The scores
Weruva Paw Lickin' Chicken in Gravy: B (75/100) — Chicken (Boneless, Skinless Breast), Chicken Broth, Potato Starch, Sunflower Seed Oil.
Sheba Perfect Portions Pate Savory Chicken: B (76/100) — Chicken, Poultry By-Products, Water, Chicken Broth, Guar Gum.
How the ingredients compare
Here are the first five ingredients on each label — the part of the panel that drives most of the score under our published rubric:
Weruva: Chicken (Boneless, Skinless Breast), Chicken Broth, Potato Starch, Sunflower Seed Oil
Sheba: Chicken, Poultry By-Products, Water, Chicken Broth, Guar Gum
Both are wet, and that high moisture genuinely benefits cats, who often drink too little on their own. Weruva’s first five (only four listed) run chicken (boneless, skinless breast), chicken broth, potato starch, sunflower seed oil — a specifically named whole-muscle protein the rubric rewards, but the added starch and oil cost transparency and nutrient-density points on an already short panel. Sheba’s run chicken, poultry by-products, water, chicken broth, guar gum — named chicken first (rewarded), but generic poultry by-products at position two is an unnamed, lower-value source, and guar gum is an added thickener that spends a transparency point. By-products do supply nutrients cats use, which softens the hit. Net: Weruva’s headline protein is cleaner, but Sheba’s overall balance nudges it one point higher — B (76/100) versus B (75/100), a difference inside the margin of noise.
Where Weruva pulls ahead
The purest protein statement: Weruva’s first ingredient is boneless, skinless chicken breast — not just “chicken,” but a specific whole-muscle cut. That’s the cleanest protein line on either label, and the rubric rewards named whole-muscle meat with no ambiguity about source or part. Sheba opens with chicken too, which earns credit, but immediately follows with poultry by-products at position two — a generic, unnamed term that costs transparency points. If your priority is knowing precisely what the protein is, Weruva’s label is unmistakably clearer from the first line, and that clarity is central to its premium pitch. The honest catch: it doesn’t win the grade. Weruva’s short panel leans on potato starch and sunflower oil, and Sheba still edges one point ahead at B (76/100) versus B (75/100). A cleaner headline protein doesn’t, by itself, beat the rubric. Shop on Amazon →
No generic by-product line: Where Sheba places poultry by-products second, Weruva’s panel has no comparable generic-protein term at all — it’s chicken breast, chicken broth, potato starch, sunflower seed oil. Every line is recognizable, and there’s no unnamed source to wonder about. For owners who scan labels and want to avoid generic by-product language, that’s a real point of difference and part of what the boutique price buys. The caveat keeps it honest: avoiding by-products isn’t free here. By-products and organ tissue actually supply taurine and nutrients cats use, so Sheba’s second ingredient isn’t worthless — and Weruva’s starch-and-oil additions spend their own transparency and nutrient-density points. The two balance out so closely that Sheba finishes one point higher. Weruva’s cleaner ingredient vocabulary is genuine, but it lands at B (75/100), a hair below.
Gravy format, moisture, and packaging: Weruva’s “in gravy” presentation pours a lot of liquid, which suits cats that prefer to lap and reinforces the hydration every wet food provides; the brand also uses BPA-free cans, a detail some owners value. Sheba’s Perfect Portions is a smooth pate in twin-pack trays — equally high in moisture, just a different texture and format. Neither texture nor packaging is a rubric input, so these earn no grade points; they’re about your cat’s preference and your convenience. Weruva’s real edge is pairing that gravy format with the single named-breast protein at the top, the more premium eating experience on paper. But the panel is what’s scored, and the panel comes in at B (75/100) — one point under Sheba’s B (76/100), while costing roughly 3–5x more per serving.
Where Sheba holds its own
One point ahead, inside the noise: Sheba Perfect Portions Savory Chicken scores B (76/100), a single point above Weruva’s B (75/100). That’s a near-tie — one point is well within the margin of how these panels grade — so don’t read it as Sheba being meaningfully better. What it does show is that a mainstream, affordable food can match or slightly exceed a boutique one on the rubric. Sheba gets there with named chicken first and a wet, high-moisture format cats benefit from, even while carrying poultry by-products and guar gum. The takeaway isn’t “Sheba wins”; it’s that the cleaner, pricier label doesn’t buy a higher grade. If you assumed the premium option would obviously score higher, this result is the honest correction: B (76/100) and B (75/100) are effectively the same tier. Shop on Amazon →
Value the rubric ignores but buyers feel: Sheba Perfect Portions runs roughly $0.60–$0.95 per serving, against Weruva’s rough $1.40–$2.50 per can — you’re paying something like 3–5x more for Weruva and getting one point less on the score. KibbleIQ never rewards a food for being cheap or penalizes it for being expensive; price simply isn’t a grade input. But for someone feeding a cat daily, reaching B (76/100) at affordable-premium pricing, with the convenience of pre-portioned twin trays, is a concrete practical win. The trays also mean no half-open can drying out in the fridge. That convenience and cost advantage is invisible to the rubric, which scored Sheba on its panel alone — chicken first, by-products and guar gum included. The value is just a bonus the grade doesn’t see, sitting on top of an already competitive score.
Named chicken first, plus reach: Sheba doesn’t bury its protein — the first ingredient is chicken, a named animal protein the rubric credits, with water and chicken broth supplying moisture cats need. The poultry by-products and guar gum cost some points, but the opening is legitimately protein-forward, and by-products themselves contribute nutrients cats use. Backed by Mars Petcare, Sheba is widely stocked in grocery and mass retail, so restocking is easy with none of the online-only friction a boutique brand can carry. Distribution doesn’t factor into the grade, but combined with the named-chicken start and the high-moisture format, it explains how an accessible mainstream food edges a premium one. Sheba finishes at B (76/100) to Weruva’s B (75/100) — reaching that tier through a named protein, broad availability, and convenient trays rather than a single pristine breast cut.
The bottom line
Call it a near-tie: Sheba “Perfect Portions Pate Savory Chicken” scores B (76/100) and Weruva “Paw Lickin’ Chicken in Gravy” scores B (75/100) — one point apart, inside the noise. Weruva leads with boneless, skinless chicken breast, the cleanest protein statement on either label, but its short panel adds potato starch and sunflower oil. Sheba opens with chicken, then poultry by-products and guar gum — lower-value, less transparent — yet edges a hair higher on the rubric. Both are wet, so both hydrate cats well. The real story is cost: Weruva runs roughly 3–5x more for the cleaner, named-breast label, and the rubric still rates the two as equals. The premium price buys no extra grade. Pick Sheba for value, broad availability, and pre-portioned trays at B (76/100). Pick Weruva if a named-breast protein and boutique presentation are worth paying several times more for an effectively matching B (75/100).