The best cat food in our index on ingredients — air-dried, meat-first and transparent. Just work out the cost per day first, because the premium is steep.
84Strong
The 2026 ranking · Australia
Best Cat Food in Australia
Our pick for the best cat food in Australia is ZIWI Peak, scoring 84/100 for its air-dried, meat-first recipes. Below you'll find our full top-10, each scored out of 100 on ingredients, value, nutrition and transparency, plus the picks we'd reach for if you've got a kitten, an indoor cat or a sensitive tummy to feed.
Scored by the Pet Reviews independent review board
Independent scoring · Updated June 2026 · Not veterinary advice
Not veterinary advice. Scores are set by our independent review board using our published methodology — always confirm live pricing and suitability with the retailer and your vet.
Our #1 cat food
ZIWI Peak
Best overall · $$$$
0/ 100
The best cat food in our index on ingredients — air-dried, meat-first and transparent. Just work out the cost per day first, because the premium is steep.
Quick answerUpdated June 2026
What is the best cat food in Australia?
The best cat food in Australia is ZIWI Peak, scoring 84/100 for its air-dried, meat-first recipes. Applaws is our top wet-food pick and Advance the best value, an Aussie-made, vet-recommended all-rounder.
Best for…
Best overall
ZIWI Peak
Our highest score, for air-dried recipes that are meat-rich and barely processed.
Best value
Advance
Aussie-made, vet-recommended quality at a price that's easy to live with.
Best for kittens
Royal Canin
Deep growth-stage and breed-specific kitten ranges to grow into.
Best for indoor cats
Advance
Indoor formulas built around weight and hairball control.
Best for sensitive stomachs
Hill's Science Diet
Steady, vet-recommended sensitive and therapeutic recipes.
Best on a budget
Fussy Cat
Genuinely decent ingredients for the price — a clear step up from supermarket basics.
THE TOP 3
Our top picks.
01Best overall
ZIWI Peak
Air-dried, meat-first recipes packed with named meat, and they're refreshingly open about what's in the bag. Pound for pound, the most nutritionally dense cat food we looked at.
8.4/10
02
Best wet food
Applaws
Short, natural ingredient lists with plenty of named meat, the wet range especially. You get premium quality without paying ZIWI money.
7.8/10
03
Best value
Advance
Aussie-made, recommended by plenty of vets, with proper ranges for kittens, indoor cats and sensitive stomachs. If you want one brand that does almost everything well, this is it.
7.6/10
RUNNERS-UP
04
Black Hawk
Aussie-made grain-free options at a price that won't sting every week. A dependable, good-value choice for most cats.
05
Royal Canin
No one else comes close on breed- and life-stage-specific ranges, and the prescription line-up is the deepest around. Our pick when you've got specific clinical or kitten needs.
The 10 best cat food brands.
Every brand run through the same 100-point model, then ranked best value to worst.
Premium, meat-rich quality at a sensible price — our best wet-food pick for cats. Just check whether a given product is complete or complementary before it becomes the whole diet.
78Good
The best all-round value in our cat index — Aussie-made, vet-recommended and with a formula for almost every life stage. Comfortably our recommendation for most households.
76Good
A safe, good-value all-rounder — Aussie-made with grain-free choices. Not the flashiest, but hard to go wrong for most cats.
75Good
Brilliant for prescription and life-stage precision, but you pay for the science rather than the ingredients. Great for specific needs; better value sits higher up for everyday feeding.
74Good
A clean, grain-free Australian option at a fair price — our pick when you want grain-free without paying import money.
73Good
A safe, vet-backed choice for sensitive stomachs and clinical needs, but you pay a premium for the science, not the ingredients.
72Good
A sensible mid-range Aussie option — better than supermarket basics, easier on the wallet than premium. Good for everyday feeding on a budget.
70Good
Cheap, palatable and everywhere — great for tempting fussy cats or as a topper, but lean on a higher-quality base for the bulk of the diet.
60Average
A budget option that's complete and affordable but basic on ingredients. Fine when cost is the deciding factor; trade up if your budget allows.
54Poor value
Scores are set by our independent review board using our published methodology, applied the same way as our dog food index.
More cat food guides.
After picks for your cat's exact situation? Have a dig through our in-depth guides below.
How we score
A transparent score out of 100
Every brand and product runs through the same six-part model. Sponsored placements never change a score.
Pillar 01
Price & Value
25/ 100 pts
Price per kg, cost per day, subscription discount, sale frequency and value vs similar formulas.
Pillar 02
Ingredient Quality
25/ 100 pts
Named meat first, protein source quality, wholefoods, fillers, artificial colours/flavours, grain quality.
Pillar 03
Nutrition & Suitability
20/ 100 pts
Complete & balanced claim, life-stage suitability, protein/fat levels, sensitive-stomach and vet use cases.
Pillar 04
Transparency
15/ 100 pts
Clear ingredient list, country of manufacture, ownership, feeding-guide clarity, recall visibility.
Pillar 05
Availability & Convenience
10/ 100 pts
Stock availability, delivery options, repeat delivery and retailer availability.
Pillar 06
Customer Sentiment
5/ 100 pts
Review sentiment, repeat complaints and product consistency feedback.
Six pillars · 100 points total · no pay-to-rank
Full methodology →Cat food FAQs
ZIWI Peak comes out on top for us (84/100), thanks to its air-dried, meat-first recipes, with Applaws and Advance close on its heels. Really, the best choice comes down to your cat: Advance is our pick for everyday value, Royal Canin for kittens, and Hill's Science Diet for sensitive stomachs.
Cats are obligate carnivores, so they do well on the extra moisture and protein in wet food — it's good for hydration and urinary health. That said, a quality dry food is convenient and kinder on the wallet, and plenty of owners simply feed a bit of both. Whatever you go with, look for a named meat first and a complete-and-balanced claim, and compare cost per day rather than the price on the bag.
Advance wins on value for us. It's Australian-made, recommended by plenty of vets and fairly priced for what you get. Black Hawk and Applaws are strong on price-to-quality too. Remember, value is about cost per day, not the cheapest bag on the shelf, so always compare price per kg.
We score every brand out of 100 across six weighted areas: Price & Value (25), Ingredient Quality (25), Nutrition & Suitability (20), Transparency (15), Availability (10) and Customer Sentiment (5). Scores are set by our independent review board using our published methodology, and a sponsored placement never moves a ranking — full details are in our methodology.
No. Pet Reviews is an independent value and comparison resource, and this is not veterinary advice. Always speak to your vet before changing your cat's diet, especially with kittens, seniors or any cat that has a health condition.