Go to your local supermarket, pick up a package of bologna, a can of tuna, a can of deviled ham, and then go to the pet food sections. Compare the labels on the cat food to the ingredients in the bologna, tuna and ham. You'll be surprised at how similar they are.

I'd say as far as safety goes, and just for taste preference, I'd rather go with the more expensive brands that are actually cooked bits of meat in gravy, rather than the cheaper, ground up paste.

Now for a true story: I used to have the habit of licking spoons after I used them for anything. Well, long story short, one day I was feeding the family cat and, not even thinking, licked the cat food off the spoon. I realized what I'd done immediately, but it wasn't all that bad. Sort of like grainy tuna paste, really. We were using the cheap cans at the time. Needless to say, despite the not-too-unpleasant taste, I never licked another spoon. LOL