Finding the right food for your cat can be easier said than done. While there are many inexpensive options out there, they’re frequently brimming with unwanted ingredients. The cheaper the food, the more you can expect to deal with carbs, grains, and other unwanted additives.
Since poor food quality can quickly cause problems with your cat’s health, it’s no wonder many concerned pet parents are turning to fresh and freeze-dried products instead. In fact, demand for fresh pet food is rising at an incredible rate in the United States.
Smalls, one of the leading up-and-coming brands in pet food subscription products, offers cat owners a simple way to access some of the best food on the market for their furry friends. Let’s take a closer look at Smalls cat food.
Introducing the Smalls Cat Food Company
Smalls was originally set up in 2017 by the two co-founders, Matt Michaelson and Calvin Bohn, hoping to provide a better quality of fresh cat food to their furry friends.
To set themselves apart from the other cat food manufacturers on the market, the team decided to produce freeze-dried and high-grade foods for cats.
Use the code 'WELOVECATS' and get 30% off your first order
Smalls cat food is produced in a human-grade commercial facility, overseen by a team of veterinary nutritionists.
In other words, rather than getting a mixture of carbs and additives, you can buy highly nutritious food you could actually eat yourself (though we wouldn’t recommend it).
Part of what makes Smalls cat food so appealing is how convenient it is to stock up. Rather than shopping online for the foods you want and waiting for products to be delivered, you can sign up for a subscription.
You start by filling out a questionnaire about your cat, and the Smalls system recommends a meal plan suggestion specific to you.
Each month, the recipes included in the plan you choose will be shipped directly to your store in ice-cold and protected packages.
Notably, all Smalls cat food is made according to nutritionally balanced guidelines, with USDA-certified ingredients suitable for human consumption.
These ingredients come from the US and Canada. Wet food formulas are prepared in Chicago, while freeze-dried foods are prepared in Wisconsin. There’s also a kibble option produced in Minnesota.
Every batch is tested before shipping for foodborne pathogens, and there are regular spot checks to ensure consistent quality.
Read this next: Best Dry Cat Food: 15 Healthiest Top Kibble Brands
Smalls Cat Food Review: Key Features
Smalls Cat Food is generally best-suited to cats on a limited ingredient diet. You can cut out anything which might be causing allergen issues for your feline friend easily, and there are a range of recipe options to choose from.
The defining “USP” of the Smalls cat food brand is a commitment to high-quality ingredients, cooked with care, just like the meals you make in your own kitchen. There’s a careful process in play at the Smalls factories, to ensure nutrients, moisture, and essential vitamins are preserved.
The major benefits of Smalls cat food include:
The Ordering Process
One of the biggest benefits of subscription-based cat food, is you don’t have to worry about visiting the store or stocking up every few months.
You can get your Smalls cat food recipes delivered straight to your door, ready to store in your freezer.
The ordering process is wonderfully personalized too. When you sign up for a subscription, you’re asked a number of important questions about your cat’s weight, dietary requirements, and even your budget. If you have more than one cat, you can list all of them during the sign-up.
Based on your answers, Smalls will suggest a handful of plans which might be suitable for you and your cat. Each plan has a different ratio of wet to dry food, so you can focus on the one that makes the most sense for your furry friend.
Use the code 'WELOVECATS' and get 30% off your first order
To provide better peace of mind, Smalls also offers a money-back guarantee. If your cats won’t eat the food, you can contact the team and get a refund.
The Customer Service
The customer service associated with Smalls Cat food is fantastic too.
When you make your first purchase, you’re instantly connected to a cat concierge, who can confirm your shipment information and answer any questions you have via text.
Although there are some shipping delays from time to time – just like with most subscription products, you can usually get some feedback pretty quickly from the customer service team.
Unpacking your Smalls delivery
When your Smalls food shipment arrives, it will be fully frozen and carefully packaged to prevent any damage.
Ice packs keep the food cold in transit, but it’s a good idea to store your human-grad meals as quickly as possible to keep them from losing their nutrition.
If you’re planning to give your cats the fresh wet food, then you’ll need to store them in the freezer and take them out 24 hours prior to use. Once you’ve thawed the wet food, you can keep it in your refrigerator if you’re giving small amounts at a time.
There may be a strong odor with some of these products when you first open them, but don’t panic. The bird varieties do have a slightly eggy smell to them initially, but this isn’t necessarily a sign that’s something is wrong.
The freeze-dried raw cat food and various treats come in easy-to-open and store packages. You can also reseal them for use later.
Read this next: How Much Should I Feed my Cat? A Simple Cat Feeding Guide
Smalls Cat Food Review: Food Options
Smalls only started producing subscription cat food a few years ago, so they don’t have the hugest selection, but there are still plenty of options to choose from.
All of the food is human-grade, so it smells quite similar to our own human meals. All of the food is cooked on the same day as the ingredients are bought, to keep them fresh.
Your options include:
Human-Grade Fresh Wet Food
The human-grade wet food includes fresh human-grade meat and small amounts of green vegetables (like peas). The recipe options include:
The protein in these cat foods is excellent.
For instance, the fresh bird formula for chicken features 92% chicken breast and thigh, 6% chicken liver, and 2% chicken heart. This means you don’t just get great high protein; you also get a lot of nutrients and minerals from the included organ meats.
The food also contains green beans, kale, peas, and vegetable oil, with a complete carbohydrate content of under 5%.
Freeze-Dried Raw Cat Food
The freeze dried raw cat food is intended for kitties who like a little extra crunch in their meals.
If your cat tends to prefer dry kibble to wet food, this could be the ideal choice for you.
Similar to the wet food options, you can choose from a range of different meat options, including duck, turkey, and chicken recipe options.
The freeze-dried turkey recipe includes ground bone, a variety of turkey organs, and various animal-derived nutrients.
Use the code 'WELOVECATS' and get 30% off your first order
The formula also comes with a small amount of goats milk to improve cat digestion, and deliver probiotics. There’s also some turkey egg and herring oil.
Notably, while some freeze-dried foods can be rehydrated, you’re supposed to give this food to your kitty as it is.
The food won’t absorb any liquid well, so it doesn’t make much sense to mix it with water.
Smalls Cat Treats
Outside of the freeze dried raw food and the wet food, Smalls offers a range of “add-on” packages for your kitty.
There’s a kibble supplement, which features the same high-quality meat content you’d expect from the other food options.
However, this is intended as more of an extra for your cat than a full meal. The packages are relatively small, so they may not last long.
The kibble options come in a range of flavors, including chicken, turkey, and fish. The Smalls Fish Kibble recipe contains a few starches and some plant-based protein.
There’s also sweet potatoes and peas included with the mix. The carb content is a little high here, closer to 20% than the 5% of the wet food.
Alongside kibble, you can also get “broth”, which is great for rehydrating cats who don’t drink a lot of water and enticing cats to eat their new food.
There are also “Giblet nibbles”. These are single-ingredient bite-sized chicken giblets.
Read this next: Cat Food Ingredients (EXPLAINING a Cat Food Label)
Smalls Cat Food Review: Pricing
Smalls cat food is sold via a subscription. This means you pay a regular fee once every so often to have the product delivered straight to your door.
The default option is to have your food delivered weekly, but you can adjust this depending on your needs.
Most of the time, you’ll be able to get a discount of around 10% to 25% on your first box. However, the pricing is still pretty high.
For the fresh-food plan, you can expect to pay around $45 per month, or $1.93 per meal.
The cost can be a little higher for the freeze dried option, at around $30 for 12 oz.
Depending on what you want to purchase for your cat, there can be a lot of expense associated with Smalls cat food.
There’s also a $10 shipping fee to consider, which is a little costly compared to some other subscription packages.
Overall, you’ll pay for around 28 meals at a time too, which means you’re going to be paying a little more regularly than you would if you were getting around 30 to 31 packages in every box.
If you add-in extra features like treats, litter, and toys, this will increase your price too.
However, there’s a 100% money-back guarantee if your cat doesn’t like the food.
Smalls Cat Food Review: Pros and Cons
Overall, Smalls cat food is an excellent choice for many pet parents looking to give their kitties a better quality of nutrition.
While you do pay more than you would with some more standard everyday food varieties, you’re getting human-grade meat, and amazing ingredients.
The main issue is figuring out whether you can afford the regular payments.
Pros
Cons
Smalls Cat Food: Our Verdict
Subscription-based cat foods are becoming extremely popular in today’s fast-paced world.
Fresh food delivered to your door is an easy and convenient way to make sure your feline friend gets the exceptional nutrition they need.
With Smalls cat food, you know you’re getting one of the healthiest options on the market, with fantastic human-grade meat throughout.
While you do have limited options for flavors compared to the options from other cat food manufacturers, the options available will appeal to most cats.
The all-natural ingredients and promise of no preservatives is great for peace of mind too.
Smalls does cost a lot more than your standard cat food, but it may be well-worth it if you want to give your kitty the best possible life.
The company even promises its food could help your cat’s litter tray habits, and improve the quality of their fur.
Remember, if you’re switching to any new cat food, it’s best to start slow and introduce your kitty gradually to avoid a stomach upset.
And, for a full insight into what cats actually make of Smalls cat food, watch Holly and her cats giving it a trial in the video below.