protein recipes for cats with complex sensitivities. If you are transitioning a cat from a commercial diet and are unsure where to start, contact us — a gradual transition over seven to ten days is standard, and we can advise on the right starting point for your cat's current diet and health status.
Written by Katy Peck, founder of The Pets Larder. Katy opened The Pets Larder in 2018 following four years running Doggy Day Care Cornwall at a peak capacity of 80 animals daily. The Pets Larder won Independent Pet Shop of the Year (PetQuip & PIF) in 2021. Evie natural cat food is The Pets Larder's own-brand range, developed to the same ingredient standards applied across all own-brand products.
