Hills Science Diet

Ideal Balance Cat Food

So, this is The Mix-matched Angel (aka Fluffy, Fluffer-Doodle, The Princess, Move Cat!, and Awwww).  Pretty little Angora mix who was rescued from a busy parking lot (okay, I had no intention of taking it home with me, I was going to simply pick her up and move her to the cemetery so she didn't get run over, but she melted my heart and found a home).  I have two other fur-babies as well, Crash (aka Stupid, Stupid-Head, and The Evil One) is a Siamese shelter-kitty who is almost 13 years old that I love dearly (even though everyone else thinks she's the most evil thing on the planet).  And we have Burn (aka, Sissy, Bug, and Bug-A-Boo) who is a standard black domestic short haired cat that was rescued from a horrible home life where she was being left outside 24 hours a day and denied basic vet care.

We all want what's best for our fur-babies.  From the best vet care to the best food and treats.  I, as the proud mom of three fur-babies in different stages of their lives am no different.  When looking for a cat food, I have to find one that meets the needs of each of the kitties.  From something that is gentle on the stomach for the Siamese to something that comes in really small bites for the Angora (she's so tiny that she has trouble eating some cat foods).  Of course we want shiny, healthy coats on all involved and nutrition that will make them live as long as possible.

Enter onto the scene Hills Science Diet Ideal Balance cat food.

We opened the bag and mixed it with their current kitty food since we don't want to shock their systems by completely changing their food in one step (see, they really are spoiled).  They go running ("Hey, mom's feeding us from a new bag, I get to be the first to taste it!").  And they start to eat.  Of course the pretty princess Angel was the first to take a bite.  And another, and another.  I look a few minutes later and she had picked out all of the Ideal Balance and left all of the other food (rotten cat).  So, I know we have a winner here.  I mix more in and two of the three have picked out just the Science Diet food and left the other.  The third cat (Burn) just demolished food not paying any attention to what foods are in the bowl (nothing new, she's a bit of a piggy).  So, I must say that we have a winner as far as my babies are concerned.

So, we do away with the old food and go buy another bag of the Ideal Balance.  We all know that kitties have no say in what their food is (although what they prefer does play a role in mom's decision making process).  By the end of the second bag (which took a while) I saw a difference in my babies.  My Siamese has not reverted back to her stomach issues (which I won't get into, but let's simply say that litter boxes are no fun if her food doesn't agree with her).  Burn doesn't eat too much of the Science Diet (Did I say she's a piggy?).  My little Mix-Matched Angel is where I see a huge change.  Her coat is so much more glossy (which is good, more gloss equals less matting, equals less time being tortured by a matting comb, equals less scratches on me).  The one thing that I was most hesitant about was the cost, but I found that the cost isn't much of an issue.  Since they're getting better nutrition they are eating a whole lot less and the food actually ends up costing me about the same as their old food.  Perhaps more importantly, I don't have to go twice a week to the store just for kitty food.  It's available at all the pet places and most vet offices (go for the pet places, it's too darned expensive to buy it from the vet).

Now, I have three suggestions for all who are going to rush out and try the Ideal Balance line (they make dog food in this line as well).  First, decide if your cat would do better with regular or grain-free (remember, cats aren't actually supposed to have much if any grain and some are more sensitive to it than others).  Second, make sure to put the cat food away from the doggies (I had to move theirs out of reach of the dog because he just won't, or can't, leave it alone).  Third, and by far most importantly, go here to print a rebate form so that you can try a bag (up to a 12.99 value) for free.  Hey, why spend money to take my word for how great the food is when you can try it for free and decide for yourself?

As always, thanks to BzzAgent and Hills Science Diet for the chance to let my furbabies try something new. I received a complementary bag of food in exchange for my reviews.