A Budget-Friendly Cat Food That Didn't Quite Hit the Mark

Hello everyone, I'm still trying to get back into the swing of things after the holidays.

I hit a snag with delayed orders on pretty much every marketplace during the holidays. It would've been less of a problem if the food my cat's been eating was available in stores around here, but unfortunately, it's not. The delivery was pushed back indefinitely, and we were running low on food, so I had to rush to the nearest Magnit to get some for my kitty. The selection was limited, and since the economy-class food isn't that different, my choice fell on Viskas. The food with those fun little pads on the kibble should appeal to my fussy cat.

✅Manufacturer: OOO 'Mars', Moscow Oblast, Stupino

✅The 350g pack cost 160 rubles.

I also picked up the wet food – it's a nice change of pace sometimes.

So, let's break it down.

📌Packaging

I think it's pretty self-explanatory – it's bright, colorful, and has a super cute striped cat design.

Everything's clearly laid out on both sides – the marketing team really went all out.

The packaging is super glossy, making it hard to capture all the details in a photo.

Here are the promises and recommendations from the manufacturer – everything's nicely presented and visually appealing.

📌Composition

Plant-based products (including rice, carrots), animal-derived meal (including beef), animal and plant fats and oils (including sunflower oil), hydrolyzed animal-derived products, mineral substances, brewer's yeast, vitamins, amino acids (including taurine), antioxidants, and colorants.

If I'm being honest, the composition doesn't really make sense to me:

- what exactly is animal-derived meal made of?

- what other plant-based oils are used aside from sunflower oil? I'm guessing they just listed the most normal-sounding one.

- I've got to admit, I'm not entirely sure what hydrolyzed animal-derived ingredients are. I mean, there are so many different animal-derived products out there.

- And then there are the colorants - what's the point of those? Are they just there to make the owner happy? Newsflash: cats don't eat with their eyes, they eat with their taste buds. And let's be real, who cares what color the kibble is?

One thing I do like is that this food doesn't contain any salt or artificial flavorings.

📌Product Overview

The product itself looks interesting and not your run-of-the-mill cat food. It's got a mix of different kibble shapes - the classic round ones and some green-colored ones (which I'm pretty sure are just colorants, not actual green ingredients). There are also little pâté-like pieces that look like cat treats. The kibble itself is not too large, not too greasy, and easy for my cat to chew.

The pâté-like pieces do have a real pâté-like texture.

The aroma of this food is strong, to say the least. It's not unpleasant, but it's definitely noticeable. My cat seems to be okay with it, but I'm not so sure. I'm starting to think that there might be an artificial flavoring in there, despite the manufacturer's claims. The smell lingers on my hands even after I've washed them.

My cat from Viskas hasn't completely rejected this food, but it's not his favorite either. We managed to scrape by for a few days until we could get our regular food delivered. Now we're slowly working our way through this stuff.

It's like a ghost appeared out of nowhere, and I'm starting to think that if I ever buy this food again, I'll have to eat it myself...

📌Conclusion

I'm giving this food 3 stars with a big caveat - my finicky cat did eat it, and we managed to survive for a few days without our regular food.

❌Cons:

- The ingredient list is a mystery, with no actual meat in sight. And let's be real, cats are predators - they're meant to eat meat.

- I'm pretty sure there's an artificial flavoring in there, even if it's not explicitly listed.

- My cat eats it without much enthusiasm, which is probably a good thing. I wouldn't feed this to my cat on a regular basis.

✅Pros:

- The price is right

- It's widely available

That's about it, to be honest. The only other positive thing I can think of is the ziplock packaging, but I think the manufacturer could have invested a bit more in the actual ingredients rather than the packaging.

I wouldn't recommend this food to anyone, unless you're looking for a temporary solution to get you through a few days. It's basically a do-it-yourself cat food kit, but without the DIY part.

Thanks for reading, folks! If you want to see more reviews, check out my profile - I've got a whole bunch of them there❤️

✅My cat's story: is it worth adopting a stray?

✅ I've been impressed with the premium pet food's price and impressive ingredient list - my cat actually eats it!

✅ And I've also got to give a shout-out to another market brand that we tried and loved: the dry food and the wet food