While there are commercially available pet foods designed specifically for a ferret’s diet, these can often be quite expensive compared to dog or cat foods. Fortunately, since cats are also obligate carnivores, their food can sometimes be substituted for more expensive ferret formulations.
Taking a ferret’s specific nutrition requirements into account, we compiled reviews of the six best cat foods for your pet. This list includes the top choices for every budget and a guide to feeding cat food to ferrets.
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A Quick Comparison of Our Favorites in 2025
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Best Overall
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Wysong Archetype Freeze-Dried |
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Best Value
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Dr. Elsey's Grain-Free |
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Premium Choice
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ORIJEN Cat & Critters |
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Wysong Epigen Canned Formula |
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Blue Buffalo Wilderness |
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The 6 Best Cat Foods for Ferrets
1. Wysong Archetype Freeze-Dried Raw Cat Food — Best Overall
Remarkable for its “true non-thermal” processing, Wysong Archetype Freeze-Dried Raw Cat Food most closely resembles the natural raw diet of predator animals like cats and ferrets. Never heated to above 118°F, this raw meat cat food aims to provide 100% of any obligate carnivore’s dietary needs.
High in natural animal proteins that provide a rich base of amino acids, this food contains a large portion of animal fats that are great for your ferret’s joint and organ health. Based around whole chicken, it provides a complete vitamin and mineral profile through the inclusion of bone and organ meat.
Overall, the Wysong Archetype food is far from being the cheapest product on this list, but given its uncompromising quality and near-perfect composition in addition to a long shelf life, it’s a fantastic investment in your pet’s long-term health. It’s the best overall cat food for ferrets.
- Freeze-dried raw meat for maximum nutrient retention
- Completely free of starches, grains, and fillers
- Contains a full profile of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids
- Low-temperature processing maintains the integrity of all ingredients
- Long 1-year shelf life
- Includes probiotics to help with proper digestion
- Pricey
- Requires additional time to prepare by reconstituting with water
2. Dr. Elsey’s Grain-Free Dry Cat Food — Best Value
Dr. Elsey’s Grain-Free Dry Cat Food offers substantial value at a reasonable price, all while maintaining an impressive nutrient profile. Available in 2- or 6.6-pound bags and boasting an extremely long shelf life, it’s the best cat food for ferrets for the money.
Containing over 90% animal protein and a whole host of added vitamins and minerals, Dr. Elsey’s is an exceptionally high-quality dry cat food that’s entirely suitable for ferrets. Based around whole chicken with the addition of pork and egg proteins, it’s a well-balanced food that is entirely free of grains, gluten, and pea proteins, common fillers used in other dry cat foods.
The only downside is that some owners report that their ferrets just don’t have much of a taste for the food. We recommend starting with the small bag and testing to make sure your ferrets enjoy Dr. Elsey’s before committing to the savings of a bulk-size bag.
- Based on whole animal proteins
- Free of grains, gluten, and peas
- Added vitamins and minerals provide complete nutrition
- Affordable
- Contains dried egg, which may upset some ferrets’ stomachs
3. ORIJEN Cat & Kitten Dry Cat Food – Premium Choice
The only cat food for ferrets on this list to be based around free-run and wild-caught animal proteins, Orijen Cat & Kitten Dry Cat Food is designed to mimic the diets of predators found in the wild. By including plenty of meat protein and organs, cartilage, and bone, it provides an extremely high-quality nutritional source. If it were just a bit more affordable, this cat food may have easily secured the top spot.
Consisting of 90% whole animal ingredients and 10% vegetable, fruit, and botanical supplements, Orijen’s dry cat food also has the benefit of being the freshest-tasting dry food we tested. Many ferrets unanimously agree that it is the tastiest food of all and have no problem digesting it after a hearty meal. In short, it may be the best cat food for a ferret that is a picky eater, and it is an excellent premium choice even if your pet isn’t so particular about their food.
- Contains 90% animal-derived ingredients
- Mimics the diet of predators in the wild
- Completely grain- and filler-free
- Made in the United States
- Quite expensive
4. Wysong Epigen Canned Formula
Featuring an impressive 95% meat composition, Wysong Epigen Canned Formula is a tremendously well-designed food for predator animals. Available in proteins from six different single-animal sources, this variety pack provides plenty of options for even the pickiest of eaters while still offering a complete nutritional package.
Like all Wysong’s pet food products, the Epigen Canned Formula contains no starches, grains, or fillers that could interfere with your ferret’s digestion. Due to its rich and fatty nutrient profile, however, Wysong recommends rotating its canned diets with dry food and other non-thermal raw foods. While this makes it an excellent complement to our top pick, it limits the overall utility of this six-flavor package.
- Contains over 95% meat products in each can
- Six flavors make this variety pack suitable for picky eaters
- Completely free of starches, grains, fillers, and artificial ingredients
- Intended to be rotated with other foods
- Not for use as a sole food source over long periods of time
5. Blue Buffalo Wilderness Adult Dry Cat Food
A dry cat food based around chicken protein and available in bulk, Blue Buffalo Wilderness Adult Dry Cat Food is an affordable alternative to freeze-dried or wet foods. Featuring over 90% animal protein, it’s a suitable choice for ferrets that is only held back by its moderate use of filler ingredients.
Tapioca starch is the main offender in Blue Buffalo’s dry cat food, providing a slight boost to protein while helping keep the dry kibble from crumbling. Additionally, small portions of pea protein may end up causing an upset stomach for ferrets with sensitive digestion.
For healthy ferrets, this food is unlikely to present any problems even with extended use, but we don’t necessarily recommend it for older or more sensitive pets without talking to the vet first.
- Extremely affordable and available with deep discounts on bulk sizing
- Chicken as its primary ingredient
- Good source of all necessary vitamins and minerals
- Contains tapioca starch, mainly used as a filler ingredient
- Contains protein filler that may upset some ferrets’ stomachs
6. ZIWI Peak Air-Dried Chicken Recipe Cat Food
Advertising itself as containing “10% superfoods,” ZIWI Peak Air-Dried Chicken Recipe Cat Food has various forms of chicken at the top of the ingredient list, followed by New Zealand green mussels and organic kelp. It’s also grain free and contains no artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives. A double air-drying process is used to preserve the ingredients, making the food more like standard kibble while still retaining moisture.
That said, many owners (and their pets) are put off by the smell of ZIWI Peak Chicken Food, which is likely due to the mussels causing a strong “fishy” odor. It’s also quite expensive for how small the bag is, so if you have multiple ferrets to feed, you may want to find something a bit more cost-effective.
- Free of grains and artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives
- Various forms of chicken as first ingredients
- Strong fish smell
- Expensive
Related Read: Can Ferrets Eat Peanut Butter?
Buyer’s Guide: Choosing the Best Cat Food for Ferrets
The same food that might be okay for cats to eat isn’t always the best choice for ferrets. To get the inside scoop on feeding cat food to your pet, read on for a buyer’s guide.
Is Cat Food Safe for Ferrets to Eat? Why Should You Feed Cat Food to Your Ferret?
As obligate carnivores (animals that require high amounts of animal protein in their diets), cats and ferrets have similar nutritional requirements. This should come as no surprise, as in the wild, both are predators that rely on the flesh of prey animals to survive.
While cats have evolved to tolerate a certain amount of carbohydrates or sugars in their diets (likely due to living with humans for generations), ferrets never developed an ability to digest grains or other complex carbohydrates. When you want to feed cat food to your ferret, you’ll need to choose only foods that are free of grains and based entirely on animal proteins.
Fortunately, there are many types of commercially produced cat foods that are safe for ferrets to eat—and plenty that are not.
What to Look For in a Cat Food to Feed Your Ferret
Providing for a ferret’s nutritional needs with commercially available cat food will be challenging if you don’t know what requirements to look for.
- Based on animal proteins. Complete animal proteins, preferably from chicken or prey animals, should form the bulk of the ingredients for any cat food that you choose to feed your ferret.
- A complete source of essential nutrients. A well-rounded vitamin and mineral profile will tell you whether the ingredients used are sufficient to provide daily nutrition for your ferret.
- Grain-free. Wheat and rice are common additives to poorly produced pet foods and will have a terrible effect on your ferret’s digestion.
- Filler-free. Binding agents like molasses and corn syrup aren’t digestible by ferrets and can quickly lead to serious health problems.
Types of Cat Food to Feed Ferrets
There are three main types of cat food that can be appropriate to feed ferrets:
- Dry cat foods have the advantage of a long shelf life and easy bulk storage. They’re often the most affordable option for a cat food to feed to your ferrets but are also the most likely to contain fillers or grains. Choose dry cat foods that are specifically marketed as being grain-free and based on animal proteins, not vegetable proteins.
- Wet cat food usually provides more whole prey products, with a greater proportion of fat and minerals compared to dry foods. It will often be more expensive and come in single-serving cans. This makes wet cat food best suited to occasional treats rather than daily feedings for ferrets.
- Freeze-dried cat foods combine the best of wet and dry foods but tend to be the most expensive option due to their extensive and specialized processing. They offer a shelf life of up to a year and a complete nutrient profile from raw meats that is especially well suited to a ferret’s nutritional needs.
Cat Foods to Avoid Feeding to Your Ferret
Due to their inability to digest complex carbohydrates, not every ferret can tolerate cat food. Dry foods are especially susceptible to being loaded with fillers and grains, both of which are harmful to your ferret’s digestion and overall health. If you’ve never fed a specific brand of cat food to your ferret before, proceed with extra caution, and monitor their health and digestion carefully until you’re sure that it’s a good choice for your pet.
Our Cat Foods for Ferrets Selection Process
The cat foods for ferrets we reviewed in this article were chosen by PangoVet’s writers and editors, in collaboration with our experienced veterinary team, based on personal experience with the product, knowledge and expertise about the pet’s care needs, brand reputation, and reviews across multiple retail outlets from other customers that have purchased and used the product. The combination of these factors allows us to gather a wide range of information to help you choose only the best cat foods for ferrets and ensure you have the most accurate information about these products to promote proper care, health, and well-being of your beloved pets.
Why Trust PangoVet?
PangoVet’s licensed and experienced veterinarians have a knowledge base that extends to all kinds of pets—furry, scaly, and feathered—and want only the best for pets of all shapes and sizes. We also have experienced writers and editors who are pet owners with a variety of different pets, and we love our pets as much as you do. We recognize pets as part of our family. We make sure to only choose products from reputable brands highly rated by customers as well as products that we have personal experience with, to ensure that every cat food for ferrets featured in this review is high-quality and safe for your pets.
Conclusion
As far as quality goes, it’s nearly impossible to beat the minimal processing methods of the Wysong’s Archetype Freeze-Dried Raw Cat Food. Due to the completely raw ingredients used in its preparation, it provides a greater range of nutrients that are perfect for keeping your ferret healthy. It’s certainly not cheap, but of all the foods for ferrets in these reviews, only the Wysong stands out as providing perfectly balanced nutrition.
Anyone on a tighter budget would do well to invest in the Dr. Elsey’s Grain-Free Dry Cat Food as an excellent alternative. Its 100% grain-free, filler-free formula is based on chicken as the main protein, making it a desirable choice for ferrets of all ages. Plus, since it’s a dry food, you can take advantage of significant savings by ordering in bulk 6.6-pound bags.
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Featured Image Credit: cynoclub, Shutterstock
