Cat food without added salt
Salt (sodium chloride) turns up in some cat foods as a flavour enhancer or preservative, and a number of owners would rather avoid it, whether for a cat on a vet-recommended low-sodium diet or simply a preference for a shorter, plainer ingredients list. Complete cat food always contains some natural sodium from the meat and other ingredients themselves — the aim with a low-salt search is usually avoiding added salt on top of that, not sodium altogether.
Why owners look for cat food without added salt
The most common reason is a vet-recommended low-sodium diet, usually linked to a heart or kidney condition where managing sodium intake is part of the wider treatment plan your vet has set out. In that case, your vet will usually recommend a specific food or range rather than leaving it to label-reading alone.
Other owners are simply looking to avoid unnecessary additives generally, in the same way they might for their own food, without there being a specific medical reason behind it. Both are valid starting points, but only your vet can tell you whether a genuinely low-sodium diet is medically necessary for your cat.
How to check a label for added salt
Look down the ingredients list for 'salt', 'sodium chloride' or high-sodium flavour ingredients like broths and stocks with salt added, rather than the word 'sodium' on the nutritional panel — that figure includes the natural sodium in the meat as well as anything added, so it isn't a like-for-like comparison between products.
Ingredients are listed by weight, so an added-salt ingredient near the top of the list matters more than the same ingredient appearing near the bottom. A shorter ingredients list generally makes this easier to check than a long one with several flavourings and additives.
What to look for instead
Foods built around a single named meat or fish, without added broths, gravies or flavour enhancers, tend to keep added salt to a minimum by design rather than through a specific 'no added salt' claim, which isn't a standard label term most UK brands use.
If your vet has recommended a genuinely low-sodium diet for a medical reason, ask them to point you to a specific product or range, since that's a decision that should be made with your cat's actual condition in mind rather than by label-reading alone.
Without it, and in stock
Everything below is in stock with us, priced with delivery worked out, and packed and posted by hand in the UK.
Whiskas 1+ Salmon Adult Dry Cat Food
Complete salmon dry food for adult cats in a practical 1.9KG bag
£12.39
Whiskas Kitten Chicken Dry Cat Food
Complete chicken dry food for kittens, available in several bag sizes
From£3.19
James Wellbeloved Grain Free Adult Dry Cat Food Turkey
A grain-free turkey dry food for adult cats, with potato rather than rice or wheat for carbohydrate
£24.65
James Wellbeloved Kitten Dry Cat Food Fish
Single-protein fish dry food for growing kittens, excluding common allergens
£21.79
James Wellbeloved Senior Dry Cat Food Turkey
A single-source turkey dry food for senior cats, formulated with added joint-care ingredients
From£21.79
James Wellbeloved Light Adult Dry Cat Food Fish
A lower-calorie fish dry food for adult cats managing their weight, with joint-support ingredients
£24.65
Whiskas 1+ Lamb Adult Dry Cat Food
Complete lamb dry food for adult cats in a practical 1.9KG bag
£12.39
Whiskas 7+ Chicken Adult Dry Cat Food
Complete chicken dry food for senior cats aged 7+ in an 800G bag
£6.09
Purina One Kitten Chicken
Chicken kitten food with added DHA, and a feeding guide from 6 weeks to a year
From£6.65
Purina One Sensitive Cat Turkey
A complete dry food for cats with sensitive digestion, built around turkey
£19.29
One Purina One Light Cat Chicken
A weight-management dry cat food with chicken, 37% protein and reduced fat for cats watching their weight
From£6.65
Simpsons Cat 90 10 Meat Fish
A high-meat dry food for cats, built from 90% animal ingredients across five sources
From£16.45
Common questions
- Does all cat food contain salt?
- All cat food contains some natural sodium from the meat, fish and other ingredients it's made from — that's unavoidable and not the same as added salt. The difference to look for on a label is salt or sodium chloride added deliberately, usually for flavour, rather than sodium occurring naturally.
- Why would a cat need a low-sodium diet?
- Vets sometimes recommend managing sodium intake as part of treating certain heart or kidney conditions, where it's one part of a wider treatment plan rather than a change to make alone. If your cat has been diagnosed with a condition like this, ask your vet which foods they recommend.
- Is grain-free cat food lower in salt?
- Not necessarily — grain-free and low-salt are two separate things, and a grain-free food can still contain added salt or flavour enhancers. Check the ingredients list itself for added salt rather than assuming a grain-free label tells you anything about sodium content.
- Can too much salt harm a cat?
- A healthy cat's kidneys generally manage normal dietary sodium without issue, but a cat with an existing heart or kidney condition may need their sodium intake managed more carefully as part of their treatment. If you're worried about your cat's salt intake, speak to your vet rather than guessing at a limit yourself.
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Written by Matt Garnett, who runs Giddy Pets and is a lifelong pet owner — not a vet. This is general information, not veterinary advice, and it cannot replace an examination by the vet who knows your animal. How we write these guides.