Is 9Lives ethical and cruelty-free?
Not really — 9Lives fails 3 of the 4 ethics signals we track, including its animal-testing position, and holds no third-party certification we can verify.
9Lives, a subsidiary of the J.M. Smucker Company, is a budget-friendly cat food brand that lacks strong ethical credentials, with no independent certifications, explicit animal testing policies, or verifiable sustainability commitments, though it has avoided major controversies.
The evidence, signal by signal
Cruelty-freeflagged
No publicly stated policy; parent company Smucker does not prohibit animal testing for pet food.
Vegan optionsunverified
No vegan or plant-based products offered.
Sells in mainland Chinaflagged
Selling through mainland Chinese retail has historically triggered post-market animal testing.
Third-party certifiedflagged
No independent certifications recorded on the products we track.
Public pledges: No brand-specific sustainability pledges; parent company Smucker has non-binding corporate goals unrelated to 9Lives.
Scored with our public methodology. Profile last updated 2026-09-26.
More on 9Lives
Is 9Lives ethical? FAQs
Is 9Lives cruelty-free?+
No publicly stated policy; parent company Smucker does not prohibit animal testing for pet food.
Does 9Lives have vegan products?+
No vegan or plant-based products offered.
Does 9Lives sell in mainland China?+
Selling through mainland Chinese retail has historically triggered post-market animal testing.
What is 9Lives's ethics score?+
9Lives averages —/100 across 0 products we score on certifications, sourcing, labour, packaging and transparency.
What are the best alternatives to 9Lives?+
See our full list of ethical alternatives to 9Lives for better-scoring options in the same categories.