Kate Barrington / Cats.com
We’ve rated Vetdiet cat food on ingredient quality, species-appropriateness, recalls, and more. Read our Vetdiet cat food review to learn how this brand stacks up.
The Cats.com Standard—Rating Vetdiet Cat Food on What Matters
We’ve rated the brand on six key criteria for quality. Here’s how it rates in each of these six crucial areas.
Ratings
- Species-Appropriateness – 6/10
- Ingredient Quality – 7/10
- Product Variety – 6/10
- Price – 7/10
- Customer Experience – 7/10
- Recall History – 10/10
Overall Score: 7.2/10
In total, we give Vetdiet cat food a 43 out of 60 rating or a B grade.
How We Review Cat Food
To review Vetdiet, we spent hours researching the brand, learning about its history and product lineup. We studied the company’s sourcing and manufacturing practices and scoured recall databases for reports related to safety issues. To understand how other customers feel about the brand, we read dozens of customer reviews, identifying any common patterns or trends.
Finally, our reviewer independently purchased several packages of Vetdiet cat food and tried it out with her cats, taking notes on palatability, texture, smell, and more.
Based on this research and hands-on testing, we’ve rated the brand according to the Cats.com Standard. Learn more about the Standard here.
About Vetdiet
Founded by the Legault Group in 1993, Vetdiet is a fourth-generation family-owned and -operated business. Though Vetdiet has only been around for thirty years, the Legault Group has been in operation for over 100 years.
Vetdiet was developed by brothers and third-generation entrepreneurs Jules and Philippe Legault. All Vetdiet products are formulated with input from a Health & Nutrition Advisory Board made up of veterinarians, board-certified veterinary nutritionists, and formulators.
How do Vetdiet products live up to the brand’s claims, and what do customers have to say? Let’s find out.
Sourcing and Manufacturing
Vetdiet is headquartered in Anjou, Quebec in Canada. All products are made in either Canada or the United States, though the brand doesn’t provide any more specific information than that on its website.
While Vetdiet doesn’t go into details about where their ingredients come from, all recipes start with chicken, lamb, or fish as the first ingredient. Vetdiet foods are free from corn, wheat, and soy, and they’re divided into various lines geared toward pets of certain ages or breeds.
Recall History
To our knowledge, Vetdiet has never had a product recall.
What Kinds of Cat Food Does Vetdiet Offer?
Vetdiet’s kitten recipe kibbles are very small, making them easier for little mouths to manage. Kate Barrington / Cats.com
Vetdiet offers a wide variety of food and treats for dogs as well as a more limited selection of products for cats. They have four canned foods and eight dry food formulas as well as two freeze-dried treats.
Both Vetdiet dry and wet foods are categorized by life stage with some special diets for weight control, dental health, and indoor cats.
If you’re not sure what product will best suit your pet’s needs, Vetdiet offers a personalized recommendation tool. It’s quite simple, however, and only seems to use your cat’s age and body composition (i.e., underweight, healthy, or overweight) to make recommendations.
What Do Customers Think of Vetdiet Cat Food?
While Vetdiet kitten dry food has small kibbles, the dental health recipe is much larger in size to maximize its abrasive dental benefits. Kate Barrington / Cats.com
Though Vetdiet is available for purchase in the United States, its popularity hasn’t quite spread outside its home of Canada. Reviews online are limited, so it’s hard to get a feel for the average customer experience.
Petco seems to be the biggest distributor of Vetdiet pet food in the United States and that’s where I found the most ratings. That said, even the products with the most ratings had few to no customer reviews. Only one of Vetdiet’s canned foods had ratings on Petco.com at the time of review.
Let’s take a look at a few reviews from some of the most popular recipes from Vetdiet Cat Food.
Positive Reviews
“I bought the vet diet for my cat. He has a problem pulling his hair out. He was on Blue Wilderness. So I tried the Vet Diet Salmon. After 2 days he pulled 50% less out. Now after the 3.5Lbs bag is empty he is about 80% better. What a relief.” – Hairless Sunny Reviewing Vetdiet Skin & Stomach Health Dry Adult Cat Food on March 7th, 2023
“This canned cat food says it has chicken in it and it is one of the few brands that say that and don’t put fish in it. It does have pork liver in it, but I am not concerned about it.” – Staplesvet Reviewing Vetdiet Chicken Pate Adult Canned Cat Food on March 17th, 2023
Negative Reviews
“I have 2 cats. One smelled this and walked away. The other kitty has a sensitive stomach and this dry food make her very sick. In fact she cried, right before vomiting. She is 16 and doesn’t have all of her teeth anymore, so some of the food came up whole with the other vomit. The kibble is very small so all was not chewed. It gave her such a stomach ache that she then ran to the litter box after vomiting twice.” – Soozinpa Reviewing Vetdiet Chicken and Rice Dry Senior Cat Food on April 7th, 2023
What Did Our Test Cats Think?
Vetdiet’s loaf-style pate canned foods are moist and soft. Kate Barrington / Cats.com
To test Vetdiet cat food, I ordered two dry food formulas and one canned food. I also reached out to the company through their Contact Us page to request a typical nutrient analysis for a recent batch of food but received no response.
Both Vetdiet dry foods came in resealable packages, both with flat bottoms so they stood upright. The kitten recipe comes in very small, round kibbles which should be easy for small mouths to manage. The adult recipe looked more appropriate for dogs than cats in size. It is a dental health formula, however, so the size of the kibble is likely to encourage chewing which may help scrape tartar off your cat’s teeth.
My cats seemed to enjoy the aroma and flavor of both Vetdiet dry foods as well as the wet food recipe. The canned food was a loaf-style pâté which was soft in texture and easy to mix with water.
Vetdiet Cat Food – Top 3 Recipes Reviewed
Product Name | Food Type | Main Protein Source | Calories | Price | Our Grade |
Vetdiet Chicken and Rice Dry Kitten Food | Dry | Chicken | 108 kcal/oz. | $0.36 per oz | C |
Vetdiet Chicken Pate Indoor Adult Wet Cat Food | Wet | Chicken | 29 kcal/oz. | $0.34 per oz | B- |
Vetdiet Care Dental Health Chicken and Rice Dry Adult Cat Food | Dry | Chicken | 103 kcal/oz. | $0.36 per oz | C |
How Much Does Vetdiet Cat Food Cost?
When priced per ounce, Vetdiet dry foods and wet foods are similar in cost. Once you factor in the calorie content, however, a wet food-only diet ends up being much more expensive per day.
Vetdiet dry cat foods cost about $0.36 per ounce and average around 105 calories per ounce. To feed a 10-pound cat, it would cost about $0.70 per day. This puts Vetdiet in a similar price range as Dr. Elsey’s and Young Again, though both of these brands tend to be more calorie-dense and lower in carbs.
Priced around $0.34 per ounce, Vetdiet canned food would cost about $2.35 per day to feed a 10-pound cat. This puts it in a similar price range as Nulo and some Dave’s Pet Food recipes.
Overall, Is Vetdiet Cat Food a Good Choice?
Vetdiet is marketed as a holistic pet food brand with recipes specific to various ages and needs. Upon closer inspection, however, there’s nothing particularly special about the products. There is some variety in kibble size and shape, but most of the dry foods contain moderate levels of protein and fat with more carbohydrate than we like to see.
If you’re shopping for wet food, Vetdiet starts to look a little more attractive – especially because it’s nowhere near as expensive as brands like Tiki Cat. Unfortunately, Vetdiet canned foods are still fairly high in carbohydrate, and they still contain plant protein concentrates. It’s similar to Blue Buffalo in many ways.
When it comes to meat-centric recipes with low carbohydrate content, you can do better than Vetdiet without necessarily spending a lot more.
Where Is Vetdiet Cat Food Sold?
In the United States, Vetdiet cat food is sold by certain major pet stores like Petco and some independent pet retailers. You can also purchase it online from PetFlow and Petco.com.
In Canada, Vetdiet was only available in Quebec for many years but has since become available in-store throughout Ontario and for online delivery across Canada.
One huge positive for the VetDiet wet food is its low phosphorus content. Information provided by VetDiet:
Kitten : 0.46% DMB
Adult : 0.47% DMB
Adult indoor chicken : 0.40% DMB
Senior : 0.45% DMB
These levels are about as good or better than some prescription renal canned foods and at a more affordable price.
Thanks for sharing!
If it was really formulated for cats by nutritionists, it would be pure protein or mouse formula. Cats are carnivores and should not have plants fruits or veggies in thier diet
I tried VetDiet dry cat food from MONDOU 60$ big bag. Both of my cats developed a terrible skin allergy…..huge hot spots & hair falling out on their backs….NEVER AGAIN….after a 400$ vet visit!…. they wouldn’t refund me because more than half of the bag was eaten. So disappointed 😠…..ste julie store in Quebec.