Solid Gold Cat Food Review (original) (raw)

Solid Gold promises to unleash your pet’s “inner gold”, but is it a nutritious and safe choice for your cat? Find out in our unbiased Solid Gold cat food review.

The Cats.com Standard—Rating Solid Gold on What Matters

We’ve analyzed Solid Gold and graded it according to the Cats.com standard, evaluating the brand on species-appropriateness, ingredient quality, product variety, price, customer experience, and recall history. Here’s how it rates in each of these six key areas.

Ratings

Overall Score: 7.1/10

We give Solid Gold cat food a 43 out of 60 rating or a B grade.

About Solid Gold

Sissy Harrington-McGill founded Solid Gold after noticing a difference between dogs living in Germany and those who lived in the United States.

Sissy, a competitive Great Dane handler, observed that while her Great Danes lived to be seven to nine years old in the United States, German-born dogs who remained in Europe lived three to four years longer. Concluding that diet was the only difference between the European Danes and those who lived in America,

Sissy started working to bring German dog food standards to the United States. Inspired by the country that she believed could produce longer-lived Great Danes, the original Solid Gold formula was called Hund-N-Flocken, a German name meaning “dog flakes”.

When Solid Gold launched in the 1970s, it was one of the first pet food brands to use the holistic label, incorporating a variety of what the company describes as “carefully curated superfoods”.

Solid Gold has continued to expand over the course of their near-50-year history. Most recently, the company was acquired by Health & Happiness Group International Holding Ltd. (H&H Group). Solid Gold represents the company’s first venture into the global pet food market.

Sourcing and Manufacturing

Solid Gold sources ingredients from around the globe, including pollock from Alaska, duck from France, and venison from Australia. Solid Gold refuses to purchase any ingredients from China. You can find a full list for the sourcing of ingredients in their FAQs.

U.S. company headquarters are based near St. Louis, but Solid Gold doesn’t manufacture any of their own products. However, they claim to maintain strict oversight of all sourcing and manufacturing processes. All of Solid Gold’s dry cat food is manufactured by Diamond Pet Foods in the United States. Most of their wet cat food is made in Thailand.

With the recent acquisition by H&H Group, the manufacturing of Solid Gold products may change. For now, however, it appears that Solid Gold dry foods are still made in the USA and wet foods in Thailand.

Has Solid Gold Cat Food Been Recalled?

Several varieties of Solid Gold dog food were recalled in 2012 when their manufacturer discovered salmonella in their Gaston, South Carolina facility.

In 2018, consumers filed a lawsuit against Solid Gold, accusing the company of failing to disclose the presence of “heavy metals, chemicals, and/or toxins” in its food. Third party testing revealed that Solid Gold cat food contains heavy metals and toxins, including BPA. According to Petful, however, all of the heavy metals and toxins were present in levels below the maximum tolerable limits established by the FDA.

What Kinds of Cat Food Does Solid Gold Offer?

Solid Gold offers a wide variety of wet and dry cat food. Their lineup includes a variety of formulations for cats’ unique needs, including weight management needs, life stages, and more.

Solid Gold says that 20 nutrient-dense superfoods are at the heart of each of their dry food recipes. These so-called superfoods are ocean fish meal, egg protein, pumpkin, cranberry, spearmint, carrot, apple, watercress, rosemary, lentil, celery, parsley, almond oil, beet, sesame oil, blueberry, broccoli, thyme, chicory root, dried kelp, spinach, and salmon oil.

Their wet food menu emphasizes texture and includes bisques, patés, shreds, stews, and layered multi-textured meals.

Whether wet or dry, all Solid Gold recipes feature meat as the first ingredient. They’re free of animal by-products, chemical preservatives, artificial ingredients, and carrageenan.

Solid Gold Cat Food – Top 3 Recipes Reviewed

What Do Customers Think of Solid Gold Cat Food?

Solid Gold has enjoyed a cult following since its creation in the 1970s. Most customers, whether second-generation buyers or new Solid Gold customers, praise the brand’s palatability and say their pets thrive on it.

Here are a few real customer reviews of Solid Gold cat food on Chewy:

Positive Reviews

“I purchased this flavor as well as the antioxidant blend. I specifically did this to see which food my kitties would go for. I started off with the antioxidant blend and they didn’t touch it. I tried the chicken and egg and they immediately went for it! They seem to really enjoy it. I haven’t noticed any constipation, diarrhea or throwing up. So far, so good!” – Julie, reviewing Solid Gold Indigo Moon with Chicken & Eggs

“My 2 girls are 16 and 17. I started them on solid gold around 10 years ago. Iams made them shed insane amounts and science diet made them puke. I can’t say enough good things about Solid Gold. My only wish is for it to be cheaper. But I only have my girls left for a little while longer so why not give them a quality food that makes them feel and look great!” – 4paws8claws, reviewing Solid Gold Fit as a Fiddle with Fresh Caught Alaskan Pollock

Negative Reviews

“This is a combination of dark and light tuna in a thick gravy-like sauce. My cats will eat the lighter tuna (looks like chicken chunks), but the can contains only a small amount of the light tuna. Every one of the cats I feed (this includes the ferals), turn their nose up to the dark tuna which, unfortunately, is the majority of the can. It looks & smells like a pulverized mash of the tuna’s offal and waste. For this reason I have been having a difficult time getting rid of a whole case. Gave it 2 stars because it is a natural product with tuna as #1 ingredient.” – cessnagirl, reviewing Solid Gold Five Oceans Shreds with Real Tuna Recipe in Gravy

“For the second time in 3 months I received bad batch of the food, upon opening it the size is larger and kibble is darker, it is causing upset tummy aches in kitties causing diarrhea,Chewys replaced my first order of 3 bags with a diff lot number quickly but after this second time I will NO LONGER purchase this food, it is officially on my bad list.” – colossalKitty, reviewing Solid Gold Indigo Moon with Chicken & Eggs

How Much Does Solid Gold Cat Food Cost?

According to the company’s feeding guidelines, it would cost about 2.72perdaytofeeda10−lbcatSolidGold’sFiveOceanslineofcannedfood.MostofSolidGold’swetfoodsaresimilarly−pricedwiththeexceptionoftheTripleLayerline,whichmightcostabout2.72 per day to feed a 10-lb cat Solid Gold’s Five Oceans line of canned food. Most of Solid Gold’s wet foods are similarly-priced with the exception of the Triple Layer line, which might cost about 2.72perdaytofeeda10−lbcatSolidGold’sFiveOceanslineofcannedfood.MostofSolidGold’swetfoodsaresimilarly−pricedwiththeexceptionoftheTripleLayerline,whichmightcostabout5.18 per day.

Like most cat food brands, Solid Gold’s dry recipes are significantly cheaper than the wet formulas. It would cost about $0.34 per day to feed a 10-lb cat Solid Gold dry kibble.

Overall, Is Solid Gold a Good Choice?

For over 40 years, Solid Gold has maintained a strong reputation for safety and ingredient quality. Their foods receive excellent customer reviews and most cats seem to like the way they taste.

Solid Gold cat food isn’t nutritionally stellar, but it’s definitely above average. Solid Gold dry foods have relatively low carbohydrate content and, unlike many other kibble products, emphasize animal protein over protein from plants. Their wet food is similar—it’s not the best, nor is it the worst.

Solid Gold is mid-priced and of moderate quality. It’s a reliable brand with a wide variety of options for people who want something better than the standard grocery fare, but it lacks the meatiness of other brands like Hound & Gatos and Ziwi Peak.

Where Is Solid Gold Cat Food Sold?

Solid Gold is currently available in stores around the United States, Canada, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thailand. Online, you can buy Solid Gold cat food through Chewy, Amazon, and Petco’s website.

Also Read: Solid Gold Tropical Blendz Cat Food Review and Q&A