You open the can and it looks like something off a restaurant plate. Actual shreds of chicken breast, clear broth, no brown mush. Your cat loses her mind.
So Reveal passes the two tests most wet foods fail: it looks like real food and cats actually eat it. There is a third test though, and this is where it gets complicated.
Most Reveal cans are not a complete diet. That is not a scandal or a secret, it is printed on the label. But it is easy to miss, and feeding a cat nothing but complementary food for months causes real harm.
- Most Reveal wet cat food in broth is labelled complementary, meaning it is not nutritionally complete and cannot be fed as a cat’s only diet.
- Reveal’s Natural Complete and Balanced dry range is complete and balanced, so it can be fed as a sole diet.
- Reveal recipes typically contain three or four ingredients, with no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives.
- Complementary foods lack added taurine, and long term taurine deficiency in cats causes dilated cardiomyopathy and retinal degeneration.
- Reveal broth cans are one of the better ways to add moisture to the diet of a cat who does not drink enough water.
Our Top Picks
Reveal Natural Complete & Balanced Grain-Free Chicken Recipe Dry Cat Food, 7-lb bag
Reveal Natural Grain-Free Chicken Breast in Broth Flavored Wet Cat Food, 2.47-oz can, case of 24
Reveal Chicken Recipe Grain-Free Dry Kitten Food, 2.5-lb bag, 5-lb bundle
Reveal cat food range compared
| Product | Best for | Size | Price | Complete or topper |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reveal Natural Complete & Balanced Grain-Free Chicken Recipe Dry Cat Food, 7-lb bag | Best complete meal | 4.4 lb | $31.99 | Complete |
| Reveal Natural Complete & Balanced Grain-Free Whitefish Recipe Dry Cat Food, 7-lb bag | Best complete fish option | 4.4 lb | $31.99 | Complete |
| Reveal Natural Grain-Free Chicken Breast in Broth Flavored Wet Cat Food, 2.47-oz can, case of 24 | Best topper | 24 cans | $30.96 | Complementary |
| Reveal Natural Grain-Free Tuna with Shrimp in Broth Flavored Wet Cat Food, 2.12-oz pot, case of 18 | Best fish topper | 24 cans | $30.42 | Complementary |
| Reveal Chicken Recipe Grain-Free Dry Kitten Food, 2.5-lb bag, 5-lb bundle | Best for kittens | 2.5 lb | $28.48 | Complete |
| Reveal Natural Puree Variety Selection Lickable Cat Treat, 40 count bundle | Best treat | 40 count | $22.78 | Treat |
Is Reveal cat food complete and balanced?
Reveal’s dry food is complete and balanced. Most of Reveal’s wet food in broth is not. This single distinction matters more than anything else in this review, so it is worth being precise about.
A complete and balanced food meets the AAFCO nutrient profiles and can be fed as an animal’s only diet. A complementary food is designed to sit alongside a complete diet. It is real food, it is not defective, but it is missing the vitamin and mineral package a cat needs long term.
Reveal’s broth cans are deliberately minimal. Chicken breast, water, maybe a little rice. That simplicity is exactly why cats like them and exactly why they cannot stand alone.
Check the label on any can you buy. The wording appears in small print, usually near the feeding guidelines, and it is the difference between a treat and a meal.
Why feeding only complementary food is a real problem
Cats cannot make enough taurine on their own, so they must get it from their diet. Complete foods add it deliberately. Minimal complementary recipes often do not.
Sustained taurine deficiency causes dilated cardiomyopathy, a weakening of the heart muscle, and retinal degeneration that can end in blindness. Both are well documented and both are largely preventable through diet. The Cornell Feline Health Center is a reliable place to read more about feline nutritional requirements.
None of this means Reveal is dangerous. Fed as intended, as a topper on a complete diet, it is a genuinely good product. The risk comes from a well meaning owner who buys a case, feeds nothing else for six months, and never reads the small print. If that describes you, switch the base of the diet, not the brand.
The 6 Reveal cat food products, reviewed
Reveal Natural Complete & Balanced Grain-Free Chicken Recipe Dry Cat Food, 7-lb bag: best complete meal
This is the one to buy if you want Reveal as your cat’s actual food rather than a garnish. The dry Complete and Balanced range carries the added vitamins, minerals, and taurine that the broth cans leave out, so it can be fed as a sole diet. Grain free, chicken led, and the range where Reveal earns the word food rather than topper.
Reveal Natural Complete & Balanced Grain-Free Whitefish Recipe Dry Cat Food, 7-lb bag: best complete fish option
Same complete and balanced formulation as the chicken bag, built around whitefish for cats who turn their nose up at poultry. Useful if you rotate proteins to head off the fussiness that comes from feeding one flavor for years. Also complete, so it works as a standalone diet.
Reveal Natural Grain-Free Chicken Breast in Broth Flavored Wet Cat Food, 2.47-oz can, case of 24: best topper
Shredded chicken breast in a clear broth, and it genuinely looks like food you would eat. Three or four ingredients, no gums, no thickeners, no artificial anything. Superb for tempting a cat who has gone off their dinner or for pushing water into a cat who never drinks. Do not feed it as the whole meal.
Reveal Natural Grain-Free Tuna with Shrimp in Broth Flavored Wet Cat Food, 2.12-oz pot, case of 18: best fish topper
Tuna with shrimp in broth, and the smell does most of the work. This is the can to keep in the cupboard for a cat recovering from illness or refusing food after a stressful day. Same caveat applies: it is complementary, so it sits on top of a complete diet rather than replacing one.
Reveal Chicken Recipe Grain-Free Dry Kitten Food, 2.5-lb bag, 5-lb bundle: best for kittens
A complete and balanced kitten formula, which matters more here than with most brands because so much of the Reveal range is not. Kittens have zero margin for a nutritionally incomplete diet during growth, so if you want to feed Reveal to a kitten, this bag is the answer and the broth cans are not.
Reveal Natural Puree Variety Selection Lickable Cat Treat, 40 count bundle: best treat
Lickable puree tubes in a variety pack. These are a treat and are labelled as one, so there is no confusion to clear up. Handy for pilling a difficult cat, for nail trims, or for the sort of bribery that makes a vet carrier slightly less traumatic.
What Reveal gets right
- Ingredient honesty. Three or four recognisable items. No gums, no carrageenan, no vague meat derivatives.
- Moisture. Broth based food is one of the easiest ways to get water into a cat, which protects the kidneys and urinary tract over a lifetime. If your cat ignores a bowl entirely, a cat water fountain often works better than any food change.
- Palatability. It converts fussy cats. If your cat has stopped eating and you need something tempting, this category works.
- Clear labelling. Reveal does say complementary on the pack. Plenty of brands in this category are far vaguer.
Who should buy Reveal, and who should not
Buy Reveal if you want a clean topper to make a complete diet more appealing or more hydrating, or if you want the dry Complete and Balanced range as a genuine main food. Both are good at their jobs.
Skip it if you want a single wet food to feed exclusively, because most of the range cannot do that and buying around the exceptions is fiddly. Our roundup of the best wet cat food covers complete options, and our main cat food guide compares full diets across budgets.
The bottom line on Reveal cat food
Reveal makes some of the cleanest wet food you can buy, and cats respond to it in a way they do not respond to brown pate. The ingredient list is short and honest and there is nothing in it to object to.
The catch is structural rather than a flaw. Most of it is a topper, and it should be bought as one. If you want Reveal to be the whole meal, buy Reveal Natural Complete & Balanced Grain-Free Chicken Recipe Dry Cat Food, 7-lb bag instead of the cans. This article is educational and not veterinary advice, so if your cat has been eating only complementary food for a long stretch, mention it to your vet rather than worrying alone.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Is Reveal cat food complete and balanced?
Reveal’s Natural Complete and Balanced dry cat food is complete and balanced and can be fed as a sole diet. Most Reveal wet food in broth is labelled complementary, which means it is not nutritionally complete and should be fed alongside a complete diet.
Q: Can I feed my cat only Reveal wet food?
No. Most Reveal wet cans are complementary rather than complete, so feeding them exclusively over a long period risks nutritional deficiency, including taurine deficiency. Use them as a topper on a complete and balanced food.
Q: Is Reveal cat food good quality?
Reveal is high quality for what it is. Recipes typically contain three or four ingredients with no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives, and the meat is visibly whole rather than ground. The limitation is nutritional completeness, not ingredient quality.
Q: What does complementary cat food mean?
Complementary cat food is food designed to be fed alongside a complete and balanced diet rather than instead of one. It usually lacks the full vitamin, mineral, and amino acid package a cat needs, so it works as a topper or treat but not as a whole meal.
Q: Does Reveal cat food have taurine?
Reveal’s complete and balanced dry recipes include added taurine. The minimal broth cans rely on taurine naturally present in the meat and fish rather than added taurine, which is one reason they are labelled complementary.
Q: Is Reveal good for cats who do not drink water?
Yes, broth based food like Reveal is one of the easier ways to increase a cat’s water intake, which supports kidney and urinary health. Feed it on top of a complete diet rather than in place of one.
Q: Has Reveal cat food been recalled?
There is no widely reported FDA recall of Reveal cat food. Always check the FDA recall database for the current status of any pet food brand before buying.
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We are some passionate cat owners from different professions. We love our cats and have a lot of experience in how to care for our pets. We are incredibly excited to share our knowledge, experience, and research with you. So you can take good care of your loving cat. We will answer most of the common questions about owning cats, taking care of them, etc. If you have any question contact with us. Thanks for visiting! Enjoy the content.
