Dry-food comparison

❄ Our view

This is our benchmark, and the only one in the comparison whose ingredient list opens with two named animal sources, without the slightest maize derivative. Farmina announces over 90 % of the protein as animal-sourced: the displayed 36 % is therefore almost entirely animal protein, where others inflate the figure with wheat or maize gluten. At identical label rates, it is not the same food.

The carbohydrate rate, around 26 %, is not spectacularly low — starch remains indispensable to making a kibble. But the nature of the carbohydrate changes: here spelt and oats, two ancient low-glycaemic-index grains, rather than maize and wheat. On sensitive cats, that is a profile we find markedly less inflammatory.

The decisive point in our eyes lies in the additive list. Farmina publishes the entirety of the FEDIAF guide’s micronutrients: vitamins A, D3, E and C, but also B1, B2, B6, B12, niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin, folic acid, choline, beta-carotene, taurine at 4,000 mg/kg, L-carnitine, DL-methionine and chelated trace elements. No other kibble on this page shows so complete a list — several stop at four vitamins.

There remains the price, high at retail. With a breeder rate (Farmina Breeder Club) and a large-format purchase, it becomes for us the best value for money per kilo of the comparison.

❄ Our view

On paper, this is good work: grain-free, dehydrated chicken at 49 % heading the list, 89 % animal protein announced, and a 40/20 ratio exactly on target for a growing kitten. Carbohydrates hover around 20 %, the lowest rate on this page.

Our reservation bears on two points. First, “grain-free” does not mean “carb-free”: the potato and peas that replace the rice are still starch, and 20 % for a strict carnivore is not nothing. The marketing promise is a little more generous than the analytical reality.

Second, and this is what bothers us most, the additive list is short: vitamins A, D3, E and C, a few trace elements, taurine and L-carnitine. No B-group vitamin appears, nor biotin, nor folic acid, nor choline — all nutrients the FEDIAF guide lists for growth. They may be supplied by the raw materials, but nothing on the label allows it to be checked. It is a good kibble with things missing.

❄ Our view

A complete, clinically formulated food that far exceeds the FEDIAF growth minimums (28 % protein and 9 % fat on dry matter): here we sit around 39 % protein and 20 % fat on dry. It also answers the kitten’s specific needs — DHA for brain and visual development, vitamins E and C for immunity, prebiotics (MOS) and highly digestible proteins for the microbiome.

The caveat lies in a very cereal-heavy list: rice, wheat gluten, maize flour, wheat flour and maize gluten all sit among the first eight ingredients. Hence a carbohydrate rate of about 28 % — moderate for a dry kibble (starch is needed to manufacture it), but high for a strict carnivore, which has no physiological need for carbohydrates. FEDIAF, incidentally, sets no maximum on this point.

Another consequence of those cereals: part of the displayed protein comes from wheat and maize gluten, plant proteins less complete than an animal protein and devoid of taurine. The truly animal protein rate is therefore below the announced 36 %.

❄ Our view

A technically solid food, far above the FEDIAF growth minimums, with DHA, colostrum at 0.10 % and high taurine. The 40/20 ratio is good and the manufacturing quality is consistent. On the displayed figures alone, it holds its own against any kibble on this page.

The problem lies elsewhere. Of the first ten ingredients, five are cereals or derivatives: rice, wheat gluten, maize, maize protein meal, maize starch — to which pea proteins are added. Fresh chicken, for its part, weighs 20 %. The result: 25.5 % announced carbohydrates, which is a lot for a strict carnivore.

Above all, a sizeable share of the 40 % protein comes from wheat and maize gluten, incomplete plant proteins devoid of taurine — hence the need to add it. The truly animal protein rate is therefore noticeably below the label figure. That is precisely the limit we hold against this range: the figure is handsome, the composition less so.

The additive list is otherwise limited to vitamins A, D3, E and C and six trace elements, without the B group.

❄ Our view

Distinctly above the classic MultiFit, and it must be said: the list here opens with animal matter, not cereals, and 26 % chicken protein plus 5 % fresh poultry are identified — against 4 % on the standard version. The figures follow: 38 % protein, 17 % fat, about 26 % carbohydrates. It is a different product.

Cereals remain in second position, and the label “meat and animal by-products” still does not say which species are involved beyond the identified chicken. We stay, therefore, in partial transparency.

The real problem lies elsewhere, and it is serious: the additive list is limited to vitamin D3, taurine and four trace elements. No vitamin A, no vitamin E, no vitamin C, no B group, no DHA. On a growth food, that is very short — even granting that the raw materials supply part of it, nothing allows it to be verified.

Our verdict: at comparable prices in the budget segment, it is the better of the two MultiFits, and the value for money is real. It is still not what we would choose for a Ragdoll kitten, whose growth stretches over three to four years.

❄ Our view

We include it because the question comes up often, and the answer must be frank: it is the weakest of the comparison. The first ingredient is “cereals”, in the plural and without precision, followed by “meat and animal by-products” of which only 4 % chicken protein is identified. The rest of the animal origin is not named, which forbids any verification.

The announced 35 % protein must therefore be read with caution: without knowing what is animal and what is plant, the figure says little. Fat at 13 % is moreover low for a growing kitten, and carbohydrates hover around 33 % — the highest rate on this page.

The additive list boils down to vitamins A, D3 and E, taurine at 1,200 mg/kg and four trace elements. No vitamin C, no B group, no DHA.

It is not a dangerous food, and it ticks the regulatory minimums. It is simply the classic profile of a store brand: cheap, opaque. For a kitten in full growth — a fortiori a Ragdoll, which grows until three or four — we do not recommend it.