You may think “Oh look, a brand new cat food”, but truth is this is just another offering from Australian pet food giant the Real Pet Food Co who also manufacture the likes of Ivory Coat and Woolworth’s budget home brand Smitten.
In our Trilogy cat food review we’ll see whether this latest offering is just another cat food in funky packaging, or if it’s healthy and nutritious for your cat…
Trilogy cat food review
What the marketing says
The marketing of Trilogy cat food addresses fundamental and instinctive needs of cats which have persisted for 4,000 years. According to the spiel these are hunting and seeking out meat protein, grasses, and hydrating at natural springs. They state Trilogy cat food offers these three elements, but I question how a kibble reduced of moisture combined with freeze dried meat (which by definition is meat with the moisture removed) can offer the hydration capacity of natural spring water, and I’m also slightly dubious on the grass angle. In any case, these three elements are represented by the “impossible triangle” on the packaging.
The packaging also states “High quality grain free kibble”, “protein rich freeze dried pieces”, “natural grass fibre to support digestion”, and last but not least “specifically formulated for indoor cats”. I found this last statement a little odd, and it appears to be the case for all formulas in the range. Perhaps they’re assuming outdoor cats attend to their own grass munching and natural spring hydration?
It’s certainly an interesting marketing angle, but lets continue with our Trilogy cat food review to see if these claims ring true…
What the labelling really says
Delving straight into the ingredients we find six ingredients which will likely be in equal (or at least similar) proportions. Three of these are fish, and the other three are legumes. That’s odd, as legumes weren’t part of their “impossible triangle” idea, were they?
There’s no surprise the three fish ingredients are listed first given most people these days only read the headlines. That said, it’s good to see salmon meat, salmon meal, and even ambiguous fish meal as ingredients a cat will benefit from. The other three, a combination of peas, more peas, and lentils are less beneficial for a cat, but still far better inclusions than cereal rubbish we find in many popular brands like Whiskas.
Freeze dried meat is a far better inclusion of meat than that baked at high temps into a kibble. Freeze drying is a method of reducing the moisture without damaging the nutrition, and effectively keeps the meat in an raw state which is better, and more natural, for cats. Despite the formula being Salmon, we can gather from the ingredients the freeze dried meat pieces are actually lamb, listed as the 8th ingredient, so not the salmon and fish assumingly part of the kibble.
The grass constituent of the trilogy is found way down the ingredients list, a few notches down from salt as an inclusion of 1%, and this is in the form of alfalfa grass. It’s nice to see such an inclusion, and as a superfood in a small moderation will likely provide some nutritional value for your cat. In the wild a cat will ingest such an ingredient from the digestive tract or stomach of prey.
I find no real qualms about the ingredients as a whole. It’s clear the vitamin and mineral inclusion is a premix, so not hand picked vitamins and minerals which we find in some premium cat foods. Natural antioxidants is ambiguous, and ambiguous is often a sign of they don’t want you to know.
Other brands from the Real Pet Food Co have shown to be problematic, so that’s worth noting, but from an ingredients and analysis standpoint this doesn’t seem that bad. In fact, compared to many terrible cat foods on the shelves Trilogy cat food actually looks quite good.
Just add fresh spring water and you’re all set, unless you have an outdoor cat and live near a fresh spring.
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Where to buy
You can buy Trilogy cat food directly from Petbarn (or click and collect).
Ingredients of Trilogy cat food
Ingredients of Trilogy Adult Salmon dry cat food as of June 2021:
Salmon meat, Salmon meal, Fish meal, Pea Protein, Peas, Lentils, Animal Fat (Beef), Freeze Dried Lamb, Tapioca Starch, Digest, Beet Pulp, Cellulose Fibre, Salt, Vitamins and Minerals, Dipotassium Phosphate, Alfalfa grass, Chicory Root Inulin, Taurine, Methionine, Natural Antioxidants, Yucca Extract
Guaranteed analysis of Trilogy cat food
Guaranteed analysis of Trilogy Adult Salmon dry cat food as of June 2021:
| Protein | (min) 38% |
| Fat | (min) 16% |
| Crude Fibre | (max) 6% |
| Carbohydrates * | Estimated 28% |
It took my cats alot of persistence to get them to start eating this but now they eat it no problem – though they aren’t at all interested in the freeze dried lamb pieces. They took to Royal Canin Calm much quicker and Optimum too, but they have gotten used to this and seem to like it now. I wish I’d read this first though – yes the marketing definitely got me in!
Hi
I was recommended Trilogy kibble by the Petbarn staff. I was asking for a recommendation of what is their best dry food for cats.
After your experience research it would be great to know what you recommend.
She’s 8 human years old.
Also I have a 13 yr old mini foxy mixed with a Tenterfield.
Do you have any good recommendations?
Thank you
Hi Elizabeth, here’s a list of my best cat food recommendations, but I usually recommend adding some variety, including some fresh meats/organs/appropriate bones to chew etc – these are great for nutrition and also adding moisture to the diet which is something lacking in dry cat foods.
Trilogy wet food……..they claim its grain free but my grain intolerant cat is getting runny poo from it. When asked what plant they use for the thickener they will not disclose. Absolute crap. They do not care about pets otherwise they would disclose for health benefits what kind of plant thickener they use or if any of their broth or thickener contains traces of corn, soy or wheat. Will never allow my cat to eat this crap. Wouldn’t expect anything less from real pet food co.