Cats can be notoriously picky eaters, and many owners rely on cat food toppers to ramp up their cats’ interest in food. Cat food toppers are also a smart way to hide supplements or medicines cats may otherwise dislike the taste of or flat-out refuse to eat. “Meal toppers can be beneficial for a cat’s health in several ways,” says Dr. Gabrielle Fadl, medical director at Bond Vet in New York City. “They can provide additional nutrients, such as protein and moisture, which can be especially helpful for cats prone to dehydration or those requiring a more protein-rich diet.”

Whether you’re dealing with a frequent fussy eater or just looking for a way to temporarily tempt at mealtime, this three-flavor Fancy Food Classic Broths Variety Pack is a great place to start. Cat-friendly fishy flavors (tuna, shrimp, and whitefish; tuna, anchovies, and whitefish; and salmon and vegetables) can quickly coax even the pickiest of eaters into finishing their bowls.

We also like using it as a clever mix-in for medication and an easy way to add moisture to our cats’ diet. Plus, leftovers can easily be refrigerated in the pouch. 

This topper has a moderate calorie content of 18 calories per pouch. If you’re using it regularly, you’ll need to adjust your cat’s meal portions to account for the extra calories. There are no artificial colors or preservatives.

You can feel good about this topper’s protein-first ingredient list, too. The salmon flavor contains tomato and spinach, while the two tuna-based flavors contain carrots. All flavors contain guar gum and tapioca, which work as a filler and can upset some cat tummies. 

These seafood-flavored pouches do have a fairly strong fish scent—great for cats, but not as loved by owners adverse to fishy smells. Still, it can be a small price to pay for a reliable topper that’s low in fat and high in moisture, especially if your cat has a habit of turning its nose up when it’s time for dinner. 

Adds hydration to diet

Instinct Raw Boost Mixers give your cat the benefits of a raw food diet without having to switch your cat’s usual food. Each pack of this freeze-dried meal topper contains 12 ounces of nutrient-dense whole protein, including organ meat and ground bones.

These soft, chewy pieces of raw kibble can entice even the pickiest of eaters and come with health benefits that range from improved digestion to skin and coat quality. Along with a cage-free chicken variety, we like that it’s also available in farm-raised rabbit (contains pork), making it a go-to pick for pet parents needing a meal topper with alternative proteins. 

Ingredients are free from gluten, soy, potato, and artificial preservatives and colors, but they do include non-GMO fruits and vegetables as fillers. This is a very high-protein and high-fat meal topper with a fair amount of calories, so you’ll want to adjust your cat’s daily meals so as not to overfeed. 

Two flavors: chicken and rabbit

How We Picked

More We Recommend

Best Broth: Open Farm Harvest Chicken Bone Broth uses humanely farmed chickens without hormones, antibiotics, or steroids. Natural collagen and chicken flavor are pulled from chicken bones simmered for 10 hours. Pouring out a portion of this savory chicken bone broth over wet or dry food is an easy, tasty way to add appealing flavor and moisture to your cat’s diet.

Each pouch holds 12 ounces of this liquid gold, and the recommended serving size is two tablespoons per 10 pounds of body weight. We love the resealable, easy-pour spout that makes it easy to dispense and securely store in the fridge between meals. Additional non-GMO ingredients include extras like carrots, pumpkin, and cinnamon, which are unnecessary but have inherent anti-inflammatory and digestive support. 

Three flavors: chicken, turkey, and beef

Best Calming: This meal-topper powder contains a probiotic strain that has been shown to encourage calm behavior. Like humans, a cat’s gut health can sometimes affect its mood. The Purina Pro Plan Calming Care Probiotics serves as a behavioral supplement when sprinkled over your cat’s food for at least six weeks.

It works by helping to tone down the production of cortisol, a stress hormone, which can be the catalyst behind a cat’s aggressive, anxious, or antisocial behavior. According to Purina, there is a guaranteed level of microorganisms in each pouch to help your cat stay calm (though the types and levels are not disclosed). Adding liver flavor helps make it more palatable, though the powder is best mixed up and dished with wet food since it cannot be absorbed by dry kibble. 

Liver-flavored

Best Low-Calorie: Indaba Churu Lickable Treats have a long-standing reputation as a top cat treat, but these squeezable tubes can also double as a sneaky meal topper. At around six calories per tube, we like that using a Churu treat meal topper doesn’t require us to count calories or recalculate regular meal portions.

These low-calorie, high-moisture toppers are an ideal meal topper for the occasional fussy eater, kitties on weight-control diets, and cats that need frequent appetite stimulation. We love that you can dish out partial portions and refrigerate the rest until the next meal—or serve as a between-meal treat.

But be warned: Some cats have been known to just lick up the treat topper and leave their food, so you may want to consider mixing it in before serving. Part of what makes these treats so appealing is their creamy consistency, which, unfortunately, is the result of using tapioca starch.  

Approximately six calories per serving

Best Probiotic: Cat probiotics come in many forms, and our favorite probiotic food topper is Zesty Paws Probiotic Powder for Cats. The pumpkin-flavored powder comes in pre-measured sachets, making it easy to dispense and convenient for travel. Along with inulin and yeast extract (Saccharomyces boulardii), each sachet contains over 400 million CFU of the clinically studied DE111 probiotic strain, known as Bacillus subtilis, which supports gut and immune health in cats.

It mixes easily into kitty’s favorite wet food, though the powder doesn’t quite adhere as well to dry food, making it harder to incorporate evenly. Some pet parents have had better luck mixing it in their cat’s bowl with both wet and dry food. We should note that some finicky cats might be turned off by the pumpkin flavor; however, cats generally find it appealing.

Pre-measured sachets

Why Trust The Spruce Pets?

K. Alex Beaven is a lifelong cat owner and currently in service to her leash-trained cat, @hellomisterbo. Alex has also written stories for The Spruce Pets on The Best Kitten Foods, Best Bone Broth for Cats, and Best Lickable Cat Treats.

For this story, Alex consulted with Dr. Gabrielle Fadl, medical director for Bond Vet, for expert medical advice and tips on how and when to use a cat food topper.

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.

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