​Kit and Kaboodle Cat Food Review

Kit and Kaboodle cat food is a product line made by Purina in the United States. They offer dry food, wet food, and treats. Aimed at the budget consumer, Kit and Kaboodle is one of the least expensive cat foods in the market. It is also high in plant protein.

Learn more about Kit and Kaboodle cat food in our unbiased review.

The Cats.com Standard – Rating Kit and Kaboodle Cat Food on What Matters

We have analyzed Kit and Kaboodle cat food and rated it according to our standards here at Cats.com. Our grades are based on the species-appropriateness of the food, the quality of the ingredients, product variety, price, customer experience, and recall history. You can read more about our ratings on the Cats.com website.

We give Kit and Kaboodle cat food a 35 out of 60 rating (58.33%) or a D grade.

About Kit and Kaboodle

We didn’t find much background about Kit and Kaboodle though the brand has been around for at least a couple of decades. It has always played second fiddle to Purina’s Cat Chow and their other more expensive cat food lines.

Purina, or more formally Nestle Purina Petcare, is an American subsidiary of the corporate giant Nestle which is based in Switzerland. Purina is based in St. Louis, Missouri. It is one of the largest pet food companies in the world.

Sourcing and Manufacturing

According to Purina, 99 percent of Purina pet food products sold in the U.S. are manufactured in their own facilities in the U.S. Purina has more than 20 pet food manufacturing facilities in the United States.

The company sources most of their ingredients for their American-made foods from the U.S. but they don’t give many details about the ingredients. The company does provide a source map to show where certain ingredients come from. Every ingredient used is traceable back to the source.

You can see a photo here of all of the proteins used in their foods, including things like soybean meal and corn gluten meal.

Purina states that it is likely that the grains used in their foods include genetically-modified grains since they make up a large portion of the grains grown in the United States. GMO grains are routinely combined with non-GMO grains.

Purina also has some of the most extensive quality checks in the pet food industry. They perform 100,000 quality checks per day from the time ingredients arrive, as the food is being made, until it is shipped.

Some pet lovers dislike Purina because of its size and the perception that it uses lower quality ingredients. In general, the company doesn’t make boutique-style foods. However, they do have subsidiary companies that make organic pet foods and use natural, highly sustainable ingredients. Some of their foods are very high in quality. Purina also invests in nutritional research for pets and uses board certified veterinary nutritionists on-staff to formulate their foods. They have a wide range of pet foods, some better than others.

Has Kit and Kaboodle Cat Food Been Recalled?

No, we didn’t find any recalls for Kit and Kaboodle. There are several pages online that state categorically Kit and Kaboodle has never had a recall.

However, Susan Thixton, on The Truth About Petfood website, reports that several consumers made complaints to ConsumerAffairs.com in 2014 that there were some 11 cats that died after eating Kit and Kaboodle. Caveats here: that was nearly 10 years ago; and feeding a food is not proof that the food caused a death. That’s all we know about those complaints.

What Kinds of Food Does Kit and Kaboodle Offer?

Most of the Kit and Kaboodle food we found online and in local stores was dry kibble in very large bags. Purina has wet food and treats shown on their site but they appear to be less common at online retailers.

Dry Cat Food

• Kit and Kaboodle Original Dry Cat Food
• Kit and Kaboodle Indoor Dry Cat Food
• Kit and Kaboodle Outdoor Dry Cat Food

Wet Cat Food

• Kit and Kaboodle Bits and Bites with Turkey in Sauce Wet Cat Food
• Kit and Kaboodle Bits and Bites with Chicken in Sauce Wet Cat Food
• Kit and Kaboodle Pate with Liver and Chicken in Sauce Wet Cat Food
• Kit and Kaboodle Pate with Ocean Whitefish in Sauce Wet Cat Food

Treats

• Kit and Kaboodle Crunchy Chicken Cat Treats
• Kit and Kaboodle Crunchy Chicken and Cheddar Cat Treats
• Kit and Kaboodle Crunchy Salmon, Tuna & Shrimp Cat Treats

Kit and Kaboodle Cat Food – Top 3 Recipes Reviewed

#1 Kit & Kaboodle Original Dry Cat Food

$39.42 At Amazon

We’ll start by saying that Kit and Kaboodle Original Dry cat food is complete and balanced to meet the maintenance nutritional needs of adult cats. This is a budget cat food and it is lower in meat protein than many other foods. It will likely meet a cat’s nutritional needs for survival but cats may not thrive on it.

The first three ingredients are plant proteins – ground yellow corn, corn gluten meal, and soybean meal. A small amount of one of these ingredients, lower in an ingredient list, wouldn’t be alarming. But as the first three ingredients, this tells you that this food is plant-based and lacking in meat protein. Since cats are obligate carnivores who need higher amounts of meat in their diet, this is concerning.

There is some meat in the food but it’s in the form of meat and bone meal (a low-quality ingredient) and ingredients lower in the list. Chicken by-product meal, midway in the list, may be a good source of protein, depending on what it’s made from. Turkey by-product meal and ocean fish meal are near the bottom of the ingredient list so they may only be present in small amounts.

Additionally, this food contains artificial colors Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 2. There is no good reason to add coloring to pet foods. Your cat doesn’t care about the color of the food. Coloring is only added to appeal to the buyer.

Overall, this is a subsistence cat food. If you are feeding a colony of feral cats or barn cats; or looking for a very low cost food, Kit and Kaboodle Original Dry cat food could be an acceptable choice. Otherwise, we would recommend choosing a better food.

Purina Kit & Kaboodle Original is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Cat Food Nutrient Profiles for maintenance of adult cats.

Calorie Content: 3534 kcal ME/kg, 382 kcal ME/cup

Ingredients

Ground yellow corn, corn gluten meal, soybean meal, meat and bone meal, animal fat
preserved with mixed-tocopherols, chicken by-product meal, animal liver flavor, phosphoric acid, salt, choline chloride, turkey by-product meal, ocean fish meal, taurine, calcium carbonate, potassium chloride

MINERALS [zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite]

VITAMINS [Vitamin E supplement, niacin (Vitamin B-3), Vitamin A supplement, calcium
pantothenate (Vitamin B-5), thiamine mononitrate (Vitamin B-1), Vitamin B-12 supplement, riboflavin supplement (Vitamin B-2), pyridoxine hydrochloride (Vitamin B-6), Vitamin D-3 supplement, folic acid (Vitamin B-9), menadione sodium bisulfite complex (Vitamin K), biotin (Vitamin B-7)], DL-Methionine, Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 2.

We received an initial reply from Purina customer service when we requested the typical analysis for this food but they have not followed up with the information. The info provided here is the Guaranteed Analysis.

Ingredients We Liked: Chicken by-product meal, turkey by-product meal, ocean fish meal

Ingredients We Didn’t Like: Ground yellow corn, corn gluten meal, soybean meal, meat and bone meal (especially as the first four ingredients)

Guaranteed Analysis

Crude Protein: 28%

Crude Fat: 11%

Crude Fiber: 3%

Moisture: 12%

Dry Matter Basis

Protein: 31.82%

Fat: 12.5%

Fiber: 3.41%

Carbs: 52.27%

Caloric Weight Basis

Protein: 27.8%

Fat: 26.52%

Carbs: 45.67%

Pros

• Nutritionally balanced for maintenance of adult cats
• Very affordable

Cons

• Low in meat protein
• Contains artificial colors
• Contains a high percentage of corn and plant protein
• Uses synthetic vitamin K – menadione sodium bisulfite complex

#2 Kit & Kaboodle Pate With Liver and Chicken in Sauce Wet Cat Food

Buy At Purina

We didn’t find Kit and Kaboodle wet cat food for sale online but Purina shows four flavors on their website. They have two pates and two bits and pieces recipes. Kit and Kaboodle Pate with Liver and Chicken in Sauce Wet cat food is rated higher than some of the others.

Among the positives, this formula is made with real liver and chicken. The sauce adds moisture to your cat’s diet, which is often a concern. This food is also 100 percent complete and balanced for the maintenance of adult cats.

Looking at the ingredients, this wet food does not contain all of the plant protein found in Kit and Kaboodle Original Dry cat food. It contains poultry by-products, meat by-products, liver, and chicken as the first ingredients. While poultry by-products and meat by-products are a little vague and they may not be the best ingredients, at least they are meat protein.

The food does contain artificial flavors (and natural flavors), carrageenan, added color, and synthetic vitamin K. Artificial flavors is vague and it could be anything. Carrageenan is a controversial ingredient. It’s used in many foods (including human foods) but there is some suggestion that it may be linked to digestive problems. Added color is not necessary in pet foods. Synthetic vitamin K (menadione sodium bisulfate complex) is another controversial ingredient. Your cat would probably have to eat copious amounts of synthetic vitamin K to be harmed, but there is still the suggestion from some sources that the ingredient could be harmful. Some people will avoid foods that use this ingredient.

Taken all together, Kit and Kaboodle Pate with Liver and Chicken in Sauce Wet cat food appears to be a better food than the Kit and Kaboodle dry food but there are still some issues with it that you might want to avoid if you can buy better quality cat foods.

Kit & Kaboodle Paté With Liver and Chicken In Sauce is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Cat Food Nutrient Profiles for maintenance of adult cats.

Calorie Content (ME Calculated): 1020 kcal ME/kg, 155 kcal ME/can (5.35 ounce cans – 152 grams)

Ingredients

Water, poultry by-products, meat by-products, liver, chicken, oat flour, fish, artificial and
natural flavors, tricalcium phosphate, salt, guar gum

MINERALS [potassium chloride, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide], added color, carrageenan, choline chloride, taurine

VITAMINS [thiamine mononitrate (Vitamin B-1), Vitamin E supplement, niacin (Vitamin B-3), calcium pantothenate (Vitamin B-5), Vitamin A supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (Vitamin K), pyridoxine hydrochloride (Vitamin B-6), riboflavin supplement (Vitamin B-2), Vitamin B-12 supplement, biotin (Vitamin B-7), folic acid (Vitamin B-9), Vitamin D-3 supplement].

We received an initial reply from Purina customer service when we requested the typical analysis for this food but they have not followed up with the information. The info provided here is the Guaranteed Analysis.

Ingredients We Liked: Liver, chicken, fish

Ingredients We Didn’t Like: Carrageenan, added color, artificial flavors, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (a source of Vitamin K activity)

Guaranteed Analysis

Crude Protein: 8%

Crude Fat: 5%

Crude Fiber: 1%

Moisture: 80%

Ash: 3.5%

Dry Matter Basis

Protein: 40%

Fat: 25%

Fiber: 5%

Carbs: 12.5%

Caloric Weight Basis

Protein: 35.33%

Fat: 53.63%

Carbs: 11.04%

Pros

• The first four ingredients are meat proteins
• Complete and balanced for the maintenance of adult cats

Cons

• Contains added color
• Uses carrageenan
• Contains artificial flavors
• Contains the controversial ingredient Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (a source of Vitamin K activity)

#3 Kit and Kaboodle Crunchy Chicken Cat Treats

Buy At Purina

Kit and Kaboodle offers three cat treat recipes: crunchy chicken; crunchy salmon, tuna & shrimp; and crunchy chicken & cheddar. Crunchy chicken has the highest ratings on the Purina page so we’ll look at it.

Chicken by-product meal is the first ingredient followed by brewers rice and corn gluten meal. The rest of the ingredients (and there are quite a few, including vitamins and some minerals) are things your cat would probably find tasty and things that would make the treats crunchy such as corn starch.

Despite the presence of some meat and fish protein, the treats also contain soybean hulls, artificial (and natural) flavors, artificial colors, the dangerous preservative BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene), and synthetic vitamin K (menadione sodium bisulfite complex). BHT is known to cause liver and kidney damage in rats. While it is still used in some human foods in the United States, it is no longer used in many countries.

The presence of brewers dried yeast is also a concern. Brewers yeast is a good source of B vitamins but some cats can have a sensitivity or allergy to yeast products, including brewers yeast.

We suspect that these treats are probably tasty to cats but they contain a lot of potentially harmful ingredients. It also appears to contain a number of very low quality ingredients. We cannot recommend them.

This product is a treat and is not intended to be fed as a meal.

Calorie Content (ME Calculated): 3821 kcal ME/kg, 1.5 kcal per piece

Ingredients

Chicken by-product meal, brewers rice, corn gluten meal, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols, animal liver flavor, corn starch, powdered cellulose, fish, soybean hulls, malted barley extract, phosphoric acid, artificial and natural flavors, calcium carbonate, brewers dried yeast, salt, choline chloride, added color, taurine, Yellow 5, zinc sulfate, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (Vitamin C), ferrous sulfate, Vitamin E supplement, Red 40, niacin, manganese sulfate, citric acid, Blue 2, Vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, copper sulfate, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, calcium iodate, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (Vitamin K), BHT (a preservative), sodium selenite.

We received an initial reply from Purina customer service when we requested the typical analysis for this food but they have not followed up with the information. The info provided here is the Guaranteed Analysis.

Ingredients We Liked: Chicken by-product meal, fish, malted barley extract

Ingredients We Didn’t Like: Soybean hulls, artificial flavors, added color and artificial colors, BHT preservative

Guaranteed Analysis

Crude Protein: 30%

Crude Fat: 13%

Crude Fiber: 6%

Moisture: 10%

Dry Matter Basis

Protein: 33.33%

Fat: 14.44%

Fiber: 6.67%

Carbs: 45.56%

Caloric Weight Basis

Protein: 29.25%

Fat: 30.78%

Carbs: 39.97%

Pros

• Contains some meat and fish protein
• Cellulose and malted barley extract are sometimes used to help with hairballs

Cons

• Contains the artificial preservative BHT
• Uses synthetic vitamin K (menadione sodium bisulfite complex)
• Contains artificial colors
• Contains soybean hulls

What Do Customers Think of Kit and Kaboodle Cat Food?

We found a mix of reviews for Kit and Kaboodle.

Positive Reviews

“I usually feed my indoor cat friskies indoor and I feed a feral colony KK..that was up until last week! I was scooping the KK food when a few pieces fell to the floor and my cat sniffed and proceeded to eat them..then look at me and meow for more! She absolutely loves this food and now only wants it and hardly touched her friskies! So I guess I’ll be making a switch lol. I did read the negative reviews and was worried. The first bag I got was the old formula- large light pieces. The bag I just got today from dollar general was the new formula- dark and smaller. Seeing the new bag got me worried but I guess I shouldn’t have! My cat still gobbled it up and asked for more. If she suddenly changes her mind in a few days I’ll update but so far she seems to like it as much as the old formula. The feral kitties eat anything I give and they are both formulas too :)” – Reviewed on Purina.com by Littlez81 a year ago

“I have been using this since it came on market years ago. Mix with mild water lightly and wait a couple of minutes before serving. No need to add anything else. All cats love it and finish completely. Both domesticated and wild cats. The cost was always a factor because I first tried it due to its good price . Although the price has increased several times now ( even by reducing bag weight ) it is still comparatively a good value.” – Reviewed on Walmart.com by dennis 2 weeks ago

Negative Reviews

“I bought this food because it looked like it had good stuff in there for my kitty, but the first two day he ate it he was throwing up and pooping red. He’s litter box trained and hasnt had an accident ever but he went all over our house like he couldn’t control it. Not to mention it was bright red and soft. So I just thought maybe he just has to adjust. And he did he doesn’t throw up or poop all over the house. But his poop in the litter box is still red. I got to thinking maybe the food has red pieces maybe that’s why it’s red. I did some research on Kit kaboodle on their ingredients/ problems people had things of that nature. Come to find out there is NO MEAT it’s basically corn, corn and soybeans dyed different colors there’s less than 1% of the chicken, liver, turkey and ocean fish! And the liver that’s in it is liver FLAVORING! I was appalled that this company is a company by Nestle the” hot chocolate company”. I don’t recommend at all and have thrown my $22 in the trash! If you are on a budget a small bag would be okay but do NOT buy in bulk and give your kitty this everyday! So many toxins very unsafe for your kitty! Have a great day!” – Reviewed on Walmart.com by catlover102 4 months ago

“I got this for the feral cats in my neighborhood I care for. They don’t seem to like this. It just sits there, mostly uneaten… Until what I think is racoons come along and make a mess of things, eating it all up. (Possibly the opposum I saw a couple months ago. But the messes has been worse, like with racoons.) The cats aren’t usually that picky. They will mostly eat what I have. In the 3 years I’ve fed them, there have only been a couple of the super cheap brands they refused to eat. It’s hard to say why they don’t like it. It has been really humid here. So maybe it tastes soggy to them. And I did just get this switched over about a week before July 4. With all the fireworks going off, it always throw off their eating habits. But they still aren’t eating it a week later.” – Reviewed on Target.com by Darcy Mama 9 months ago

How Much Does Kit and Kaboodle Cat Food Cost?

Kit and Kaboodle cat foods are inexpensive compared to other brands in the United States.

Dry Kit and Kaboodle is available online in several different size bags. The 13-lb bag is $13.31 at Walmart; 16 lbs is $14.28; 22 lbs is $18.68; and the 30 lb bag is $25.28.

We couldn’t find the wet foods online at this time even though Purina still has them on their site.

We found the treats for $3.99 for the 9 ounce package.

Overall, Is Kit and Kaboodle Cat Food a Good Choice?

Opinions online are mixed about Kit and Kaboodle. Some people like it and say that their cats love it. Many people buy it to feed to ferals. Other cat lovers say that their cats vomited after eating it.

Judging by the ingredients, the dry food might be okay to feed a cat colony if money is a concern. The wet foods (which we can’t find right now) appear to be a little better quality than the dry food.

As for the treats, we would recommend avoiding them. There are lots of safe preservatives and antioxidants that can be used in cat foods and treats. Purina doesn’t have to use BHT which could make your cat sick.

Overall, Kit and Kaboodle is a lower quality brand but it is very inexpensive. We would recommend choosing a better food with better ingredients if you can afford it. This it not one of Purina’s better brands.

If you are looking for a relatively inexpensive cat food you might consider Friskies or Meow Mix. Both foods cost a little more than Kit and Kaboodle but they are also better quality.

How Do You Order Kit and Kaboodle Cat Food?

You can purchase Kit and Kaboodle dry foods and treats at many grocery stores and big box stores such as Walmart and Target. You can also order the food online from Amazon, Petflow, and other pet food retailers. Good luck finding the wet foods. Perhaps they will be back on the shelves soon.