If you love cats, sharing makes us purrrr :-)

This post is sponsored by Hill’s. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about Hill’s® Ideal Balance™ Crafted™, but Cat Wisdom 101 shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc. is not responsible for the content of this article.

We’re #InspiredByCrafted a new artisanal cat food. Hill’s® Ideal Balance™ Crafted™ is a new cat food based on an old-fashioned idea: good food of quality ingredients made in small batches. As the world is getting busier with mass-produced everything, the trend for artisanal foods has caught on. From breads, cheeses, condiments, chocolate and even beer, smaller batches means better control of quality. It’s closer to homemade and simply tastes better because it is better.

But what about our cats? If you have time to make homemade cat food, great but if you’re super busy like me, who has time? the time. I’d rather spend time playing with my cats, snuggling with them while reading a book or watching TV. During warm weather we love hanging out in our large garden, going for walks, having a picnic or just watching the clouds go by.

cat and mom sunbathing — Merlin and mom Layla on a picnic.

One of the most rewarding things about blogging about cats over the past four years is experiencing and reporting on improvements in cat food quality. I love the commitment Hills veterinarians, dietitians and researchers have taken to keep making better and healthier pet food. I’ve also enjoyed a lovely relationship with the folks at Hill’s over the years. For a big company, they feel small town friendly and nice.

We all know by now that good quality cat food has meat or fish as the first ingredient. Many cats have dietary sensitivities and do better on a grain-free diet.

So what’s new about Ideal Balance Crafted?
Chickpeas, oats and quinoa to make it gluten-free.
Slow baked kibble at 250- 300 degrees locks flavors and nutrients unlike most kibble which is extruded.
Ideal Balance Crafted is available wet (cans) or dry in awesome Velcro sealed bags. That improvement alone made my day. Freshness is key. How many times have you sealed a bag, thinking it’s airtight only to find it wasn’t.
Small, organic shaped kibble pieces make it easier to eat.
Ideal Balance Crafted is made in SMALL BATCHES in the U.S.A.

Small batches means that Ideal Balance Crafted is made just the way you would — one very special batch at a time. Hill’s experienced, dedicated master bakers create unique recipes in small batches using high quality protein i.e.trout, salmon, tuna, roasted beef and chicken cooked slowly, along with ancient grains such as quinoa, buckwheat and vegetables like sweet potatoes, barley and peas.

We tried the

Crafted Grain Free Herbed Chicken & Chickpeas Recipe.

The consensus was a unanimous YUM and #1 pick for our next picnic. After a long winter, we’re craving the dog days of summer!

Odin-dog day afternoon — Our Odin is dreaming of summer picnics.

Learn more and follow Hill’s on Facebook, on Twitter @HillsPet and on Pinterest

Breaking news: Ideal Balance Crafted is on SALE at Petsmart right now.

19 Comments

ProvillusBlog

November 24, 2017 at 12:40 PM Reply

Great info! It’s all I want now!!

Emily

May 30, 2015 at 1:30 AM Reply

I love Hill’s pet foods as well and so does my cat, she cant get enough. Need to try that chickpeas recipe! Thanks for the review.

Dr. Sherry Zenor

April 17, 2015 at 3:21 PM Reply

As a feline veterinarian I have been using and recommending Hill’s diets since 1973 (!) They are a great company, and medically sound nutrition is their bottom line (i.e. not just whatever fad). Their medical diets SAVE LIVES ! I will never feed my cats anything that isn’t Hills.
That being said, be sure to check out the calorie content of any food you are using — Hills addressed the issue of fat cats back in 1987 when they introduced a medical diet for weight management.. However, the other companies are not paying attention, since most of the foods on the market are too high in calories for free feeding an indoor cat! (most cats need somewhere around 275-300 kcal per day, but some foods have 500-600 per cup… and these cats pack on the pounds!)

PepiSmartDog

April 15, 2015 at 10:32 AM Reply

Hi Layla, thank you for sharing the info on the new Hills Cat Food.
I always very much enjoy reading your posts and visiting your website.
Thank you for sticking with me and joining our Thankful Thursday Weekly Blog Hop each week, even when I wasn’t able to leave comments for the last few weeks. Really appreciate you joining or hop each week.
Hope to see you back again this week too. *waves paw* :=o)

Penelope

April 12, 2015 at 3:59 PM Reply

Hey! Wes actually boughted some of that foods! Wes was not as excited about it as our Friskies, but wes did eat it!
And merlin, mes LOVES the phot of yous and your Mommy on a picnic. And mes thinks that mes and my Mommy is 2 souls too!
Kisses
Nellie

meowmeowmans

April 11, 2015 at 1:07 PM Reply

That was a great (and yummy-sounding) review. We just might have to check this stuff out! 🙂

Bev Green

April 11, 2015 at 7:45 AM Reply

Sounds like some yumm and healthy food there..Hills do supply certain foods here and when Dinnermintz is in a flare she has the special vet ones..so i trust them as they get her back on track..and i agree that everyone needs to spend time working with their loved ones to have that special relationship..a great review but also a loving worded one 🙂 hugs Bev xx