Stella & Chewy’s Raw Blend Premium Kibble Cat Food – Grain Free, Protein Rich Meals – Cage-Free Poultry Recipe – 5 Pound

Like they added more freeze dried raw pieces.

The brand Stella & Chewy's is new to me so I was surprised by how much both of my cats love their Raw Blend Grain Free Dry Food. I really like that Stella & Chewy is mixing chunks of freeze-dried raw food with much smaller pieces of kibble that make up the bulk of the bag. Freeze-dried raw food is very nutritious for cats since it's nearly all meat and has a lot of protein. The problem is cats can't chew food unless it's very easily crumbled so they swallow whatever they eat whole and eating a bowl of freeze-dried raw cubes, while tasty and nutritious, is hard to digest since the pieces are large, swallowed whole, and often end up being vomited. You can crumble the cubes but then you are turning it into a seasoning rather than food that they can actually eat. With Stella & Chewy's Raw Blend you tend to get 3-4 raw, freeze-dried cubes in every bowl which is like the marshmallow stars in children's breakfast cereal but for cats--mine eat the cubes first because they love the flavor then dig into the rest of the bowl and 3 or 4 cubes aren't enough to upset their stomachs--especially since those cubes are mixed with much easier-to-digest kibble. Based on the nutritional label this is a better than average dry food providing 40% (min) protein and 16% (min) crude fat. Cheap supermarket brands might offer similar protein (which is what cats primarily need for a healthy diet) but most comes from low-quality animal by-products rather than actual meat which is much more expensive. If you care about the health of your cats look at the label for what you are feeding them and never buy food that uses any type of animal by-product or lists meat as an ingredient rather than specific kinds like chicken, beef, and fish. Also, avoid carbohydrates like grains as much as possible because they have no nutritional value for cats and are mainly fillers to lower the cost of the food. All grain-free cat food that doesn't cost a fortune and isn't almost entirely meat uses some fillers that aren't technically grains but might as well be and Stella & Chewy is no exception. The bag says grain-free and potato free but the ingredients include lentils, peas, alfalfa meal, and dandelion greens. Ingredients like this can be used to provide fiber and improve flavor but they add no actual nutrition. The protein sources in the ingredient list are mostly good (chicken, turkey, chicken liver, duck, chicken gizzard) which is what I look for. The one problematic ingredient is chicken meal because there is no FDA standard for what that chicken meal is--it could be chicken or a rendered chicken by-product or even an ingredient that contains almost no chicken. Since the majority of what Stella & Chewy lists are quality ingredients, I'm giving them a pass on the chicken meal. My cats love this stuff so much they no longer want to eat their regular dry food (Purina Pro Plan Grain-Free Chicken) and since the nutritional value and ingredient quality are comparable I already ordered another bag which will make both of my cats very happy.

CiCi and Norah both go straight for the freeze-dried meaty morals that are mixed in like marshmallows in Lucky Charms. The remaining kibble does not entice them enough to stray from their usual diet, however. This is a disappointment because I happen to think the ingredients are of higher quality than typical dry cat food. I should add that my cats are very picky and set in their ways, so they may not be the best judges when it comes to popular opinion. As with my process any time I introduce new food, I try mixing it in with their regular food. So far, at least, the morsels disappear and the rest goes untouched. One day I saw CiCi try the kibble when her other bowl was empty. She didn't take more than a bite or two before deciding she would prefer to starve, though. I'm still trying and will update this review if the cats change their mind. Like I say, I'd love to see my kitties prefer higher end cat food like this. My appreciation to Stella & Chewy for sending me this sample bag to try out regardless.

Our housecat, Miss Kitty, eats to live, not lives to eat. She is the only can I have ever had that never begs for food, and will not eat tidbits given to her. All she wants is her cheap dry cat food. She was a rescue cat, so her past history may be the cause. But, it's still odd. I was in hopes that she would enjoy this cat food as a treat, but no. Turned up her nose. Went over to her cheap dry cat food and chowed down. HOWEVER, the two semi-feral cats we feed LOVE IT! I offered two bowls of dry food, in addition to a dab of their canned. They ate the Stella and Chewey's first, down to the bottom of the bowl. Now, this is more like it! However, this food is sooo expensive, I doubt I will buy more. Even though it is extremely eco/health friendly, it is simply beyond my budget! But the outdoor cats absolutely love it. Don't tell them there will not be more, please!

The media could not be loaded. This is for Raw Blend, Grain Free cat dry food. It's a good size if you're not sure if your cat will be fond of it. I like that it is resealable, not many has resealable packaging, this is definitely a plus for me. My cat is enjoying this blend, as seen on video. She is very picky, so to find one that she's willing to try is a major plus. Hopefully, she'll keep eating them. If so, I'd definitely order more in the future. Most cat food has weird smell but this one doesn't, so that's another plus in my eyes. Overall quite happy with this. Though, I've ordered this couple of weeks ago, I only started giving this to her tonight. I'll update if it upset her tummy.