Solid Gold Purrfect Pairings promise a gluten-free, holistic treat for your cat in savory Tuna mousse.

Have you tried Solid Gold Purrfect Pairings? Well, we just did.

This tasty treat is for obligate carnivores who prefer more than just the standard pate.

We put the Tuna mousse under the microscope and gave it a thorough review.

What Is The Solid Gold Brand?

Solid Gold Pets “believe[s] Happy Makes Healthy™”. Their pet food products are based on holistic nutrition through a variety of proteins and superfoods. They’ve been doing this since about 1974, so they’re a well-established brand.

Types Of Pet Foods Available From Solid Gold

As with most pet foods, their primary clients are cats and dogs. Grain-free varieties are readily available for both species in dry, canned and wet food. There’s also the Purrfect Pairings tuna mousse for cats, which I guess counts as wet food? It doesn’t come in a can, but it’s wet-ish, so…

Supplements and treats can be found from the Solid Gold brand as well.

Misha And Tippy Test The Solid Gold Purrfect Pairings Savory Tuna Mousse

I honestly can’t remember why Misha didn’t try this at the same time Tippy did, but Tippy was the first to test.

The Tippy Taste Test

Holy cows. She went flippin’ NUTS over it. She was going parkour-style on the microwave and kitchen table trying to get to it, and she gobbled it up as soon as I set the plate down. I felt like I’d just fended off a pack of wild monkeys.

This is what the food looks like. It’s gross-looking, but I don’t let that put me off of cat food, and Tippy could care less. All-natural foods aren’t as pleasing to the eye as their artificially-enhanced, more aesthetically-pleasing cousins.

The Misha Taste Test

The tuna mousse was met with little fanfare from Misha. I had kept the other half of the tuna mousse in the fridge for her, so I chalked that up to her not liking microwaved food.

Her reaction was much better the second time around when I opened up a fresh cup (they come in plastic cups). She lazily licked it off of her plate, but she didn’t go crazy for it like Tippy did. On the second try, neither did Tippy.

I have a theory as to why the reaction was less than enthusiastic. Brace yourselves… this is going to take awhile.

Solid Gold’s Ingredients List

Here’s the full ingredients list:

• Tuna, Water Sufficient for Processing, Potato, Chicken Fat, Goat Milk, Modified Tapioca Starch, Salt, Pea Protein, Tricalcium Phosphate, Dried Egg Product, Guar Gum, Sodium Bicarbonate, Magnesium Sulfate, Choline Chloride, Iron Glycine Complex, Zinc Glycine Complex, Potassium Chloride, Taurine, Manganese Glycine Complex, Vitamin E Supplement, Copper Glycine Complex, Niacin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Potassium Iodide, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Vitamin K3)

There’s quite a few ingredients. Don’t worry; I’m going to break them down for you.

The Good Stuff

Let’s start with what’s good about the ingredients list.

Tuna and goat milk are among the first five ingredients, which is good. The first five ingredients in any food are what typically make up the dominant part of the recipe. Since tuna and goat milk are listed in the flavor name, you want them to be in the top five.

The water, modified tapioca starch, pea protein and tricalcium phosphate all check out, but I’m concerned that salt is too high on the ingredients list. Too much salt is toxic to cats; at the very least, in pet food, it can make them sick if there’s too high of an amount (I normally see salt way down the list).

Magnesium Sulfate (an ingredient in Epsom Salt), Iron Glycine Complex, Zinc Glycine Complex, Potassium Chloride, Taurine (essential for cats), Manganese Glycine Complex, Vitamin E Supplement, Copper Glycine Complex, Niacin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (aka Vitamin B1), Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of Vitamin B6), Calcium Pantothenate (aka Vitamin B5), Riboflavin Supplement (source of Vitamin B2), Biotin Supplement (essential for processing protein and B vitamins), Vitamin D3 Supplement, and Folic Acid (aka Vitamin B9) also made the cut.

The Bad Stuff

Alrighty. I’m going to go through the top worst ingredients first (all the ones in bold are bad or questionable).

Guar gum. I have never heard anything good about the stuff; it’s been a highly controversial ingredient for some time. It comes from a bean and can cause “potentially severe GI pain… discomfort, diarrhea…loose stools… nausea, excessive flatulence, and abdominal cramping (and that’s just in humans!).

Guar gum is of no use to cats, in my opinion – only to food companies. It works as a thickener and stabilizer to increase the viscosity of canned cat food. That’s it. There is no scientific proof for any benefits for cats ingesting this ingredient; only negative effects have been reported.

Chicken fat. Okay, this is nasty, but the Cornucopia Institute states that “Animal fat and MBM [meat and by-product meal] often come from a mix of different animal species, including expired grocery store meat, animals that died on the farm, and restaurant scraps, including used grease from deep-fat fryers”. That’s disgusting. I don’t need any other reason to mark this one off.

Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex. Big Cat Rescue (Chris from Cole and Marmalade worked there) condemns this synthetic substitute for Vitamin K1 and its effects.

Potassium Iodide. This ingredient exists to “protect the thyroid from one radioactive isotope — radioactive iodine” according to this article from Poisoned Pets. It’s is commonly used in Japan; while I’m not certain if this ingredient is sourced from Japan, Solid Gold’s taurine supplement is. Potassium Iodide can exacerbate hyperthyroidism in cats, so unless you’ve got some radioactive iodine in your midst, you don’t need this.

Questionable Ingredients

Sodium Bicarbonate, also known as baking soda, is okay as long as it’s not ingested in large amounts. Since this one is higher up on the ingredients list, it’s best not to serve this food too often, especially since too much tuna can also be bad.

According to Susan Thixton from TruthAboutPetFood.com, Sodium Selenite “could kill a pet quickly” if your cat overdoses. She goes on to say that “AAFCO has not established a maximum selenium level for cat food”. Since tuna already contains adequate selenium, and sodium can be found in several ingredients on the list, the levels are legitimately concerning.

Choline chloride is interesting. Cats can suffer negative effects from a deficiency in choline, but PetHelpful has listed choline chloride as being “in direct opposition of what is best for you cat”, while PetFoodIndustry.com called it a “problem child”.

Potato and Dried Egg Product are questionable simply because they aren’t a natural part of a cat’s diet. Cats do better with sweet potatoes, which are healthier for them, but still not a carnivore’s first pick.

Let’s All Take A Moment To Recover…

I literally spent hours researching each and every ingredient in that gosh-darned list, and I have just come back from a well-deserved cuddle with my cats.

Houston, We’ve Got Another Problem

Not only is the ingredients list in the Solid Gold Purrfect Pairings Savory Mousse full of too much salt, unnecessary fillers and potentially toxic ingredients, I also found out that Solid Gold is owned by the Diamond company.

Diamond has had several recalls (you can find the full list of recalls on Petful), with problems varying from low thiamine levels to three separate recalls due to potential for salmonella. Thankfully, no cat foods were listed among Solid Gold’s recalls, but they have had recalls.

Did Misha And Tippy Suffer Any Side Effects?

It’s hard to tell. We ended up feeding them a total of four cups of the Solid Gold Purrfect Pairings, each spaced out several days. We were also trying out a new food from Natural Balance that contains both controversial ingredients guar gum and carrageenan.

One or both of the cats experienced loose bowels during this time that went away as soon as we stopped feeding both foods. I’m not going to try reintroducing the Natural Balance food to see if that was the culprit. After reading about these ingredients, I say “NO WAY”.

The Final Verdict

I’m not going to waste your time going into detail about the pros and cons of this food. I’ll just quickly explain why Solid Gold only got 2 out of 5 meows.

• Their ingredients list has too many potentially hazardous ingredients that make me question whether this food can even be called “holistic”
• It’s expensive – you’d expect the ingredients to be better for the price you have to pay
• My cats liked it at first, but their enthusiasm dimmed fairly quickly
• Solid Gold Purrfect Pairings are better than other low-quality cat foods and have good moisture content
• The company that owns Solid Gold has too shady of a history that seems to be repeating itself with its child company (recalls)

I would not buy this food for my cats. Ever. However, using it as an occasional treat for your cat (I’m talking once a week or less) should be fairly safe. It’s like having a cheat day with junk food for your cat, but health problems will arise if you feed it regularly.

Have you tried Solid Gold Purrfect Pairings? What did you and your cats think of them, and would you buy them again after reading this article? Let us know about your experience in the comments section.

(This review is true and honest to the blog owner’s personal opinions. A 6-pack of Solid Gold Purrfect Pairings was received as compensation for a fair and honest review. No other compensation was given. Advice given in this article is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice from your doctor or veterinarian. The blog owner claims no responsibility for any cats affected by this food but her own.)

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