Caru Classics Cat Food (Wet) Review And Nutritional Analysis

Our review process is unbiased and based on extensive research. If you buy through the links on our site, we may earn a commission.

Here’s a few important points to consider for this particular line:

• Meat is the first ingredient
• Very meat-heavy recipes, with minimal fillers, plus additional whole-food options for added nutrients
• Includes extra vitamins, and high quality, chelated minerals
• Very good macronutrient profiles (protein, fat, carbs), with the Turkey Stew being by far the best

The Classics product line includes 4 wet 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.

• Caru Classics Turkey Stew (A) 5 stars
• Caru Classics Wild Salmon & Turkey Stew (A) 4 stars
• Caru Classics Chicken Stew (A) 4 stars
• Caru Classics Chicken & Crab Stew (A) 4 stars

Caru Classics Turkey Stew was selected to represent the other products in the line for this review.

Ingredient Breakdown

The first ingredient in this cat food is turkey. Good.

While quality of the individual ingredient can vary, turkey is a very good protein source for cats.

It’s also important to note that turkey contains about 70% water, so when it is processed and cooked for use in cat food, it will become a smaller part of the total recipe.

The second ingredient is turkey broth. Good.

Instead of using water for processing, turkey broth is added for moisture.

Broth may contain vitamins and nutrients from the original animal (turkey, in this case), that water would lack.

This is usually a sign of a high quality food.

The third ingredient is tapioca starch. 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 egg whites. Good.

Even though eggs are not meat, they are a highly digestible form of protein.

In fact, they are one of the most complete, bioavailable forms of protein for both humans and cats.

As long as it is not the main protein ingredient, the addition of egg is a quality ingredient

The fifth ingredient is sweet potato. OK, but with reservations.

Normally sweet potatoes are a good source of carbohydrates and fiber, with less sugar than beets.

However, cats do not require carbohydrates like this, and while it won’t necessarily hurt the cat, it is not biologically appropriate.

It may be hard to digest, and is unnecessary, though there’s probably not enough to cause an issue.

The sixth ingredient is carrots. Good.

The beta carotene in carrots turns into vitamin A, which is a useful antioxidant compound.

However, cats can’t turn much beta carotene into vitamin A like we can, so much of it is stored for growth or cell reprouction.

Therefore, carrots are most useful for kittens or senior cats.

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 a few things you should know about.

This recipe utilizes chelated minerals, which may be easier to digest and more bioavailable for your cat. This is usually a sign of a high quality cat food.

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 Caru Classics Wet Cat Food

From top to bottom, this is an above average dry product.

Interestingly, Caru has applied for, and received, approval from the FDA to label their foods as “human grade”.

This is rare, and indicates that it is very high quality.

Luckily, the ingredients and macronutrients back up the quality.

Meat is the first ingredient, virtually no fillers are used, and the macronutrient profile is very good, especially for the turkey stew flavor. 

This is a very good example of a wet food you should be feeding to your cat.

Based on the ingredients and the macronutrient profiles, meat is obviously the main ingredient, so we can assume that this is a meat-based recipe, which is appropriate for your feline.

To review, on a dry matter basis, this food is 61% protein, 31% fat, and 0% carbs.

As a group, the brand has an average protein content of 53%, and average fat content of 19%, and an average carb content of 12%.

Compared to the other 2000+ foods in our database, this food has:

• Above average protein.
• Average fat.
• Average carbs.

Because meat comes first, there are almost no fillers, and the macronutrient profiles are generally good, our average rating for this brand is 4.5 stars.

Recommended.

Caru 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 Caru brand in the past:

• We could find no indication that Caru has had any recalls.

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 Caru 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.