Tuesday, October 4, 2016

More Fine Dining with the Food Snobs (#ChewyInfluencer)

This review is a bit late in getting posted. But let's be honest, we didn't even crack open a can of the food we're about to review until this past weekend. You can blame this here human. Better late than never, though, right?

So, as I've mentioned in past posts, my kitties sort of tend to be food snobs. I'm always on the lookout for new moist foods that they'll actually eat. Since there are roughly a total of two that currently meet their seemingly insurmountable standards, I'm always in for a real challenge.

As part of this past month's Chewy.com Blogger Outreach Program, we had a lot of wonderful goodies to choose from. The one we ultimately chose for the kitties around here was Natural Balance® Limited Ingredient Diets® moist food, in the chicken and green pea formula.


This food is advertised as being grain-free, containing no artificial flavors or colors and no wheat or soy, and containing vitamins and minerals. It is also indicated a being made from high quality protein, and with limited carbohydrates. I was indeed happy to see that the label lists quality protein and vegetable sources as the first ingredients. What's more, this food is advertised as being for sensitive digestion as well as promoting skin and coat health. That all sounded pretty good to me. But, the real test was still to come.

Knowing my kitties' preferences, I was very happy to find a soft and juicy pate food inside these cans.


The consistency of this food is almost creamy. Whereas most pate foods require that I still smash it out for my picky little feline furbabies, this smooth food more or less just spreads around the bowl with ease.


But, all that aside, we still needed to perform some taste tests. (Now, prepare yourselves for some blurry test subjects at work.)

First up was housemate Toby, who excitedly found me brewing stuff up in the kitchen.


This boy sniffed and sniffed and sniffed, but did he eat it? No, he did not. I lost a bit of hope at that point, as Toby is by far the least picky kitty in the house.

Next came Thimble. At the sight of her bowl (yes, the "spoiled" bowl was indeed purchased with this little princess in mind), she did what I like to call her happy dance. Then she came over and...


...immediately started eating! This surprised me. Arguably the most picky cat in the house, Thimble hardly took more than one sniff before deeming this food worthy. I was certainly not disappointed, though, simply surprised.


After Thimble had her fill (which, for her, is never all that much), momma's boy Evan came over.


He sniffed and sniffed, and smacked his lips. But, alas, he did not take a bite. At least, not at this point. Before bed that night I put the rest of the open can in their bowls, and Evan immediately started licking at it then. Go figure.

So, while Toby was not impressed, Thimble and ultimately Evan seemed to find this food edible. (Eddy doesn't get a vote, as she won't even look at moist food.) Given the finicky nature of my kitties, I'd say that this Natural Balance® Limited Ingredient Diets® food in chicken and green pea met with success here at our home!

(Disclaimer: As members of the Chewy.com Blogger Outreach Program, we received Natural Balance® Limited Ingredient Diets® moist food in chicken and green pea in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are our own. We only review products that we believe will be of interest to our readers, and we never recommend a product that we do not believe in.)


On another note, we're on Day 4 of JNW's Halloween Challenge. Today's prompt is none other than cat. Given that that's already a usual subject for my drawings, I tried to think hard on how to make this one unique. I ended up choosing to go back to a previous drawing and give it a sequel. Remember this drawing, that I created for #RememberMeThursday?


I mentioned when originally posting that drawing how I had a bit of a story for it in my head, and how that story indeed included that little witch adopting that little black kitty. So, for today's Halloween prompt of cat, I chose to give this little black kitty and its little witch a followup piece. Hence, this:


So, do these two buddies look happy together?

My furbabies and I want to wish all of you a terrific Tuesday!



***
Our Tip of the Day:
Please be sure to always keep in mind each individual cat's needs when selecting a food. Some cats are best served by a food with as little protein as possible, while other cats thrive best when on a high protein diet. And while one cat may do perfectly well on a low carbohydrate diet, another might not be able to thrive on that same diet. To further expand on this, cats with renal disease, for example, should be on a diet with as little protein as possible. On the other hand, cats suffering with pancreatic issues often require a high protein diet. And a healthy young cat may not need elevated fiber in their diet. A cat suffering from megacolon or frequent constipation, though, will indeed likely need extra fiber in their diet. So, since diet does in fac play such a large role in health and well-being, please always be cognizant of the food your kitty is consuming. When in doubt about your kitty's particular dietary needs, please do not hesitate to consult a veterinarian.

13 comments:

M Dawson said...

You have three picky eaters We have a handful but, oddly enough, I thin some of ours would appreciat the texture of this food. I find the Fancy Feast they adore tends to compact into a solid 'splot' at the bottom of the bowl (grr) so I have to keep stirring it

Hannah and Lucy said...

Hannah my fussy cat would happily eat freshly cooked chicken for every meal!

The Island Cats said...

We've tried the NB and we are so-so with it...sometimes we eat it, sometimes we don't. Gotta keep the mom guessing! We love your drawings today. :)

pilch92 said...

Excellent review, I love Thimble's spoiled dish, very cute- just like her. That is funny that She liked the food and Toby didn't- I will never figure cats out :) Your drawing is adorable. And that is a great tip- we have all sorts of issues here and foods to go with them.

Cathy Keisha said...

Love your review. I'm picky with wet food too. They must have changed the formula in the LID cos when TW bought some when it first came out, it was like cement. She had a hard time getting it out of the can. That's why we didn't order it this time. Needless to say I wouldn't eat it.

Anonymous said...

Glad at least a couple kitties got a new food. We didn't try this but got some at BP a couple years ago, and nopawdy in our house liked it. Even sis Lexi turned her nose up at it. And mommy hates to feed us foods with peas in it. She says da smell is horrific. Not necessarily da food, ifin ya' get me's drift. MOL

Luv ya'

Dezi and Raena

The Swiss Cats said...

Great review ! We are cats, after all, we cannot like every food, right ? Purrs

Connie - Tails from the Foster Kittens said...

I'm not a fan of peas in cat food.. but I'm glad some of your kitties liked it :)

I love the drawing of the cat in the cage. It reminds me a great deal of how I found Fleurp, but she was meatloafed in the cage and not at the front..

Dragonheart, Merlin, Devi, and Chloe said...

We are glad that Thimble and Evan liked the food. For some reason, that brand upsets Dragonheart's stomach. As always, your drawings are fabulous - you are very talented!

Kitties Blue said...

I read your review with interest as the Kitties Blue will only eat pate and only a couple of different flavors. Unfortunately, this doesn't look like pate, and I am afraid would not go over very well. Some might lick whatever liquid they could get from it. The drawings are so super cute, and the witch and the little black kitten were a match made in heaven. Hugs, Janet

Melissa, Mudpie and Angel Truffles (Mochas, Mysteries and Meows) said...

That sweet little witch and her new kitty are just purrfect together! And I think Mudpie would fit in just fine with your crew!!!

Three Chatty Cats said...

Well, at least some of them liked it! Can't please 'em all!

meowmeowmans said...

That was a good, and honest, review1 Well done! :)

Your drawing of the sweet little witch and her new BFF made our hearts happy. Seriously!