trout

What it is

Trout — almost always farmed rainbow trout in pet food — is a freshwater oily fish contributing named animal protein and omega-3 fatty acids, milder in fat than salmon but in the same family, literally and nutritionally.

Why it's in pet food

It gives fish-first recipes a named freshwater option and brands a way to differentiate from the salmon crowd. Deboned trout near the top of a label is doing real protein work.

How Bowlmark scores it

Scores are deterministic math over the printed label — the rules below apply to every product identically, and nothing estimates or fills in a blank.

Trout is on the engine's named-protein list: 15 points on the ingredient-quality pillar when fresh trout leads the label; a named trout meal would earn 12 in that slot, or 8 when second or third.

Read the full methodology

Foods that list trout

Ranked by score where scores exist. Placement here is never sold.

• ACANA Bountiful Catch90
• Fancy Feast Gourmet Naturals Natural Trout & Tuna Recipe85
• Taste of the Wild Canyon River Feline Recipe with Trout and Smoke-Flavored Salmon85
• ACANA Highest Protein Meadowlands84
• Purina ONE Natural, High Protein Cat Food, Salmon and Trout Recipe in Sauce78

Sources

• WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee — Selecting a pet food
• ACVN — omega-3 fatty acids in joint support

Related ingredients

• sardine meal
• shrimp
• tilapia
• tuna
• tuna meal
• whitefish

Further reading

• Protein quality vs quantity — why the % is only half the story
• Storing pet food so it stays the food you bought