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Yeah mine ended up liking chicken and turkey equally. Which is good I guess in the end because it seems turkey is a bit more calorie dense. Even the S&C works out that way. The best thing though was finding stuff where they really ate the entire portion. Many of the earlier cans we went through they didn't eat all that was served, like Natures Variety, etc., so it's okay if this costs a wee bit more but they eat a known amount most of the time and get enough food. They do switch off and finish the other's bowl and such a bit but they pretty much finish the whole portion right away each feeding.
In terms of the OP, often as not they are only looking for the better of the two and that's it. But again, I don't think there's a clear better of those two anyway, and if one thinks those two foods are absolute top notch, I am right there with you in suggesting that is wrong. And they're not necessarily less expensive than some of the other things we've just mentioned. Or at least not by much.
True enough that neither of those brands is the best available by a long shot.
Personally out of those two however, I have a more negative opinion of Blue Buffalo, than Wellness.
My reasons for that: 1. Blue won't give out their actual nutritional data to vets who request it in writing or over the phone. That awesome chart of % calories from protein/fat/carbs over at catinfo.org...Dr. Pierson was not able to get those numbers from Blue. They state that this information is "proprietary." This is particularly bad because they seem to be trying to say their food is more natural and good for pets...well, if that's the case, then what do you have to hide? Prove it. 2. Blue has put SO MUCH money into slick advertising. The commercials, the fancy bags with the cute wild animal photos and the shiny foil package...what we have to remember is that our cats don't care AT ALL about that. That is designed to persuade us to buy. A fancy bag does not a better pet food make. 3. My vet has stated that he has had dogs in his care actually get life threatening severe cases of diarrhea on Blue Buffalo diets and he now recommends against the brand. He and his staff understand the wet food argument and do not push Hills or other "alphabet" diets, so I do trust his opinions. Also I found many forums online where others have had negative experiences with Blue. However, it's more dogs than cats.
As for Wellness...I've given the canned to Nimbus on occasion. A recall some three years ago isn't enough to convince me not to buy something, seems most commercial brands have had a recall here or there for one reason or another. That's another argument in favor of buying a variety of brands. At least exposure to any particular issue would be somewhat limited.
^^@Sonic: I find the information about Blue not sharing nutritional information disappointing.
I'm neutral on both brands. I've been frustrated with Wellness since their last big recall. I had a couple of cases of the affect food and called multiple times. I ended up having to bring the food back to the store I bought it for exchange, which the store gratefully did for me.
I don't think it's an exhaustive list of everything that's good, but I think everything on there is pretty good generally. It's definitely a good place to start if you have no ideas where to start.
Beware of the cost column though. The "low" idea of cost on there is only compared to what else is on that list. Compared to the universe of cat foods, everything on there even at "low" is at least medium in cost. Anything that says medium or high on that list is getting very high indeed.
So, what do you feline fanciers consider the best cat food?
I recently switched from Science Diet to Blue Buffalo Indoors, and see a significant difference in my cats for the better. I no longer find hacked up hairballs everywhere or just kitty throw-up in general. Also, their coats seem shiner and more glossy, and they don't seem to always be hungry, like they were with the SD stuff, it was like it wasn't doing them any good.
So, I bought a 30 LB bag yesterday of the Blue Buffalo, now I read its not so good?
So, what do you feline fanciers consider the best cat food?
I recently switched from Science Diet to Blue Buffalo Indoors, and see a significant difference in my cats for the better. I no longer find hacked up hairballs everywhere or just kitty throw-up in general. Also, their coats seem shiner and more glossy, and they don't seem to always be hungry, like they were with the SD stuff, it was like it wasn't doing them any good.
So, I bought a 30 LB bag yesterday of the Blue Buffalo, now I read its not so good?
Just what to feed kitties
People have different opinions. Mine is via the stuff at catinfo.org, first of all ditching dry food altogether and feeding only wet food. I was skeptical as are many cat owners at first, I thought there needed to always be dry food available, in case he needed something to munch on between "mealtimes." But really the transition wasn't hard and he doesn't miss dry food. My cat is a long haired cat, and we never have had a hairball, and he doesn't throw up. Like, at all. Ever.
Some other things I stick to:
Birds and bunnies only. No fish, especially. Chicken and Turkey mostly, a little Duck and Rabbit sometimes.
The cheapest stuff I buy (because it's got less than 10% calories from carbs) is Fancy Feast classic or chunky chicken or turkey.
The best that I've seen (I think) is Tiki Cat has 2 varieties without fish. Still has fish oil, but it's primarily chicken and it looks like people food. However that's kind of expensive, and my cat is finicky about it sometimes.
The cat's favorite of the kinds I buy is presently Nutro Max Cat Duck chunks in sauce.
I pick up a variety of brands. I like to think that limits exposure to possible recalled food or trouble ingredients like that synthetic vitamin K stuff or carrageenan. Most canned foods are going to have SOMETHING that SOMEONE could find questionable in it, be that only starchy fillers like potato or something. The only truly safe bet is to find a tried and true balanced recipe for making your own, buying a grinder and actually creating your own cat food...and I'm just not up for that. Though I do hear it's cheaper than buying all canned.
Well, at least my kitty isn't scratching like crazy anymore since switching from SD to Blue Buffalo. He has a history of allergic dermatitis, which results in nasty little scabs, mostly around his face and chin, but some on his back, too. Twice I've taken hm to a Vet, he was given steroid injections, antibiotics, etc, which seemed to clear it up for awhile, then it would come back.
It looked like cat acne, so, I treated it by trimming the fur as much as possible (he's a long-hair), then, soaking the scabs off with either plain warm water or sometimes warm water with a little epsom salt, then, just a tiny dab of cortisone cream---it would work, for awhile, then, come right back.
We switched to Blue Buffalo, he cleared right up. Now, what can we deduce here---sounds like one of my kids science projects
He could have been allergic to something in SD
He could have been lacking some essential nutrient found in Blue, but not in SD
My "wound care" finally healed him
all of the above
Regardless, they all seem better now on Blue Buffalo, so, I will continue with that for now
I like the idea of rotating a cat's brand of food, to reduce the risk of exposure to any harmful ingredients. But I always read that you should be consistent and not change a cat's diet, except for reasons of age, disease, etc.....
So, what do you feline fanciers consider the best cat food?
I think I'm going all in on Primal's freeze dried turkey. This starts with raw meat (as opposed to canned or dry which is cooked) which is then freeze dried. It needs to be served reconstituted with water of course. Primal also sells their raw foods as a frozen product, but the freeze drying makes it lightweight and shelf stable so easy to order for shipment at a good price. I just got 4 bags delivered for a price that will come out equal to the main canned food I've also been using (they've been getting one freeze dried meal, one canned) when considered on a calorie for calorie and meal for meal basis.
I'll probably continue to use some cans occasionally, the main one right now being Weruva's Cats in the Kitchen "Fowl Ball" (chicken and turkey). I like the Tiki Cat chicken as well, but that one is significantly more expensive. I went through a number of other cans trying to find something they liked that was a little more calorie dense. Most of the dense ones like Nature's Variety they didn't really end up liking very much. Cats in the Kitchen they loved, though, and Fowl Ball is the most calorie dense of these cans, just enough for these small kitties to split a 6oz can as a meal. But since I found I can get the freeze dried raw for a similar cost, I'll probably use that more and the cans only occasionally. The freeze dried will probably have a lower carbon footprint, since these cans just mentioned come from Thailand complete with water.
Stella and Chewy's freeze dried is a good product as well. I was serving this through a couple bags' worth that I had already bought until I made sure they would accept the Primal equally. I settled on using the Primal most often mainly because it ends up with more volume for a given weight. In other words, after measuring the serving size (which I do by weight), then adding the water, the bowl is fuller with the Primal than with the Stella. This makes my cats slightly less inclined to beg for more prematurely. I originally thought I might see a cost benefit but I think in general it is possible to get these two products around the same cost at least on calorie for calorie basis. There are other freeze-dried products as well; these are just the two I've used.
These two won't be eating any dry food. After they first moved here in December I had bought some to help get them eating, but it was amazing how quickly they held out for only dry food. I turned that around though. They also won't be eating any fish. In the cans I also have looked for no carrageenan (sometimes tough but getting a little easier) and little to no starch/carbs (varies). I also tend to look for lower in phosphorous. This is I guess a holdover from having a cat with kidney disease. I don't know if low phosphorous can help prevent it, but the ones I'm using have around 1% on a dry matter basis which is lower than many, though not super low. The food chart at catinfo.org while getting a bit long in the tooth when considering new intros and reformulations still covers many varieties on the market and includes phosphorous as well as calorie and protein/fat/carb info. I think it's important to look at feeding amounts based on calorie intake for the weight of the cat, taking into account if the cat should lose or gain or maintain weight. Some manufacturers give the calorie count right on the can but many do not.
I don't know if that really helps a ton. I hope it helps a little bit. It is unlikely anyone will settle on a consensus "best cat food". The best thing you can do, IMO, is learn as much as possible about pet food, how it's made, what steps different companies take, what level of ingredients they use, what the different ingredients are, etc, etc. as well as what the ideal type of intake would be for a cat. Ignoring things like cost and convenience this should at least lead you towards feeding wet food. For some it might suggest further to raw food. Ignoring even more time spent it might lead you to want to make your own cat food, given what the industry sells us. That is something I haven't ruled out and have heard one can make good food perhaps more cheaply than buying super expensive pet food. But I haven't committed the time to learning or trying it yet.
Well, at least my kitty isn't scratching like crazy anymore since switching from SD to Blue Buffalo. He has a history of allergic dermatitis, which results in nasty little scabs, mostly around his face and chin, but some on his back, too. Twice I've taken hm to a Vet, he was given steroid injections, antibiotics, etc, which seemed to clear it up for awhile, then it would come back.
It looked like cat acne, so, I treated it by trimming the fur as much as possible (he's a long-hair), then, soaking the scabs off with either plain warm water or sometimes warm water with a little epsom salt, then, just a tiny dab of cortisone cream---it would work, for awhile, then, come right back.
We switched to Blue Buffalo, he cleared right up. Now, what can we deduce here---sounds like one of my kids science projects
He could have been allergic to something in SD
He could have been lacking some essential nutrient found in Blue, but not in SD
My "wound care" finally healed him
all of the above
Regardless, they all seem better now on Blue Buffalo, so, I will continue with that for now
I like the idea of rotating a cat's brand of food, to reduce the risk of exposure to any harmful ingredients. But I always read that you should be consistent and not change a cat's diet, except for reasons of age, disease, etc.....
That only applies to dry fed cats. Dry food is so inappropriate and indigestible for cats to begin with that their digestions can't handle much change.
Feeding a wide variety of canned (or raw) foods is beneficial and recommended.
Regardless, they all seem better now on Blue Buffalo, so, I will continue with that for now
I like the idea of rotating a cat's brand of food, to reduce the risk of exposure to any harmful ingredients. But I always read that you should be consistent and not change a cat's diet, except for reasons of age, disease, etc.....
In terms of just the two you mentioned, Science Diet and Blue Buffalo, it's not surprising to me they seem better on the latter, although overall I'm not a particular fan of Blue Buffalo. Many Science Diet varieties are full of corn/wheat/etc, whereas most if not all of Blue Buffalo's line at least avoids these items of questionable nutrition value for cats. Just higher meat content alone could enable some improvement.
In terms of rotating, I have been feeding some variety in brand without too much trouble. When it was even more varied back a month or so ago one of the cats had a little trouble perhaps, just some apparent stomach upset. I don't have trouble shifting between the two brands of freeze dried though, or the two cans. And they have been getting the can in the morning and freeze dried in the evening for over 3 weeks at this point.
I don't know that I'd go too crazy with many varieties but they should be able to handle a few if you like. Every cat may end up a little different on that score, but I don't see that feeding the same one single thing is a hard and fast rule. For a really sensitive cat that may be the only answer, but most will not necessarily see any benefit from feeding only one food. Most won't really see any problems eating the same thing all the time either, of course.
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