Updated: February 19, 2021 by Kristen Chapple
I have always believed in supporting small business and family brands, so I was pretty excited when I learned about Fromm’s cat food, which has been a family-owned and operated company for more than 100 years.
Their cat food lines are also based on the principle of good quality meat-based protein, delivered in a recipe free from nasties including artificial additives and excessive ingredients that are not a natural part of a cat’s diet.
Read on to find out more about the Fromm cat food company, what exactly goes into their recipes, and which offer the best value for you and the best nutrition for your cat.
TOP PICK
Fromm’s Four Star wet cat foods are all pretty good, though their chicken and duck pate stands out as being of particularly good quality as it contains almost no carbohydrates, which cats don’t really need as part of their diet. When it comes to dry food, both Fromm’s Gold line and Four Star line are pretty good in terms of the amount of fresh meat they contain for a dry cat food.
5 Best Fromm Cat Foods
Fromm offers a wide variety of cat foods, but in my opinion, these are the three best wet cat foods and two best dry cat foods that they offer.
Our Top 5 Picks:
- Fromm Four Star Chicken and Duck Pate Canned Cat Food
- Fromm Four Star Beef and Venison Pate Canned Cat Food
- Fromm Four Star Lamb Pate Canned Cat Food
- Fromm Gold Holistic Adult Dry Cat Food
- Fromm Four-Star Game Bird Recipe Dry Cat Food
1. Fromm Four Star Chicken and Duck Pate Canned Cat Food
This is a high protein wet cat food made with quality meat ingredients, and what is in the cat food is what it says on the tin.
Pros
- High in protein
- Quality meat ingredients
- Lots of species-appropriate animal ingredients
- Low in carbohydrates
- Enriched with essential minerals
Cons
- Missing some essential vitamins and minerals that are common in quality cat foods
Made primarily from chicken, chicken liver, and duck in chicken broth, this recipe contains flaxseed and tomato paste for fiber and xanthan gum as a thickener.
There is pretty much no filler, such as carbohydrates, which offer no nutritional value for cats. The resulting recipe is pretty high in fat but is not really anything to worry about if you are feeding your cat appropriate portions.
The recipe is enriched with minerals that it says are essential for cats to be able to metabolize other nutrients and for the regulation of many physiological and metabolic processes. A list of the minerals added to their recipes can be found here. There are a few things missing from the list, in particular, taurine, omega fatty acids, and any of the essential vitamins including A, D, E, K, C, and complex B vitamins.
Taurine is critical for normal vision, digestion, heart muscle function, immune system function, and for maintaining fetal development during pregnancy. Omega fatty acids support joint mobility and boost energy as well as fight inflammation.
Cats skin, coat, and muscles all require vitamin A, muscles and nerves require vitamin D, vitamin E is essential for normal fat metabolism, vitamin C supports joint health and immunity, and B vitamins are essential for cell metabolism, as well as proper growth and cell production. While cats should get all these vitamins and minerals from the meat they eat, these nutrients are diminished when food is processed, so it is good to see them added to cat food recipes. Unfortunately, they have not been added in this instance.
Nutritional Profile
- Crude protein 10% minimum
- Crude fat 7% minimum
- Crude fiber 1.5% maximum
- Moisture 78% maximum
- 1,086 calories per kilogram
First Five Ingredients
- Chicken
- Chicken Broth
- Chicken Live
- Duck
- Flaxseed
Nevertheless, overall this is a good quality cat food full of the meat-based protein that cats need to survive, and with pretty much no empty filler.
Overall: Quality Meat-Based Protein
2. Fromm Four Star Gold Beef and Venison Pate Canned Cat Food
This beef and venison pate is very similar to Fromm’s chicken and duck recipe, but I like to see venison added into the mix as a novel meat protein.
Pros
- High in protein
- Quality meat ingredients
- Includes a novel meat protein
- Lots of species-appropriate animal ingredients
- Enriched with essential minerals
Cons
- Contains carbohydrates and plant proteins
In some ways, this recipe is superior to the chicken and duck recipe as we see taurine and salmon oil added to the mix, but I am less keen on the addition of lentils and sweet potatoes. These are high in carbohydrates, which cats do not really need as part of their diet, and high in plant-based protein, which again, is not really necessary for cats.
Unlike dogs (and humans) who can use animal and plant-based proteins pretty much interchangeably, cats can only produce many of the compounds that they need to thrive from animal-based proteins, which cannot be replaced with plant-based proteins. This means that quite a bit of extra filler has been added into this recipe.
Nutritional Profile
- Crude protein 11% minimum
- Crude fat 5% minimum
- Crude fiber 1.2% maximum
- Moisture 78% maximum
- 997 calories per kilogram
First Five Ingredients
- Beef
- Beef Broth
- Beef Liver
- Venison
- Lentils
Nevertheless, overall this recipe is very good, as it is high in protein and quality animal meats with only a limited amount of filler ingredients.
Overall: Protein with Taurine and Omegas
3. Fromm Four Star Lamb Pate Canned Cat Food
This is another of Fromm’s Four Star wet foods that appealed to me because of its use of lamb as a novel protein, though it also contains pork which is not named on the tin.
Pros
- High in protein
- Quality meat ingredients
- Includes a novel meat protein
- Lots of species-appropriate animal ingredients
- Enriched with essential minerals
Cons
- Contains carbohydrates and plant proteins
Like the beef recipe, this lamb recipe has the taurine that the chicken and duck recipe lacks, but not the salmon oil. It also has quite a bit of added carbohydrates in the form of pearled barley, which is not an essential or natural part of a cat’s diet.
Nutritional Profile
- Crude protein 9% minimum
- Crude fat 5% minimum
- Crude fiber 1.5% maximum
- Moisture 78% maximum
- 997 calories per kilogram
First Five Ingredients
- Broth
- Lamb
- Lamb Liver
- Pearled Barley
- Pork
But overall this is another great recipe packed full of good quality meat-based protein with minimal added ingredients that cats don’t need.
Overall: Novel Animal Protein
4. Fromm Gold Holistic Adult Dry Cat Food
This dry food recipe from Fromm’s Gold line contains very good meat-based protein for a dry food.
Pros
- High in protein
- High-quality meats
- Uses chicken fat and salmon oil as species-appropriate fat sources
- Enriched with appropriate minerals
- Enriched with probiotics
Cons
- High in carbohydrates
While this recipe uses chicken meal and salmon meal as a cheap source of meat-based protein, its first ingredient is duck, with chicken fat, chicken liver, chicken cartilage, and dry whole egg further down the list. While liver and cartilage might not sound that appetizing to us as humans, they are both great sources of nutrients for cats.
The recipe is also enriched with a variety of minerals, as well as taurine and probiotics for healthy cats with good digestion. The formula also comes in slightly different recipes for kittens and mature cats.
This recipe is pretty high in carbohydrates from pearled barley, white rice, potatoes, and oats, all of which are foods that cats don’t eat naturally in the wild and don’t need in their diet. Cat food companies add these to their dry foods in order to give their dry kibble the consistency that they need.
Nutritional Profile
- Crude protein 32% minimum
- Crude fat 18% minimum
- Crude fiber 3.5% maximum
- Moisture 10% maximum
- 453 calories per cup
First Five Ingredients
- Duck
- Chicken Meal
- Pearled Barley
- White Rice
- Salmon Meal
This cat food has a pretty good meat-based protein level for a dry cat food, and that meat is relatively good quality, so it is a relatively good quality dry cat food.
Overall: High Protein Dry
5. Fromm Four-Star Game Bird Recipe Dry Cat Food
This dry recipe from Fromm’s Four-Star line again seems pretty good based on its meat content, but it also contains a few questionable ingredients.
Pros
- Moderate to high in protein
- Lots of species-appropriate animal ingredients
- High in fiber
- Enriched with essential vitamins, minerals, and amino acids
- Free from artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives
Cons
- High in carbohydrates
- Includes cheese
This is an example of Fromm’s dry food recipe in their Four Star line which again includes a lot of good quality meat with turkey, chicken, turkey and chicken liver, chicken fat, goose, duck, and quail, topped up with a chicken meal and duck meal.
It is also enriched with a range of vitamins and minerals, including taurine and salmon oil, which ensures that they get all the nutrients that they need, even from processed food.
The main problem with this recipe is that it is high in carbohydrates from peas, chickpeas, potatoes, and sweet potatoes. While dry cat food needs these carbohydrates to give it its consistency, so it is not surprising to see it in the recipe, but it is something that cats don’t really need in their diet.
Other questionable ingredients in this recipe include cheese, as many cats are lactose intolerant, and the wide range of fresh fruits and vegetables. While these sound like something that you would like on your plate, they aren’t really a natural part of a cat’s diet, but they certainly won’t do your cat any harm.
Nutritional Profile
- Crude protein 35% minimum
- Crude fat 18% minimum
- Crude fiber 6% maximum
- Moisture 10% maximum
First Five Ingredients
- Turkey
- Turkey Broth
- Chicken
- Chicken Meal
- Pea
Overall, another good quality cat food, as far as dry cat foods go.
Overall: Game Bird Dry
About Fromm
Fromm’s is a family-owned and operated company established in 1904 and now in its fifth generation. They are not as well known as many cat food brands, but they have a tradition of quiet innovation. Notably, they developed the first canine distemper vaccine in the 1930s, and they pioneered the use of mixed tocopherols as a way to naturally preserve pet foods, which is now the prevalent method.
Fromm manufactures all of their own food in their three facilities in Wisconsin, and have an ‘Approved Supplier’ program to ensure that all the ingredients that go into their foods meet their specified standards in terms of quality and sustainability.
When it comes to cat food, Fromm makes two lines, both of which use no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives and do not use animal by-products. Not a lot of pet food manufacturers can claim to be this fastidious in their production standards — except maybe Halo.
There is nothing wrong per se with including animal by-products in pet food. It is a mix of leftovers from the butchering process that includes muscle meat, organ meat, skin, bone, hair, and so forth. While this might not sound very appetizing, this is quite good for cats as in the wild they eat the whole animal. The problem with animal by-product is that you never know exactly what is in it. So a little bit of by-product in a recipe is fine, but it should never be a primary ingredient.
Fromm’s main line is Four Star, which they market as gourmet and is presented as a range that offers a lot of variety and something a bit different for your cat. It should be noted that this variety is found in the overall recipe, rather than through the use of unusual meats. These recipes are based on chicken, salmon, beef, and duck, like most cat foods. They have both dry kibble and canned wet food. Fromm also makes Gold, a premium dry food line made in limited batches for optimum freshness.
The Verdict
Fromm is a family cat food company that makes high-quality cat food that prioritizes good quality meat in a recipe with no nasties, and as little as possible of the things that cats just don’t need.
Fromm’s Four Star wet cat foods are all pretty good, though their chicken and duck pate stand out as being of particularly good quality as it contains almost no carbohydrates. When it comes to dry food, both Fromm’s Gold line and Four Star line are pretty good in terms of the amount of fresh meat they contain for a dry cat food.
