Acana Cat Food Review

Acana cat food is a high-protein, meat-first brand that suits healthy cats whose owners are willing to pay a premium price. The dry recipes list fresh meat or fish first and carry 33% to 36% protein. The main drawbacks are the cost, the heavy use of peas and lentils, and a few marketing claims that sound bigger than they are.

Who Makes Acana?

Acana is made by Champion Petfoods, the Canadian company that also makes Orijen. Champion started making pet food in Alberta in 1985. Mars, the company behind many big pet food brands, bought Champion in a deal that closed in 2023.

Acana dry food sold in the United States is made at Champion’s DogStar Kitchen in Auburn, Kentucky. Dry food for Canada and other markets comes from its NorthStar Kitchen in Alberta. According to Cats.com, the wet food is made by a third-party manufacturer.

The Current Acana Cat Lineup

Acana’s US site lists about 30 cat products. Older reviews often describe only two dry foods, so here is the range as of October 2026:

We look at one of the classic recipes in depth in our Acana Indoor Entrée review.

Three Dry Recipes Compared

All three sit well above the AAFCO minimum of 26% protein for adult cats (30% for kittens), measured on a dry-matter basis.

What About the Wet Food?

The Premium Pâté Chicken and Fish recipe lists chicken, tuna, chicken bone broth, fish bone broth, chicken liver, chicken heart, and pumpkin. The label shows at least 10% protein, 4.5% fat, and up to 80% moisture, with 98 calories in a 3-ounce can. It is formulated to meet AAFCO nutrient profiles for adult maintenance, so it works as a complete meal for adult cats.

Wet food is worth considering even if you feed mostly kibble. The Cornell Feline Health Center notes that dry food is only 6% to 10% water, while canned food is at least 75% water and a good source of moisture for cats.

Ingredient Quality: The Good and the Fine Print

What is good

• Named meats come first. Chicken, turkey, salmon, and named fish meals lead the lists, with organs such as chicken liver.
• No vague by-product terms in the recipes we checked. You can tell which animals are in the bag.
• Not everything is grain-free. Several recipes use oats, which gives you a choice.

The fine print

• The “75% animal ingredients” claim. Acana says Meadowlands is crafted with 75% animal ingredients and the classic recipes with 65%. A footnote explains the figure is approximate and based on the ingredients in their unprocessed state. Fresh meat is mostly water, so the share in the finished kibble is lower.
• Legumes. Lentils, chickpeas, peas, or beans appear in every dry recipe we checked. They add fiber and some plant protein.
• Not “human grade” or organic. Some older reviews say so, but we did not find those claims on Acana’s current product pages.

Recalls, Lawsuits, and the FDA Grain-Free Report

• Recalls: Petful and Cats.com both report that Acana has never been recalled. In 2011 the FDA placed a temporary import alert on an Acana Grasslands product after a sample tested positive for Salmonella. The alert was lifted and no recall followed.
• Lawsuits: Several class-action suits filed from 2018 onward claimed Champion’s dog foods contained heavy metals and other contaminants. The cases we checked were dismissed or decided in Champion’s favor, including federal appeals court rulings in 2021 and 2023.
• The FDA report on diet and heart disease: In 2019 the FDA listed pet food brands named in reports of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Acana was named most often, with 67 reports. Almost all of the reports involved dogs (515 dogs and 9 cats). The FDA did not establish that the foods caused the disease, no products were recalled, and in December 2022 the agency said it would not post further updates until there was meaningful new science to share. If this worries you, ask your vet, or choose one of Acana’s recipes with grains.

Price

Acana sits near the top of the market. In October 2026, a 4-pound bag of Meadowlands listed at about $29 to $30, and 10-pound bags ranged from about $43 (Indoor Entrée, Bountiful Catch) to about $54 (Highest Protein Indoor). If that is more than you want to spend, our Purina Cat Chow Naturals review covers a budget alternative.

Feeding Tips

• Measure it. At 414 to 439 calories per cup, Acana is calorie-dense. A typical 10-pound adult cat needs roughly 250 calories a day, which is only a little over half a cup. Follow the bag’s chart and adjust for your cat’s weight.
• Switch slowly. PetMD suggests moving from 25% new food to 100% over about 7 to 10 days.
• Keep water out. Cats on dry food need fresh water at all times. Adding a wet meal helps too.
• Pick the right life stage. Bountiful Catch and Indoor Entrée are adult foods. For kittens, use First Feast or the Highest Protein Kitten recipe. Our guide to choosing kitten food explains why.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Named meat or fish as the first ingredients
• 33% to 36% protein in the dry recipes
• Grain-free and grain-inclusive options
• Dry, wet, kitten, indoor, and senior recipes
• No recall on record

Cons

• Expensive
• Peas, lentils, and chickpeas in the dry recipes we checked
• The animal-ingredient percentages are based on raw weight
• Calorie-dense, so it is easy to overfeed

This article is general information, not veterinary advice. If your cat has kidney, urinary, heart, or weight problems, ask your vet which diet fits before switching.

Bottom Line

Acana is a well-made, meat-forward cat food with clear labels and a clean recall record. It is a good pick for healthy, active cats if the price fits your budget. Choose a recipe by life stage, decide whether you want grains, measure portions carefully, and consider mixing in wet food for extra moisture.