Is Smalls freeze-dried cat food worth it?
Worth it, if you want raw-style nutrition without the raw-food hassle
Why cats turn their nose up at kibble
You pour the usual kibble into the bowl and your cat sniffs it, looks up at you, and walks away. You know the food is fine on paper, but there's a difference between food a cat will tolerate and food a cat actually wants, and most bags of dry cat food are built around one hiding a lot of the other with starch. That's the itch a freeze-dried option like Smalls is trying to scratch.
How freeze-drying actually works, and why it matters
Here's the trick with freeze-drying, and it's worth understanding before you buy. Regular kibble is extruded and baked, and it needs starch or plant filler just to hold its shape into little crunchy pieces, that's why the protein number on the bag is often lower than you'd expect. Freeze-drying does something different: raw chicken, organ and bone (this one runs 95% chicken) gets frozen solid, then placed under vacuum so the ice sublimates straight into vapor without ever melting. No heat, no cooking, no need for starch to bind anything. What's left is a light, airy, crunchy piece of actual meat, not a meat-flavored biscuit. That's why this stays low carb and protein-dense while still giving you the bite cats associate with dry food. You can serve it dry as a crunchy topper, or add water and let it rehydrate into something closer to a raw meal, your call depending on what your cat prefers that day. Either way, you're not fighting the freezer, thawing schedule or raw-handling fuss that usually comes with feeding actual raw meat.
So you're not really buying cat food here, you're buying the crunch cats love from kibble grafted onto the protein profile of raw, with none of the freezer real estate or thaw-and-serve routine raw normally demands. That's the whole trick, and it's why an 8 ounce bag costs more per bite than a big box of kibble.
Who Smalls freeze-dried cat food is for
Worth it if
- Your cat is picky and ignores regular kibble
- You want to cut starch and filler without switching to full raw
- You want a topper that makes existing food more appealing
Skip it if
- Your cat already eats a complete diet happily
- You're feeding multiple cats and need a cost-efficient daily food
- You want a fully raw diet rather than a freeze-dried, kibble-like format
Not for owners who are happy with a standard kibble and don't want to pay a premium for texture and protein density.
The Smalls cat food verdict
If your cat is a picky eater or you've been meaning to cut the filler out of their diet without going full raw, this is a quiet yes, especially as a topper on food they're already half-ignoring. If your cat eats whatever's in the bowl and you're happy with a standard complete kibble, save the money and skip it, this is an upgrade, not a rescue.
Before you go
Is Smalls cat food worth it?
It's worth it if you want kibble-style crunch with a much higher meat content and lower carbs, especially for picky eaters or as a topper; it's not worth it if a standard complete kibble is already working fine for your cat.
Do vets recommend Smalls for cats?
There's no vet-endorsement claim attached to this specific product, but it's labeled complete and balanced for all life stages, which is the baseline vets generally look for in any cat food, freeze-dried or not.
Full spec sheet
| Brand Name | Generic |
|---|---|
| Flavor | Turkey |
| Age Range Description | Adult |
| Item Form | Jerky |
| Specific Uses For Product | Dog Treats |
| Container Type | Bag |
| Breed Recommendation | All Breed Sizes |
| Dog Breed Size | Small |
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