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Fresh Pet Cat Food Review

Is Freshpet Good Cat Food

Freshpet Vital Cat Food Review

Freshpet provides your cat with quality ingredients and ethically sourced food that you can trust. Freshpet offers species appropriate cat foods as well as a variety of grain-free options. There are some recipes that do include garbanzo beans and lentils which are not necessary in a cats diet and can be difficult for some to digest.

Freshpets downfall is some recipes contain carrageenan as well as ingredients with limited nutritional value like tapioca starch and pea protein.

How Much Does It Cost

FreshPet is not a delivery service or a subscription pet food company, so the cost can vary greatly. FreshPet Select Stews come in 10.25-ounce bowls for about $3 each while rolls of fresh food cost about $6. You can purchase much larger rolls for about $20 or bags of fresh food for about $9.

Depending on your dogs size and what type of food you choose, the cost could range from as little as $3 per day to $9 per day, making the average monthly cost about $25 to $65.

Check below to see how FreshPet stacks up against other dog food brands for cost:

Freshpet Vital Dog Food

Balanced Nutrition Chicken Meal For Dogs

Balanced Nutrition Chicken Recipe For Dogs

Balanced Nutrition Turkey Recipe For Dogs

Fresh Cuts Chicken Recipe For Dogs

Grain Free Beef & Bison Recipe For Dogs

Grain Free Beef Recipe With Lamb For Dogs

Grain Free Chicken Recipe For Dogs

Grain Free Chicken, Beef & Salmon Puppy Recipe

Grain Free Chicken, Beef, Salmon, & Egg Recipe For Dogs

Grain Free Multi-Protein Recipe For Dogs

Grain Free Salmon & Ocean Whitefish Recipe For Dogs

Grain Free Small Breed Chicken Recipe For Dogs

Grain Free Small Breed Multi-Protein Recipe For Dogs

Grain Free Small Breed Poultry Recipe For Dogs

Grain Free Turkey Recipe For Dogs

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Where Is The Food Made

All FreshPet products are made in company-owned kitchens located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Their treats are made in the USA by carefully selected partners that follow high standards for safety and quality.

FreshPet also states that 97% of their ingredients are sourced from the USA and Canada, though their vitamins and minerals may not be. No ingredients are sourced from China.

Tasty Topper And Travel Snack: Portland Pet Food Company

Freshpet Cat Food Review [PERFECT Cat Food?]

Price: $6.99 per 9 ounce meal pouch. For a 12lb dog, being used as a topper, it runs about $45/month.

Save 25% off your first subscription box and 10% off every box after that when you order through the link below

Our experience: Our 18-year-old Dachshund had many ailments towards the end of her life, one being Irritable Bowel Disease, which required her to be on single-source protein foods that she quickly grew tired of. After finding the Salmon & Rice flavor of Portland Pet Food, we thought wed give it a try, and she immediately loved it. We started with using it as a topper but shifted to feeding her just that food for meals. We felt at ease knowing she was enjoying her fresh food and was also getting the nutrients she needed to keep her going, especially towards the end. Now, we use a variety of flavors as a topper for our 2-year-old Boston Terrier and she loves it, too.What sets them apart: Portland Pet Food Companys human-grade, made-in-the-USA meal pouches are not intended to be full-on meal replacements rather, these concentrated meal packs are designed as mixers, toppers, or soft treats for picky dogs and busy families to compliment and boost the nutrition of your dogs regular kibble. They are shelf stable, travel well, and can substitute the occasional meal, which makes them a great option for a weekend away with your pup or as a treat to bring with you to the sitters.

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Portland Pet Food Company

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Bit Of A Game Changer

This stuff has been a bit of a game changer, once little Rhubarb had gotten used to it he definitely has an extra spring in his step! He seems to be a fan of the “chunky” rolls but maybe that’s just because we’ve been able to pick up more of that type. As other customers have said it is a bit more effort to stay fresh but for the results it’s been well worth it.

Now That Weve Learned About What Smalls Has To Offer Lets Talk About What Its Like To Be A Smalls Customer

At All About Cats, our experience with Smalls dates back to 2017, when the brand had just launched. Over the years, as theyve added and removed recipes, changed their branding, and updated the customer portal, our team has kept up with the changes in the Smalls customer experience, ordering and re-ordering for multiple cats in multiple households.

Like many other subscription services, the Smalls experience starts with a questionnaire.

Smalls asks you questions about your cat, including their age, weight, and spay or neuter status.

You enter information about your cat, including their name, age, and protein preferences. Dont be deceived, though Smalls is not a custom food, nor is it custom-portioned. Youll have to measure out your cats portions just as you would with food from another brand.

After filling out the questionnaire, Smalls directs you to a checkout page where you can purchase their two-week sampler pack, which gives you Smalls custom selection of recipes for your cat. At this stage, youre not able to add or remove any recipes. If you want to customize your subscription, youll have to do it after youve signed up and started a subscription.

After you complete the questionnaire, Smalls will generate a custom meal plan based on your cats needs and preferences.

You can cancel your subscription by clicking a button in the customer portal, then completing a survey as part of the cancelation confirmation process.

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What Kinds Of Cat Food Does Freshpet Offer

Freshpet offers three lines of cat food.

They include Freshpet® Select, the brands original line, Vital® foods with 80% meat, poultry, or fish content, and Natures Fresh®, which uses chicken and turkey from farms that follow the Step 1 and Step 2 animal welfare standards established by the Global Animal Partnership.

What Do Customers Think Of Freshpet

Freshpet Dog Food Reviews – Dangerous Food

Freshpets product lists are mostly favourable, however when you get past Freshpets site and major retailers, things start to go downhill. While more than half of Consumer Affairs reviews are pleased with the product, dissatisfied consumers have similar issues. Freshpet cat food is meant to last a week in the refrigerator, although many reviews claim that when they opened the bag, they discovered stinky or rotting Freshpet cat food. Inflated bags, foul odours, rotten food, and pets becoming ill after eating questionably fresh food are among the complaints. Several additional consumers stated that their pets were unwell after eating Freshpet, rather than that the food was ruined.

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My Dog Loves Her Food But Subscription

My dog loves her food but subscription services is absolutely rubbish. First I was getting orders I didn’t need, now can’t get order I have paid for. Customer service not very helpful and do not seem to know what they are doing. When asked were my order was told it is out of stock, but no help as to when it would in stock only asked if would like to cancel order which appears that they are having trouble doing thatnot do that. Really need to get your act together, because you are losing Customers. Such a shame because the product is very good.

Reply from Freshpet

Hello Eileen — We’re sorry to hear about your experience with our subscription service. We’re very new at direct to customer deliveries, and we’re aware that the service is not perfect just yet. The subscription app we use is not linked to inventory levels at the warehouse, and we’re looking at ways to fix this. Sadly 680g multiprotein roll will be out of stock for some time due to supply chain distribution that many companies are experiencing.A refund has been issued for you.

What Is Fresh Pet Food Exactly

Fresh pet food brands like Freshpetfound in the fridge in your local pet storehelped commercialize fresh options for pet owners. Today, there are dozens of brands out there, and many are available as subscription services that function the same way: You create a dog profile, complete a questionnaire, customize your delivery frequency, and voilà! Next thing you know, freshly made pet food arrives at your door packed in dry ice.

In my research, I found more than a dozen companies that market fresh pet food diets for cats and dogs, and their cooking methodologies, ingredients, and storage recommendations vary widely. According to Bullen, the term fresh pet food doesnt really have a specific definitionit just refers to pet food thats made with fewer or no preservatives. It could be made at home with boiled chicken and cooked plain rice, or it could be produced with recognizable ingredients in a facility, packaged without preservatives, and then frozen. For the brands we list here, we researched those that offer food thats commercially produced and thoroughly cooked at a low temperature, and that contain some combination of meats, grains, fruits, and vegetablesit tends to look like you took a humans Thanksgiving dinner plate and mixed it all together.

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How We Review Cat Food Brands

Your cats food is more than just what he eats for breakfast and dinner its his primarily source of nutrition.

A balanced diet is essential for long-term health and wellness, and it should come from high-quality, natural ingredients. Thats what we look for in a good cat food brand.

Cats are obligate carnivores, so their bodies are designed to process animal products better than plant products. Animal proteins like meat, poultry, and fish should always be listed first for your cats food and carbohydrates should never outweigh the animal ingredients.

When evaluating a cat food brand, we take a comprehensive look at the brand and an in-depth look at their products. We know you want whats best for your cat, and were here to help you find it.

Here are some of the things we look for in a good cat food brand:

  • High-quality animal protein as the first ingredient
  • Rich in healthy animal fats
  • Few to no carbohydrate ingredients
  • Limited number of main ingredients plus vitamins, minerals and other supplements.
  • No low-quality fillers, grains, or by-products

We really want to make sure any cat food brand we recommend to our readers is made with high-quality ingredients, but we evaluate several other factors as well.

We give preference to brands that offer a variety of recipes and those that provide plenty of information about their ingredients and products. We also consider pricing and recalls as well as the availability of the brand as a whole.

I Have Generally Been Pleased With

Product Review: Freshpet Select

I have generally been pleased with fresh pet but as in another review I just read every few rolls Ive purchased lately have just been oozing with slime. I alternate the large rolls of chicken and beef and noticed it with both. I wasnt sure if it was normal at first so I fed my dog with it. He initially would eat it but one day he refused. I knew then that this was not normal. I normally buy it at Safeway so Im going to try to get it elsewhere. If I get another slimy roll Im going to switch to something else unfortunately. 4-5 slimy rolls in 2 months is unacceptable.

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Has Smalls Ever Been Recalled

In June 2021, the founder of Smalls posted a statement on the companys website explaining that several recipes had been voluntarily recalled. This recall affected select Fresh Chicken and Fresh Turkey products labeled as:

  • Ground Bird, Chicken Recipe
  • Ground Other Bird, Turkey Recipe
  • Smooth Other Bird, Turkey Recipe

The recall was issued after Smalls received feedback from several customers who received products that looked spoiled and had an unusual odor.

The company has thoroughly investigated its inventory and sent out samples to an independent lab for testing. As of June 2021, we dont have specific details on what happened or whySmalls is still investigating.

As of yet, Smalls hasnt received any reports of illness related to the products affected by this recall.

The Were All About Cats Standardrating Freshpet On What Matters

Weve analyzed Freshpet and graded it according to the Were All About Cats standard, evaluating the brand on species-appropriateness, ingredient quality, product variety, price, customer experience, and recall history. Heres how it rates in each of these six key areas.

We give Freshpet cat food a 33 out of 60 rating or a C grade.

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Getting Started With Freshpet

To start, you can find which food option is best for your pet with the Freshpet online product selector.

This short test lets you specify whether you have a cat or dog, its gender, breed, weight, activity levels, protein source preferences, any food sensitivities, the type of food currently eaten, and how much prep work youre willing to do.

The food is sold in a variety of grocery and pet stores and is packaged similarly to fresh human food with a sell-by date. You can choose between 1.5 to 6-pound food rolls, bagged meals, single-serve cups, and snacks that come in a variety of flavors.

You can serve the food to your pet straight from the refrigerator or by letting it thaw after freezing. The company guarantees that Freshpet meals were never frozen before you buy them.

Because the meals contain fresh ingredients, Freshpet suggests they will last between 714 days in the refrigerator after opening. They recommend not leaving food in your pets bowl for longer than two or three hours after serving before returning whats uneaten to the fridge.

According to Freshpet, your pet might be reluctant to eat their food if youre transitioning them from dry kibble to fresh food for the first time.

You can make the transition easier by introducing Freshpet gradually to each meal over 7-10 days, including slightly more fresh food at every meal until they have fully transitioned.

What Are People Complaining About

This Video Will Make You Want to Eat Pet Food – Freshpet

Most negative reviews talk about the companys customer service and recurring payment system. Remember that Smalls automatically starts a subscription when you buy a sample pack, so unless you cancel the subscription before your renewal date, you will be automatically charged.

Many customers are frustrated with this, saying that they were surprised by a recurring shipment, unable to cancel their subscription, or had difficulty contacting the support team. Note that until May 2022, you could only contact Smalls by email or text, and there was no phone support or live chat option.

In May, Smalls introduced live chat support on their website, which allows users to contact Smalls and get support in real time.

While our 2021 test found that the ordering process had improved significantly and users now have more ways to customize their order, the process of canceling is still a little bit frustrating. I had to send an email to the company to have the recurring order canceled, which is an additional step were not seeing from many other similar services.

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What Products Are Available With Freshpet

Freshpet offers numerous product lines of pet food. Weve gone through some of their distinguishing features below.

Offered for Dogs and Cats

  • Freshpet Select: This is Freshpets flagship product line, and it includes dry food, bagged wet food, and slice and serve rolls in 1, 1.5, and 6-pound increments.

  • Vital: The Vital product line is similar to Freshpet Select, though all meals are 100% non-GMO, and includes grain-free and chicken-free options.

  • Natures Fresh: These bagged meals and slice and serve rolls are made out of GAP certified animal products as part of the product lines commitment to using only ethically sourced and humanely raised animal products.

Just for Dogs

  • Fresh Treats: The ingredients within these dog treats are the same quality as offered by other Freshpet products, though outside suppliers produce them. Options include chicken treats, turkey and apple bites, and chicken snack sticks.

  • Deli Fresh: These meals are protein-rich, full of antibiotics, and 100% grain-free. They are available as bagged meals and slice and serve rolls.

  • Homestyle Creations: This product line is designed for people who like to create their own meals for their pets. You can mix and match different components for custom blends with mix-in options like chicken and beef patties and Healthy Mixers of brown rice, pumpkin, carrots, and green beans or bananas, cranberries, and blueberries.

Freshpet Select Tender Chicken Recipe For Cats

A Freshpet bestseller, the Select Tender Chicken recipe offers a well-rounded and nutritional diet for your cat. With three sources of protein and a line of fiber-rich vegetables, your cat is guaranteed to feel full after each meal. It comes in either a 1-pound or 2-pound bag, giving you the option to buy a little just to try out, or a lot when your cat really loves it.

This recipe starts out with fresh chicken, chicken livers and eggs, all from quality sources. Whats not in it is even better no sign of any artificial ingredients or fillers. Freshpet Select Tender Chicken Recipe has more protein, less carbs, and an average amount of fiber compared to other cat foods. If your cat has food allergies, steer clear of this recipe: eggs and fish oil are present.

This Freshpet recipe is almost exactly the same as the previous recipe reviewed, with the exception of added beef and ocean whitefish. This could be a great selection for growing kittens, who need lots of protein and fat when first starting out.

Again, Freshpet puts no artificial ingredients or fillers in this recipe. There are no grains, which can cause tummy troubles or excess weight gain in some cats.

Watch out for potential allergic reactions from the beef, fish or eggs. Also, this line only comes in a 1-pound bag, which could be annoying for repeat buyers.

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