| Country of origin | New Zealand |
| Available from | Pet Circle |
I’ll start this review saying I really like Zealandia cat food (or deluxe pâté if you will, as that’s what they call it). I’ve just finished the Zealandia dog food review so still buzzing a little at how good I feel about the brand.
It’s worth noting the similarities of Zealandia vs ZIWI Peak as another revered New Zealand brand, and being compared with such a decent brand is a great thing. Especially with Zealandia being cheaper.
For the sake of the Zealandia cat food review we’ll delve into a can of Chicken Pâté, but consider the Salmon, Hoki Fish, and Brushtail (that’s a possum to you mate) equally as good.
Zealandia cat food review
What the marketing says
Zealandia pet foods draw on the fact they’re from Gisborne in the north east of New Zealand, an area known for wineries and surfing. Being an area rich in farmland it’s not surprising the chickens they use are free-run and free from growth hormones and antibiotics.
They claim to “responsibly source ethical and sustainable ingredients of the highest quality” with “superfoods from the sea” such as salmon oil and green-lipped mussels, and this sounds good to me ✔️
Zealandia comes with what I would call cutesy marketing, with Zealandia being the 8th continent, purest on Earth, with deep blue seas, fertile land, and clean fresh air. I think I had a dream about that place once…
I’ll allow them artistic merit with the whole Zealandia thing, but as a pet food reviewer I’ll brush that all aside and let’s take a look at what the labelling and ingredients say.
What the ingredients really say
Firstly it’s worth making the point the ingredients very closely mimic a raw prey diet. That’s exactly what you want for a carnivorous cat.
Based on what Zealandia say on their website, we also have some assurances about the quality of the ingredients they use.
That means we’re already off to a good start.
The main ingredient is deboned chicken, and this will make up the bulk of the food – so no nasty fillers, and protein from meat rather than indigestible grains.
Then we have a wonderful list of ingredients true to a native feline diet – lamb liver, lamb lung, lamb green tripe, lamb heart, lamb kidney, and true to quality New Zealand cat foods green mussels.
This is fantastic! It’s a diet worthy of a lion, and a lucky lion at that. Roar.
It’s great to see the supremely nutritious green tripe as something not only hard to buy in Australia, but also very stinky if you do buy it. Having it included in a cat food is a much easier way of giving your cat tripe!
Green(-lipped) mussels are an excellent inclusion which will not only support your cat’s inner health, but should make their coat glossier with more vibrance.
I find choice of oil a telltale sign of a good quality cat food, and with Zealandia we find salmon oil as one of the best inclusions.
I can find nothing bad to say about Zealandia cat food. Yes, it’s more expensive than supermarket junk, but filet mignon is more expensive than McDonalds patties. For good reason.
Zealandia is well worth adding to your cat’s diet. You can mix it with kibble or other foods – the world’s your oyster. I absolutely recommend giving this is go!
Hopefully this review of Zealandia cat food has given some insight, and if it has feel free to tell your friends about this great review site bettering the health of Australian cats! 🐾
Where to buy Zealandia
Buy directly from the VeryPet website.
Ingredients of Zealandia
Ingredients of Zealandia cat food:
Deboned Chicken, Water Sufficient for Processing, Lamb Liver, Lamb Lung, Lamb Green Tripe, Lamb Heart, Lamb Kidney, New Zealand Green Mussel, Dried Yeast, Cassia Gum, Carrot, Salmon Oil, Calcium Carbonate, Agar-Agar, Guar Gum, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Taurine, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Glycine Complex, Niacin Supplement, Alpha-Tocoperol Acetate, Sodium Selenite, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Glycine Complex, Thiamine Mononitrate, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin A Acetate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Calcium Iodate, Folic Acid, Cholecalciferol.
Guaranteed analysis of Zealandia
Guaranteed analysis of Zealandia cat food:
| Protein | (min) 9.5% |
| Fat | (min) 5.0% |
| Crude Fibre | (max) 1.5% |
| Carbohydrates * | (max) 0.75% (listed on label) |
I mixed in the lamb and beef pates to my cat’s regular food and she is happy to accept. Recently bought the duck pate for her to try. She is also happy with it. I noticed also that with the duck pate, her poop is firmer, while for the lamb and beef, her poop will start out firm but the last bits would be more soft. So I think I will be getting more duck for her. The King Salmon pate didn’t work for her as she had diarrhoea after eating it. So to be safe, I guess I won’t be getting any fish based ones for her.
Cassia gum, agar agar, guar gum, sodium selenite , there’re quite a few ingredients that’s worrying in their recipe.
The Zealander lamb seems to be the best in their range for cats with kidney disease as it has the lowest phosphorus. My boy, who as a former long term street cat has multiple medical conditions, loves it. Being such good quality protein it makes him feel happy & full. I alternate it with the lower phosphrous Weruva (which is also lower for carbs), Black Hawke lamb & salmon & Wellness Core chicken pate. He also has some kidney food from Hills & Royal Canin. He also likes the Paw & Spoon chicken & Salmon: I have no idea what its phosphrous content is & don’t know how to find out. He has no dry food apart from the occasional freeze dried chicken thigh treats from the Paw Grocer. I have learned so much from your reviews & it has strongly influenced by your food reviews. He was supposed to be palliative when he came to us 17 months ago but has thrived & is described by his vet as “fat & happy”. Thank you so much.
This is now priced at almost the same price as Ziwi, it is still slightly cheaper. My only concern is the cassia gum, agar agar and guar gum. These types of ingredients just aren’t in the other premium NZ brands…I wonder why. Could this cause an upset stomach?
Agree, the gums aren’t good for cats.
Also most cats I try to give this to, trying many varieties – won’t touch it.
A lot of cats won’t eat Ziwipeak or Feline Natural either though 🙁 it’s depressing
None of my cats will touch this food (three flavours tried) even the strays outside leave it back. I bought it on special to try and won’t be buying again. I have been trying various brands in hope of weaning one of my cats off the Fancy Feast pate types, they are priced like a high quality food but are nowhere near the quality nutritionally wise. My other cats all eat Feline Natural.
My cat absolutely loves this brand of wet food.. She’s a fussy eater and I thought she might turn her nose up at it when I mixed it with her regular food, but she took to it straight away. Once I transitioned her to only this, she eats it with no problems.
While this might read like a great food for cats, one of my cats wouldn’t touch it and the other threw up shortly after eating it. I tried different flavours after that but both cats preferred to go hungry than eat this brand. I gave the remaining cans away to friends and the reaction was mixed. Some cats liked it; others walked away.