I and Love and You - stinky goodness or paws down? #chewyinfluencer review

I'm always interested in trying out a decent cat food that the three will eat, especially on the off chance that today is the day they wake up and decide they have had enough of their current fare.

So when Chewy offered up a sampler box of grain free paté, I said yes, please.

The brand is I and Love and You. And the flavors that came in our sampler were all grain-free paté. This particular form of cat food is almost the only kind our cats will eat. They turn their noses up at shreds and most chunks.

So I was interested in what our herd would think of this brand of paté. As you can see, somekitty decided right away that he was a little bit in love with the box. But what about ingredients, and flavor?

It contained three flavors - two of which I liked. The third, cod, is one I am less thrilled with, because I'm hesitant to feed fish to cats.  Did you know it's one of the top three most common food allergens?

However, they do have a rabbit (not in this sampler, but they do make it - I found when I did a little snooping) which I think is a great protein for cats.

I also like the fact that all their flavors are carrageenan-free. Carrageenan has been suspected as a possible culprit in inflammatory diseases in cats (although not definitively proven, therefore controversial). Since the question has been raised, though -- I avoid whenever possible.

Alhough they are grain free, they aren't vegetable or fruit free, so if you are watching for that - or if your kitty refuses to eat spinach - then this might not be an option for you.

As you can see, however, both boys gave these flavors two thumbs -- err, paws -- way up!

Overall, not a bad choice, especially if culinary tastes suddenly turn. (And as I can't currently mix my own homemade food like somekittys' auntie does!)

We'll definitely keep this brand in mind as an option for the future, and we thank Chewy for allowing us to try a brand we don't currently feed!

***

Although we received product from chewy.com to review in exchange for our honest opinion, we were not compensated in any other way. 

All opinions are our own.

Review: Rachael Ray Nutrish Zero Grain for Cats #sponsored

Maxwell: A package arrived the other day and Momma said it was for me.

And I didn't have to give up any teeth to get it, either! (I like that in a package.)

Faraday: Whatcha got there, Maxie?

Allie: Yes, Max, what's that delectable smell in here?

Maxwell: Uh, Allie, it's mine. See?

Maxwell: But if you're nice, I might just share the cool fish toy that came with it.

Maxwell: You wouldn't mind, Mister Fish, would you?
BlueFishie: *gulp* Uhh...

Allie: oh Mister BlueFish, you and I are going to have a lovely time together.
BlueFishie: *faint*

Maxwell: Allie, wha'd you do to him? He looks a little peaked.

Allie: Maybe you should give him CPR, Maxie. You know, just in case. I'll just watch your new cat food for you while you're gone.

Faraday: What, all by yourself? I don't THINK so! *KA-POW!!*
(meanwhile, back at the ranch...)

Maxwell: *nom*nom*nom*....

 ***

All kidding aside, we agreed to test out this new grain free food from Rachael Ray's Nutrish line because somekitty still has a bit of a hangup with wet food (yes, Maxie, I'm looking at you).

Cats can be notoriously finicky, so I’m a big believer in mixing things up in the taste department. It’s my hope that this way, I’ll avoid coming home from work to untouched bowls and accusing stares that say, “you expect me to eat this drivel?” (Said ‘drivel’ being what has been the preferred food of choice for months on end!)

So when I heard that Rachael Ray’s Nutrish line of pet foods was looking for bloggers to help spread the word about their new cat food offering – and the cat food was grain free – I raised my hand. 

Here’s what I like about it:

• It’s grain free with no glutens, artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. 
• The top three ingredients are a meat protein (in this case, fish). 
• It doesn’t have meat or poultry by-product meal (code for really bad stuff, and you can read more about it here). 

Here’s what I’m less crazy about
(hey, I promised an honest review here!) :

• Dried peas is the 5th ingredient but the other two veggies are far down the line, which is better... but still.
• I’d prefer a poultry to fish, as I personally like to limit my cats’ fish intake, but I’m sure that’s coming.

Total Pro Bono plug here: no one paid me to say this, and the Nutrish folks don’t know I’ve been snooping, but Rachael Ray is coming out with a pretty darn awesome wet cat food, too.

I tried to buy it locally, but it’s not out in stores yet (though you can buy it online at places like Chewy.com).

Seriously, the ingredients list is a thing of beauty: Chicken, Water, and Vegetable Oil – and then you get into things like Potassium Chloride, Taurine, Iron Proteinate, and vitamins.

Can you say Obligate Carnivore? I can’t wait for it to arrive in my local grocery store or Target. I’ll totally try this out.

Member of the Clean Plate Club

Bottom line: Maxwell loved the food. And I now have another flavor in my arsenal, should his finicky side raise its head. And I hope they release other, more poultry based dry flavors soon.

Another thing I like about the Nutrish brand is that Rachael’s personal proceeds go toward helping shelter pets. To date, that has translated to more than $9 million for rescue animals. Well done, Rachael, and thank you.

Maxwell: Uh momma? I think we have a problem here. EMPTY.

If you want to find out when new cat flavors are released, or want to ask the folks at Nutrish when you can expect to find their wet cat food locally, you can follow them on Twitter or Facebook. And if you have a cat like Maxie who prefers dry, you can try Rachael Ray Nutrish Zero Grain Whitefish & Potato for $3 off with this coupon.


We are being compensated for our review of Rachael Ray Nutrish Zero Grain Cat Food, but A Tonk's Tail only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. Rachael Ray Nutrish is not responsible for the content of this article.