There are times when you call your cat, but they would not respond. However, when you call them for food, they will come running, no matter where they are in the house.
Have you ever tried calling them to drink water?
Sounds crazy right…!!? It is not possible because cats are finicky. They will only respond to you or call you when they need anything, including attention.
Keeping Your cat hydrated can be a bit of a challenge. How do you make them drink more water?
Well, you can either give them wet food or you can add water to their food itself to cope-up with the daily requirements. Instead of adding water to their food, there is one more option that is way healthier and beneficial for your cat. According to Jennifer Coates of Pet MD, you can add broth on top of their dry or wet food to make it more palatable.[1]
Here’s a list of the best broth for cats…
A Quick Comparison of Our Favorites in 2023
Best of the Best
Premium Choice
Budget Pick
7 Best Bone Broth for Cats – Reviews
1. Native Pet Chicken Flavored Bone Broth for Cats
Native Pet Chicken Flavored Bone Broth for Cats is our best of the best product when it comes to bone broths for felines. There are two different variants of this product.
- Ingredients: Organic Chicken Broth, Organic Chicken Protein, Organic Sweet Potato Flour. Or beef bone broth, sunflower lecithin.
- Flavors: Chicken, beef.
- Type: Powdered
Organic chickens…!! What do you mean by organic chicken?
Organic chickens are raised organically, they are fed no other thing than organic food, no animal by-products, antibiotics, or genetically-engineered grains, and special no for the grains grown using pesticides or chemical fertilizers.
This broth also contains organic sweet potato flour, which is an excellent source of vitamin A.
Vitamin A helps your cat with night vision and maintains healthy skin. It also supports the cat’s immune system. Vitamin A also carries important anti-oxidant properties, which help in protecting your kitty against pollution and cancer formation, and other diseases.
This product contains sweet potato, which is rich in vitamin – C, vitamin – C helps with numerous metabolic functions which may include tissue growth and their maintenance, and it also helps with regulating immune functions.
Sunflower lecithin is included with the beef version of this product. It is an anti-oxidant. Anti-Oxidants help neutralize the effects of chronic inflammation.
If a cat is suffering from any chronic inflammatory condition, lecithin will help with it.
By feeding your cat, Native pet chicken-flavored bone broth along with their diet, you make sure you fulfill their daily nutrition requirements along with the most important vitamins and minerals for their growth.
To feed this to your cat, all you need to do is just add water to it. You just made the best bone broth for cats available on the market. Top it off on your cat’s kibble or any other food, it can be either dry or wet food, Native pet chicken-flavored bone broth goes with any kind of food. Your fur baby will fall in love with it.
Pros
- Easy to prepare
- Organic ingredients
Cons
- Only 2 flavors
2. Purina Fancy Feast Limited Ingredient Wet Cat Food
Purina Fancy Feast Cat Wet Food is our premium choice when it comes to bone broth for cats. We can say it is an exotic food additive.
“This product does not contain bone broth.”
It has a really nice texture according to lots of cats around the world. Purina company does not add artificial flavors, colors, or any preservatives to their products. Also, this company does not use any by-products or any kind of fillers and is grain-free.
- Ingredients: Fish broth, tuna, carrots, fish extract, spinach, guar gum, Taurine, Vitamin – E supplement, thiamine mononitrate (Vitamin B-1).
- Flavor: Skipjack Tuna & Vegetables
- Type: Liquid
Purina Fancy Feast Limited contains anti-oxidants, to fulfill the special nutritional requirements of senior cats. This product is protein-rich, manufacturer made sure our kittens get all the nutrients they need.
Fish broth helps restore the bacteria in your cat’s gut and also provides an autoimmune boost, along with this it also helps reduce inflammation, helps with allergies, and hydration. Fish broth also has other benefits, it provides proteins for muscles, and helps in detoxification of the liver, and renal issues. Feeding fish broth to cats also increases collagen levels in their body.
Tuna provides Omega-3 essential fatty acids EPA (Eicosapentaenoic Acid) & DHA (Docosahexaenoic acid), which help with overall health and skin, heart diseases, kidney diseases, and certain cancers.
Carrots are a good source of vitamins K and E. Vitamin – E benefits your cat to keep a healthy coat and skin, improves their immune system, and increases fertility, eyesight, muscular functions, and cardiovascular health. Whereas, vitamin K will help your cat from anticoagulant rodenticide toxicities. Spinach also provides vitamin K.
To feed your cat, gently swirl the package, tear the pack and just add it on top of your cat’s regular meal, whether it is wet or dry. Your cat will lick the bowl clean like you just bought it new.
Pros
- Your cat can never reject it.
- Good texture.
- It is available for all adult cats.
- No added preservatives.
Cons
- It has a premium price.
3. Vitakraft Souprise Snack Wet Cat Treat – Salmon
“This product does not contain bone broth.”
Vitakraft Souprise Snack Wet Cat Treat – Salmon is our budget pick as it is the most affordable one of all the other broth products for felines. It is made keeping in mind your cat’s daily nutrition requirements.
This product was made in two different flavors as mentioned below.
- Ingredients: Salmon Broth, Salmon, Chicken By-Products, Carrots, Pork Liver, Vegetable Oil, Dried Milk Protein, Glycine, Corn Starch, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Carboxymethylcellulose (cellulose gum), Guar Gum, Cysteine.
- Flavors: Salmon & Carrot and Chicken & Tomato.
- Type: Liquid
Carrots are a good source of vitamins K and E. Pork liver contains essential amino acids including taurine, which helps in normal vision, digestion, heart muscle function, and fetal development, it also helps in maintaining a healthy immune system.
One more beneficial ingredient in this product is Cysteine, it is very important to make collagens.
Vitakraft souprise snack wet cat treat does not contain any artificial color, flavor, preservatives, or sugar.
You can serve this to your cat by either feeding it directly, adding it to your cat’s dish, or just topping off your cat’s food with it. Your cat will lick it off like there was nothing inside the packaging.
Pros
- Very affordable
- Healthy contents
- Fulfills cat’s nutrients and vitamin requirements
Cons
- Contains By-products
4. The Honest Kitchen Daily Boosters: Instant Turkey Bone Broth
The Honest Kitchen Daily Boosters: Instant Turkey Bone Broth is human-grade cat food, which is made from turkey bone broth, parsley, dehydrated pumpkin, and turmeric. You may also find dehydrated turkey chunks in it.
- Ingredients: Dehydrated turkey broth, dehydrated turkey, dehydrated pumpkin, dried parsley, turmeric.
- Flavors: Turkey bone broth.
- Type: Powdered
These ingredients will help your cat’s digestion as it contains fiber in it, Parsley contains vitamin C, vitamin A, and vitamin K. These vitamins will help your cat’s vision and boost their immune system.
This product does not contain any kind of artificial preservatives, colors, or by-products. Along with that, they also made sure not to add corn, wheat, or soy, to your cat’s additive. The manufacturer also made sure to not use any kind of GMO products like cornstarch, corn syrup, corn oil, soybean oil, canola oil, or granulated sugar in this cat food additive.
To ready this product, you just need to add some hot water to it, and you have turkey bone broth in your hands. You just need to pour it over your cat’s kibble.
Pros
- All-natural.
- Easy to serve.
Cons
- Only 1 flavor
- Powdered form
5. Purina Friskies Natural, Grain-Free Wet Cat Food Complement, Lil’ Soups with Chicken & Butternut Squash in Broth
“This product does not contain bone broth.”
Purina Friskies Natural Wet Cat Food Complement, Lil’ Soups is made from real chicken and butternut squash. This product can be added on top of your cat’s dry meal, this will add moisture and water content to the food. It will keep your cat hydrated.
Purina Friskies Natural, Grain-free wet cat food complement Lil’ soups come in many versions, you can find all the versions below.
- Ingredients: Chicken broth, chicken, butternut squash, tapioca starch, powdered cellulose, xanthan gum, guar gum, thiamine mononitrate (Vitamin B-1)
- Flavors: Chicken & Butternut Squash in broth, Flaked Chicken in broth, Shrimp in Chicken broth, Skipjack Tuna in broth, Sockeye Salmon in Chicken Broth, Tuna in Chicken Broth.
- Type: Liquid Gravy
This product does not contain any artificial colors, flavors, or any kind of preservatives. Along with that, the manufacturer did not want to use any animal by-products during production, so your cat will be getting the original thing. However, if you want to buy this product, it is available in bulk quantities of 8, 18, or 30 units.
To feed your cat this additional supplement, you just have to open the cup lid and swirl it gently before feeding, your cat will lick it clean.
Pros
- No artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives.
- No finickiness, cats love it.
- Affordable
Cons
- Too many flavors to choose from.
- Only available in bulk
6. Purina Beyond Limited Ingredient, Natural Wet Cat Food Complement
Purina beyond limited ingredient, natural wet cat food complement is made up of real chicken broth. It helps keep your cat hydrated, and will boost your cat’s immunity system.
- Ingredients: Chicken Bone Broth
- Flavor: Chicken
- Type: Liquid
This product is made without any kind of grains like corn, soy, or wheat. Also, there are no by-products used during the production of this cat food. Manufacturer adds more vitamins, minerals, and nutrients to this product, let me gather some names in front of you.
Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B-1), vitamin E Supplement, Niacin (Vitamin B-3), Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B-5). Vitamin A supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (MSBC), 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.
These vitamins will help your cat’s liver, skin & coat, mental & physical functions, function better, MSBC helps in blood clotting, whereas the other vitamins improve their metabolism and strengthen their bones.
Gently shake the package to blend the ingredients before opening the packaging.
Just pour it on top of their meal. However, you should not feed your cat more than one pouch per day.
Pros
- fulfills the nutrition requirements of our cat
- Affordable
Cons
- No mix flavors
7. Primalvore Free-Range Bone Broth for Dogs & Cats
Primalvore free-range bone broth for cat’s organic free-range chicken, farm-raised duck bone broth, and grass-fed beef bone broth are made from slow-simmered bones. It contains collagen peptides that are clinically tested and are highly functional. Grounded turmeric root is also added.
The shelf life of this product is 18 months when unopened and stored at room temperature.
Once opened, it will remain good for 7 days, and this product should not be given to cats if it exceeds 10 days after opening the packaging.
- Ingredients: Chicken, Duck or Beef Bone Broth, Collagen peptides, and Turmeric.
- Flavors: Duck, Beef, and Chicken.
- Type: Liquid
The manufacturer added vitamins along with the chicken bone broth along with naturally occurring collagen. They made sure to not use any kind of artificial flavors, colors, preservatives, wheat, soy, or corn in their products.
There are 3 versions of this product,
- Duck flavor: It contains broth from slow-simmered bones of farm-raised natural duck, ground turmeric, and collagen peptides.
- Beef flavor: It contains broth from slow-simmered bones of grass-fed beef, ground turmeric, and collagen peptides.
- Chicken flavor: It contains broth from slow-simmered bones of free-range chicken, ground turmeric, and collagen peptides.
Pros
- Can be stored for 18 months when not opened.
- Keeps your cat hydrated
- You can top it on dry cat food.
Cons
- Expires in 7 days after opening.
Buyer’s Guide: Choosing the Best Bone Broth for Cats
Flavors
As we humans like our food with different flavors, cats also would want a change. And just like each of us has a different taste when it comes to flavors, it can be ice cream, chocolates, etc. However, cats can’t eat these food products. They would prefer different flavors in their food. Some cats might like chicken more, some beef, some fish, and some duck. However, my cat likes ducks.
There are a lot of flavors when it comes to broth for cats. You can add a variety of items to it. Most of the ready-made broths come with different ingredients like salmon, tuna, chicken, beef, turkey, pork, tomato, pumpkin, carrots, spinach, skipjack tuna, parsley, butternut squash, etc.
I feel like cats have more options than we humans have. You can make 8,191 combinations just from the items listed above. Good luck finding the right combination of flavors for your cat.
Price
When choosing a bone broth for your cat, in fact when choosing any product, we always check the quantity and quality of the product. It is slightly different here. Some products come in bulk and some come in individual packets.
However, if you want to save some money on bulk products, I recommend you try individual packets first and let your cat choose her preference first. You must be wondering how would it save money on individual packets…!?
When you buy in bulk whether it contains mixed flavored packets or individual, your cat might not like some of the flavors which would be a waste of money as they won’t eat it. You can buy different individual packets of different flavors and their combinations and try them on your cat.
Once you are sure about the flavor or type of broth, then you can order in bulk.
How to Prepare Bone Broth at Home
- Add bones to a large pot.
- Add enough water to completely submerge the bones.
- Add vinegar. The vinegar helps break down the bones and extracts more nutrients [2] (like collagen) from the bones. It shouldn’t impact the taste of the bone broth, and you don’t need much.
- Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 7-12 hours or until the water is reduced by roughly 1/2 leaving behind only bone broth. The longer you cook it, the stronger the flavor, as the bone broth will become more concentrated.
- Strain the liquid in a mesh strainer. This step is very important as you want to make sure all the bones are removed from the broth. Bones, and especially cooked bones, can easily splinter inside your cat and cause major GI problems that may require surgery to resolve.
- Allow to cool and serve or freeze for several months.
Benefits of Bone Broth for Cats
You must be wondering, Is it important to include bone broth along with their diet? Why should we give our cat bone broth?
Yes, it is important to give your cats bone broth, especially when they are suffering from any kind of disease. Bone broth contains many nutrients that help maintain a cat’s overall health. Including bone broth in their diet may help in preventing any diseases. Let me give you a short tour of how it is beneficial for your cat.
- Digestive tract: Giving bone broth to your cat will strengthen their intestinal lining, preventing any bacteria from passing through the intestine to enter their body.
- Liver: Bone broth contains lots of glycine, which is a type of amino acid used to remove or clear the toxins in food & water. It also removes pest treatments from the food.
- Bones & Joints: There are various minerals like magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, glucosamine, etc. that help heal bones and teeth. Cats with bone issues such as arthritis can benefit from these.
- Strengthening the immune system: Bone broth contains various minerals and amino acids that support the immune system’s ability to fight against diseases.
How to Serve Bone Broth to Cats?
You can serve bone broth to your cats in three different ways, You can either mix, freeze or serve directly hot or cold.
Mix: You can top the bone broth off on a regular balanced diet. It will make cat food smell more delicious to your fur baby.
Freeze: You can make frozen cubes of bone broth, give it to your cat as a treat or add it to their meal or, use it to keep your cat busy. It can work in all of these ways.
Hot/Cold: You can serve it cold, or you can heat it up and pour it into the bowl on top of cat food. Make sure that it cools down to a temperature where it won’t hurt your kitten. Pouring hot broth will make food smell nicer to cats.
Which Is Better, Buying or Making Bone Broth at Home?
Both of these are equally beneficial, Let me make it easy for you to understand the differences.
Making bone broth at home would definitely take some time, usually, it takes around 10-12 hours, but sometimes it can go till 24 hours to make a broth. The more you cook the bones, the more minerals will it release into the broth.
One benefit of making a bone broth at home is that you know what is going into the broth & what you are feeding to your kitten. To make a bone broth at home, I’ve taken the liberty to give you step-by-step instructions on how to make bone broth, above, in this article.
There is one more advantage of making a bone broth, you would be able to make flavorful combinations depending on what your cat likes to eat. Some bone broths in the market might have some ingredients that your cat would not like, and would not drink or eat his victuals.
Buying a bone broth from the market is also beneficial, there are many nutrients, and minerals you might not know about that could be beneficial for your cat. Some manufacturers have an entire team of experts, constantly measuring and researching what is beneficial for our cats.
Along with that, you won’t need to go through the hassle of preparing all the ingredients and cooking and keeping a watch on the water level of broth for 10-12 hours.
FAQs
Which is the best bone broth for the cats?
According to our Food Experts and their cats, the best bone broths are
“Native Pet Bone Broth for Cats” & “Purina Fancy Feast Limited Ingredient Wet Cat Food“, However, the second product has a premium price, along with special ingredients to make your cat’s tongue titillate. While the first one is a balance between nutrition values, price, and taste, hence it is our best of the best product category.
How much does bone broth for cats cost?
Bone broth can cost you on average around $20-50. It also depends on the quantity of the product. Some broths come in a powdered form, you can buy them in bulks which would be a cheaper alternative. However, there are also ready-to-pour ones, they would be much cheaper than the powdered ones. You can buy a bigger quantity to save some money.
Although I advise you to buy small batches as our cats can be finicky, they might stop eating the broth-added meals, and you would have no use for it afterward.
What type of bone broth is best for cats?
Any bone broth is good for cats, a major benefit of the bone broth comes from collagen, which is abundant in bones. You can make it at home or buy it directly from stores both are good, However, the ones at the store may contain additional ingredients, vitamins, nutrients, vitamins, and minerals added in them.
Is bone broth ok for cats?
Yes, Collagen is the answer. You can find it in muscles, tendons, bones, organs, blood vessels, ligaments, and hair. It helps in promoting healthy coat, skin, bones, and joints. It is also one of the major building blocks in skin, bone, tendon, ligament, muscle, and blood vessels.
What kind of broth can I give my cat?
There are many types of broths that are available in the market, chicken broth, duck broth, fish broth, beef broth, bone broth, and vegetable broth. You can give all kinds to them, however, I would suggest giving them bone broth as it contains all sorts of nutrients and minerals along with collagen.
Can I give my cat bone broth every day?
Yes, you can give bone broth to your cat every day, it would help maintain the water level in their body and also provide them with extra nutrients they would need to keep themselves healthy and happy. It will also allow them to eat meals especially when that meal has ingredients that they don’t like.
Conclusion
Since you are still here, Let me recall the top 3 of the best bone broths, that you’d want to buy for your cat.
“Native Pet Chicken Flavored Bone Broth for Cats” is our first choice as it is a good balance of quality, quantity & price. It contains organic ingredients, you would not find a healthier option than organic food.
“Purina Fancy Feast Limited Ingredient Wet Cat Food” is our premium choice when it comes to bone broths, It is like a Michelin star restaurant dish for your cat. Of course, this premium food would make your cat food taste better and act as a health booster.
“Vitakraft Souprise Snack Wet Cat Treat – Salmon” is our budget pick. This one is packed with Vitamins, collagens, salmon, pork liver and so much more at just a base price.
References:
- Coates, J. (2018, March 26). How to get a sick cat to eat. PetMD. Retrieved July 11, 2022, from PetMD.
- Leatta Byrd. (2019, April 15). Bone broths are brimming with nutrients. Michigan State University. Retrieved July 11, 2022, from MSU.
- Linder, D. (2020, October 6). Boiling it down: Adding broth to your pet’s meals. Clinical Nutrition Service at Cummings School. Retrieved July 11, 2022.