We’ve studied this PetSmart brand to find out where it’s made, how many times it’s been recalled, and whether or not it’s a safe, healthy choice for cats. Learn more in our unbiased Authority cat food review.
The Cats.com Standard—Rating Authority on What Matters
We’ve analyzed Authority and graded it according to the Cats.com standard, evaluating the brand on species-appropriateness, ingredient quality, product variety, price, customer experience, and recall history. Here’s how it rates in each of these six key areas.
Ratings
- Species-Appropriateness – 6/10
- Ingredient Quality – 7/10
- Product Variety – 7/10
- Price – 9/10
- Customer Experience – 7/10
- Recall History – 6/10
Overall Score: 7/10
We give Authority a 42 out of 60 rating or an B grade.
About Authority
Authority is a pet food brand made for PetSmart, a US-based pet retailer founded in 1986. It’s now North America’s largest pet specialty chain, with retail locations numbering over 1,500.
PetSmart introduced the Authority brand back in 1995. Compared to PetSmart’s other store brands, Authority isn’t as generic as Grreat Choice or as granola as Simply Nourish. It’s geared towards those looking for expertly-formulated, science-backed foods. It looks like a store brand Hill’s Science Diet.
Sourcing and Manufacturing
Authority says that all of their products are made in the USA from domestic and imported ingredients. Authority doesn’t name their manufacturing partners, but a news report from 2016, suggests that they partner with multiple manufacturers, including American Nutrition, Inc in Ogden, Utah.
Has Authority Cat Food Been Recalled?
Authority cat food was recalled in March of 2007 due to melamine contamination. Like many other companies that year, the manufacturer of Authority received melamine-tainted ingredients from China, prompting them to withdraw numerous varieties of cat and dog food.
Fortunately, this is the only recall in the brand’s near-thirty-year history. Authority hasn’t had any product recalls in the last 15 years.
What Kinds of Cat Food Does Authority Offer?
Authority offers roughly 50 different cat food recipes, both dry food and wet food options. They offer both traditional cat foods and recipes designed to support specific aspects of health like weight management and digestion.
- Everyday Wellness – Authority’s largest product line, Everyday Wellness includes a variety of stage-specific foods for kittens, adult cats, and seniors as well as recipes for indoor cats.
- Grain-Free – These foods are made without corn, wheat, and soy or any other grain-based ingredients.
- Advanced Wellness – This line of wet and dry foods addresses special health issues including hairball control, weight management, skin & coat health, and digestion.
The majority of Authority’s dry and wet foods contain grains like rice. There is a limited selection of grain-free foods, primarily wet food recipes.
Authority foods target an expertise-oriented customer. Each calm blue or silver package details Authority’s partnership with Healthy Pet Advisory Council™, an advisory team of veterinarians, pet nutritionists, and researchers. These experts guide the company’s decisions and help them to advise customers.
Authority Cat Food – Top 3 Recipes Reviewed
Product Name | Food Type | Price | Our Grade |
Authority Everyday Health Indoor Cat Dry Food – Chicken & Rice, With-Grain | Dry | $2.39 per lb | C |
Authority Everyday Health Indoor Cat Dry Food – Chicken, Rice, & Turkey with Grain | Dry | $0.21 per lb | C+ |
Authority Everyday Health Indoor Cat Chicken Entree Wet Food | Wet | $0.16 per oz | A- |
What Do Customers Think of Authority Cat Food?
Authority cat food receives mixed reviews.
While limited, most reviews on Chewy and PetSmart are positive. Customers say that both they and their cats enjoyed the food. Once you get beyond the retail reviews, however, you’ll read about a few negative experiences, including illness after eating Authority or pets who simply refused to eat it.
Here’s what a few Authority customers have to say about their experience.
Positive Reviews
“My kitty loves this food. She’s been on Authority her whole life but has been switched to the hairball and weight management for about 9 months now due to her getting frequent hairballs. She’s a medium haired calico and I started noticing a decrease in hairballs within a month. I would definitely recommend this or just the hairball control to anyone with a medium or long haired cat.” – Ashley, reviewing Authority Everyday Health Indoor Cat Dry Food – Chicken & Rice, With-Grain
“My cats really liked this food. I have six cats, from age 13 years – 8 months, and after Triumph changed their formulation I was really excited to find this food. I buy three cases of food a month, so a quality food at an affordable price point means a lot to me. I hope and pray they don’t change this food!” – Mary, reviewing Authority Everyday Health Indoor Cat Chicken Entree Wet Food
Negative Reviews
“I have 7 indoor/outdoor cats and they all would not eat this food. This if the first dry food they all refused to eat. Every morning I would normally have to fill their dishes with dry food and this particular dry food is completely full in their dishes. I would not buy this food again.” – Charlie, reviewing Authority Everyday Health Indoor Cat Dry Food – Chicken & Rice, With-Grain
“I was excited in trying a new food, 2 of my cats are fussy eaters. My regular brand is expensive was looking forward to saving money. One of my cats ate this but the others wouldn’t. Sticking to my regular brand even thought it’s expensive.” – Tracy, reviewing Authority Everyday Health Indoor Cat Dry Food – Chicken & Rice, With-Grain
How Much Does Authority Cat Food Cost?
Authority is an inexpensive brand. Their foods range from about $0.17 to $0.27 per ounce with the dry foods being the most affordable option. To feed a 10-pound cat, it would cost about $0.40 to $1.86 per day.
So how does Authority compare to other brands? Authority dry food is comparable to sister PetSmart brand Simply Nourish, but its wet formulas are much cheaper in comparison, occupying the same price slot as budget brands like Fancy Feast and Friskies.
Overall, Is Authority a Good Choice?
It can be. If you want to give it a try, start with Authority’s wet foods, which are low-carbohydrate foods made with plenty of clearly-labeled meats and no artificial ingredients. Their canned selection is like a higher-end Friskies or Fancy Feast at an unbeatable price.
Authority dry food is a cut above some other foods at the same price, but nothing about it is particularly exciting. Considering that this brand hasn’t been recalled since 2007 and hasn’t stirred up any significant controversy, it appears to be a relatively safe, reliable choice.
Where To Buy Authority Cat Food?
Authority is sold in PetSmart stores around North America. You can also buy it online on PetSmart.com, a PetSmart-owned pet retail site.
Is Authority tested on animals? If so, what kind of testing is done and how are the test animals treated?
Hi Beverly,
Good question. I contacted PetSmart to ask about whether or not Authority is tested on animals, but I wasn’t able to get a good answer for you. The representative said she didn’t have that information and couldn’t direct me to anyone who did.
Given that the company doesn’t play up NOT using animal testing, it’s likely that they use feeding trials to ensure nutritional adequacy. That doesn’t tell us whether those feeding trials were done in-home or in a lab or kennel setting, nor does it tell us anything about the way any test animals might be treated.
For now, we just don’t know the details—unfortunately.
Best,
Mallory
My three cats wouldn’t eat it. They smelled it and walked away. I paid a lot for it because I feed them optimal nutrition. It doesn’t matter if it’s optimal when you put it in the trash can.
Hi Joanne,
Sorry to hear that your cats weren’t interested in Authority cat food. If you want to give it another shot, you might be able to entice your cats to eat the food by sprinkling on some highly-palatable toppers (crushed Temptations treats, bonito flakes, and liver powder all tend to work very well). Otherwise, it looks like you might have to look for a tastier alternative.
You might find something that works for you and your three cats on our list of the best cheap cat food on the market: https://cats.com/best-cheap-cat-food
Best,
Mallory
Another great topper for cat food is nutritional yeast (found in the human organic/natural section of grocery stores). It has a nice cheesy taste, is a great source of Vit B12, and is good for cats. My cat thinks it’s crack!
Hello! When Ash is listed as n/a does that mean this product doesn’t contain it, or that there was no information available? Thanks!
Hi Laura, that’s a great question. It means that there was no information available. Most cat foods are between 3 and 8 percent ash on a dry matter basis.
Hello!
So I am currently feeding my cat Dave’s wet food. It has a lot of vegetables and fruit—is it better to take the risk of mercury with the fish in this product or stick with the food that doesn’t have that problem but does have a bunch of vegetables?
Hello Cate. That’s a great question. Both of those issues are important and worth considering; it’s hard to say which has greater risks. Higher carbohydrate content increases your cat’s risk of diabetes, while the heavy metals and other contaminants potentially present in fish could potentially cause neurological issues (though we’ve not seen any confirmation that this does happen to cats who eat a fish-based diet). For now, you might consider alternating between the Authority and Dave’s cat food, giving your cat the benefits of both products. You might also want to consider some of the other options on our list of the best cheap cat food: https://cats.com/best-cheap-cat-food
Hello I was excited to get a 20lb bag of cat and dog food from our local food bank. Not sure how it got there but my cat loves it. Hes excited. And a bag of dog food to. He really oves it . I will not be able to afford in future. My pets will be happy. Thank you
I am loving your content!
What are your thoughts on the Authority Salmon Entree in Gravy?
better then the Chicken?
Thanks 🙂
Overall, this recipe looks a bit higher-carbohydrate than the chicken paté reviewed here. The flaked foods with gravy are, in general, a little bit more plant-heavy than their paté counterparts in this line. If your cat is comfortable with the smooth texture, I’d opt for the paté. They have an ocean fish and a catfish recipe, and these might be appealing to a fish lover’s taste buds. Hope this helps!
chewy just told me that authority canned cat food has been ‘discontinued’ and they don’t sell it any more. petsmart.com still has it… but now i have to wonder if they only have it until they run out, like chewy says they did. did authority go out of business???
Hi there. That’s concerning—I’ve heard about the discontinuation on Chewy, but I don’t have all the details on what is happening. I’ll have to look into it and update this review.
My understanding is that the production of this cat food is due to covid situations and trucks behind in delivery. Wasn’t able to get the kind my cats eat but better now.
I was recently informed by Petsmart employees that Authority is doing some kind of food update/repackaging. They heard reason it is getting hard to find because they are shipping what they can to get rid of what they got in stores and mainly in Petsmart. Chewy is owned by Petsmart now so they should have it back in stock once the updates are complete with whatever they are doing to the product, I personally have been going into stores every 1-2 weeks and buying up 3-4 weeks of food or whatever I can since 3 of my cats eat Authority. I hope that helps =)
Thank you for sharing these findings!
I finally found the right food that works for my diabetic cat and now you don’t have it in stores or online. Its the Authority Advanced Wellness Sensitive Systems & Digestion Cat food-Ocean Fish & Sweet Potato. Item #5287615. Please, please tell me that this will be back in stock. I buy the 16# bag. My cat is back to having the same issues/diarrhea etc before I started this cat food. If there is some out there, I need to purchase to get my cat back on track.
Hello Sue, thanks for reaching out, and apologies for the late reply. This food does appear to be out of stock quite widely, but I would recommend contacting the company to determine whether or not it’s been permanently discontinued. They may be able to advise you on finding a similar product as well. Hope this helps.
Either Authority changed the recipe on Chicken Entree Adult Pate since it was reviewed, or there is an error in the review. I’ve checked ingredient labels instore and online, and it does not contain Menhaden fish oil. Sad since it’s so much better than vegetable oil.
Hi Jan, thanks for mentioning this! According to my most recent check, the recipe mentioned here does still contain menhaden fish oil, but it may have been discontinued as well. This article is in need of an update to reflect recent changes in the Authority lineup.
This is now available in Canada, so you can update your site!
Thank you, Nikki. Updating now.
Hi Mallory!
Love all you do and really trust your reviews.
Have you reviewed Pretty Please cat food? By the same company that makes Pretty Litter. My cat loves it, but I want to be sure it is as healthy as they tout it to be.
Thank you!
Great request! We will look into reviewing this brand soon.
Should the wet cat food be refrigerated?
After you open a package of wet food, the contents should always be refrigerated. They can only sit out for a couple of hours.
I loved the chicken pate after i saw your review, but I’m not sure if you’ve seen. they changed the ingredients and it has way more cheap fillers now:
Rice Flour, Dried Plain Beet Pulp, Ground Flaxseed, Brewers Dried Yeast
I wish they would’ve called out having a new formula or something, but I’m sure they’re trying to hide the cheap fillers… I’m very sad to see this option become like every other on the market.
Will be hoping you have more good budget recommendations in the future!
Oh no, that’s very concerning. We’ll update this piece to make sure everything is accurate.
Hi Amy, I understand your concern! I’ve looked into this and I think maybe you’re looking at the chicken pate indoor formula. The indoor formula does contain fillers like rice flour and dried plain beet pulp, but the Everyday Health chicken pate does not. In researching I found out that the recipe HAS changed a little bit for the hairball and weight control dry food. We’re updating the article to reflect the changes. Thanks for your help!
Authority canned cat food, including the Chicken Pate variety, is now completely gone (as are most all other Authority canned varieties) from Pet Smart shelves in Raleigh, Cary, Durham, and Wake Forest, NC. As well, it can no longer be found on Chewy.com! I contacted store managers and they said they can’t get the product and can’t get info from Authority re why or when it will be available again . . . just the usual vague dodges about supply chain problems. I contacted Pet Smart, Customer Service by email about the missing varieties I need and received an obviously robotic reply that apologized, gave no explanation and offered a 10% discount for the inconvience. I phoned Customer Service, described the emailed “nonanswer” and asked specifically if this product line was discontinued. Again, dodges and worthless advice to check all my local Pet Smart stores (20 mile radius) for availability. I already have done this on line and in person! There are so many inquiries coming In by phone that each store’s recorded message announces, up front, that their staff are currently too busy to check their shelves for product availability! Same result . . . wasted lots of time and gas only to find literally NO Authority canned regular variety foods on their shelves (just a few, scattered cans of Pumpkin or Kitten food). And no one can tell you why. Sadly, Authority is one of the few foods I’ve fed my cats recently that did not cause them to throw up or have health problems. I’m now desperately trying to find a safe alternative that they will actually eat. Just wish the company would honestly tell us what is going on and when/if these foods will be once again available.
Thank you for all of your efforts in learning more about what’s happening to Authority. We are aware of the shortages affecting Authority food and how difficult it is to get information on what’s happening or will happen in the future. Like you, I would hate to see this product disappear, as it is (or was) one of the best budget-friendly options out there. You might appreciate some of the recommendations in our article on the best cheap cat food.
Thank you . . . I’ll read your advice. Unlike many cat food review sites, yours does not appear to be biased towards sellIng a product or products from which you stand to profit, thereby undermining the credibility of the advice! Glad to have found this site!
I’m with Patricia, I’m running into the same problems locating any of the flavors and textures that check the boxes for both of my cats. There are several reasons I’ve fed them the Authority wet food for over 8 years now, and all of a sudden it’s unavailable and NOBODY can tell me why?!? Or if I’ll be able to buy it again in the future? Even PetSmart themselves can’t answer my questions…..seriously, it’s THEIR product, so WTF?
I’m so frustrated and I really appreciate any guidance or insight that could be found and shared here.
All six of my senior cats got cancer after consuming only authority canned cat foods for 1-2 years! Ive never had a cat get cancer before in over 50 years and many cats! And all digestive tract/intestinal cancers! I fed my dog their dry puppy food and it made him sick too but at least he didnt get cancer and die! Right after this happened to my pets, Authority completely redid their formulas and look, I wonder why? I wonder how many other animals died from this food but nobody realized it was the food that caused their cancers! I hope they finally discontinued this poisonous food and I sure wont ever buy anything made by or sold from Petsmart again!
Just want to point out that your review says the chicken wet food doesn’t contain “carrageenan” but on Petsmart.com, under ingredients, there it is, “carrageenan” listed there. Any reason why you previously said it’s not in the ingredients list?
Hi Rosie, thanks for the heads up! I don’t think we’re looking at the same recipes—the chicken paté is free of carrageenan.
Hi! Has All About cats done a lab study for metals in the chicken pate? I’m just asking because it has some fish in it.
Thank you!
Hi Carol, thanks for the comment. Yes, we have, and interestingly, no heavy metals were detected. Hope this helps!
What are your thoughts on carrageenan? I was thinking about switching my cat to this brand, but that ingredient stopped me in my tracks. It concerns me. Especially because if it’s degraded carrageenan, this wouldn’t be safe for consumption. I’m also generally concerned because I keep seeing reviews that this brand used to be great, but people claim the ingredients and quality has changed. Is your review of it up to date? It just seems like this may not be as good of a food as I had hoped.
Hi Morgan, can you please let me know where you saw Authority cat food containing carrageenan? I still haven’t seen it on any labels, and I get the impression that they contain guar gum instead. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help!
Well in your ingredients list above (for the wet cat food) it says carrageenan right in the list. So I’m not sure what you mean? Is your ingredients list not correct?
Morgan, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize. You’re right; the ingredient list here is incorrect, and I need to fix it.
Here’s the correct, and most recent, ingredient list:
Chicken, Chicken Broth, Chicken Liver, Ocean Fish, Brewers Rice, Dried Egg Product, Guar Gum, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Menhaden Fish Oil, Taurine, Choline Chloride, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Niacin Supplement, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid), Brewers Dried Yeast, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Proteinate, Potassium Iodide, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite)
Thank you for pressing me on this, and I’m sorry for not checking properly!
Take care.
Hi Mallory,
So I just investigated into this a little further. It turns out, while this specific can of Authority cat food (chicken pate) doesn’t have carrageenan, others do. It looks like the pate ones don’t seem to have it, but the flaked in gravy ones all have it. That was from petsmart’s website.
Thanks for looking into it, Morgan! That helps a lot.
I recently bought another case of the Authority adult chicken entree cans for my cats and the ingredients have changed a lot! It now has beet pulp, powdered cellulose, ground flaxseed, inulin, cassia gum, and carrageenan! It is extremely sticky, thick like gum, and has an off putting color/smell. It used to look light, like chicken, and there was some clear gravy/juice in the can that they loved. Now, it’s brown, like crap, and super dry, sticky, and thick!. My cats refuse to eat it now, after months of lapping it up! I guess they couldn’t resist adding a bunch of fillers, stabilizers, and anti-caking ingredients. The cellulose is really concerning since it is known to cause diarrhea in humans and animals w/sensitive digestive issues, which one of my cats has. I read the ingredients only bc they refused to eat it twice. I’m glad I did bf he got sick by eating it. It is so disappointing that they changed the ingredients and didn’t tell their customers, again! I’ve had it w/this Pet Smart product. I’ll look for something w/o all the fillers.
I just noticed the exact same thing. I was buying Authority adult chicken entree canned food for my cats and they loved it. Just restocked and opened one of the new cans and it is a completely different product. It now looks and smells like “Friskies” canned cat food. But most concerning is the difference in the ingredient list. I called the phone number listed on the can and it takes you to PETSMART customer service and they were not able to provide any helpful information. It concerns me that they made these changes without clearly indicating “new recipe” on the packaging. Very disappointing.
A large bag of Authority Cat Food was given to us. Our cat loves it. Before she would get tired of other brands before she had finished the bag and would eat on our dogs dry food. She don’t even go to the dogs food now. The only problem is that it is so expensive and is only sold at PetSmart stores. But we will try to continue and buy Authority for her since she likes it so well. At least we don’t have any waste.
Hey is authority safe for kittens? Thanks!
Yes! I would recommend choosing their formulations made for kittens.
How do you find out the phosphorous content of their food? Especially the Hydration Support pouches? it says “All Life Stages” and I have 2 cats with renal disease who I’m having an incredibly hard time getting to eat k/d food.
Hi Laura, thank you for commenting! Unfortunately, the only way to get this information is through analytical testing or by contacting the company. From a listing on PetSmart, the Hydration Support with Real Chicken formula has a phosphorus level of approximately 0.46% on an as-fed basis and 1.82% on a dry matter basis.