Felix Cat Food Review

Did you know Felix is the most popular brand of cat food in Australia?

You may be surprised to know it’s a brand of Nestle, the chocolate bar company, and you may also be surprised what it’s made from – not what you’re expecting I bet!

In the Felix cat food review we’ll find out the truth about this product, then you can decide for yourself how much you should feed your cat!

Where to buy?

The cheapest place I’ve found Felix cat food is Pet Circle, especially with their really simple auto delivery.

Felix cat food review

What the marketing says

I think Felix cat food is really popular for two reasons: (1) the marketing makes out it’s great, and (2) it’s cheap.

You may be feeding Felix because of it’s affordability, so don’t feel bad if this review is a little negative – it’s still good to know what we’re feeding our cats!

There’s a couple of varieties of Felix cat food. The As Good As It Looks meat/meat derivative/cereal combos, and the Sensations Jellies which are also meat/meat derivative/cereal combos. You also get variations like Doubly Delicious (sounds yum doesn’t it!?), but they’re all very similar so this review applies to all.

If you don’t read the ingredients, and only assume Felix cat food is good because of the marketing, then cutesy pictures like this will really work on you:

But what does that really mean?

Does it mean anything?

My guess is that advert is designed to make you think you’re clever from feeding Felix cat food! After all, you want to feed your cat the best food, right, and feel clever about it?

But stay tuned, as in this review I’ll tell you all about the flavour in this cat food! And more!

What the ingredients really say

Let’s start with an important positive – your cat needs moisture in his diet, and with Felix being a “wet” food means you’re giving your cat valuable moisture. This is good for organ health, especially with many cats on dry foods suffering kidney problems at an early age.

Or you could get a drinking fountain so your cat drinks fresh, clean water (these Catit fountains are great).

Nestle Purina (who make Felix) have a whole range of dry foods which hardly have any moisture at all and are made significantly from cereals for your carnivorous meat-eating cat. Even Purina One which is probably their most “premium” has a lot of grains.

So, if you’re feeding Felix to your cat then moisture is a plus which will help keep him healthy. That’s why Felix cat food is rated a little higher than the Purina dry food alternatives.

Whether you buy the As Good As It Looks/Doubly Delicious range or the Sensation Jellies, the ingredients are pretty much the same.

Take a look:

See what I mean? Very similar.

Vets recommend rotating flavours so your cat gets a variety – this was actually taught on my course when I studied pet nutrition – but in truth you’re not really offering a variety. The biggest different between the recipes is the name and packaging.

Related: Best cat foods in Australia | All cat food reviews.

Right then, let’s discuss the ingredients!

You may think it’s a good thing seeing meat & meat derivatives as the first ingredient, but it’s possible cereal amounts to the same. Ingredients are listed in order of percentage, which means Felix cat food may be 45% meat & meat derivatives, and 45% cereals! Two main ingredients!?

Cereals aren’t good for your cat. Cats are factually obligate carnivores, and even Purina will tell you this. Cats don’t need cereals in their diet.

So why would we have cereals as a main ingredient in Felix cat food?

The answer is simple: It means Felix can be made cheaply, and sold for a bigger profit.

Or in other words, not because they’re healthy for your cat.

When ingredients are ambiguous, which is the case for both of these main ingredients (and most ingredients in Felix), it suggests the cheapest possible inclusions.

Still reading?

I’ll let you into what I call a “marketing trick”. When you see the word With in a formula name, such as Felix Sensation Jellies With Turkey in Game Flavoured Jelly there doesn’t actually need to be much of those ingredients in the cat food whatsoever!

Yep, this is allowed by Australian regulations (Australian Standards for the Manufacturing and Marketing of Pet Food – AS 5812).

Also, when you see the word flavour, such as “Game Flavoured”, it doesn’t mean the flavour is from game ingredients!

All we find on the ingredients is “Flavour”. They won’t even tell you what it is, which is another way of saying they don’t want you to know.

I think by now you’ll have a much clearer picture of Felix cat food and whether it’s good for your cat, so let’s summarise:

A summary – Should you feed Felix cat food?

What we seem to have with all Felix cat food varieties is a combination mostly of meat & meat derivatives (likely cheap throwaway remains once good stuff is sold off for human consumption) and very likely just as much undisclosed cereal grains (which may cause health implications for your cat).

The rest is undisclosed thickening agent (or shall we say “jelly”), plus food colourings and sugar, plus a few other ingredients of which some, like vitamins and minerals, are necessities.

Does that sound good and healthy? Species appropriate?

The upside of any wet cat food is moisture, and if Felix is all you can afford in terms of cat food then try not to feel too guilty – also buy some human grade supermarket meats, minces, and organs, and give them to your cat as well!

Is Felix cat food suitable for kittens?

Well, if you’re read the Felix cat food review so far you’re probably having doubts.

Although Felix cat food is suitable for kittens as long as you buy the kitten specific formulas, the recipes aren’t much different from the adult recipes. They have a touch more protein and fat to meet the feeding requirements of a growing kitten, but in my opinion there are better alternatives.

Felix kitten food should be okay as part of the diet, but I recommend looking at other options and feeding your kitten a variety.

Ingredients

Ingredients of Felix cat food (Sensation Jellies):

Mackerel and Spinach in Jelly: Meat & Meat Derivatives (Poultry, Beef and/or Lamb); Cereal & Vegetables (including Spinach) ; Fish (including Mackerel); Thickeners; Vitamins & Minerals; Flavour; Colour.

Salmon and Tomato in Jelly: Meat & Meat Derivatives (Poultry, Beef and/or Lamb); Cereal & Vegetables (including Tomato); Fish (including Salmon); Thickeners; Vitamins & Minerals; Flavour; Colour.

Turkey in Game Flavoured Jelly: Meat & Meat Derivatives (Chicken, Turkey, Beef and/or Lamb); Cereal; Fish; Thickeners; Vitamins & Minerals; Flavour (including Game); Colour.

Nutritional analysis

Note this is not named as a “Guaranteed analysis” on the Purina website for Felix cat food, but they use minimum percentages so we would hope this is the case. This Nutrional Analysis is for Sensation Jellies: