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When it comes to feeding our beloved cats, the options can feel overwhelming. Many pet owners find themselves lost in a sea of choices—each claiming to be “the healthiest, tastiest, and most scientifically advanced.” But which cat food actually reigns supreme and makes good on their promises? Optimeal, a premium cat food brand known for its high-protein recipes and immune-boosting ingredients, is one option that’s quickly gaining attention among cat parents in the U.S. and beyond.
You may have seen the product at sites like Amazon, but you haven’t tried them yet.
In this Optimeal cat food review, we’re providing a deep dive into what makes Optimeal stand out, what’s actually in the food, and whether it’s worth the investment for your cat.
Plus, we also conducted a fun Optimeal taste test with several cats of varying ages, preferences, and taste buds. After all, they’re the best judges!
From ingredient sourcing and nutritional balance to real-world feedback from the felines themselves, we’ll help you decide if this European-born brand is the right match for your cat—whether they live indoors or outdoors, are a sworn a picky eater, or just a feline with a sensitive tummy.
What Is Optimeal?
Manufactured in Ukraine “under strict quality and safety standards” (according to the brand), Optimeal is also being marketed as “vet-developed and nutritionist-formulated.” Not just another mass-produced cat food line as far as we can tell, Optimeal’s parent company’s philosophy are ones we can get behind:
- They guarantee high-quality animal proteins as the first ingredient in their food.
- Their food is formulated with clean, non-GMO ingredients.
- They say their food provides optimal immune support through antioxidant-rich herbs, prebiotics, and botanicals.
- They offer balanced nutrition for both cats and dogs that meet dietary needs without unnecessary fillers.
Optimeal’s recipes focus on using real, fresh meats, fish, and seafood, like: chicken, turkey, beef, rabbit, salmon, shrimp, and lamb. Cats crave proteins, after all, so this variety is very appealing.
Optimeal also claims that their formulas are good for cats with sensitive stomachs, but also promotes easier digestion and immune health. Each recipe blends essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to help support your cat’s natural defenses.
Meanwhile, Optimeal keeps artificial additives, corn and soy fillers, and genetically engineered ingredients out of the mix. Instead, they focus on wholesome, natural ingredients for balanced meals.
Their cat food lineup includes:
- Dry food recipes: Turkey & Oatmeal, Chicken & Brown Rice, Duck & Oatmeal, Salmon & Oatmeal, and more.
- Wet food pouches: Grain-free blends featuring Chicken & Turkey, Shrimp & Salmon, and Beef & Rabbit in savory sauces. (This is what we taste-tested for the purpose of this specific article.)
In addition to cat food, Optimeal also has wet and dry food for dogs.
Who Is Optimeal for?
If you have an indoor cat who doesn’t get the same variety of natural prey as outdoor cats, or you have a picky eater who turns up their nose at typical store-bought brands, Optimeal could be a game-changer for your family.
Optimeal’s formulas appear to be balanced for moderate activity levels and designed to promote healthy digestion and strong immunity, which many believe to be two crucial factors for indoor cats and older felines.
What’s Inside the Food?
The first thing you’ll notice is the real meat content. Regardless of which wet food blend you sample, you’ll find that Optimeal’s high-protein cat food recipes are visually appealing.
You’ll see clearly defined morsels of protein, not an unrecognizable pate or (for the lack of a better word) mush. And each variety looks different than the next. In other words, the beef looked like beef, you can tell the salmon and shrimp clearly had discernible shrimp in it, and so on.
Similarly, other cat owners who’ve bought Optimeal have reported that the wet food pouches in particular look and smell like something they’d eat themselves—savory, rich, and far from the standard that have come out of cans maintaining its solid, gelatinous shape.
As far as ingredients go, Optimeal’s site and packaging tell us their food is formulated with:
- Real meat first
- Herbs and prebiotics for gut health
- Zinc and antioxidants for a healthy coat
- No grains or gluten in many recipes, making it easier for cats with sensitivities to digest
Taste Test Time: Real-World Results
In our recent taste test, we let seven curious felines explore the three different types of Optimeal wet food. With noses twitching and tails flicking, our panel of eaters (both picky and non-picky alike) got to work, helping us find out just how tasty and appealing these meals really are!
Meet Our Taste Testers
From left, starting with the top row:
- Benjamin: This bicolor short-haired male cat is under 3 years old. He’s best described as a gentle giant who eats everything you put in front of him, but also will try to steal his cat siblings’ food.
- Eleanor: This discreet middle-aged white and gray lady is almost 10 years old. She loves bacon and turkey, and will sneak up on the table to eat people food from time to time.
- Lil Bit: Lil Bit is a 12-year-old orange tabby who is a finicky eater. His typical go-tos are Blue Buffalo’s tasteful pate or the flakes version, and Fancy Feast. His favorite flavors are turkey, chicken, and salmon.
- Roosevelt: This 3-year-old short-haired, creamsicle tabby still looks like a kitten, but is as sharp as a whip. With a fast metabolism, she will eat as much as her bigger cat siblings, but will periodically vomit for eating way too much, too fast.
- Henley (a.k.a. Stitchy Boo): Tiger tabby Stitchy Boo is 13. His owner describes him as “particularly picky.” In fact, his meal of choice is freeze dried raw venison and turkey from Vital Essentials—one of the most expensive cat food brands found at his local pet store.
- Marshmallow: This full-figured female feline is 8-years-old. Her human mom describes her as “somewhat picky” when it comes to food, but she typically enjoys poultry in wet food form, and sometimes seafood.
- Sophie: This long-haired senior cat just turned 20! She weighs all of 6 pounds, and though she takes blood pressure meds on the regular, she’s quite vital for her age. She was consuming food for kidney health, but didn’t like it, so her owners have since switched to Fancy Feast so she can keep weight on.
Food Inspection
The contents in one pouch are equivalent to a 3-ounce can of your standard, but are not as packed in as canned cat food. So when you open the pouch, the meat and sauce inside easily slide out.
After opening three different Optimeal wet food pouches, we can attest to the company’s commitment to real, human-grade-looking protein pieces.
Upon inspection, this was no mystery meat. You won’t see mushy textures. What you’ll get is a savory aroma that many cat parents find reassuring, and one cat parent who did the taste test with her cats even said she almost wanted to eat the Shrimp & Salmon variety.
The tasty morsels come in discernable protein pieces that look and smell quite fresh. Rich in liquid, we surmise that cats will also get a good amount of flavor, not to mention hydration from the water contents.
What Our Cats Tasted
We presented these three different varieties of wet cat food for our taste testers. Each came in a 3-ounce pouch that was easy for us cat parents to rip open and dispose of in the garbage. The variety pack comes in a box with 12 pouches—four of each flavor below:
- Super Premium Optimeal WIth Beef & Rabbit in Savory Sauce
- Super Premium Optimeal With Real Shrimp and Salmon in Savory Sauce
- Super Premium Optimeal Chicken & Turkey Recipe in Gravy
Taste Test Observations
- Benjamin: As expected, Benjamin ate all of the different Optimeal varieties. His personal favorite was the Beef & Rabbit. When he was offered all three at the same time, he gravitated towards that flavor first. But remember, Benjamin is the type of cat who will eat anything and everything, so no surprises here.
- Eleanor: Eleanor is somewhat picky and typically loves chicken, turkey, and bacon. True to form during the taste test, Eleanor preferred the Chicken & Turkey. She has since been eating Optimeal regularly and enjoys all of the different flavors. She loves it so much that when she’s done eating, there is not a single piece left in her bowl.
- Lil Bit: Lil Bit thoroughly enjoyed the Salmon & Shrimp and Chicken & Turkey. He gives them two paws up. His owner says he loves food with gravy, so he ate the liquid first, then he came back for the meat. Lil Bit’s cat mom also decided to pass on the Beef & Rabbit because Lil Bit is not used to eating those proteins. Roosevelt: Roosevelt is not a picky eater by any means, but she typically only likes chicken. It surprised us that her favorite Optimeal variety during the taste test was the Shrimp & Salmon. She weirdly ate the Chicken & Turkey with reluctance. Perhaps she was comparing it to her tried and true? One thing to note, after eating Optimeal for the first time, she did throw up minutes later for eating too fast. She has been eating Optimeal for a couple of weeks and hasn’t vomited since. Her stomach probably just needed time to acclimate.
- Henley (a.k.a. Stitchy Boo): Henley’s dad says that the Chicken & Turkey recipe was a hit! And remember, Henley is the “bougie” cat who loves eating raw venison—he’s extremely finicky.
- Marshmallow: Marshmallow approves of the Shrimp & Salmon, and the Chicken & Turkey varieties. Her owner figured she’d be into the food because she’s generally not picky and enjoys wet food. However, she would not touch the Beef & Rabbit variety. However, Marshmallow’s dog sibling, Libby, ate it and liked it.
- Sophie: Of the three, she scarfed up the Chicken & Turkey Optimeal eating and making noisy cat slurps. However, minutes later, she threw it up. Her owner said, “It could’ve been too rich for her or she ate it too fast. She went back to her old standards.”
Taste Test Findings
After rounding up seven whiskered taste testers (plus, two unofficial kitten samplers and one random dog who ate a cat’s leftovers) for a purr-fectly indulgent Optimeal wet food showdown, we can confidently say, Optimeal is a quality cat food, but it’s not for everyone.
Benjamin, the bottomless pit, devoured every single flavor with Beef & Rabbit leading the pack, while picky Eleanor showed true devotion to Chicken & Turkey—licking her bowl clean every time. Lil Bit, a gravy-lover, gave two paws up to both Salmon & Shrimp and Chicken & Turkey, though his younger siblings weren’t impressed (typical kittens!).
Roosevelt threw us for a loop, preferring Salmon & Shrimp over her usual chicken, though she needed a moment to get her tummy used to the new menu. Even Henley, a “bougie” raw venison fan, decided Chicken & Turkey was worth a second bite.
Marshmallow enjoyed the Salmon & Shrimp and Chicken & Turkey, but left the Beef & Rabbit for her dog sibling, Libby, who happily cleaned up the uneaten leftovers.
Sophie, a loud slurper of Chicken & Turkey, had a brief bout of tummy upset so her owner switched her back to her tried-and-true food.
All in all, the taste test revealed a clear winner in flavor: Chicken & Turkey—a crowd-pleaser with most cats. But cat parents, take note: our taste test showed, Optimeal wet food isn’t for every cat. Some of the pickier eaters weren’t interested, and a couple had tummies that needed time to adjust. If you’re thinking of switching cat food (whether it’s Optimeal or something else), consider a gradual transition process to introduce new formulas and flavors. Especially if the food tastes so good, they eat it in a rush!
Noticable Results
It’s been two weeks since we did our taste test and our cats continue to consume their new wet Optimeal dishes just fine. We did take a look at what other buyers have said to see how their cats are faring. Reviews consistently highlight how cats’ coats become noticeably softer and shinier within weeks of switching to Optimeal. Many cat parents also report that even their finicky eaters seem to still devour the food with enthusiasm.
One important thing to note: a few cited mild gastrointestinal upset during the initial transition—likely due to the shift from lower-quality fillers to real meat and nutrient-dense formulas, or simply, just getting accustomed to something different. If you worry that your cats will experience this during your switch, you may want to consider transitioning gradually.
Is Optimeal Safe & Healthy for Cats?
For any cat food brand, it’s important to look at both ingredient quality and the nutritional benefits it promises. In Optimeal’s case, we believe it is! We appreciate these accolades the most:
- Primary animal protein: Cats are obligate carnivores, meaning they thrive on animal proteins. Optimeal’s recipes center around high-quality meats as the primary source of protein, making it an excellent fit for your cat’s biological needs.
- Immune-boosting herbs and antioxidants: Ingredients like cranberry extract, zinc, and vitamin E can help bolster your cat’s immune system, especially important for indoor cats who face different environmental challenges.
- Prebiotics and fiber: A healthy gut means better digestion, fewer hairballs, and overall better health. Optimeal includes prebiotic fibers and herbs that support the natural microbiome of your cat’s digestive system.
However, it’s worth mentioning that some Optimeal formulas contain peas and potatoes. These seem harmless to animals, yes, but if your cat has known sensitivities or allergies to legumes, you may want to opt for formulas without these ingredients. Optimeal may not be ideal for any other cat with strict dietary needs, not to mention owners on a tight budget as Optimeal is pricier than some cat food on the market.
Where to Buy & Pricing
You can find Optimeal cat food at:
- Optimeal’s own website (often with bulk discounts)
- Amazon and other major online retailers
- Petco, Chewy, and select independent pet stores
Expect to spend $18 to $28 per 3 to 5-pound bag, and wet food pouches cost roughly $1.30 to $2.50 each, depending on the retailer. Consider Optimeal a higher end cat food, like Blue Buffalo and Wellness.
Bottom Line on Optimeal
Optimeal is a fantastic choice for cat owners who want to upgrade their cat’s diet from generic grocery store kibble and canned food to a higher-protein, holistic nutrition option. Its European-sourced ingredients, immune-boosting focus, and real-meat recipes make it especially appealing for indoor cats, seniors, or those needing extra gut support. However, if your cat has specific dietary sensitivities, you may want to sample smaller quantities first to see how your cat responds, and speak to your vet.
When it comes to your cat’s health, investing in the right nutrition can mean a happier, healthier life. After our taste test, we feel that Optimeal’s carefully crafted formulas are certainly worth considering for the cat you love. Our cat taste testers mostly agree.
A Final Word (Disclaimer)
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