Best Cheap Wet Cat Food

The best cheap wet cat food contains muscle meat and at least liver.

These products do not contain mystery by-products and meals. And many have fewer carbs than other wet cat food brands.

Important: None of these products made it on Susan Thixton’s 2023 list. That means these are all feed-grade (instead of human-grade) quality.

My top suggestion will always be homemade cat food. That is the cheapest and best.

But I’m not going for clickbait here. So read on if you want the best cheap wet cat food I could find.

These are the best cheap wet cat foods:

1. Nulo Freestyle – Best wet food overall
2. Dave’s Naturally – Cheapest wet food overall
3. FreshPet – Closest to fresh
4. Wellness – Best wet food for multiple cats
5. American Journey – Best for kittens
6. Natural Balance – Best for kibble junkies
7. Authority – Cheapest at Petsmart
8. WholeHearted – Cheapest at Petco

Note: This best cheap wet cat food list focuses on price more than quality. So these wet foods still have cons. This is unavoidable.

Prices change all the time. Different retailers may also have different prices.

Please do the math to see what you’re spending now. And transition cat food slowly.

Check out the list today or pin the image below to your Cat Food board.

Disclaimer: I earn a commission if you purchase through affiliate links below. No additional cost to you.

Get straight to shopping for best cheap wet cat food:

1. Nulo Freestyle – Best wet food overall

Nulo Freestyle is the best cheap wet cat food overall.

There are more pros than cons compared to others on this list.

Price:

~26 cents/oz when you buy 12.5 oz pack of 12

Pros:

• “Recipe” product name = 25-94.9% of duck and tuna combined
• No nonmeat ingredients in the product name
• Chicken liver is included
• 4 proteins in 1 – variety is key
• Specifically named fish ingredients
• ~4% carbs on a dry matter basis
• Suitable for adults and kittens
• Availalbe in CA too

Cons:

• Some inappropriate ingredients like pumpkin
• Thickening agents

Buy Nulo Freestyle wet cat food:

Again, the 12.5 oz 12 pack will give you the best price.

2. Dave’s Naturally – Cheapest wet food overall

Dave’s Naturally is the cheapest wet cat food on this list.

Price:

~21 cents/oz

Pros:

• “Formula” product name = 25-94.9% of chicken
• No nonmeat ingredients in the product name
• Chicken liver is included
• Specifically named fish ingredients
• ~13% carbs on a dry matter basis (not ideal but still fewer than kibble)
• Available in CA too

Cons:

• Only appropriate for adult cats (no kittens)
• Some inappropriate ingredients like sweet potato, carrots, etc.

Buy Dave’s Naturally wet cat food:

Manufacturers often add veggies as a natural source of vitamins and minerals.

So you will have to decide if you prefer natural nutrients with a slightly higher carb amount. Or synthetic nutrients with fewer carbs.

3. FreshPet – Closest to fresh

FreshPet is the closest that you’ll get to fresh.

Unless you are making cat food yourself.

Price:

~23 cents/oz

Pros:

• “Recipe” product name = 25-94.9% of chicken and beef combined
• No nonmeat ingredients in the product name
• Chicken liver is included
• Eggs are included
• 3 proteins in 1 – variety is key
• ~9% carbs on a dry matter basis
• Suitable for adults and kittens

Cons:

• Thickening agents
• Does not specify fish
• Some inappropriate ingredients

Buy FreshPet wet cat food:

It’s a slightly different product on Chewy and more expensive than Amazon.

4. Wellness – Best wet food for multiple cats

Wellness is great for multiple cat households because of the discount you get when you buy the larger cans.

Price:

~26 cents/oz when you buy 12.5 oz 12-pack cans

Pros:

• “Dinner” product name = 25-94.9% of turkey
• No nonmeat ingredients in the product name
• Chicken, turkey, chicken liver is included
• ~8% carbs on a dry matter basis
• Available at Walmart
• Available in CA and a slightly different product in UK

Cons:

• Thickening agents
• No fish oil – where’s EPA/DHA?
• Suitable for adults only (no kittens)
• Some inappropriate ingredients

Buy Wellness wet cat food:

12.5 oz not available on Chewy.

5. American Journey – Best for kittens

American Journey is made only for Chewy.

It is suitable for all life stages even though I’m listing it as the best for kittens.

Price:

~23 cents/oz

Pros:

• “Recipe” product name = 25-94.9% of chicken
• No nonmeat ingredients in the product name
• Chicken liver is included
• ~5% carbs on a dry matter basis
• Egg whites are added
• Suitable for adults and kittens

Cons:

• Only available on Chewy
• Not specific about fish oil
• Thickening agents
• Some inappropriate ingredients

Buy American Journey wet cat food:

6. Natural Balance – Best for kibble junkies

Natural Balance has the highest amount of carbs on this list.

That’s why it’s best for kibble junkies.

Price:

~28 cents/oz

Pros:

• “Formula” product name = 25-94.9% of chicken
• No nonmeat ingredients in the product name
• Chicken liver is included
• Suitable for adults and kittens
• Available in CA too

Cons:

• ~21% carbs
• Not specific about fish oil
• Thickening agents
• Salmon meal could contain 4D meats
• Poultry giblets not specific – is it turkey or chicken?
• Some inappropriate ingredients
• Potential euthanasia drugs in products (more below)

The Clean Label Project tested 85 pet food products for euthanasia drugs.

Another brand made by the same manufacturer that makes Natural Balance tested positive for Pentobarbital.

So why even include it in this list?

Frankly, there are risks associated with all types of pet foods.

Unfortunately, most cat parents don’t dig this deep into the products they feed.

100% of the pentobarbital recalls were wet foods over the past 10 years of pet food recalls.

This amounts to ~25% of all recall reasons.

The largest recall reason (~50%) was due to pathogenic bacteria. 98% of which were from kibble recalls.

Again, risks are involved with all types of pet food.

And those risks are increased if you choose to value cost over quality.

Buy Natural Balance wet cat food:

7. Authority – Cheapest at Petsmart

Authority is a cheap wet food Petsmart brand if you prefer to buy in person.

Price:

~22 cents/oz

Pros:

• “Entree” product name = 25-94.9% of chicken and liver combined
• No nonmeat ingredients in the product name
• Chicken liver is included
• Eggs included
• ~10% carbs

Cons:

• Not specific about fish oil
• Thickening agents
• Some inappropriate ingredients
• Only suitable for adult cats (no kittens)
• Only available at Petsmart

Buy Authority wet cat food:

8. WholeHearted – Cheapest at Petco

WholeHearted is a cheap wet food Petco brand if you prefer to buy in person.

It’s also available on Amazon.

Price:

~23 cents/oz

Pros:

• “Recipe” product name = 25-94.9% of chicken, turkey, and beef
• No nonmeat ingredients in the product name
• Variety pack – variety is key
• Eggs included
• ~10% carbs
• Available in CA too

Cons:

• No liver so this product is essentially just muscle meat, vitamins, and minerals
• Not specific about fish oil
• Thickening agents
• Some inappropriate ingredients
• Only suitable for adult cats (no kittens)

Buy WholeHearted wet cat food:

Note: FreshPet is also available at Petco and is a much better option than WholeHearted.

But please remember variety is key. Ideally, you would feed your cats a variety of products and flavors.

Just focus on one change per month.

But Jess, this best cheap wet cat food list still has inappropriate ingredients.

Yes, I know. Remember, we are focusing on the price more than the quality.

Unfortunately, most commercial cat foods contain inappropriate ingredients.

However, the products in this list have the fewest inappropriate ingredients. While still maintaining cheaper prices.

At the end of the day, any complete and balanced wet food is better than all types of dry food.

No matter who makes it.

Simply because cats rely on food for moisture. And dry food is too low in moisture.

Check out high protein low carb wet cat food if you want better-quality wet cat food.

The absolute best and cheapest option is homemade cat food. Because you control the ingredients and how it’s made.

Ready to upgrade your cat’s diet? Use my proven transition plan switch your cat to raw!