Unbiased Smalls cat food brand review 2021
Smalls is one of a growing number of new independent cat food brands that prioritize transparency, ingredient quality, and the needs of cats above profit margins.
Founded in 2017, Smalls “re-imagined cat food from the ground up.” They’ve introduced innovations to help owners, including no-obligation home delivery and easy-to-understand recipes.
So, how do their human-grade wet foods and freeze-dried kibbles compare to other cat food brands?
How we score Smalls cat food
Smalls Cat Food Buying Guide
Who is Smalls?
Smalls started out in 2017, with the aim of creating a new kind of wet cat food. They began with their Human-Grade Fresh line, re-imagining cat food from the ground up by asking what the optimal recipe for cats’ biology should look like, and going from there.
The result is a truly human-grade formula using meat products that wouldn’t look out of place in a grocery store aisle. They also take a different approach to preservation and shelf-life than most cat food manufacturers, using familiar methods such as freeze-drying, rather than mysterious chemical preservatives.
That commitment to fresh food means Small’s needs to be delivered, and is not found canned or vacuum-packed in stores. All their wet food is delivered frozen and can be kept for up to a year in the freezer, or between five and seven days when thawed and refrigerated.
Sourcing and Manufacturing
Smalls source all of their ingredients from within the US and Canada. Their wet food recipes are produced out of Chicago, Illinois, while freeze-dried recipes are made in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Each batch of Smalls food is thoroughly tested in-house for common contaminants such as e.coli, salmonella, listeria, and mold. The brand also claims to perform regular spot checks on nutritional content to ensure the accuracy of its product labels.
Shipping
Because they’re not available in stores, Smalls customers are required to set up monthly subscriptions so that cat food can be delivered to their door.
To start this process, Smalls offers a two-week trial period, where owners fill out a questionnaire on their cat’s dietary needs and preferences—things like their favorite flavors and textures. The brand then sends out a sample pack, so that cats and owners have time to decide if Smalls is right for them.
After that, scheduling shipments and making changes to orders can all be handled on the brand’s website.
Why choose Smalls?
Smalls should be a serious contender for any owner that’s looking for super healthy recipes sold via a convenient home delivery method.
Nutrients in every bite
Because they keep their ingredient sourcing and manufacturing in-house, Smalls are able to commit to a bunch of cat-first production guarantees.
These include the use of traceable, human-grade ingredients and small-batch cooking methods that don’t rob food of its nutrients:
Source: Smalls
Quality and safety
The long, flowery names of many cat food products can hide sub-par ingredients and mislead owners over exactly how much of each ingredient is contained in a formula. So we love how Smalls does away with confusing product names, opting for simple words and descriptions that say exactly what’s inside a recipe.
All of Small’s fresh ingredients come from the United States or Canada. Their custom supplement mix is also made in the US, and all of their products meet or exceed AAFCO’s nutritional requirements.
What types of cat food does Smalls offer?
Smalls offers three different dry foods in their Freeze-Dried Raw line, each of which is rich in protein, vitamins, and minerals:
Unlike the majority of dry food on the market, Smalls dry food is not extruded. Instead, it’s freeze-dried, meaning that protein and other nutrients aren’t exposed to long stretches of high temperatures.
This is great for retaining the integrity of food while keeping that satisfying crunch that many cats go crazy for.
Smalls offers 8 different wet foods in their Human-Grade Fresh line, giving cats and owners the choice when it comes to flavor and texture:
Smalls is pretty no-nonsense when it comes to their wet food recipes, with simple names and a very limited selection of ingredients—we love it!
Has Smalls cat food ever been recalled? (2021 update)
After checking the FDA and AVMA databases, as well as an extensive Google search, we found no record of any Smalls cat food product being recalled. This is great news and a marker of manufacturing quality and consistency.
Smalls is a new brand, having been in operation for under five years, which means less time for recall events to occur. However, a clean recall history is always a good sign.
What do customers think of Smalls cat food?
Judging from the high ratings and mostly positive reviews, it seems Smalls is loved by cat owners and their feline friends. Many owners report-back satisfied with their cat’s reaction.
Below are some real customer reviews for Smalls name from TrustPilot. The product currently has an average rating of 4 stars from 333 reviews.
Here’s what owners had to say
Positive reviews
4 & 5-star reviews (78% of reviews)
“We’ve been feeding our cats Smalls foods for a little over a month and I can say that the taste and quality of the food are great…Our cats really enjoy the wet food and we are currently trying to get them used to the freeze-dried option. We do our first and last feedings of the day with the wet food and the freeze-dried throughout the day.”
-Posted by Dara in February 2021“Love this clean product, and so does kitty! She’s usually kind of picky with certain foods and I love that I can choose a variety of protein to keep kitty excited and also healthy 😉”
-Posted by Victoria in February 2021
Negative reviews
1 & 2-star reviews (16% of reviews)
“Cats did not like the taste of the food and both ended up constipated.”
-Posted by Jeff in March 2021“I am trying to cancel my subscription but am getting no response via email or text.”
-Posted by Ann in March 2021
Where is Smalls cat food sold?
You can find the latest prices for Smalls cat food online at Smalls.com. Thanks to the brand’s focus on freshness, products are only available by delivery.
So, Is Smalls a good brand of cat food?
Based on all the information gathered, we think that Smalls is an awesome option for owners looking to upgrade the cat’s daily diet.
While it seems like a minority of customers have had issues with scheduling deliveries and canceling subscriptions, we think the idea of a cat food home delivery service is a great way to ensure the freshest available produce.
Read Next: The best overall cat foods of 2021
Disclaimer
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