Smalls

I'm really quite surprised because having that many cats oh, and being finicky at that, you would think they wouldn't have taken to it at all but they have! There is only one cat that hasn't taken to it but he's coming around LOL because it's not good to feed them the wet raw food cold, I am trying to supplement canned food in the morning for everyone and then taking out the raw food in the afternoon to thaw and get a little bit on the warm side 4 evening feeding. It is quite nice to only be feeding twice a day but I'm telling you what, they are going nuts with this food and it's almost like they are jonesing for it more than the dry food! So although it is great as far as helping them to be healthier and live longer, it sure is a challenge when they are all screaming at you for more!

The only other drawback that I would really see with this, is if you do have a lot of cats, you'd be better off making your own at home. 1 pack of the food costs about $9 and we go through 2 packs for all of our cats a day!! So as you can see it will be very expensive and not very cost-effective unless you can make it at home. The company is really great as well. If you have any issues they take care of them as quickly as possible! Very very good at responding and very happy overall with the quality of the food from what I can tell.

I like that I can customize my order and only get the flavors that they like and will eat. They also really enjoy the freeze dried food and I like giving it to them as a snack and I prefer to give them that over the terrible quality kibble they sell at stores. I have never had issues with the packaging or the food coming thawed. Once you get used to dealing with the dry ice and the really cool dissolvable corn packaging, it’s actually really easy to handle. Straight from the box into the freezer. Their customer service reps are great too and are usually pretty quick to reply.

I highly recommend Smalls for your cat's overall health. It is pricey but to me I would rather pay more for good quality food rather than feeding them low quality food that is cheaper and then spending more in vet bills because their health isn’t good. Cats can be picky so if they don’t take to it right away, give them some time. Of course if they had to choose between something healthy and the smelly canned food they would choose the canned because it’s more enticing. If you really care about your cat's health, go with Smalls.

After deciding to give Smalls a go, I was happy to see that the chicken was so minimally processed that it still looked and smelled like chicken and not some undeterminable "cat food" smell. There was a bit of an adjustment period to get my cats used to it, but they are quite happy with it now, I supplement with a bit of Smalls Freeze-Dried, too, and have had no issues. That line they use in their ads—"less stinky poops"—is not just a line, btw.

On the business side of things, their website can be a little glitchy sometimes, but if I want to change something and having an issue with the site, it's always very easy to just text them and have them take care of it. Never had any issues with charges, shipments, etc. So, the bottom line is: yes, it's pricey, but it's definitely worth it in my opinion.

That exam hasn't come yet but my cat now has healthy stool with less odor, and very infrequent hairballs. She prefers the pulled chicken recipe, but will also eat the smooth chicken and smooth beef. For whatever reason, she will not eat the turkey (she ate it the first few times but then decided she didn't like it I guess). I am very happy with the quality of the food and am confident that it is improving my cat's quality of life.

Next, the packaging. Smalls using a cornstarch foam as an insulator which dissolves in water and can be rinsed down the drain. We have not had any problems with clogging while dissolving it. I really love that the packaging is mostly sustainable, as I was afraid it would come in styrofoam which is incredibly wasteful and not biodegradable. I had one problem with some of the food packages being cracked because the dry ice keeps the food so cold the plastic becomes brittle. I was assured by customer service that the food was safe to serve provided it was fully frozen upon arrival. My cat ate the food and didn't have any health problems. They seem to be switching to a 'sausage' style packing which should eliminate this kind of brittle cracking I had that time. All other orders have come perfectly packaged, and I have never had the food arrive thawed even throughout the hot summer we had this year.

Finally, customer service. I have had all positive experiences with the customer service team. They are quick to respond and always find a solution within one or two emails. I once had an order missing some items, so I contact customer service via email and asked them if they could replace the missing items. They informed me that they cannot just send 2 packs of food, but they would refund the missing food and move my next order up a week so that I would not run out of food. While I would love it if they had an 'a la carte' option so that you could just get one or two items outside of the subscription I understand that from a shipping standpoint it is much more efficient to send out full boxes. I think that there is room for improvement but I appreciate the quality products and customer service that this company offers. If you have a cat that needs a special diet, or simply want to give your cat 'the best' Smalls is for you.

I decided to try a traditional human chicken breast and rice, and of course it worked! But I did not want to commit to making my cat a from scratch, homemade diet for life! That's when I found Smalls and my cat is healthier than he's ever been. He loves the food, the litter box is greatly improved, and he went from 20lbs to 15 lbs. I still have no idea where my cat's health crisis came from, but am overjoyed it's been solved by Smalls! I highly recommend them and their customer service. Very responsive and thorough in their communication.

They have shipped me wrong orders frequently because they were out of stock and I was never alerted beforehand. Other times they ship less than the 12 packets due to shortages - again no advanced notice and you have to contact them to be credited for the shortage. They never forget to charge your card. Almost every order has had an issue. They changed their formula around November adding Canola Oil which is NOT good for cats - again no one gave advanced notice or notified me. When I emailed to investigate I was told it was such a small amount it would have no impact which appears to be true.

My current order is lost. The previous box was not marked to be refrigerated (as it had always been in the past) so instead of my front desk storing it in the refrigerator it sat at room temperature until I could pick it up, defrosted and had to be thrown out. It took 3 emails and 2 texts over the course of 3 days to get a refund and they insisted on issuing it as a credit refusing to overnight a replacement so I had to wait a full week. Thankfully I had stocked up and had some packets in the freezer but the next box never arrived.

I was charged $128 last Thursday, 2/16. Small tracking said it shipped on Wednesday, 2/22 (almost a week after they charged me) and when I checked delivery status it said GLS (whoever they are - equally awful in my opinion) was on track to deliver it on 2/23. As of today, 2/25, it is still lost. Because of the problem with Smalls not marking the previous box, am out of food.

When I contacted Smalls they said to contact the shipper, GLS. When I contacted GLS they said it was lost and to contact Smalls. I contacted Smalls via email and texts 6 times to have a replacement order expedited and shipped overnight. "Hailey" from Smalls informed me on Friday, 2/24, this was not possible and that I needed to wait until Saturday because sometimes the lost order just "shows up". She suggested that in the meantime I could buy and feed my poor cats Weruva.

I sent another email again today requesting a full refund. As usual, I received an automated message that they will contact me. My cats are currently eating Weruva, thanks to Smalls, their complete lack of customer service and failure to deliver what they promised. Both have diarrhea and there is no resolution in sight.

Sadly, the food, when made and delivered properly (which is the exception not the normal) is good, but the times the food arrives normally and without issue are rare. I would urge anyone who loves and cares about their cats to find a better solution and AVOID Smalls at all costs. The only thing Smalls seems to do well and consistently is charge my card and refuse to provide solutions when they make mistakes which are numerous. In my experience, SMALLS SIMPLY DOES NOT CARE ABOUT THEIR CUSTOMER OR THEIR CATS.