Honest Hound and Gatos Cat Food Review

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Hound and Gatos’ canned food is a great high protein cat food to tickle your carnivorous cats fancy. Yet there’s a few sticking points like the stinky fishy smells out the tin…and the dry food being high in carbs.

In this Hound and Gatos cat food review I’ll take a closer inspection at what this cat food has to offer. This will involve an analysis of the nutrition and ingredient quality.

The goal of this website is to help cat owners learn more about taking care of their cats. I am not a veterinarian and I recommend seeking the advice of a vet for any further questions.

The advice in this article is not intended as medical advice.

Let’s get into the article.

Hound and Gatos Cat Food Review: A Short Summary

Hound & Gatos is in the running for ‘underrated cat food of the year award’ along with hidden gems like Meat Mates. Their wet food is high in animal products and filler free.

But let’s not talk about their dry food shall we? If you ignore their dry food you’ll find Hound & Gatos is a great quality option for cats of all life stages.

Hound & Gatos (wet food) is simple in their ingredients use. And that’s a good thing.

The cat food market is rife with labels and claims that aren’t backed up or supported.

But…there’s a bit of a stink in the reviews sections online with Hound & Gatos. There are some product quality inconsistencies and stinky off-putting smells.

If your cat can overlook that then you might have your new favorite cat food in your pantry.

In this article, I’ll break down the products in Hound & Gatos cat food range. I will compare the following:

• Ingredient quality
• Nutrition

Finally, I’ll go over some frequently asked questions about Hound & Gatos cat food.

Hound & Gatos Cat Food Range

Hound & Gatos offers a select range of wet and dry cat food options. Their wet food is all 98% animal based products, grain-free and in a pate texture.

Here are the food options available from Hound & Gatos.

Hound & Gatos Product Range	Food Type	Description
Hound & Gatos 98%	Wet (pate)	98% animal based products in a wet pate. Canned cat food.
Hound & Gatos grain-free dry food	Dry	Dry cat food high in animal based foods.

Let’s break down the ingredient and nutritional quality of each product type.

Hound & Gatos Cat Food Ingredients

Based on our scoring system, Hound & Gatos offers a high quality wet food. The ingredients in this food match what cats need as carnivores.

Their dry food we looked at (Hound & Gatos cage free chicken) is a little less favorable. It contains added sweet potato and tapioca starch in the bag which raise the carb content.

Hound & Gatos wet food uses a named percentage on the tin, which is 98% for all products. This means there’s a 98% of the named ingredients.

All Hound & Gatos wet food products use animal based ingredients on the label. You can be pretty confident you’re getting a meaty rich meal with their wet food range.

Moving onto Hound & Gatos’ dry food products.

The dry cat food use the recipe descriptor on the bag which means 25-94.9% of the named ingredients. For their cage free chicken product, that means anywhere between 25-94.9% chicken.

The problem is Hound & Gatos sandwich two high carbohydrate ingredients between chicken ingredients. They use sweet potato and tapioca starch.

So on the surface the wet cat food from Hound & Gatos looks great…the dry, not so great.

We score cat food out of 100.

A higher score is a sign of a better quality food. I take into account relative weighing of ingredients based on the labelling words (e.g. recipe, dinner) as these words equate to different quantities of food.

Read more about what that means over in my cat food labelling guide.

Hound & Gatos cat food range	Selected product	Label type	Ingredient quality score	Ingredients
Hound & Gatos 98% wet canned cat food	Duck & liver	Amount (98%)	94/100	Duck, Duck Broth, Duck Liver, Agar-Agar, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Salmon Oil, Salt, Taurine, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Magnesium Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Niacin Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid
Hound & Gatos grain-free dry food	Cage free chicken recipe	Recipe	66/100	Deboned Chicken, Egg, Sweet Potato, Tapioca, Chicken Fat (Preserved With Mixed Tocopherols), Natural Chicken Flavor, Flaxseed, Minerals (Calcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Magnesium Proteinate, Potassium Chloride, Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate), Salt, Yeast Hydrolysate (Source Of Beta-Glucans), Cranberries, Blueberries, Broccoli, Dandelion Greens, Choline Chloride, Vitamins (Niacinamide, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pantothenic Acid, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid, Biotin), Natural Mixed Tocopherols, Taurine

Here is our ingredient quality score for Hound & Gatos.

Ingredient Quality Score: A (C for dry food option)

Hound & Gatos Nutrition

The nutrition of wet cat food in Hound & Gatos is great. Their dry food offering is not as good based on our analysis.

All Hound & Gatos cat food products are AAFCO approved for life stages. I noted that their dry food is low in protein (only 32.2% on a dry matter basis).

Senior cats need a high protein diet to combat sarcopenia. Research suggests choosing a cat food product with over 40.0% protein on a dry matter basis to help maintain muscle.

When given the choice, cat’s choose a food with around 52% protein, 12% carbohydrate, and 36% fat. Our analysis shows that Hound & Gatos wet food gets close to this ratio.

Cats are carbohydrate intolerant and cannot digest excess carbs. It’s important to look for a product that contains as close to or less than 12% carbohydrate on a dry matter basis.

Hound & Gatos dry food came up as 39.0% carbohydrate on a dry matter basis. This is over what is recommended and can result in digestive issues along with high blood sugar.

The fat content of Hound & Gatos wet canned food is high. This is great for cats that are struggling with weight loss, particularly senior cats.

Some information about micronutrients is missing online. I did find the calcium to phosphate ratio of the wet food, which is favorable (2.3:1). This is important to promote healthy kidney function.

What this analysis reveals is the canned food from Hound & Gatos is great. Their dry food doesn’t line up with what we’d recommend for cats.

Here is the nutrition information for the selected products from the Hound & Gatos range:

Hound & Gatos product range	Selected product	Life stage	Calories/kg	Kcal/g dry matter basis	Protein	Fat	Carbohydrate	Fiber	Ash	Moisture	Taurine	Calcium: Phosphate Ratio
Hound & Gatos 98% wet canned cat food	Duck & liver	All	1,300	5.9	45.5%*	38.6%	0.0%	4.5%	11.4%	78.0%	N/A	2.3:1
Hound & Gatos grain-free dry food	Cage free chicken recipe	All	4,076	4.5	32.2%	18.9%	39.0%	2.8%	7.1%	10.0%	0.2%	N/A

Here is our nutrition score for Hound & Gatos.

Nutrition Score: A (C- for the dry food)

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Hound and Gatos a good food?

Hound & Gatos have a range of wet canned cat food that is high in animal foods. These options are low in carbs and line up with what cats of all life stages need for health.

Another great thing about Hound & Gatos is they have a wide variety of choices. Some of their range is suitable for cats with allergies, as they use novel protein.

On the other hand, their dry food is high in carbohydrate and isn’t the best choice for digestive health. There are a lot of better choices for dry food on the market if that’s what you’re looking for.

Learn More:

• 7 Best Dry Cat Foods for Health
• 4 Best Dry Cat Food for Allergies
• 5 Best Dry Cat Foods for Senior Cats

Hound and Gatos where to buy?

You can buy Hound & Gatos online at various cat product retailers. There’s a variety of places that are stocking Hound & Gatos so be sure to check and compare prices.

>>Check Price

Is Hound and Gatos cat food a pate?

Yes. All of Hound & Gatos products are a smooth pate texture. This is great if your cat prefers a smooth texture that’s easy to swallow.

Where is Hound and Gatos made?

All Hound & Gatos products are US made. The majority of their products are locally sourced.

Hound & Gatos import a few meat sources. This includes the lamb, imported from New Zealand. France supplies their duck.

What are the feeding instructions for Hound & Gatos?

Hound & Gatos recommend 3/4 to 1 can of 5.5 ounce (156g) cat food per 6-8 pound of body weight. Kittens need a higher amount of cat food per body weight for growth.

Hound & Gatos have a feeding chart for their dry food on their website.

I recommend using an online cat food calculator and entering the details of your cat and food. This will help you get a more precise amount to feed your cat.

Learn More:

• How Much Should I Feed My Cat?

How do I transition my cat to Hound & Gatos?

To transition your cat to Hound & Gatos, start by mixing 1/4 with 3/4 of old food. Start with this amount and work the amount up over the course of 1-2 weeks.

Does Hound & gatos have any fish or fish oil additives of any kind?

Hound & Gatos use salmon oil in their wet food range. This is a source of omega 3 fatty acids, which can benefit your cats health.

There are no other filler ingredients in Hound & Gatos wet food. This includes no gums and/or carrageenan.

Are the cans lined with BPA?

All Hound & Gatos wet canned foods are BPA free.

Is Hound & Gatos suitable for a novel protein diet?

Yes. Hound & Gatos have a few products suitable for a novel protein diet:

Conclusion

Hound & Gatos wet cat food is a great choice for cats of all life stages. These foods will help with digestion and has options for allergies.

On the other hand the dry food is quite high in carbohydrate for our liking. So we are a little hesitant to recommend the dry food and hope for a formula rework in the future.

Aside from this, the smell of some of the food is off-putting. If your sensitive to smell, then this might be rough.