FirstMate Grain Free Cat Food (Wet) Review And Nutritional Analysis

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Rating

  • Meat is the first ingredient – 1 Star
  • Uses some unnamed meats – 1 Star
  • Above average protein content – 0.5 Star
  • Less than 4 controversial ingredients – 1 Star
  • Catological Discretionary Rating – 0 Star

Here’s a few important points:

  • Meat is the first ingredient
  • Very limited ingredient recipes – some meat and some potato
  • Extra vitamins and high quality, proteinate versions of some minerals have been added
  • Unfortunately limited ingredient doesn’t mean limited carbohydrate. While only one filler is present (potato), they put enough in to give this an above average carbohydrate level

FirstMate’s product line includes 10 wet recipes/flavors. (3 of these recipes included below are from Kasiks, which is a FirstMate brand, and nearly identical to the other recipes).

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.

firstmate grain free wet cat food can

FirstMate Grain Free Chicken was selected to represent the other products in the line for this review.

FirstMate Grain Free Chicken

Wet Cat Food

Estimated Nutrient Content
ProteinFatCarbs
Guaranteed Analysis11%4%NA
Dry Matter Basis50%18%23%
Calorie Weighted Basis43%38%19%

Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content

Protein

50%

Fat

18%

Carbs

23%

Fiber (guaranteed analysis)

0.5%

Calories/100g

90

Is real, named meat the first ingredient?

Yes

Ingredients

Boneless Chicken, Water Sufficient for Processing, Potato, Calcium Carbonate, Sodium Chloride, Dicalcium Phosphate, Minerals: (Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Iodine), Vitamins: (Niacin, Vitamin E Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, D-Pantothenic Acid, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin A Supplement, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Taurine, Kale.

Ingredients in red are controversial or of questionable quality.

Ingredient Breakdown

The first ingredient in this cat food is boneless chicken. Good.

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

It’s also important to note that chicken 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.

After water, the second ingredient is potato. Bad.

These are typically used as filler in grain-free recipes.

They are not biologically appropriate and may cause digestive upset.

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.

This recipe uses the proteinate form of minerals, which means that they should be easier to digest for your cat, and be more readily available for her body to use to maintain her health. This is usually a sign of a quality 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 FirstMate Wet Cat Food

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

It is very limited ingredient, which means there’s not a lot of filler ingredients. 

Unfortunately, they use a lot of the single filler ingredient.

With a limited ingredient list like this, you’d want to see a number of different cuts of meat and hopefully no fillers. This would result in a high protein, very low carb recipe.

This particular lineup somehow manages to get a much too high carb level (above average compared to the 2000+ other foods in our database). 

Protein is on the average side of things, but carbohydrates are on the higher end, which is not what you want to see for a quality cat food. 

This is a decent, but not great example of a wet food you should be feeding your cat.

While it’s obvious from the ingredient list that this is basically just chicken and potatoes, it seems that both chicken and potatoes are used heavily. Therefore we can safely assume that this is a mixed meat- and plant-based cat food, which is not quite ideal for your carnivorous feline’s dietary needs.

To review, on a dry matter basis, this food is 50% protein, 18% fat, and 23% carbs.

As a group, the brand has an average protein content of 49%, and average fat content of 21%, and an average carb content of 20%.

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

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

Because the first ingredient is meat, the ingredients are limited, but the filler ingredient causes a high carbohydrate level, our rating for this brand is 3.5 stars.

Somewhat recommended.

FirstMate’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 FirstMate brand in the past:

  • We could find no instances of recalls from FirstMate

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 FirstMate 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.

Emily Parker

Emily Parker is the Content Manager at Catological. She's passionate about helping cat parents love their cats better by providing the best information and recommendations about everything you'll need to know about your cat, from kitten to senior years. She believes natural, biologically-appropriate products are best...why wouldn't you provide the best for a member of your family?!