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Brand facts & recall history · checked 2026-11-11

Dr. Elsey's: Facts, Recalls & Verified Foods

Dr. Elsey's is made by Precious Cat, Inc. (founder-owned; no larger parent), founded 1987 — it scores green on 0 of 5 WSAVA-aligned criteria we track (0 red, 5 undisclosed), no FDA recalls on record, and 0 of the 15 Dr. Elsey's foods we've verified carry an AAFCO feeding-trial statement.

· 15 Dr. Elsey's food labels checked

The scorecard

WSAVA-aligned criteria

The World Small Animal Veterinary Association's nutrition guidelines suggest questions to ask any pet food maker before you buy. Here are this brand's answers, each with its source, or marked undisclosed when we could not confirm one.

0 of 5 criteria confirmed yes · 0 confirmed no · 5 undisclosed. Undisclosed is common, especially for smaller brands — it means we couldn't confirm an answer from a public source, not that the answer is unfavorable.

? Qualified nutritionist on staff Undisclosed

Founder Dr. Bruce Elsey is a feline-only veterinarian (DVM) — NOT a board-certified veterinary nutritionist; no named DACVN/PhD found.

source & quote
“a feline-only veterinarian named Dr. Bruce Elsey started selling cat litter”
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? Owns its manufacturing Undisclosed

Where the FOOD is made is not company-confirmed (the Cheyenne WY plant is primarily litter); owned-vs-co-packer undetermined — left undisclosed rather than asserted.

source & quote
“Dr. Elsey's cat food is manufactured in the United States from ingredients sourced around the world”
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? Runs AAFCO feeding trials Undisclosed

No feeding-trial AAFCO statement found on the 15 labels we’ve verified for this brand, and no company-wide claim was found either. Most pet foods are only "formulated to meet" AAFCO profiles (a paper calculation) rather than fed to real animals in trials — this is common, not necessarily a red flag.

? Publishes its quality-control testing Not found

drelseys.com/faq has sourcing language only; no testing or feeding-trial statement.

? Publishes peer-reviewed research None found

PubMed lists no animal or pet paper with Precious Cat / Dr. Elsey's in an author address. Not proof no research exists — only that none is indexed under that company name.

source
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These five checks come from WSAVA's guidelines on selecting pet foods — not our own opinion score. WSAVA does not approve or list brands. See how all 50 brands we track answer WSAVA's questions → · Our methodology →

The company

Who makes Dr. Elsey's

Ownership and history, each sourced independently — private-label and co-packed brands often hide the actual manufacturer behind the name on the bag.

Parent company

Precious Cat, Inc. (founder-owned; no larger parent)

source
“Dr. Bruce Elsey and his wife, Kathy, own Dr. Elsey's. Aaron Westcott is the company's CEO.”
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Founded

1987

source
“Dr. Bruce Elsey and his wife, Kathy, founded Dr. Elsey's in 1987.”
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Headquarters

Englewood, Colorado, USA

source
“The move is being driven by the need for rail service and more space than is available at the company's current location in Englewood, Colorado.”
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The cost

What Dr. Elsey's costs, against everything else we have priced

The median Dr. Elsey's dry food we have priced works out at $4.90 per 1,000 kcal, against $2.11 for the median dry food we have priced — so it sits about 2.3x above the market. Cost per 1,000 kcal is the only basis that survives different bag sizes and moisture levels; per pound this comparison would mean nothing. On composition the gap is usually smaller than the price gap implies: 64.8% dry-matter protein against a median of 32.2%.

Dr. Elsey's foods by cost per 1,000 kcal

1 priced Dr. Elsey's food, cheapest verified calories first.
FoodFormProtein (DM)Cost / 1,000 kcalBuy
Chicken Recipe Kibble dry 67.0% $4.90 Check price

What Dr. Elsey's actually puts in its food

The ingredients this brand reaches for most across its 15 verified foods, counted once per recipe. Each links to what the ingredient is, what the evidence says, and how common it is industry-wide.

The safety record

FDA recall history

From the FDA's Animal & Veterinary recall list, last checked 2026-11-11, plus older FDA notices we added by hand. Dr. Elsey's recall page →

We found no FDA recall for Dr. Elsey's on the FDA's recall list or in the older FDA notices we added by hand. That is not a guarantee; see the note below.

The FDA's online recall list is complete for recent years but leaves out many notices from before about 2023. We add older FDA recall notices by hand when we find them.

The labels

What we've verified from Dr. Elsey's's labels

Computed directly from the official-label data we've extracted for this brand — never estimated.

Foods verified

15

0 dog · 15 cat

Feeding-trial validated

0

of 15 (0%)

Formulated to meet

5

AAFCO paper calculation

Label transparency

44%

avg. fields disclosed

wet 10 (67%)
dry 5 (33%)

The foods

Foods from Dr. Elsey's we've verified

Every one links to its own Verified Label — guaranteed analysis, AAFCO statement, and (where priced) cost per day.

FoodFormAAFCO
Homestyle Salmon & Chicken Recipe Pouch wet Not yet verified Chicken Recipe Kibble dry Formulated Duck & Chicken Recipe Kibble dry Formulated Homestyle Chicken Recipe Pouch wet Not yet verified Homestyle Duck & Chicken Recipe Pouch wet Not yet verified Pork Recipe Paté wet Not yet verified Rabbit & Turkey Recipe Paté wet Not yet verified Salmon Recipe Kibble dry Formulated Turkey Recipe Paté wet Not yet verified Chicken Recipe Paté wet Not yet verified Duck Recipe Paté wet Not yet verified Pork Recipe Kibble dry Formulated Salmon Recipe Paté wet Not yet verified Turkey Recipe Kibble dry Formulated Duck & Turkey Recipe Paté wet Not yet verified