Kitten Essentials Chicken & Ocean Fish
9Lives Kitten Essentials Chicken & Ocean Fish is a dry kitten food with grains. Its first ingredients are whole ground corn, chicken by-product meal and corn protein meal. It has an Ingredients score of 36/100, a Nutrition score of 4.5/10 and 2 items on our Avoid List. The lowest price we found is $2.40/lb (2.5 lb bag at Chewy).
Label checked Nov 2, 2026 · Price checked Nov 3, 2026
How It Scores
The first 5 ingredients count for 70%, the rest for 30%.
- Whole Ground Corn
- 1 / 5
- Corn
- Chicken By-Product Meal
- 2 / 5
- By-product meal
- Corn Protein Meal
- 1 / 5
- Plant protein concentrate
- Soybean Meal
- 1 / 5
- Soy
- Animal Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols)
- 2 / 5
- Animal fat, species not named
- Other ingredients
- 2.7 / 5
- Average of the other 13 ingredients
Avoid List
2The label lists caramel color (artificial color), menadione (synthetic vitamin K3).
The number of unwanted additives on the label, counted separately from the two scores: 0 is best. How we score
Kitten targets. Values as listed on the label.
- Protein 38%
- 4.8 / 5
- Full points between 39% and 49%
- Fat 12.5%
- 4.3 / 5
- Full points between 15% and 22%
- Carbohydrates 30%
- 4 / 5
- Full points between 15% and 25%. Our estimate: the label does not list ash.
- Fiber 2.5%
- not scored
- Shown for information.
- Unnamed animal source
- × 0.5
- Animal Fat, Ocean Fish Meal do not name the animal. At least one is in the first 5 ingredients. Score before: 9/10.
What Is in It
Dry matter means the food with the water taken out. It lets you compare foods with different moisture fairly.
| On the label | Dry matter | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein (min) | 38% | 42.2% |
| Fat (min) | 12.5% | 13.9% |
| Fiber (max) | 2.5% | 2.8% |
| Ash | not listed | - |
| Carbohydrates (estimate) | 30% | 33.3% |
| Moisture (max) | 10% | - |
| Calories | 3,605 kcal/kg · 330 kcal/cup | |
Label numbers are limits, not exact amounts: protein and fat are minimums, fiber and moisture are maximums.
Labels do not list carbohydrates, and this one does not list ash either. We estimate carbohydrates by assuming 7% ash, a typical value for dry cat food, and subtracting everything else from 100.
First 5 Ingredients
Ingredients are listed by weight, heaviest first. The first few usually make up most of the food.
- Whole Ground Corn
- Chicken By-Product Meal
- Corn Protein Meal
- Soybean Meal
- Animal Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols)
All Ingredients (Label Order)
Whole Ground Corn, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Protein Meal, Soybean Meal, Animal Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Whole Wheat, Ocean Fish Meal, Natural Flavor (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Dicalcium Phosphate, Salt, Caramel Color, Vitamins [Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Source of Vitamin K Activity), Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin D3 Supplement], Choline Chloride, Taurine, Minerals [Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganous Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate], Citric Acid, Mixed Tocopherols (used as a preservative), Rosemary Extract
Estimated Monthly Cost
We could not find the maker's feeding chart, so there is no monthly estimate. Price per pound in the cheapest bag: $2.40.
Bags and Stores
Prices were checked by hand on the date shown and may have changed. Store links may earn us a commission at no cost to you. How this works
| Bag | Price | per lb | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.5 lbCheapest per lbChewy · price checked Nov 3, 2026 | $5.99 | $2.40 | Buy |
Similar Price, Better Ingredients
Same age group, a higher Ingredients score, a Nutrition score no more than 0.5 lower and no more unwanted additives, at most 20% more per pound.
Last checked: Nov 2, 2026 ·Maker's page ·Suggest a correction