Hi is there an article anywhere about comparing these two or does anyone have any info?
Freshpet is much more convenient and cheaper for me to get, is the quality really way lower than smalls?
It looks like from the research that smalls uses like organic meats and a company like freshpet uses meats that are non organic?
Is this the difference? Having some trouble figuring out if the extra cost and hassle to ship is worth it
thank you for your help, my cat is 12 indoor needs to lose a lb and I want him to live as long as possible
Hi Nick,
Smalls and Freshpet cater to different priorities when it comes to cat food. Smalls offers human-grade (not necessarily organic ingredients). Freshpet, while using pet-grade ingredients, benefits from being a larger company with the ability to offer more affordable pricing due to the size of their manufacturing capabilities.
Let's compare 2 different recipes Freshpet Vital Grain Free Chicken & Beef Cat Roll and Smalls Smalls Fresh Ground Bird Recipe:
If we look at the dry matter analysis:
Smalls Fresh Ground Bird Recipe
Protein: 48.15%
Fat: 31.48%
Fiber: 5.56%
Carbs: 14.81%
Freshpet Vital Grain Free Chicken & Beef Cat Roll
Protein: 45.45%
Fat: 27.28%
Fiber: 4.55%
Carbs: 22.73%
Overall, the two recipes are quite similar, but Smalls stands out with a lower carbohydrate percentage, which is beneficial for managing your cat's sugar intake and and overall weight although 22% is within a good range as well.
When looking deeper into both products ingredients list:
Smalls Fresh Ground Bird Recipe
Chicken, Chicken Liver, Green Beans, Water Sufficient for Processing, Dried Yeast, Tricalcium Phosphate, Kale, Magnesium Proteinate, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Dandelion Greens, Dried Kelp, Taurine, Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Cod Liver Oil, Salt, Niacin Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Thiamine Mononitrate, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid, Sodium Selenite, Biotin.
Freshpet Vital Grain Free Chicken & Beef Cat Roll
Chicken, Chicken Broth, Beef, Chicken Liver, Natural Flavors, Eggs, Tapioca Starch, Carrageenan, Pea Protein, Dicalcium Phosphate, Pea Fiber, Salt, Taurine, Celery Powder, Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Calcium Carbonate, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Calcium Iodate
Both products use good quality ingredients and clearly label meats. Both also contain some amount of plant protein but we notice the use of Carrageenan on Freshpet Vital Grain Free Chicken & Beef Cat Roll which is somewhat of controversial ingredient.
Both Smalls and Freshpet include plant proteins in their formulations. Notably, Freshpet's Vital Grain Free Chicken & Beef Cat Roll contains carrageenan, a thickening agent derived from red seaweed. While carrageenan is commonly used in pet foods to improve texture, its inclusion has been a topic of debate. Some studies suggest it may cause inflammation in the digestive tract, leading to gastrointestinal issues in some animals. You can read more here:
https://cats.com/carrageenan-in-cat-food
Did you get a chance to read the Smalls and Freshpet reviews on our site:
Hope this helps, and do let me know if you have additional questions
@nick Hi Nick! I did a lot of the research/writing for the Smalls and FreshPet reviews, so I'm happy to give you my thoughts. Overall, I'd say there's not a significant enough difference in objective quality to say Smalls is a better choice for you than FreshPet if price/hassle is your primary concern. Smalls does ship directly so the hassle is minimal, but the product is fairly expensive. FreshPet might be easy enough to pick up at your local store, but you'd want to find out where it's sold and how consistently that store keeps it in stock. It sounds like another concern you have is weight loss for your senior cat. High-quality wet cat food is a great choice there, and your cat can lose weight on either product if you're careful about portions. I'd recommend using an online cat calorie calculator to find out how many calories your cat should be eating to lose weight. You'll have to do this whether you choose Smalls or FreshPet since they generally don't come in individual portions. Both companies provide feeding suggestions, but if weight loss is a concern you'll want to be intentional about measuring your cat's food. Here's a calculator: https://cats.com/cat-calorie-calculator As for the comparative quality of FreshPet vs Smalls, here are some of my impressions: - Smalls uses a shorter list of ingredients and most are animal-based (this makes it more digestible for your cat with fewer unnecessary ingredients) - FreshPet is largely animal-based but does include some plant protein like pea protein (animal protein is preferable to plant protein for cats) - FreshPet uses more additives like starch (not harmful but not very nutritious) - I wouldn't worry about the carrageenan in FreshPet... certain forms are harmful but not the kind used in pet food (here's an article: https://cats.com/carrageenan-in-cat-food Both Smalls and FreshPet contain over 10% carbohydrate on average but are still much lower than the average dry food. You can get a sampler pack of Smalls to see how your cat likes it, but I'll warn you that Smalls has changed up their recipes and product line numerous times over the past 5 years. If your cat is picky, something like FreshPet that is made in much larger volumes and remains pretty consistent over time might be preferable. Hope that helps! - Kate