Purina, as one of the largest prt food manufacturers has the bucks to do extensive research and testing to figure out what appeals to the maximum number of kitties.
Are you referring to Purina One type which does have a higher total percentage of meat over their standard chow?
That’s what I have used for my cats as well. I know that it would be ideal if I were feeding exclusively what is termed a “natural prey” diet but it’s just too daunting in terms of availability and proper nutrient balance. I did quite a bit of reading up one it and it is a major hassle.
But I console myself with two pieces of reality.
Purina One does have a meticulously balanced formula which provides everything essential to a cats life.
My previous cat lived a long and happy eighteen years of life with this as her primary food.
The cat prior to her died sooner in life but there was nothing that the best diet in the world could have prevented. She died from a stroke due to HCM. This is linked to heredity via a dominant gene and most cats don’t even make it to eleven years old. There is no cure yet.
If the food I feed shortens a cats life by a few years ( who knows whether Velvet may have lived to twenty rather than eighteen with a better diet?) then that just makes room a little sooner for the next little shelter refugee who may otherwise have been put down for simple lack of space.
There are SO SO many cats who die every day for no reason other than their time is up at the shelter. Certainly far far more than those whose lives may be a little shorter due to not having the absolute best quality food.
I guess that may be rationalizing a bit, but that doesn’t make it any less true.
So far I have not had any catastrophic results from raising my cats on Purina One. It’s a bit more costly than their regular stuff but still affordable for me on a limited budget. Their coats are healthy and glossy and they have plenty of energy to enjoy a full life, so I’m ok with it. Just my little two cents worth.