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Rating
- Meat is the first ingredient – 1 Star
- Uses some unnamed meats – 1 Star
- Above average protein content – 0 Star
- Less than 4 controversial ingredients – 1 Star
- Catological Discretionary Rating – 0.5 Star
Here’s a few important points to consider for this particular line:
- Meat is the first ingredient, but there isn’t a lot of it
- Includes fillers like tapioca, potato, and peas
- Includes extra vitamins and minerals
- Below average protein and above average carbs are not a recipe for success
The Addiction Grain Free product line includes 3 dry recipes/flavors.
Each recipe below includes its related AAFCO nutrient profile when available on the product’s official webpage or packaging: Growth (G), Maintenance (M), All Life Stages (A), Supplemental (S) or Unspecified (U).
The star rating is a rough average of all of the flavors in a single line of food. If an individual recipe scored lower or higher, we will mark that below, next to the flavor.
- Addiction Grain Free Duck Royale (A) 2.5 stars
- Addiction Grain Free Salmon Bleu (A)
- Addiction Grain Free Viva La Venison (A)
Addiction Grain Free Viva La Venison was selected to represent the other products in the line for this review.
Addiction Grain Free Viva La Venison
Dry Cat Food
| Estimated Nutrient Content |
| Protein | Fat | Carbs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guaranteed Analysis | 30% | 15% | NA |
| Dry Matter Basis | 33% | 17% | 34% |
| Calorie Weighted Basis | 31% | 38% | 31% |
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Fiber (guaranteed analysis)
3.5%
Calories/100g
371
Is real, named meat the first ingredient?
Yes
Ingredients
Venison Meal, Dried Potatoes, Dried Tapioca, Chicken Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Peas, Natural Flavors, Dried Kelp, Dried Cranberries, Dried Apples, Dried Spinach, Brewers Dried Yeast, Dried Enterococcus Faecium, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Dried Bifidobacterium Longum, Dried Bifidobacterium Thermophilum, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin (Vitamin B3), Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Biotin (Vitamin B7), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid (Vitamin B9), Sodium Chloride, Taurine, Choline Chloride, Magnesium Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Calcium Carbonate, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Cobalt Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Green Tea Extract, Rosemary Extract.
Ingredients in red are controversial or of questionable quality.
Ingredient Breakdown
The first ingredient in this cat food is venison meal. Good.
A lean, high quality meat, venison is a novel protein, which can help with cats who have allergies or sensitive stomachs.
Meal is a highly concentrated form of the meat product, allowing for a much higher protein content by removing much of the water in the meat.
The second ingredient is dried potatoes. Bad.
These are typically used as filler in grain-free recipes.
They are not biologically appropriate and may cause digestive upset.
The third ingredient is dried tapioca. OK, but with reservations.
Used in many grain-free recipes as a starch to bind the food together.
While it’s not very nutritional and doesn’t compare well to grains in some cases, there’s likely not enough of it to cause any digestive issues for your cat.
The fourth ingredient is chicken fat. Good.
Named animal fats in cat food is usually a good thing.
Chicken fat is a great source of healthy fats and omega fatty acids.
It is preferred to canola oil or unnamed animal fats.
The fifth ingredient is peas. OK, but with reservations.
Peas are a quality carbohydrate, but cats don’t need much in the way of carbohydrates.
They are full of fiber, but also contain a fair amount of protein, which we should keep in mind when judging the meat content of this food.
There probably aren’t many peas in here, but there really doesn’t need to be any.
After natural flavors, which are fine and common, the sixth ingredient is dried kelp. Good.
Kelp is added as an industry standard source of iodine. Iodine is an essential nutrient for cats, containing two hormones which are responsible for regulation of the thyroid gland.
This recipe includes a number of other ingredients, but once you get down this far, none of them will be in large enough quantities to make a real difference, except for the added vitamins and minerals.
However, there are still a few things you should know about.
This recipe uses brewer’s dried yeast, which is a by-product of brewing beer. It is used for flavoring and for protein and B-vitamins. This is not a quality ingredient.
There are also many probiotic strains which help introduce enzymes into the gut to break down the food better and make it more digestible and bioavailable. These are generally considered high quality ingredients.
To read a more in depth article about any of the ingredients listed here, check out our Cat Food Ingredient Wiki (currently under development).
The Catological Verdict on Addiction Grain Free Dry Cat Food
From top to bottom, this is an average dry product.
While meat is the first ingredient, it’s not found in high enough quantities. It does contain extra minerals and vitamins, but that’s only really important because the recipe itself doesn’t include many other whole foods.
This is an acceptable, but not great food for your cat.
Since meat only shows up once or twice in each of the flavors, and since there are a number of ingredients that increase total protein from plant sources (peas, potatoes, and brewer’s dried yeast), we can assume that this is a mostly plant-based cat food, without enough meat to make it biologically appropriate for your cat’s dietary needs.
To review, on a dry matter basis, this food is 33% protein, 17% fat, and 34% carbs.
As a group, the brand has an average protein content of 33%, and average fat content of 17%, and an average carb content of 33%.
Compared to the other 2000+ foods in our database, this food has:
- Below average protein.
- Average fat.
- Above average carbs.
Because it is starts with meat and only includes “higher quality” fillers, our average rating for this brand is 3.5 stars.
Not recommended.
Addiction Cat Food Recall History
We do not believe that a recall indicates a low quality food or company, and we respect the fact that sometimes things happen that cause a manufacturer to recall a food.
Usually these things are non-life-threatening, and we think it’s important to take a moment to be thankful about just how few recalls there really are in the industry, considering the enormous volume of food produced.
However, we do believe that a history of recalls may point to a larger issue with a company, and that discerning consumers want to know who they’re buying from, especially when it comes to something as important as the food you feed your beloved cat.
Here is a list of recalls that have affected the Addiction brand in the past:
- We could not find any evidence of a recall in Addiction’s history.
If you want to stay up to date on the latest recall information affecting your cat’s food, sign up to our email list and receive an email every time a recall is announced. We’ll also let you know about any updated ratings, recipe changes, or new cat foods on the market. (Our alert system will be launched shortly, check back soon.)
Where To Buy Addiction Grain Free Cat Food
We recommend purchasing your pet products from Chewy.com. They continually prove that they walk the walk while talking the talk, and I’ve never dealt with a more dedicated pet-parent base of people than those who work at Chewy.
Plus, they offer 20% off and free shipping on lots of orders.
