Pet Food Review for #caturday

Sometimes, "the struggle is real!" 😬 in finding healthy alternatives in pet food as well as human food. So much food contains questionable ingredients nowadays.

Case in point: look at the labels of canned soup, for instance, and you will find — in some brands, at least — unnecessary and unhealthy items such as High-Fructose Corn Syrup. It is added because it appeals to the 'sweet tooth' some consumers have, and they think foods with it taste better than those without. However, it is a concentrated form of sugar and is contributing to the obesity of many consumers. Soup is supposed to be savory, not sweet. Personally, I prefer brands of food that are clearly marked "No High-Fructose Corn Syrup" and will always buy them, when available.

My late-husband's sister is an avid reader of labels and avoids as much of the unhealthy "chemical content" of foods as possible. She has kept cats for a long time and had done years of research and due diligence in pet foods along the way. When she came to stay with me, temporarily, earlier this year, her preferred brand of cat food was ABOUND™. She has left here to visit other people while I take care of her cats, and I have continued to order ABOUND™ for the kitties.

ABOUND™ is a natural pet food and was developed in 2014 by the Kroger grocery store chain, established in 1883 in Cincinnati, Ohio (US). One of my sources states that "Kroger spent almost 2 years of research perfecting the recipes for Abound." ^[1] Their line of cat and dog food contains real meat as the primary ingredient instead of wheat, corn, and soy fillers, as well as disgusting ingredients such as animal by-product meal (only click that link if you have a strong stomach).

Besides real meat, ABOUND™ also has natural ingredients such as brown rice, chickpeas, green peas, carrots, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, blueberries, cranberries — real food that is carefully balanced for a healthy life for pets! And the two kitties seem to really like it. I never have to worry whether they will eat it or not.

One of the cats (the older, black cat) prefers chicken, so my sister-in-law was ordering a CHICKEN & CHICKPEA blend for that cat. The other cat (the younger, Tiger cat) prefers fish, so she got SALMON & CHICKPEA blend. The last time I ordered, the company was out of the chickpea blends, so I ordered a bag of CHICKEN & BROWN RICE and a bag of SALMON & BROWN RICE, instead. Both cats seem to like the brown rice blends as well as the other blends. In fact, the black cat likes the salmon with brown rice, and the Tiger cat likes the chicken with brown rice. 😂 I will probably get the chickpea blends again next time (if they have them in stock) as they have fewer carbs, which might be better for both kitties.

NOTE: The company makes dog food, too, for the dog lovers out there! 🐶

The same year that Kroger developed ABOUND™, they bought-out another company called Vitacost that had been a successful online vendor of vitamins, supplements and organic grocery products for years. It is from that company that my sister-in-law had been ordering ABOUND™, and I have ordered from them since, as well. Their prices are good, their website is good, and their shipping is very fast.

For convenience, anyone interested in learning more can click the following link: ABOUND™ pet food on VITACOST.com to peruse their products. Many of their products have detailed, individual reviews of the food at the links in my 'SOURCES' section, below. There is a wealth of information in those reviews, which should be greatly appreciated by cat and dog lovers! Keep your critters healthy out there!