Go! Fit + Free Cat Food (Wet) Review And Nutritional Analysis

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Here’s a few important points:

• Meat is the first ingredient
• A variety of meats are used, including liver meat in each recipe
• Some fillers are used, and while it’s not a huge amount, they do push the protein levels down and the carbohydrate levels up, especially in the Chicken, Turkey & Trout recipe
• Decent protein, good fat amounts, but the carbohydrate level is too high

Go!’s Fit + Free product line includes 2 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.

• Go! Fit + Free Chicken, Turkey & Duck (A)
• Go! Fit + Free Chicken, Turkey & Trout (G, M) 2.5 stars

Go! Fit + Free Chicken, Turkey & Duck was selected to represent the other products in the line for this review.

Ingredient Breakdown

The first ingredient in this cat food is 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.

The second ingredient 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 third ingredient is chicken broth. Good.

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

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

This is usually a sign of a high quality food.

The fourth ingredient is chicken 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 fifth ingredient is turkey liver. Good.

Again, 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 sixth 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 seventh ingredient is duck. 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 eighth ingredient is salmon. OK, but with reservations.

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.

However, do we not believe cats should be fed a diet high in fish.

Cats may be allergic to fish, fish may contain toxins from contaminated waters, and in the wild, it is not common to find cats who eat fish, even if they live close to water.

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 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.

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.

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.

Cottage cheese is included in this recipe. Cats are lactose intolerant, because they do not produce the enzyme lactase to break down lactose in milk.

Having milk-based products in cat food does not make sense to us, and therefore we see this ingredient as unnecessary and gimmicky.

While there’s probably not enough in here to cause major distress, it still seems strange to include it when it has more likelihood to cause your cat digestive discomfort than it does to be beneficial.

This recipe uses xanthan gum as a binding agent. While this is usually a harmless ingredient and is used in plenty of cat and human foods, some research suggests that cats with inflammatory bowel disease should not consume xanthan gum.

This contains cassia gum, which is a thickening agent. In high quantities, this gum may be regarded as a skin and respiratory sensitiser and as a potential irritant to skin and eyes. There is likely not enough to cause problems, but it’s use is not necessary.

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 Wet Cat Food

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

Meat is the first ingredient, and a variety of cuts are used. Organ meat is a useful addition to each flavor.

There are, however, too many carbohydrate fillers, like peas and potatoes. These are unnecessary and not appropriate for a feline diet.

It is particularly bad in the Chicken, Turkey & Trout recipe. The Chicken, Turkey and Duck recipe has a reasonable carbohydrate level, but could use more protein and slightly less fat.

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

Since meat makes up the first few ingredients, and the carbohydrate levels aren’t off the charts, we can safely assume this is a meat-based food, which is ideal for your carnivorous feline’s dietary needs.

To review, on a dry matter basis, this food is 48% protein, 36% fat, and 6% carbs.

As a group, the brand has an average protein content of 45%, and average fat content of 30%, and an average carb content of 14%.

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

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

Because the first ingredient is meat, multiple types of quality meat are used, but the added carbohydrates are not quite appropriate for a feline diet, our rating for this brand is 3 stars.

Somewhat recommended.

Go!’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 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! Fit + Free 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.