Best Rabbit Cat Food

Researched & Written by

Kate Barrington

---

At Pawster, we are committed to presenting the most accurate and up-to-date information to assist you in your pet care journey. When appropriate, we consult licensed and practicing veterinarians to fact-check our professionally written articles.

Cats aren’t allergic to rabbit as often as some other protein option, so if your cat enjoys the flavor, it is a good alternative to another more common protein, but you won’t have to worry about your cat getting sick or having a reaction.

Here are our top choices for the best rabbit-containing cat foods, as well as answers to some common questions about this ingredient.

Check out some of our top picks for cat food containing rabbit:

Blue Buffalo Wilderness Rocky Mountain Recipe High Protein Grain Free, Natural Adult Dry Cat Food, Rabbit (Various Sizes)

Like most pet foods, this product has a pretty long name – they want to be sure you know what sort of food you’re looking at! Most often sold in 4-lb and 10-lb bags, this highly-rated grain-free mix includes meats, vegetables, omega 3 & 6 fatty acids, and Blue Buffalo’s LifeSource Bits. That’s fancy marketing speak for “basically a multivitamin for cats,” but obvious sales tactics aside, consulting well-trained veterinarians and animal nutritionists is always a great idea.

Blue Buffalo Mix Nutritional Facts

This product features 36% crude protein, primarily from the rabbit and fish meal ingredients. Beef is also a protein source for this product, but despite its place on the packaging, there’s not much in it compared to the other primary ingredients.

What I like most about this product is the focus on rabbit while still providing a solid mix of protein from different sources, which can help to meet essential nutritional requirements. It’s not the same as raw rabbit, but the various supplements (particularly in the LifeSource Bits) make this a reasonably compelling choice.However, the inclusion of beef is also a drawback for this product despite its location at the top of our list.

Most notably, beef is a relatively common allergy among cats, so there’s a realistic chance that your cat may not tolerate this particular blend.

This product is particularly helpful for cats that have an active lifestyle that includes travel, going outdoors, or generally moving around a lot.

Stella & Chewy’s Freeze-Dried Raw Dinner Morsels for Cats

Closer to a raw diet, this product is advertised as 98% meat, organs, and ground bone – the kind of thing hunters like cats get a lot of when living in the wild. Unlike completely raw ingredients, however, this product has additional supplements to provide needed nutrition. It’s also not a one-and-done diet like most foods. Instead, this is more of a partial dietary replacement for pet owners who want to add some raw meat without going all the way on that.

Rabbit Liver Nutritional Facts

Rabbit liver is the second ingredient in this product, and that’s very interesting to me. Most pet foods have one type of meat, then a different kind of meat or meal, but this product has rabbit in both its first and second places.

Organ meat is helpful for pet food because it often contains significantly more vitamins than skeletal muscle meat, and seeing a high concentration of this high-protein ingredient is a strong mark in this product’s favor.

This product strikes a good balance between raw-style meats that cats enjoy and providing nutritional help, although it may be a little harder to include in a cat’s diet than some other products. Like humans, cats require a blend of healthy ingredients, so talk to your vet about what to look for in the rest of their food. Remember, this product is only for part of their diet, not all of it!

Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Selected Protein Adult PR

Another long product name, and I don’t think we’re going to get away from them anytime soon. This is  expensive cat food, but it’s high up on the list not just because of the quality of the ingredients, but because it’s a wet food, and I believe a top list needs to have a good balance of different types of food.

Royal Canin usually sells this in packs of 24 cans that are 5.9oz each, which is larger than most competitors’ cans. For context, an adult cat weighing around 12 pounds would need two of these cans per day unless supplemented by other meals.

Royal Canin Diet Nutritional Facts

This product also stands out from the competition because of its focus on resolving dietary and nutritional issues. The company markets this to help with digestive issues, hair loss, itching, and general skin sensitivities. It also features limited ingredients, which is helpful for cats that are allergic to other common ingredients.

The major drawback of this product is the cost. As a special veterinary diet, you can expect to pay a lot more for this than for many other foods, so you may want to look for a good, rabbit-based alternative.

As a note, this product is also available in a dry form, which is highly-rated by buyers but similarly expensive for cat food.

Only Natural Pet Feline PowerFood Rabbit Dinner Grain-Free Dry Cat Food

One of these days, I’ll get to review a pet food product with a shorter name – but alas, I don’t think today is that day. This product is sold in 3-lb and 10-lb bags for a reasonable price, with 38% minimum protein. Rabbit is still the main ingredient (or it wouldn’t be on this list), but in a lower proportion than some of the alternatives here because Only Natural Pet also includes significant amounts of turkey and chicken meal in this product. I’m quite fond of the wild salmon oil as an additional ingredient.

Wild Salmon Oil Nutritional Facts

Wild salmon oil is a significant source of omega-3 fatty acids. Just like humans, cats need this nutrient, and properly-processed oils usually have a long shelf life and aren’t likely to spoil faster than the rest of the food. Natural sources are usually healthier for feline companions, so I think using complete oils is much better than trying to add fatty acids separately.

However, as far as the overall product goes, I’d like to caution that it does contain a notable amount of peas, pea protein, and pea fiber. Some cats react poorly to that ingredient, so it’s better to test the food on your pet before committing to a full diet using it. Fortunately, the small-size bags are quite affordable, so you won’t be out very much money even if your cat doesn’t like it. (This is why I love it when companies produce small bags, even if I prefer to buy in bulk when getting pet food for my own cats.)

Instinct by Nature’s Variety Raw Boost Indoor Grain-Free Recipe with Real Rabbit Dry Cat Food

Only sold in small bags, this is an interesting product that mixes dry kibble with freeze-dried rabbit bits. Most pet foods are entirely one or the other, so this product stands out from its competitors for that alone. However, it’s also garnered relatively positive views from the community, making it a serious contender for rabbit-based cat foods.

Instinct Blend Nutritional Facts

This formula features a minimum 39% crude protein, which is a little higher than most of the competition and probably edged upwards by the freeze-dried rabbit bits. It also includes pork, which is a somewhat rarer ingredient on this list. Aside from that, Instinct’s blend includes several different types of fish, including salmon and white fish meal, as well as chickpeas and various other fruits and vegetables in small amounts.

The main reason this product isn’t higher on the list is that Instinct changes up their recipe relatively often compared to others, and some buyers have reported trouble with specific blends. Cats are notoriously picky eaters, so an unexpected change in their diet could throw things off enough to leave you scrambling. I don’t think this is a bad choice, but you should keep company behaviors in mind when buying cat food.

Merrick Backcountry Grain-Free Morsels in Gravy Real Rabbit Recipe Cuts Cat Food Pouches

Here’s another rabbit-based cat food that stands out from the pack. Merrick’s recipe only has a minimum of 9% crude protein – a bit low for wet cat food – because it has as much as 81% moisture in a nourishing gravy. This is a case where what you can see on the label is a little misleading; in Merrick’s case, moisture isn’t the same thing as not-nutritional. This is even wetter than most so-called wet cat food, which helps it stand out even further.

Gravy Nutritional Facts

Cats often determine food preferences early in life, based heavily on exposure and food experiences as a kitten. If they had a lot of wet foods or gravy early on, they’ll probably continue wanting it well through adulthood. That said, gravy is particularly good at keeping cats hydrated, while dry food helps to keep teeth cleaners.

As such, you may need to brush your cat’s teeth more often if you give them a gravy-based product like this one. Conversely, if you live in a drier environment, wet food may help your cat avoid needing to drink far more than they would in other areas.

I think this product works best as part of their diet, rather than a single food, so consider balancing it with a high-quality dry option.

Simply Nourish Source Rabbit & Chicken Recipe High-Protein Grain-Free Adult Dry Cat Food

This product features a better balance of ingredients than some of the other products on this list, with a minimum of 40% crude protein that comes from (as the name suggests) rabbit and chicken. It also has a significant amount of turkey meal in it, making it ideal for pets who enjoy avian flavors. It also has more protein than the majority of dry cat food, which can make this a good choice for cats that need more in their diet.

Simply Nourish Blend Nutritional Facts

Although generally recommended by buyers, thanks in part to its high protein content, this is an interesting product where most cats either love it or hate it, without a lot in-between.

This could be due to preferences established early in life, but it’s also worth checking labels for additional ingredients like flaxseed or pea fiber to see if you can narrow down what your cat likes or dislikes about a given product. Vegetables are relatively high on this product’s list of ingredients, especially compared to some other brands, so that could also affect preferences.

Best Rabbit Cat Food FAQ

Here are the answers to some common questions about rabbit-based cat foods.

How Much Rabbit Do Cats Actually Eat In The Wild?

Some. Rabbit isn’t a major source of meat for most wild cats, although they’re usually willing to eat it when they have the opportunity. Most cats catch more mice, birds, and small fish out in the wild, although this can vary by region. In other words, rabbit is a reasonable meat for cats to eat, and a normal part of their diet, but it’s not special or inherently better than most other types of meat.

Are Cats Often Allergic To Rabbit Meat?

Cats aren’t allergic to rabbit as often as some other proteins, but it can happen. Allergies may only develop months or years after they start eating food with a particular ingredient, so there’s no effective way to know ahead of time whether or not your cat will be allergic to a specific ingredient. If you notice signs of allergies, the best strategy is to switch to another food source.

What About The Smells?

Cats have more than four times as many scent receptors as humans, so they’re extremely sensitive to the smell of their food. That’s why it’s so important to find a food that appeals to their specific sense of smell, even if you’re buying dried food that doesn’t seem especially scented to you. Don’t be afraid to try a few different products and see what your cat goes for first. In fact, this can be a great way to narrow down their preferences and determine which rabbit-based cat food (if they like it at all) you should buy.