Smilla is ZooPlus’s own-brand workhorse: the range most UK owners land on when they want a step up from supermarket food without paying premium prices. It is also the ZooPlus brand that confuses people most, because the name covers everything from 10kg economy sacks of dry kibble to grain-free sensitive recipes and kitten pouches — all under one label, at very different quality levels.
We’ve reviewed every major ZooPlus own-brand across our ZooPlus guide, so this page does something the brand’s own listings can’t: it tells you where Smilla actually sits against its siblings, and which parts of the range are worth your money.
Smilla Cat Food Review: Our Quick Verdict
Smilla is the value tier, and it is honest about it. The wet food is the strong half of the range — meat content and palatability are good for the price, and the large value packs bring the cost per meal well below British premium brands. The dry food is where expectations need managing: it is competent, economical kibble, not a premium formulation, and several owners note it is very dry and gets eaten in slightly larger portions than richer brands. Buy Smilla wet food for everyday feeding on a budget; look at Feringa if you want ZooPlus’s genuinely premium tier, or Concept for Life if your cat needs a specific formulation. And if the priority is maximum meat content on a budget, Rosie’s Farm is the range built for exactly that.
Where Smilla Sits in the ZooPlus Range
This is the question the product pages never answer. ZooPlus runs several own-brands that overlap on the shelf but not in purpose:
| Brand | Tier | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Smilla | Value / everyday | Feeding several cats, or one cat well, without premium pricing |
| Cosma | Treat-grade wet | Fussy cats, toppers, hydration (Cosma Soup) |
| Feringa | Premium | High meat content, cold-pressed dry |
| Concept for Life | Specialised | Breed-specific, sterilised, indoor, urinary care |
In practice: Smilla is the base of the pyramid. Owners often feed Smilla wet as the daily staple and use Cosma as the treat or the appetite-rescue option for a cat that has gone off its food. That combination costs less than feeding a British premium brand alone and, in our reading of the ranges, feeds better than either used on its own.
The Smilla Range: What’s Worth Buying
Smilla Wet Food (pouches and tins) — the strong half
This is where the brand earns its reputation. The value multipacks (typically 20 × 400g tins or large pouch packs) are the cheapest sensible way to feed wet food as a staple, and owner feedback is consistently positive on palatability — beef in particular comes up again and again as the flavour cats finish reliably. Wet food also does something Smilla’s dry range cannot: it puts water into a species that drinks badly, which matters for urinary health.
Smilla Dry Food and Economy Packs — manage expectations
The 2 × 10kg and 2 × 4kg economy sacks are the cheapest way to keep dry food in the house, and for a healthy adult cat that eats mostly wet, they are a perfectly reasonable back-up. Two honest caveats from owner reports: the kibble is noticeably dry and some cats need marginally larger portions than with richer brands, which eats into the saving. And a 10kg sack takes months for one cat to finish — buy the smaller size unless you have several cats, because dry food degrades once opened.
Smilla Sensitive and Grain-Free — the useful specialist
The grain-free poultry sensitive line is the part of the range worth knowing about if your cat has a reactive stomach. It is not a veterinary diet and shouldn’t be treated as one — if your cat has ongoing digestive problems, that is a vet conversation, not a food-swap experiment. But as a first step for a mildly sensitive cat, it is cheaper to trial than most sensitive-stomach brands. Our sensitive stomach guide covers when a food change is and isn’t the answer.
Smilla Kitten
Standard kitten formulations in both wet and dry. Nothing remarkable, nothing wrong — the value logic of the adult range applies unchanged.
The Honest Caveats
Two things we won’t gloss over. First, a value brand is a value brand: if you compare ingredient lists line by line with a premium British brand, Smilla will not win, and anyone telling you otherwise is selling something. What it wins on is cost per meal at an acceptable quality — a real and legitimate reason to choose a food. Second, as with any brand fed at scale, a minority of owners report digestive upset on specific recipes. That is not a Smilla-specific failing, but it is a reason to buy a small pack before committing to a 20-tin case, and to change foods gradually over a week rather than overnight.
Where to Buy Smilla in the UK
Smilla is a ZooPlus exclusive — you won’t find it in UK supermarkets or most pet shops, which is exactly why the brand is less known here than its quality-per-pound deserves. The value packs are where the pricing makes sense; single small packs are poor value and only worth buying as a taste test. Our ZooPlus guide covers delivery, pack sizes and how the own-brands compare across cats and dogs.
Related reading: our overall best cat food guide, the best wet cat food comparison, and our review of Applaws if you want a widely stocked alternative. As an affiliate, we may earn a commission from some links, at no extra cost to you — this never affects our assessments.
Smilla Cat Food FAQs
Is Smilla a good cat food?
For its price bracket, yes — particularly the wet range, where meat content and palatability are good for the money. It is a value brand rather than a premium one, so it will not match a high-meat British premium food on ingredients. Judged as what it is, an affordable everyday staple, it is one of the better options UK owners can buy.
Where can I buy Smilla cat food in the UK?
Only from ZooPlus — Smilla is one of their own-brands and is not stocked by UK supermarkets or high-street pet shops. Buy the value multipacks rather than single packs; the per-meal price only makes sense at the larger sizes.
What is the difference between Smilla and Cosma?
Smilla is the everyday value range; Cosma is the treat-grade one. Smilla is what you feed daily on a budget, Cosma is what you reach for with a fussy cat or as a topper — Cosma Soup in particular is an appetite and hydration aid rather than a complete meal. Many owners run both together.
Is Smilla dry food good for cats?
It is economical and adequate rather than excellent. Several owners note the kibble is very dry and portions run slightly larger than with richer foods. As with all dry food, the bigger issue is water intake — cats fed mainly on kibble drink too little, so if you use Smilla dry, pair it with wet food rather than feeding kibble alone.