Happy Healthy Cat Month: How We Think About Everyday Cat Meals From the Bowl Up

Written by Dr. Hannah Godfrey, PhD, Animal Nutrition

This Happy Healthy Cat Month (September), we wanted to pull back the curtain on something we think about every single day: what actually goes into everyday cat meals, and why.

Building a cat recipe isn't just about picking a protein and calling it a day. Every ingredient, from the primary protein down to the last trace mineral, is chosen for a reason, and those reasons come down to a few priorities we return to again and again.

What We Prioritize When We Build a Cat Meal

Protein Quality Over Protein Quantity

Cats are obligate carnivores, which means their bodies are built to run on animal protein specifically, not just protein in general. Two amino acids, taurine and arginine, are found almost exclusively in animal tissue, and cats can't make enough of either on their own.¹ That's why we start every recipe by asking what a protein source actually delivers, not just how much of it we're including.

This is also why organ meat, like the chicken liver and chicken heart in a few of our recipes, isn't an afterthought. Organs are some of the most concentrated natural sources of taurine for cats, along with iron and B vitamins.

Complete and Balanced Cat Food, Every Time

Every recipe we make is formulated to meet recognized nutrient standards for cats, not just to taste good. That means a custom vitamin and mineral blend, added taurine, and a balance of omega fatty acids in every recipe, regardless of which protein anchors it.²

We also build in supportive ingredients like fructooligosaccharides, a prebiotic fibre, and marshmallow root across our cat recipes, because complete and balanced cat food that isn't well tolerated doesn't matter how good its nutrition panel looks on paper. Human Grade cat food is the baseline we build all of this on top of: every ingredient sourced from licensed, inspected human-food facilities.

How We Think About Protein, Recipe by Recipe

Chicken Cacciatore: Built Around Poultry

Our 🍁 Chicken Cacciatore* recipe centers on chicken, chicken liver, and chicken heart, paired with russet potatoes, tomato purée, and spinach. Poultry is naturally lean and highly digestible, and the liver and heart included here are some of the most concentrated natural sources of taurine, iron, and B vitamins available.³ It's also developed with senior cats in mind, formulated to support heart and kidney health as cats age.

Bento Box: A Multi-Protein Approach

🍁 Bento Box* draws from more than one protein source, combining ground turkey, Atlantic salmon, and egg. Turkey brings a naturally high taurine content, while salmon adds omega-3 fatty acids that support skin, coat, and a healthy inflammatory response.⁴ Rounded out with sweet potato and ginger root, this recipe was built with variety in mind, for cats who do well with a broader mix of ingredients.

Wild West Kangaroo: Our Novel Protein Option

🍁 Wild West Kangaroo* is our limited ingredient recipe, built around a single novel protein for cats: kangaroo. It's naturally lean, easily digestible, and a protein most cats have never encountered before, which is exactly why we developed it for cats managing food sensitivities or allergies. Pumpkin, cranberries, and coconut milk round out the ingredient list, keeping things simple by design.

Why Cat Protein Sources Actually Matter

What Every Protein Source Must Deliver

Regardless of which protein anchors a recipe, it has to deliver the same non-negotiables for a cat: taurine, arginine, and enough high-quality protein to support lean muscle.¹,² Cats have a limited ability to down-regulate the enzymes that break down protein for energy, which means they need consistently higher protein intake than dogs do, no matter which of the cat protein sources we start with.¹

How Poultry, Fish, and Game Meats Differ

Where cat protein sources really start to differ is in what they bring beyond the basics. Poultry tends to be lean and highly digestible, with chicken liver and thighs among the richest natural sources of taurine for cats.³ Fish like salmon contributes omega-3 fatty acids that are harder to get from land-based proteins alone.⁴ Novel proteins for cats, like kangaroo, bring the same essential amino acid profile with the added benefit of being genuinely new to most cats' immune systems, useful for cats who've developed sensitivities to more common proteins over time.

This is part of why we don't build every recipe around the same protein. Different cat protein sources solve different problems, and matching the right one to the right cat is part of the job.

From the Bowl Up

This Happy Healthy Cat Month, and every month after it, this is the thinking behind everyday cat meals at Tom&Sawyer®: start with a protein that earns its place, build complete and balanced cat food around it, and never lose sight of the fact that a healthy cat starts with what's actually in the bowl.

If you're curious which recipe might be the right fit for your cat, our meal plan questionnaire can help you find it, or browse our full collection of meals to see everything we make, from the bowl up, in support of happier, healthier, longer lives™.

 * currently available in Canada only

References

1. Simmons Pet Food - A Focus on Feline Nutrition. https://simmonspetfood.com/whitepapers/2023/7/26/a-focus-on-feline-nutrition

2. National Research Council, Division on Earth, Life Studies, Committee on Animal Nutrition, Subcommittee on Dog, & Cat Nutrition. (2006). Nutrient requirements of dogs and cats. National Academies Press.

3. Catster - 7 Natural Sources of Taurine for Your Cat: Vet-Reviewed List. https://www.catster.com/cat-health-care/natural-taurine-for-cats/

4. Bauer, J. J. E. (2008). Essential fatty acid metabolism in dogs and cats. Revista Brasileira de Zootecnia, 37(spe), 20-27.