Pets have always been a part of my life. Growing up on the farm, most of our pets, especially the cats, stayed outside. Back in the day, we rarely took our pets to the vet. Our dogs went only in an emergency, and our cats never went to the vet. It was survival of the fittest.

Things have changed a lot since then. Pets enjoy a much more pampered life these days. As we’ve learned more about our pet’s needs, pet owners now have the opportunity to provide healthier options for their four-legged family members.

Personally, I always feed my pets Science Diet, as recommended by my veterinarian. I’ve been pleased with the quality of the food, and my pets seem to enjoy it too. Luckily, none of my pets are missing teeth, so I rarely ever feed wet food to help their teeth stay as healthy as possible.

When checking out The Honest Kitchen company, they really impressed me with the quality of their foods. They use simple, natural ingredients that come mostly from North America.

Lucy Postins began the company in 2002 when she began making her own dog food to see if it would help with her dog’s health issues. It did! And she started receiving requests for her dog food. In 2006, Postins business was booming, and she was able to move out of her own kitchen and into an old Wonder Bread building in San Diego. The Honest Kitchen has continued to thrive, add products and employees, and receive much recognition. Their website is filled with tons of information, personal stories and even employee profiles. Check it out here.

I really appreciate the transparency of this company as well as their objectives. The quality of their products is high, so the price, likewise, is also a little high.

My two boxes of cat food came from the Thrive Market for $5.98. Feeding instructions recommend one box per day unless you have a kitten, a larger cat or a momma cat, in which case, you should feed 2-3 boxes per day. Feeding one box a day, you’d spend about $90 a month. If you feed three boxes a day, that’s $270 per month! All three of my cats are larger than 8 pounds, so ideally, I would have to feed each of them 2 boxes per day. I’d spend over $500 a month if I only fed my cats with this wet food. Now, The Honest Kitchen does offer dry food (as of 2018). You can buy a ten-pound bag of cat food for $60 on their website. I assume that would last about a month, so that’s much more reasonable. However, it is still more than double what I currently spend on cat food.

But enough about what I think… What did my pets think??

Unfortunately, my cats were horribly uncooperative for this venture. My inside cat thought I was trying to trick her and ran away every time she saw the bowl. She even shoved it away when I set it close to her for a sniff. Later, I noticed she ate it all up. Not so bad, after all! My two outside cats were too busy enjoying the nice weather to come in for a treat, but they also gobbled it up when I left the food out for them.

My dogs, on the other hand, were extremely interested in this food! From the moment I opened the box, one of my dogs was constantly jumping at my side for a sniff, which is funny because I didn’t notice a strong smell. It had an unusually subtle scent for wet cat food. I let my dog lick the box clean, and she whined the rest of the day for more.

Overall, I have to give this product a ‘maybe,’ IMBHO. The quality is outstanding, and the company seems wonderful too! My pets enjoyed it, but it is pretty expensive. If you only have one small pet, it’d be pretty cost-effective. Between our two large dogs and three cats, I don’t think I’ll be switching over anytime soon.