Evanger’s Super Premium (Wet) Review

Evanger’s Super Premium wet cat food is made up of four recipes which each receive the Cat Food Advisor highest rating, 5 stars.

The table below shows each recipe in this range including our rating and the AAFCO nutrient profile: Growth (kitten), Maintenance (adult), All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.

Recipe and Label Analysis

Evanger’s Super Premium Duck Dinner For Cats was selected to represent the other products in the line for a detailed recipe and nutrient analysis.

Label and nutrient data below are calculated using dry matter basis.

Ingredients Analysis

The first ingredient is duck. Duck is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of duck”.¹

Duck is naturally rich in the 11 essential amino acids required by a cat to sustain life.

The second ingredient is water, which adds nothing but moisture to this food. Water is a routine finding in most wet cat foods.

The third ingredient is liver. Normally, liver can be considered a quality component. However, in this case, the source of the liver is not identified. For this reason, it’s impossible to judge the quality of this item.

The fourth ingredient is whole egg. Eggs are easy to digest and have an exceptionally high biological value.

The fifth ingredient is tomato paste. Unlike the controversial item, tomato pomace, the tomato paste detailed here does not include the skin or seeds of the fruit.

The sixth ingredient is flaxseed, one of the best plant sources of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Provided they’ve first been ground into a meal, flax seeds are also rich in soluble fiber.

However, flaxseed contains about 19% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this cat food.

The seventh ingredient is guar gum, a gelling or thickening agent found in many wet pet foods. Refined from dehusked guar beans, guar gum can add a notable amount of dietary fiber to any product. 

The eighth ingredient is dried kelp, a dehydrated form of seaweed also known as alginate. Kelp is most likely used here as a thickening or gelling agent.

From here the list goes on to include a number of other items. But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to affect the overall rating of the product.

However this recipe contains brewer’s yeast, which can be a controversial item. Dried yeast contains about 45% protein and is rich in other healthy nutrients. Fans believe yeast repels fleas and supports the immune system. Critics argue yeast ingredients can be linked to allergies.

This may be true, but (like all allergies) only if your particular cat is allergic to the yeast itself. In any case, unless your cat is specifically allergic to it, we feel yeast should be considered a positive addition.

This food also contains chelated minerals that have been chemically attached to protein. This makes them easier to absorb. Chelated minerals are usually found in better cat foods.

Another ingredient worthy of mention is Taurine which is an essential amino acid for cats associated with the healthy function of heart muscle and eye sight, and is crucial for maintaining good health in cats. 

We view the presence of Taurine in this recipe as a positive addition.

Nutrient Analysis

Based on its ingredients alone, Evanger’s Super Premium Duck Dinner For Cats recipe looks like an above-average wet product.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 45.5%, a fat level of 27.3% and an estimated carbohydrate level of 19.3%.

As a group, the brand features an above-average protein content of 43.2% and a mean fat level of 27.3%. Together these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 21.5% for the overall product line, alongside a fat to protein ratio of 63%.

This means that Evanger’s Super Premium range contains higher than average protein, lower than average carbohydrate and higher than average fat, when compared to typical wet cat food.

Has Evanger's cat food been recalled in the past?

Yes, Evanger’s has had one, but significant, recall.

You can’t have a complete review about Evanger’s cat food without discussing the recall and controversy that happened in 2017. In February 2017, the FDA noticed that some of Evanger’s canned food contained pentobarbital. This is a drug that is used in animal euthanasia. No amount is safe for cat food, precisely why the FDA issued a statement warning pet owners not to purchase specific recipes.

The FDA inspected both plants the company-owned and found many significant concerns in how the food was processed. For example, condensation was dripping into the food at many points. There were no operating refrigerated storage facilities, so raw meat was thawing out before it was processed. Some meats were dropped onto the unsanitary concrete floor and then used in the final product.

Several animals died from the contaminated food. The pentobarbital was eventually traced to the company’s meat supplier. Evanger issued a voluntary recall of several recipes after the FDA report.

You can view a complete list of all cat food recalls since 2021 here.

To stay on top of any cat food product recalls, sign up for our free email alerts, here.

About

Evanger’s is a family-owned and operated pet food company. 

It was started by Fred Evanger in 1935 after he wanted better nutritional food for his Great Danes, which he bred and exhibited. He built a factory at the kennel he used, so he could make his own pet food. The headquarters are now in Markham, Illinois.