Honest Meat Mates Cat Food Review 2023

Disclaimer: As a Chewy & Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This does not impact our reviews and comparisons.

Score: 8/10

Bottom Line

A single-source wet cat food, perfect for cats of all life stages.

PROS

Suitable for all ages
Grain-free
Our cats loved it

CONS

Limited availability
Mixed reviews
Lack of flavors

We’ve done this Meat Mates cat food review with the help of our cat taste testers.

Meat Mates may well be the most underrated cat food on the market. It’s a high quality New Zealand brand, specializing in wet cat food.

Review summary:

The good?

Great nutrition.

Chock full of animal protein, Meat Mates hits the spots cats need as carnivores. Suitable for all life stages.

All products (if available) are single source (e.g. beef contains only beef). Great for allergies.

The bad?

Mixed taste.

Whilst our cats seemed to love Meat Mates, online reviews are less favorable. Pricey too.

The ugly?

Low availability.

If your cat enjoys Meat Mates, good luck. It’s hard to find anywhere, and seems to have problems getting on shelves.

In short:

Great.

Meat Mates is the the perfect cat food for a cat of any age. Filler free and meat rich.

Just what cats need. But can you find it?

Best for:

Allergies
Food intolerance
Senior cat health

>> Check out Meat Mates here.

Want to find out more about whether Meat Mates is best for your cat?

In this Meat Mates review I’ll test this product with a few of our cat testers to see if it gets the meow of approval.

I’ll also take a deep dive into the nutrition of this cat food to find which cats benefit most from this product.

Let’s get into the article!

I am not a veterinarian and I recommend seeking the advice of a vet for any further questions. This article is not intended as a replacement for medical advice.

Meat Mates Cat Food Review

We’ve tested the wet cat food from Meat Mates and looked at:

Ingredients
Nutrition
Taste
Value for money

Here’s our results:

Meat Mates Ingredients

Excellent.

Ingredients in Meat Mates match what cats need as carnivores.

Here’s a snapshot of the ingredients in Meat Mates canned cat food range:

Named free-range meat sources (e.g. chicken liver)
Grain-free
Soy-free
Pea-free
Carrageenan-free
Added flaxseed flakes (can help with constipation)

All Meat Mates use an amount listed label. All products are over 95% animal-based ingredients.

This is the best type of label as it means you’re getting all the good stuff, without crappy fillers.

Flaxseed is high in soluble and insoluble fiber. This mixture can help with constipation in some cats.

The lamb dinner option is also novel protein friendly. This makes it suitable for allergy relief.

The other choices (if available) are chicken and beef. Both are single-source, meaning if you want only that meat, you’ll get it.

Meat Mates does not contain any artificial colors and flavors.

Check out more about Meat Mates over at their website.

Ingredient Score: 10/10

See below for our Meat Mates ingredient analysis (animal-based ingredients are highlighted):

Table 1: Meat Mates ingredients	Label type	Score	Ingredients
Meat Mates beef dinner	Dinner 99% (99% grass fed beef with organs)	10	Beef, Water Sufficient For Processing, Beef Tripe, Beef Heart, Beef Kidney, Beef Spleen, Beef Liver, Fish Oil, Flaxseed Flakes, Dried Kelp, Dipotassium Phosphate, Salt, Magnesium Oxide, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Proteinate, Taurine, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid
Meat Mates lamb dinner	Dinner 99% (99% grass fed lamb with organs)	10	Lamb, Water Sufficient For Processing, Lamb Tripe, Lamb Heart, Lamb Kidney, Lamb Spleen, Lamb Liver, Calcium Carbonate, Dipotassium Phosphate, Fish Oil, Flaxseed Flakes, Dried Kelp, Salt, Magnesium Oxide, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Proteinate, Taurine, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid
Meat Mates chicken dinner	Dinner 99% (99% cage free chicken with organs)	10	Chicken, Water Sufficient for Processing, Chicken Liver, Fish Oil, Flaxseed Flakes, Salt, Dried Kelp, Taurine, Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Magnesium Oxide, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement

Ingredients list for Meat Mates wet cat food products

Meat Mates Nutrition

Awesome.

All Meat Mates wet cat foods are complete for all life stages.

It’s a sole feeding source. That means you can feed your cat only Meat Mates (although it’s a good idea to mix it up with different flavors).

The only gripe with Meat Mates is taurine information is missing for two products.

This amino acid is likely in high amounts due to the animal products used in Meat Mates, but it would be nice to know.

Here’s a snapshot of the nutrition in Meat Mates in terms of metabolizable energy (ME):

High protein (45% ME*)
Moderate fat (37% ME)
Low carbohydrate (1% ME)
Low fiber (3% ME)
1,062 kcal/kg average

*average on a dry matter basis

Nutrition Score: 9.5/10

NUTRITION SCORING EXPLAINED

To score a 10/10, we look for a cat food that hits the following targets. Targets are for dry matter basis or ME.

Protein: >40% ME

Helps maintain muscle (especially older cats)
Energy production
Cats prefer high protein diets (~50% ME)

Fat: >25% ME

High calorie for weight gain
Helps improve taste for picky cats
Fat soluble vitamin absorption

Carbs: <12% ME

Cat’s have no requirement for carbohydrate
Cat’s can’t downregulate gluconeogenesis (causing high blood sugar…not great!)
Cats lack digestive enzymes for high carb diets (carbs can cause diarrhea)

Taurine: >0.2% ME

A unique essential amino needed in a cats diet
Deficiency causes heart and reproductive problems
Higher amounts needed in wet food with added gums (reduces taurine digestion)

Calcium to phosphate ratio: >1:1

Helps maintains healthy kidneys (bones prevent stones)
Low calcium diets cause bone defects and depression

See below for our Meat Mates nutrition scores:

Table 2: Meat Mates nutrition	Type	Texture	Kcal/kg	Kcal/g (dry matter)	Protein	Fat	Carbs	Fiber	Ash	Moisture	Taurine	Calcium: phosphate ratio
Meat Mates Beef Dinner	Wet	Pate	1,066	5.4	42.3%*	38.3%	1.0%	3.1%	15.3%	80.4%	N/A	N/A
Meat Mates Chicken Dinner	Wet	Pate	1,035	5.2	52.5%	30.0%	0.0%	2.5%	15.0%	80.0%	0.4%	1.4
Meat Mates Lamb Dinner	Wet	Pate	1,084	6.0	41.7%	41.7%	1.7%	3.9%	11.1%	82.0%	N/A	N/A
Average			1,062	5.5	45.5%	36.7%	0.9%	3.2%	13.8%	80.8%	0.4%	1.4