Once upon a time...
...there was a cat named Katie. Katie loved her food. She loved it as much as a catnip mouse, feather toy and a cuddle with her favorite girl combined. But Katie didn't always love her food. You see, Katie has a nasty disease called IBD, inflammatory bowel disease. It took many years to even figure out that's what she had.
And it took even longer to figure out how to help her.
One of the side effects of IBD is extreme gastrointestinal distress. And for Katie, that meant whatever she ate, she'd throw up. For a kitty who loves her food, that's pretty devastating. Mealtime for her was not pleasant. She'd eat very tentatively, slow and rarely finishing her food. Probably because she wasn't feeling well.
So her girl read and read. She googled and googled. And she sought advice from some of the best and smartest experts in the fields feline nutrition and veterinary medicine.
Answers
It became quite clear that Katie's silver bullet was a food transition to something her vet calls 'biologically appropriate.' The quick explanation of what that means is to understand that cats are obligate carnivores. And the quick answer to "what does that mean?" is that cats need meat as their primary, and in many cases, only food source, in order to survive and thrive. Their bodies can't process fruits, vegetables, and Cheetos like humans can. Their digestive systems are just aren't designed that way. If you take a peek at any of the cat food on the store shelves, you'll see all sorts of vegetable sounding ingredients.
For some cats, a little bit of those vegetables might be ok. Not ideal, but they manage to digest everything without incident. But not Katie. Even the tiniest, trace amount of plant matter causes her extreme gastrointestinal distress.
On the recommendation of our vet, we began a transition to
Balanced Blends six months ago.
Balanced Raw
Balanced Blends has cracked the code on biologically appropriate nutrition for cats - balancing the appropriate amount of vitamins and minerals to a cat's nutritional needs with their "ancestral" (a.k.a biologically appropriate) diet. They avoid processed food in favor of fresh and natural raw. Raw, uncooked diets retain more nutrients and more closely mimic what mother nature intended cats to eat.
Your cat doesn't have to suffer from the same ailments as Katie to benefit from Balanced Blends. In addition to improved digestion, a balanced raw diet can contribute to a healthier skin and coat, reduced allergies, increased energy, weight management, and a virtually odor-free stool (YES!!!).
Of course, any food transition comes with its challenges. At 12 years old, Katie is just a teensy bit set in her ways. So we took it very, VERY slow. And just a couple of weeks before Christmas, Katie had made the leap 100%. She was officially a Balanced Blends kitty, eating a raw, pure protein, biologically appropriate diet. And she was already showing dramatic signs of improvement as it pertains to the effects of her IBD.
So you're probably wondering how it is that a cat food saved Christmas, right?
Ok, we promise we're almost there! Just a couple more details that are pertinent to the story.
Balanced Blends is not sold in brick and mortar stores. Their food is available for purchase online and ships anywhere, nationwide. It arrives frozen, packed in dry ice, and ready to store in the freezer. Each 5-pound box contains 10 small 1/2 pound chubs that you simply take out of the freezer to thaw as needed.
We were running low on food in early December, so Glogirly put in her order to make sure we'd be fully stocked in time for the holiday. When our delivery date arrived, we waited and waited. Not a FedEx truck in sight. We checked tracking and the delivery date had been delayed. But only for a day. So the next day, Glogirly waited and waited some more. Still no FedEx.
It was getting late and up here in the mountains at 8,000 feet it was pitch dark. She called the local FedEx distribution center to alert them of the importance of the delivery. All they could tell her was that it was on the truck and out for delivery. But she had a bad feeling. No one, including the delivery drivers, like driving the mountains in the dark. Plus, we'd just had a few inches of fresh snow. Glogirly drove up to the main highway in hopes of spotting the FedEx truck to flag them down. She parked, waited, but still nothing.
Katie had been without food all day. She wouldn't touch Waffles' chicken. It was turkey or nothing. Soon she'd be forced to revert to her old food which we still had on hand, thus erasing so much of her food transition progress. Not to mention, putting her at risk of more intestinal upset.
It was the Friday night before Christmas...
Glogirly's last resort was to call the phone number on Balanced Blend's website. She didn't expect anyone to answer, but wanted to at least leave a message. She explained what was going on, that FedEx was MIA, and she told of her desperation over Katie and her health condition.
What happened next was the beginning of our Christmas miracle.
The phone rang. It was Christina, one of the founders of Balanced Blends. She had picked up the message and began looking into the order. She'd already checked into the delivery and hit the same road blocks as Glogirly. Having five cats of her own, some with similar health issues, she completely understood what Glogirly
and Katie were going through.
Remember when we explained that Balanced Blends is only available online? Well what we didn't mention is that Christina and her husband live in Boulder, Colorado. That's where Balanced Blends was founded, about an hour from where we live. And she had 10 pounds of the same food that Katie had transitioned to in her freezer.
Less than two hours later, Christina and her husband were at our front door with 10 pounds of raw turkey for Katie. They drove over an hour in the dark of night, up our steep and winding mountain road, down our treacherous snow-covered dirt road driveway, with only the light of the stars to guide their way, that Friday night before Christmas. All to get Katie her food. They'd even thawed out a little bit so she'd be able to eat right away.
So do you think we're customers for life? Glogirly was practically in tears as she hugged Christina, thanking her for saving our Christmas.
Yes, Katie. There really IS a Santa Claus. And her name is Christina.
Want to sample Balanced Blends?
If you'd like to try out the food with your kitties (they have diets for dogs too!) you can save $2 on a 2-pound sample pack and shipping is free with our referral link below. It's an awesome way to get introduced to what we believe is the best food for cats out there. From the best company ever.
Yeah, we're gushing. But wouldn't you be too?
Shop for your sample pack
HERE.
This is not a paid product review. We purchased our food from Balanced Blends and they have not even asked us to post a review. This is our gift of thanks to them and our way of sharing a product and company we believe is relevant and of interest to our readers. Our opinions and the content of this article are our own.
