Fancy Feast Appetizers Review: Is This Lickable Cat Food Topper Worth It?

Quick Verdict

The Fancy Feast Appetizers lickable topper delivers on taste — most cats will clear the bowl. It's convenient, grain free, and adds real variety to an otherwise monotonous dry-food routine. I'd call it a solid choice as an occasional treat or topper, not a daily staple. Score: 4.2 out of 5.

What Is the Fancy Feast Appetizers?

Picture this: it's 6 PM, dinner time, and your cat is giving you that look. The same kibble, the same bowl, the same vaguely disappointed expression. Fancy Feast Appetizers is Purina's answer to the bored indoor cat — a lickable wet food topper that comes in tiny 1.1 oz trays with real skipjack tuna and sole swimming in a delicate broth. You peel back the lid, dump it on their regular food, and watch the magic happen.

These are positioned as a cat food topper or between-meal snack, not a complete diet. Each tray features that signature Fancy Feast flaked texture — soft enough to lick, chunky enough to feel like actual food rather than smooth pate. The ingredients list reads cleanly: real tuna, real sole, and a broth that does its job without fanfare.

Key Features

• Real skipjack tuna and sole — recognizable ingredients, not mystery meat
• Convenient peel-and-serve 1.1 oz trays, no mess, no scooping
• Grain free formula for cats with grain sensitivities
• Tender flaked texture cats instinctively want to lick
• Delicate broth adds moisture to your cat's diet
• Pack of 10 trays offers decent value per serving
• Part of the broader Fancy Feast gourmet cat food and treats line

Hands-On Review

I grabbed a pack and put it through its paces with three cats: a senior tabby who's gotten pickier with age, a one-year-old Bengal with very specific opinions about everything, and a ragdoll who will eat literally anything but deserves good things anyway. The tabby approached the tray with classic suspicion — she's been burned before by mediocre treats. But once she got a whiff of that tuna, all bets were off. Licked the bowl. Then licked where the bowl had been sitting.

The Bengal was less immediately impressed — she wanted to know what else was happening in the house while she ate. But by day three, she'd started waiting by the food station when she heard the tray packaging crinkle. That's a behavioral tell I couldn't ignore. The ragdoll, predictably, had zero reservations from the first bite.

What surprised me was the texture. I expected something closer to jelly, but it's genuinely flaky — almost like you'd pulled it from a can of good tuna. The broth is light. Not watery, not thick. It sits on top of dry kibble without immediately soaking everything into mush, which matters if your cat is a grazer rather than a scarfer.

After the first week, I noticed all three cats seemed more animated at dinner time. The tabby's coat looked the same, but she was drinking less water from her bowl — probably because the added moisture from the topper was doing some of that job. I'll take that as a small win.

There's a thing nobody mentions in the listings: the smell. It's surprisingly mild. Not the overwhelming fishy odor you get from some wet foods. My kitchen didn't end up smelling like a tuna processing plant after serving these, which I genuinely appreciated.

Who Should Buy It?

If your cat eats primarily dry food and you want to add some excitement and moisture to their diet, this topper checks those boxes. It's also a good fit for cats who are underweight or need encouragement to eat — the strong aroma and rich fish flavor tend to stimulate appetite in even reluctant eaters. Picky eaters who have turned their noses up at other wet foods might respond better to this particular recipe.

Skip this entirely if your cat has a known seafood allergy or you prefer to stick to single-protein limited-ingredient diets — the tuna-and-sole combo introduces multiple fish proteins that could trigger a reaction. And if you're philosophically opposed to any fish-based treats, this obviously isn't the one.

Alternatives Worth Considering

If you want to compare before committing, a couple of alternatives are worth a look. Inaba Churu is a popular lickable cat treat that comes in a wider flavor range including poultry options — useful if your cat tolerates chicken but not fish. Tiki Cat Born Carnivore positions itself as a more premium option with higher meat content and a texture that leans more toward actual shredded meat than flakes. Both are more expensive per tray than Fancy Feast Appetizers, but some cats respond better to one over the other. Worth trying both if your cat is a particularly picky case.

FAQ

Final Verdict

Fancy Feast Appetizers won't win any culinary awards, but they do exactly what they promise: make dinner more interesting for finicky cats without requiring effort on your part. The ingredients are honest, the convenience is real, and the price point won't make you wince. I use them two or three times a week now as part of a rotation — keeps things interesting without replacing balanced nutrition or blowing the budget.

Will I keep buying them? Honestly, yes — with a caveat. If your cat already devours their food enthusiastically, this is a nice-to-have rather than a need-to-have. But if you've got a cat who's been staging a quiet food protest lately, this topper might be exactly what breaks the deadlock.