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They are about the same. Not great, quality no higher than "fair", both plagued with recalls. Points for being wet food.
It's better to feed a fairly wide variety of canned food brands.
Rotate the Wellness and the Blue with other, perhaps better, brands, to ensure your cats are getting all they need, and to help cut down on the risk of illness, should there be a recall on any one brand.
For a long time we fed our cat cooked ground chicken. We included in the meat, skin, cartridge, fat, and soft bone (All finely ground). Once in a while we also threw in a ground cat vitamin and maybe some rice. At the time not only was it cheaper than canned cat food, it also didn't smell as bad as the canned stuff (it didn't smell at all). It also resolved the issues our cat was having with his stomach.
For a long time we fed our cat cooked ground chicken. We included in the meat, skin, cartridge, fat, and soft bone (All finely ground). Once in a while we also threw in a ground cat vitamin and maybe some rice. At the time not only was it cheaper than canned cat food, it also didn't smell as bad as the canned stuff (it didn't smell at all). It also resolved the issues our cat was having with his stomach.
This is not at all a balanced diet for a cat.
Cooking destroys the nutrients, including and especially taurine. Cooked bones are not safe for cats. A "ground cat vitamin" once in a while does not provide adequate nutrition.
Feeding home cooked or raw food is a good way to feed a cat, but much research has to be done, and the person doing the feeding needs to understand a cat's unique nutritional requirements and how to provide everything the cat needs.
Just if anyone knows which is better that be great.
I'm not a fan of either, at this point. I also chose Wellness, years ago, in 2008, before the 2011 recall that killed my cat. I chose it because I thought it was a premium brand, that was formulated correctly for a carnivore. Since that time I have learned that cats are Obligate carnivores and do not need the starch fillers [either] that are used instead of grains in many brands of cat food, thus allowing the manufacturers to proclaim GRAIN-FREE, which is no more than a savvy marketing scheme.
I'm a fan of Weruva and BFF (same company) wet in the cans and pouches. They use tapioca in the pouch gravy but even with the starch it's still lower carb than any dry food and most of the supermarket canned foods. I alternate those with Fancy Feast "tender Classics" stuff, and Taste of the Wild wet. I also keep a bag of Stella and Chewy's freeze-dried raw, and hydrate a handful of nuggets when my cat's tastes shift and she's refusing something she normally eats (which happens a few times a month).
There's also this stuff I found in a specialty pet-food "warehouse" place (not Petco or PetSmart, something local), that comes from Iceland. It's made with Icelandic Lamb, and it's only sold in a very few places in the USA. Here's their website - it's called MURR: Murr of Iceland - The Best Food for the Most Loved Pets
It's hella expensive - like $4 for a pouch. But I got a couple just as a "you've been an awesome cat and haven't tried to steal the pizza out of the box at dinnertime in at least month" present for my cat.
For the original question, they're probably about equal.
Ingredient quality is roughly equal. As far as I know this is pet food quality ingredients. You can find definitions of what constitutes "chicken", etc. in terms of pet food if you like. They both now make a broad range of products which is mainly about marketing rather than nutritional necessity. I'd put the quality about middling.
WellPet (parent of Wellness) actually owns a manufacturing facility, at least one. As far as I know, Blue Buffalo does not, although I found reference to them being in the process of building one last year so that may have changed. Even if not, whether or not this actually matters is debatable. Many smaller companies have no manufacturing plant and produce fine products.
It would be fine to alternate between the two, perhaps better. Depending upon budget you may wish to try out other products as well.
I'm a fan of Weruva and BFF (same company) wet in the cans and pouches. They use tapioca in the pouch gravy but even with the starch it's still lower carb than any dry food and most of the supermarket canned foods.
This may interest you a little bit Anon. I did some math recently playing with Weruva cans and Cats in the Kitchen (their third brand) cans. I didn't really pay much attention to the pouches. I ignored BFF because it all has tuna. Anyway, here's the thing, the calorie content of the Weruva is very low compared to many other cans...EXCEPT Cats in the Kitchen "Fowl Ball" and to a lesser extent "Chicken Frick a Zee". (Two others are also in the same range but ignored because of fish.) I even compared using a 10oz can of Weruva Paw Lickin Chicken, and caloric-wise vs price it was better or at least no worse to buy the Cats in the Kitchen cans. Fowl Ball is the highest calorie, and it's just chicken and turkey. It has 150 calories in the 6oz can which is on the reasonable side (much better than the 100-120 calories in many of their 5.5-6oz cans) and no starch at all.
Anyway, it's just a thought. Once I determined that Fowl Ball was well-liked by my two it became a daily meal. They have that in the morning, one can splits between them. (They're small kitties, getting 75 calories at one meal is not really too low at all.) I so love not having leftovers!
Quote:
Originally Posted by AnonChick
I also keep a bag of Stella and Chewy's freeze-dried raw, and hydrate a handful of nuggets when my cat's tastes shift and she's refusing something she normally eats (which happens a few times a month).
My cats' evening meal is freeze dried, rehydrated with water. I have used both the Stella and Chewy's and now Primal, and actually have settled on using just the Primal instead. It's more calorie dense per ounce, and the bag is 14 ounces instead of 12. Thus the value, even if the Primal bag might sometimes cost a buck or two more, seems better. I can feed them each about 2/3 to 3/4 of an ounce (yes I weigh it) as the meal and that completes their daily intake. They liked the Primal just as much as the Stella. And actually, another advantage is despite feeding less weight the bulk is MORE so it looks like a larger bowl of food even though the calorie amount is the same. (Don't knock this psychological effect on the cat. ) It feels like a win-win-win over the Stella. I use the plain Turkey from Primal. Note Primal DOES make a smaller bag, not the little trial ones like Stella, but a smaller $7-10 bag so you don't have to drop $23-25 just to try it. I could only find that online though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AnonChick
There's also this stuff I found in a specialty pet-food "warehouse" place (not Petco or PetSmart, something local), that comes from Iceland. It's made with Icelandic Lamb, and it's only sold in a very few places in the USA. Here's their website - it's called MURR: Murr of Iceland - The Best Food for the Most Loved Pets
That's a new one to me, have never seen it, even in my local fancy healthy pet store. At my brief glance I probably won't seek it out but it's always cool to have new choices. For now they seem to really love their everyday food anyway. (I'm not really loving the cost of it all, but I think I can bear it, for now.) The one I give not all the time as a bit of a special treat is actually Tiki Cat Puka Puka Luau which is just shredded chicken in broth essentially. When you open this can it looks like something you could be using for yourself. In the local store it costs $3.50 for a 6oz can though! I got an 8-pack for about $3/can online, maybe a little less. It's still pretty high but good stuff. There's about 180 calories in this can.
We pay I think $2.89 for the 6-ounce Tiki Cats. My cat can't stand it though, and she doesn't eat shredded food. Only minced, tiny tidbit chunks, and pate.
I give her the Stella & Chewy's infrequently, so a bag lasts a long time. Plus, they have chicken, which Primal doesn't have. She doesn't like turkey. Eh - she might have changed her mind since the last time I tried giving it to her but she doesn't even like it much right out of the roasting pan. Primal only has Turkey as a single-protein flavor. The others are all meat + fish combined. I already get her enough fish with the BFF, and that's only 89 cents a serving.
As for the OP, the title of the thread asked which of the two was -best.- My opinion is - neither of them are best. There are other options that are better, especially if you consider dollar value in addition to quality of food.
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) It feels like a win-win-win over the Stella. I use the plain Turkey from Primal. Note Primal DOES make a smaller bag, not the little trial ones like Stella, but a smaller $7-10 bag so you don't have to drop $23-25 just to try it. I could only find that online though.
