Feeding Raw with Balanced Blends
As a pet parent, making sure my cats have a top notch diet is a huge priority for me. Unfortunately, with the pet food market the way it is, it is difficult to find a commercial diet that meets all of my standards. Because of that, I started feeding my cats a homemade raw diet a few years back. In my opinion, the benefits of a raw diet are indisputable; however, it is time consuming to research and make a complete and balanced raw diet yourself. It is not something I can consistently keep up with, so when I heard about Balanced Blends, I was sure they were heaven-sent!
This post is sponsored by Balanced Blends. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about their company, but I only share information I feel is relevant to my readers. All opinions expressed are my own.
Balanced Blends was founded on the principles of providing species-appropriate diets for our pets, blending both nature and science. They have created a natural diet with minimal amounts of vitamins and minerals added, which makes for a balanced and complete raw diet that meets the optimum nutritional needs of our cats. What I love is how they recognize the nutritional needs of cats specifically — their raw diet for cats contains raw protein, organs, bones, vitamins, and minerals only. NO vegetables. NO grains. NO gluten. NO fillers. NO artificial coloring. NO artificial preservatives. I don’t know about yours, but my aforementioned list of diet standards is quickly being fulfilled. And as the saying goes, “But wait, there’s more!”
These diets, which meet the nutrient profile for “all life stages,” are made with top quality and fresh ingredients. Right now, they offer two protein sources – chicken and beef (more protein options to come). Their chicken is USDA Grade A, cage-free, and antibiotic free with no added hormones. Their beef is USDA approved, naturally raised, and antibiotic free with no added hormones. Also, none of their ingredients, including vitamins and minerals, are sourced from China.
I know one of the biggest arguments against a raw diet is the risk of contamination and contracting a harmful bacteria. Balanced Blends is on top of all the best and safest practices in making their food, so you can be sure the meat you are feeding is not contaminated. Not only do they follow HACCP, SSOP, and GMP protocols, all of their diets are applied with high pressure processing in their final packaging to eliminate recontamination. They also use the “Test and Hold” protocol, where their foods are lab tested by a third party and only released for sale after the pathogen test results come back negative. So not only are their diets top notch nutritionally, they are absolutely safe!
The KCC Gang has been eating Balanced Blends chicken and beef recipes for a couple of weeks now, and we give them 24 paws up! Seriously, the cats have been scarfing the food down like there’s no tomorrow. They have been thoroughly spoiled now, and I don’t think they’ll ever eat anything else – which is fine by me!
Now to answer the question that’s on all of your minds – “How can I get some of that?!” Luckily for you, Balanced Blends is running a Kickstarter campaign to raise awareness for their company and encourage trials of their convenient raw diets. Between now and May 27th, you can give Balanced Blends a try at the “Early Cat Special” price and save $20 to $30 on 10 lbs. of raw food. Also, all backers will get 5 lbs. extra for every 20 lb. order of the same item for 3 or 6 months after the Kickstarter campaign ends, depending on the level backed. Plus, there is FREE SHIPPING for all pre-orders! (They only ship to the lower 48 U.S. states.) er
Balanced Blends also offers a subscription service. That’s right – you can have their complete and balanced raw diets conveniently delivered right to your home. You can also manage your subscription on their website by editing, changing, pausing, or canceling your subscription at any time. Online raw cat food delivery has never been so easy!
If you’ve never tried a raw diet before – no worries! Balanced Blends offers a Risk Free, Money Back Guarantee! If you order from them and are unsatisfied for any reason, they will refund your money in full. How can you say no to that? Now hurry on over over to the Balanced Blends Kickstarter page now and place your first order before the “Early Cat Special” pricing runs out!
Summer says
See that awesome raw food ready to be served made me hungry!
The Island Cats says
I’m definitely going to check this food out. I would love to feed my cats more raw food. ~Island Cat Mom
Three Chatty Cats says
Thanks for the review! This looks great.
Pawesome Cats says
As you know, we’re committed raw feeders but preparation can definitely be time consuming when you make it from scratch. This seems like a great alternative for busy pet parents.
Connie says
aww.. bummer. I don’t like HPP. neither do my cats. I hope they do well, though, because it is far superior to kibble 🙂
Lola The Rescued Cat says
Hopefully we can talk Mommy into trying this!
Yik says
Hi Lola,
Let Mommy know that we have risk free, money back guarantee. If you don’t like our food, Mommy can get a refund from us. With the Early Cat Special from our pre-order, Mommy can give us a try! =)
Yik
Kitties Blue says
Emily, how much food do you need to feed the six kitties for a week? I’d like to try raw, but I know I am not going to make it as I don’t have room to store large quantities. I would need to figure out if it is cost effective for our feeding eight. Thanks for telling us about this product. Astrid sends Sampy a kiss for every morsel of food he’s ever eaten and all her love. XOXOXOXOXO XOCK, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo
Ellen Pilch says
Excellent post. I will have to check out that Kickstarter. I would love to feed raw, but I am too lazy and this would be easy.
Tamago says
Thank you for this post, Emily! I didn’t know about this company. I really like the ingredients – looks similar to the raw food I get for my boys. I’m gonna check out more detail!
Yik says
Hi Tamago,
We are new =), and would be happy to answers any questions you have while you are learning about us. Feel free to drop us a note anytime at hello@balancedblends.com
The Swiss Cats says
Great post ! Mum wants to make us eat raw, but she wants to be sure that she knows how to prepare healthy food for us. Balanced Blend Food sounds great, we wish we had such a company in Switzerland. Purrs
Pipo/Minko/MrJackFreckles says
Meowmy was so intrigued by this post…she visited the website and was hoping to find our good mews fur us…but alas, *she* is furry allergic to one of the ingredients in their formulas, she cannot even be in the same room with that…she swells up and is in agony fur a long while after any exposure. This is too bad cause wow, the food looks so good and healthy.
She has nevfur seen this in pet food before (Psyllium), so she isn’t even sure how we would react to it, esp Minko with his bowel issues. We know it is fur fiber content, or a binder…
Lauren Miller (ZoePhee) says
Balanced blends sound great! That’s awesome your kitties like it! I will check them out!
Jodi Clock says
I”m glad to see they have a subscription service. That is a big selling point for busy pet parents.
Nichole says
This sounds like a great option for cats!
Tenacious Little Terrier says
Mr. N has been loving his Balanced Blends! It’s pretty convenient for us because we don’t have a separate freezer for his raw food.
Beth says
This looks like a convenient way to feed your cats a raw diet!
Golden Daily Scoop says
Sounds like a great choice for cats!
Talent Hounds says
That looks like fabulous raw food. Hopefully their Kickstarter will go well and they’ll come to Canada.
Kristian Taylor says
Thanks for this information. We are always looking for good information about cat’s diets and keeping them healthy.
M. K. Clinton says
It is great to have a company cater to raw feeding for cats. ☺
Miss Molly Says says
My pack is drooling! They don’t eat totally raw food diets, but they love them as toppers and what we call dessert. This is now on our must-try list!
Spencer the Goldendoodle says
Callie the Cat would freak out if she got this for dinner!!! It sounds so yummy I think I might have to sample it first! 🙂
Fur Everywhere says
I’m glad your gang loves the food! It is definitely reassuring that they test their food before they send it out.
Cathy Armato says
I have to say, I admire you for taking the time to plan out and prepare your cats’ raw meals yourself – that takes dedication! I’m glad you’ve found a food that fulfills all the raw nutrition you were preparing yourself, what WILL you do with all that extra time on your hands – LOL! I’ve never heard of Balanced Blends, thanks for this information.
Love & Biscuits,
Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them
Sarcastic Dog says
I have not heard of balanced blends but, at your suggestion, I checked out their kickstarter campaign and saw that they have an early dog special too 🙂 I tried a raw diet once but having to shop, portion and plan was super challenging and this looks like a great time-saver. Could definitely see using this as meal toppers for my pack of three 🙂
Sweet Purrfections says
That food really does look yummy.
Bernard Lima-Chavez says
I love that you’re expanding the conversation around raw feeding, especially for cats. I haven;t been able to find a commercially available raw food that my cats will eat, so I:m excited to try Balanced Blends.
Yik says
Hi Bernard,
You can give us a try risk free =). We have a money back satisfaction guarantee! Give us a try and if your little ones do not like our raw diets, we’ll give you a full refund. We also have some tips in helping with the transitioning http://www.balancedblends.com/pages/transitioning. We are also happy to help and answer any questions! Drop us a note anytime at hello@balancedblends.com.
Annette @PetsAreFound says
I’m trying to get Isa & Betty onto raw food, so thanks for this article, it’s very helpful.
Ava at Savvy Pet Care says
Great review. Sounds like an awesome company. I look forward to seeing what other proteins they produce.
Yik says
Hi Ava,
We will be looking into expanding our varieties soon. Would love to hear any suggestions you have! Feel Free to reach us with any suggestions or comments at hello@balancedblends.com =)