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Rating
- Meat is the first ingredient – 1 Star
- Uses some unnamed meats – 1 Star
- Above average protein content – 1 Star
- Less than 4 controversial ingredients – 1 Star
- Catological Discretionary Rating – 0.5 Star
Go! Fit + Free Chicken, Turkey & Duck is one of our top 2 choices for best high calorie cat food.
Here’s a few important points:
- Packed with a variety of high-protein meats
- Includes whole-food sources of vitamins and minerals
- Probiotics and enzymes are present for aided digestion
- Proteinate forms of minerals for easier absorption
- Includes unnecessary carbohydrate ingredients
Go! Fit + Free product line includes 1 dry recipe/flavor.
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.
Go! Fit + Free Chicken, Turkey & Duck
Dry Cat Food
| Estimated Nutrient Content |
| Protein | Fat | Carbs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guaranteed Analysis | 48% | 18% | NA |
| Dry Matter Basis | 53% | 20% | 15% |
| Calorie Weighted Basis | 47% | 42% | 13% |
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Fiber (guaranteed analysis)
1.5%
Calories/100g
430
Is real, named meat the first ingredient?
Yes
Ingredients
Chicken Meal, De-Boned Chicken, De-Boned Turkey, Duck Meal, Turkey Meal, Salmon Meal, De-Boned Trout, Chicken Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Natural Fish Flavor, Peas, Potatoes, Whole Dried Egg, Potato Flour, Tapioca, De-Boned Salmon, De-Boned Duck, Salmon Oil, Pumpkin, Apples, Carrots, Bananas, Blueberries, Cranberries, Lentil Beans, Broccoli, Spinach, Cottage Cheese, Alfalfa, Sweet Potatoes, Blackberries, Papayas, Pineapple, Phosphoric Acid, Sodium Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Dl-Methionine, Taurine, Choline Chloride, Dried Chicory Root, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus Niger Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus Oryzae Fermentation Product, Vitamins (Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Inositol, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (a Source of Vitamin C), Thiamine Mononitrate, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Beta-Carotene, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement), Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Sulphate, Calcium Iodate, Ferrous Sulphate, Manganous Oxide, Sodium Selenite), Yucca Schidigera Extract, Yeast Extract, Dried Rosemary.
Ingredients in red are controversial or of questionable quality.
Ingredient Breakdown
The first ingredient in this cat food is chicken meal. Good.
Chicken is a very good protein source for cats.
Chicken meal is a concentrated form of chicken, and is considered a high quality ingredient.
In short, much of the moisture of the chicken is taken away, and you are left with a very high-protein, low-moisture powder-like substance.
The inclusion of chicken meal helps to ensure a very high protein level.
The second ingredient is deboned chicken. Good.
While quality of the individual ingredient can vary, chicken is a 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.
Finely ground chicken bone can actually be a useful ingredient for cats, so specifically deboned chicken is not necessarily better than non-deboned.
The third ingredient is deboned turkey. Good.
While quality of the individual ingredient can vary, turkey is a 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.
Finely ground turkey bone can actually be a useful ingredient for cats, so specifically deboned turkey is not necessarily better than non-deboned.
The fourth ingredient is duck meal. Good.
While quality of the individual ingredient can vary, duck is a good protein source for cats.
It’s also important to note that duck 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 inclusion of duck meal helps to ensure a very high protein level.
The fifth ingredient is turkey meal. Good.
Turkey is a very good protein source for cats.
Turkey meal is a concentrated form of turkey, and is considered a high quality ingredient.
The sixth ingredient is salmon meal. Good.
A good source of omega 3 and 6 fatty acids.
Fish oils support the health of the skin, coat, joint, kidneys, heart, and immune system, and may even help with serious illnesses such as cancer.
Salmon meal is a concentrated form of salmon, and is considered a high quality ingredient.
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 has peas, which are usually a good carbohydrate. They are unnecessary for cats, though.
They are fairly high in fiber and protein, but as they are not a meat ingredient, they are not a necessary addition.
Potato and potato flour are also included. These are typically used as filler in grain-free recipes.
They are not biologically appropriate and may cause digestive upset.
Used in many grain-free recipes as a starch to bind the food together, tapioca is included here.
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.
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.
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 Go! Fit + Free
From top to bottom, this is an above average product.
From the variety of high-protein meat ingredients, to the fairly small amounts of each carbohydrate addition, to the addition of important minerals and vitamins, this just ticks many of the boxes.
This is a good example of the type of food you should be feeding your cat, although it does contain a lot of gimmicky fruit and vegetable ingredients in small quantities.
Since meat shows up frequently, and right on top, we can assume that this is a meat-based cat food.
To review, on a dry matter basis, this food is 53% protein, 20% fat, and 15% carbs.
Compared to the other 2000+ foods in our database, this food has:
- Above average protein.
- Average fat.
- Average carbs.
Because it contains quality meat products and a variety of helpful nutrients, our rating for this brand is 4.5 stars.
Recommended.
Go! 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 Go! brand in the past:
- November 2003 – Reports of liver failure and disease – All products manufactured in Texas affected
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 Go! 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.
