LifeWise are one of the few Australian pet food brands I have faith in.
As a smaller manufacturer the quality of their pet foods has stood the test of time, and consumer feedback has been excellent.
I’ve had numerous lengthy discussions over the years with Bill who own’s LifeWise, and his knowledge is clear. I’ve known Bill to put a great deal of effort into helping numerous consumers and offering excellent advice.
In fact, not many pet food companies put so much effort in with their consumers!
If you’re looking for a reputable Australian cat food, then LifeWise might be a good choice for you.
LifeWise review
What the marketing says
LifeWise has always had a focus on pet foods which offer the right balance of nutrients which work well with the gut. You’ll see this with their marketing.
On the LifeWise website we find statements about whole food ingredients that are natural food sources for your pet, from over 40 years continuous research and development in the science of perfecting food nutrient ratios to match nutrient use in the body.
Sounds impressive!
Let’s take a look at the ingredients of LifeWise cat food and see what we can figure out ourselves…
What the ingredients really say
For the purpose of this review we’ll take a look at the LifeWise Chicken & Rice formula.
There are grain-free recipes if you prefer, but always keep in mind your cat’s diet should have a strong emphasis on meat rather than grain or grain-free ingredients.
This recipe is 30% protein and 20% fat (minimum values), which means carbohydrates are low at around 1/3rd or less. So that’s good.
The main ingredients are as we would expect given the recipe name – chicken and rice.
As cat owners we have a dilemma with all cat kibbles, so let’s get on the same page. Our cats are carnivores, so we don’t want too much non-meat ingredients in the diet.
But when it comes to kibbles there needs to be a balance to make the product affordable for us and compete with the many cheaper brands which are almost entirely made of non-meat ingredients (like cheap cereal grains).
All dry cat foods have some form of starch (grain or non-grain) which has two purposes – (1) hold the kibble together as a binder, and (2) keep the cost of production down.
I feel LifeWise offers a good balance, especially when we consider quality and consumer feedback.
Rice, despite not being as beneficial as meat, is a better option than wheat or ambiguous cereals (especially when in moderation). Rice is more digestible than other grains, even for our cats.
Back to the good points, and it’s good to see chicken as the first and main ingredient, backup up by poultry oil (poultry fat) as the third ingredient.
Peas and Barley feature as smaller inclusions, then a range of really nice ingredients such as alfalfa and kelp.
Alfalfa is rich in vitamins and minerals, and also antioxidants which help fight diseases. Kelp aids the digestive health of your cat.
LifeWise cat food is also naturally preserved. This is far better than cheaper brands who use chemical preservatives (which favour profit margins over the health of your cat).
Is LifeWise the right choice for you?
If you’re looking for a dry food for your cat which is better than most but not ridiculously expensive like others rated highly on this website, then LifeWise cat food could be a good choice.
I rarely hear anything bad said about LifeWise pet foods, and most consumers hold the brand in high regard.
If you’re bothered by ingredients such as rice (or legumes in LifeWise grain-free formulas), then you can use this as a decent base diet which you can mix with some of those more expensive cat foods (like ZIWI Peak) or BARF patties.
Where to buy?
Ingredients
Ingredients of LifeWise cat food (Chicken & Rice):
Chicken, rice, poultry oil stabilised with vitamin E and rosemary oil, peas, barley, alfalfa, kelp, yeast cell wall extract, taurine, vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, B12, C, D3, E, K, niacin, pantothenate, folic acid, biotin and natural organic acids, minerals calcium, phosphorus, sodium, copper, zinc, iron, manganese and iodine. Also contains natural flavours and Yucca schidigera extract.
Guaranteed analysis
Guaranteed analysis of LifeWise cat food (Chicken & Rice):
| Protein | 30% |
| Fat | 20% |
| Crude Fibre | 3% |
| Carbohydrates * | Estimated 34% (Ash listed as 6%) |
I bought this based on your review and my cat likes it so I will continue to buy so thanks for introducing me to a brand I’d not heard of.
As a side note I also bought Lifewise reward nibbles, kangaroo treats but my cat won’t touch them, they are primarily dog treats but the packet says cats love them too, so I broke them up and softened them in boiling water and once cold and slightly softened she still won’t eat them.