Smalls Cat Food Review 2024: Pros, Cons & Verdict

Compared to dogs, cats have incredibly sensitive systems. This is especially true when it comes to their diet.

Not only do cats require meat-based food for basic survival, but they often react negatively to common food additives and ingredients. This means vomiting, stinky litter boxes, and health issues.

Smalls Cat Food was created to help cats get the right kind of food to support their health and digestion. This company’s unique recipes are made almost entirely of quality meat ingredients. And, best of all, they’re delivered straight to your door so you never run out.

I had the chance to try Smalls Cat Food subscription service on my sweet but sensitive calico kitty. She loved all the flavors and I loved how quickly her digestive issues settled down.

Keep reading to find out what other benefits this cat food delivers and to see my full Smalls Cat Food brand review.

At a Glance: The Most Popular Recipes

	Image	Product	Details
Our Favorite		Smooth Bird	Chicken sourced in the USA Balanced fat and protein Smooth texture is perfect for seniors	Click to Save 40% Use code: PetKeen2024
		Smooth Fish	High in protein Healthy fats and omega fatty acids Entices picky eaters	Click to Save 40% Use code: PetKeen2024
		Ground Other Bird	US-sourced turkey meat and organs Pleasing, chunky texture High fat for extra energy	Click to Save 40% Use code: PetKeen2024

About Smalls

Smalls started with a simple vision: create better cat food. They’ve done this by developing recipes made almost entirely from quality, human-grade meat. These ingredients are rounded out with a small portion of high-fiber veggies and a specialty blend of vitamins and minerals.

Once they created the cat food all cats needed, they had to find a way to get into more homes. In 2017, they launched their subscription cat food service to do just that.

Who Makes Smalls and Where is it Produced?

Smalls has a number of facilities across the country. Today, most of their food offerings are made in their Woodbridge Township, New Jersey, facility.

All of the meat ingredients used in these recipes are sourced from the US and Canada from processing facilities that only process human-grade meat.

Which Types of Pets Is Smalls Best Suited For?

Whether you have a new kitten or an old kitty, Smalls is very likely to work for you. Their recipes are created to meet the needs of all life stages and each recipe offers a different amount of protein and fat, so you can tailor your feedings to deliver the right amount of nutrients and calories to keep your kitty happy and healthy.

Overview

Smalls is unique in the cat food world for a couple of reasons. For one, their recipes are made of high-quality, human-grade meat—and a lot of it. They’re also one of the few cat-only cat food subscription services out there.

Here, we look at what makes Smalls different, including their ingredients, variety of recipes, subscription service, pricing, and add-ons.

Primary Ingredients

Every Smalls recipe starts with meat. For instance, in their Smooth Bird option, chicken is the first ingredient.

Next, they always include some kind of organ meat to add extra protein and necessary minerals. In the chicken recipe, this organ meat is chicken liver.

Together, these two ingredients form the majority of what goes into your cat’s bowl. This is important because cats are obligate carnivores, which means they need meat in order to get all the essential nutrients their body can’t make.

The next ingredient is usually a vegetable. The Smooth Bird recipe includes green beans. This veggie provides fiber and nutrients and helps emulate the nutrition wild cats get from eating the stomach contents of their prey.

Lastly, each Smalls recipe includes a long list of vitamins and minerals to help round out your cat’s diet and ensure they’re getting everything they need.

Variety

Smalls offers a long list of different recipe options. This is great for both kitties with particular needs and those with particular pallets.

Most of these recipes are available in smooth or ground textures. The smooth options are great for young kittens transitioning from milk, senior kitties, and those with dental problems. The ground options have a nice chunky consistency that many cats seem to like.

Subscription Service

To get started with Smalls’ subscription service, get on their website and fill out a short questionnaire about your cat (or cats). From there, the company recommends a list of recipes. They’ll send you these recipes in a sampler box so you can test out which ones your cat likes best.

Once you know what your cat wants, you can set up your subscription box based on these choices. If things change or you want to mix things up, you can always add or take away recipes each month.

New boxes typically ship out every four weeks. But this can be customized as needed to ensure you never run out of food.

Unlike NomNom and other customizable pet food services, Smalls does not create different portion sizes for each customer. Rather, each package contains enough food to feed a 10-pound cat for a day. You should feed more or less depending on how much your cat weighs.

Your subscription can be adjusted, skipped, and canceled at any time.

Pricing

How much your Smalls subscription will cost depends on how much your cat eats, which recipes you choose, and how many cats you’re feeding.

In general, each package costs between $1.90 and $3. Shipping is free for most orders, however, small orders are subject to a $10 shipping fee.

Add-Ons

Smalls also carries a limited line of extras that you can add to your subscription order before checkout.

These extras include everything from treats to toys to cat-centric merchandise for you. One of my cat’s favorites is Smalls’ broth packets. These bone broth options are great for adding extra nutrients and enticing picky eaters.

Reviews of the 3 Best Smalls Recipes

I received several different recipes in my sampler pack. Here is a breakdown of three of my cat’s favorites.

1. Smooth Bird

This chicken recipe is a great option for transitioning your cat to smalls. Chicken is a common protein used in most cat foods. This familiarity will help prevent digestive issues as your cat gets used to this new food.

The smooth texture of this option is also readily accepted by most cats, young and old. Chicken and chicken liver as the first two ingredients bring a ton of protein to help support your cat’s systems.

This recipe is also fairly high in fat, making it a great option for young kitties and those in need of extra energy.

It also has a relatively high amount of fiber. This can be helpful for older kitties who struggle to form solid poos and for those who need help feeling fuller.

Smooth chicken is one of the cheaper options, as well. My cat loved this recipe and the ground chicken option. Both are packed with high-quality US-sourced chicken and just a pinch of veggies and added nutrients.

2. Smooth Fish

If you have a picky eater, Smalls’ Smooth Fish is a great option. It has an enticing fishy aroma and a flavor cats just can’t resist.

This recipe also has the benefit of containing two different protein sources, salmon and cod. These whole meat options provide a ton of valuable nutrients, proteins, and healthy fats, including omega-3 fatty acids. The fat content makes this the perfect choice for kitties who need help with inflammation and skin and coat issues.

To balance all that fat and protein, this recipe, uniquely, contains two veggies. Both green beans and pumpkin are good sources of fiber to help support gut health.

My calico kitty probably loved this recipe the best out of all of them. But it does have a bit of a stink, so I preferred to feed the chicken option. One great compromise that I didn’t receive in my sample box is the Smooth Bird & Fish Dish recipe.

Both these options feature the smooth texture that many cats find appealing and that is especially good for old cats and those with dental issues.

3. Ground Other Bird

If your cat doesn’t like chicken or can’t eat it due to food allergies, the turkey option, or “Other Bird,” from Smalls is a good choice.

This recipe also contains a meat ingredient as the first listed followed by organ meat. In this case, turkey and turkey liver.

Like chicken, turkey is on the cheaper end. Unlike chicken, it’s a much less common allergen in cats.

This recipe has a balanced mix of protein and extra fat compared to most of the other recipes. It’s a great choice for young kitties and those who can stand to gain a little weight. It has a little lower fiber than the other recipes so may not be the best choice for senior cats.

This recipe comes in the smooth texture option and the ground option. There isn’t a huge difference in these but the smooth is a touch finer and works better for mixing with water or milk to transition kittens to solid food. My cat liked both options but seemed a little more interested in the smooth texture.

Our Experience With Smalls Cat Food

I’m always on the lookout for better cat food, especially now that my calico girl is starting to get a little older. Just looking at the Smalls ingredients lists made it obvious this cat food is different.

I love that each recipe is made predominantly of meat ingredients, which is so important for feline health. And I was blown away to learn they only use human-grade meat. I can’t think of any other cat food company that offers this.

But the real question was, would my picky little girl like these recipes as much as I do?

As soon as the box arrived, she was interested. She had her nose in the package the second I opened it, even though all the meals were still frozen. She always has had a good nose!

After thawing the first recipe, I let her give it a try. She didn’t show any of the hemming and hawing that she usually displays at mealtime. Rather, she dove right in.

In fact, she ate so much so fast, I was worried she might have some digestive consequences. My plan was only to let her have a taste before I mixed it with her normal food to start the slow transition to this diet. But she just loved it too much!

Luckily, her body seemed to process it well. She didn’t have any issues with voting and her stools remained well-formed even with the quick transition.

In fact, her normally smelly litter box actually smelled better after switching to this food. That is one of many benefits Smalls touts and that seems to be well-backed by their customer reviews. It certainly seemed to be the case in my experience, too.

It’s hard to say which of the many recipes we received in the sample pack was her favorite. She definitely came running the fastest when I opened the fish option, but she ate the chicken and turkey recipes just as fast. She was a little more picky about the cow but still always finished her bowl.

Overall, she has been very happy with her Smalls experience. And I have been too.

I’m planning to continue the subscription for now. I may have to supplement a bit to keep costs down, but I think this quality, high-meat food is more than worth it to include in her diet.

Conclusion

Whether you have a kitty dealing with a health issue or just want the best for your furry friend, I can’t recommend Smalls Cat Food enough. This company goes out of its way to source the best human-grade, US and Canadian meat to put together the healthiest cat food recipes out there.

My cat absolutely loved the food and I loved that the recipes helped ease her sensitive stomach and reduce litter box smells. The subscription can get a little pricey depending on which meals you choose and how much you feed, but it’s super convenient to have the meals delivered to your door each month. More importantly, you just can’t find cat food of this quality at the store.

See also:

• How Many Calories Does a Cat Need? With Easy to Use Calculator
• Nom Nom Cat Food Review: Pros, Cons & Recalls