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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:
- Meat is the first ingredient, and healthy organ meat is included
- Very few filler ingredients, and they’re all natural foods, though they seem to put a lot of each filler ingredient in
- Extra vitamins and minerals have been added to make this a complete meal
- Very clean recipe, but the amount of protein is very low, which means that there’s likely not enough meat in here
Evanger’s Signature product line includes 3 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.
Evanger’s Signature Turkey was selected to represent the other products in the line for this review.
Evanger’s Signature Turkey
Wet Cat Food
| Estimated Nutrient Content |
| Protein | Fat | Carbs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guaranteed Analysis | 6% | 5% | NA |
| Dry Matter Basis | 33% | 28% | 19% |
| Calorie Weighted Basis | 28% | 56% | 16% |
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Fiber (guaranteed analysis)
1.5%
Calories/100g
78
Is real, named meat the first ingredient?
Yes
Ingredients
Turkey, Turkey Liver, Gravy (Turkey Broth, Tomato Paste, Guar Gum), Cranberries, Blueberries, Rosemary Extract, Taurine, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate [Source of Vitamin C], Thiamine Mononitrate [Source of Vitamin B1], Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride [Source of Vitamin B6], Riboflavin Supplement [Source of Vitamin B2], Folic Acid, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin D2 Supplement), Minerals (Zinc Sulfate, Iron Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Selenium Yeast, Potassium Iodide).
Ingredients in red are controversial or of questionable quality.
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 liver. Good.
Liver is an important organ meat that your cat would eat in the wild to get extra protein, vitamins, and minerals.
This is usually a sign of a high quality food.
The third ingredient is turkey broth as part of the gravy. 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 fourth ingredient is tomato paste as part of the gravy. OK, but with reservations.
Tomato is OK, but is usually just a gimmick or whole food additive that companies use to make their ingredients “seem” better to human shoppers.
There’s probably not enough nutritional value to make a difference, though too many tomatoes may be too acidic for your cat and cause digestive upset.
The fifth ingredient is guar gum as part of the gravy. OK, but with reservations.
From guar beans, and used as a thickening agent.
In small quantities, like those in cat food, it should be a harmless ingredient.
However, some research has shown that including guar gum in a commercial cat food “had a significant negative effect on apparent protein digestibility in many of the cats and tended to depress apparent fat and energy digestibilities.”
While not heavily substantiated beyond this study, it might mean your cat needs to eat more protein to make up for the lower digestibility.
The sixth ingredient is cranberries. Good.
While cranberry can help with urinary tract trouble, there is likely not enough in this recipe to actually help in that regard.
While not harmful, it is typically a gimmicky addition to cat foods.
The seventh ingredient is blueberries. Good.
Blueberries are high in vitamin C and fiber.
Their addition is a bit gimmicky and unnecessary, but they won’t do any harm.
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.
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 Evanger’s Signature Wet Cat Food
From top to bottom, this is an average wet product.
It includes good meat, including liver, and very few filler ingredients. It’s just that it seems they added too many of the filler ingredients and not enough of the meat.
This is an ok, but not great, choice of wet food for your kitty.
The recipe itself is very clean, but the quantities are definitely off, based on the macronutrient profile.
Protein is very low and carbohydrates are moderately high.
This should have got a much better score, but the amounts of each ingredient have thrown it off.
Because of the low protein and high carb count, we are going to call this a split meat- and plant-based food, which is not wholly appropriate for your carnivorous feline.
This is a reasonable
To review, on a dry matter basis, this food is 33% protein, 28% fat, and 19% carbs.
As a group, the brand has an average protein content of 33%, and average fat content of 29%, and an average carb content of 19%.
Compared to the other 2000+ foods in our database, this food has:
- Below average protein.
- Above average fat.
- Average carbs.
Because the first ingredient is meat and organ meat is used, but there doesn’t seem to be enough meat added to the recipe as a whole, our rating for this brand is 3.5 stars.
Somewhat recommended.
Evanger’s 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 Evanger brand in the past:
- 2017 – Serious concerns about pentobarbital, an animal euthanasia drug, being present in a variety of dog foods, among other FDA violations
- 2011 – FDA violations
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 Evanger’s Signature Wet 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.
Not Convinced?
Check out our ratings and reviews of the best cat foods in our comprehensive, data-backed guide right here.
