Feeding Blue Buffalo dry food - propaganda?

by Joey
(TN)

Fairly new cat owner with 2 kittens. I started with Friskies, but a friend of mine who is a cat aficionado and has raised many cats recommends Blue Buffalo.


The cats seem healthy and look great.

That said, there's a lot of conflicting information out there and, despite all my research and asking people, there is no clear answer.

My friend swears by the Blue brand, but my vet thinks it's just okay and says that a lot of their success is due to the fact that they have their own propaganda machine... but then again, don't most companies?

Another vet recommends Purina Pro. Then there are the raw food folks who swear by it. But I've been told by another vet that raw doesn't provide certain nutrients they might get from a well formulated dry food.

So there's no clear answer. I try to feed them a variety of Blue dry food and Fancy feast wet food (usually fish based).

I plan to start getting them to eat some raw meats soon. The point is, I want them to be familiar with several types and textures and flavors.

I've done this since they were a few weeks old. One of the benefits of this is they aren't picky, which means if I ever need to change their diet, it won't be a big ordeal to get them to eat.

So my rule of thumb is any of the premium brands is probably fine, but I make sure they eat wet canned food 3 to 4 times a week for hydration, variety, and because they like it. I may try raw going forward.

Editor's note: Thanks for your input, Joey! I agree, there's a lot of conflicting information and breeders, rescuers, and veterinarians don't all agree. If you poll 20 vets, you'll get several different opinions.

Exposing your kittens to multiple types of food early on in life is probably, in my opinion, one of the best things you can do for them.

And now, over to the rest of us... what do you feed your cat? Do you think that Blue is good, or is their reputation based mostly on a good propaganda campaign?
-Kurt

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by: HM Glendenning

My Hannah only wants canned. Her being nearly 12, I read somewhere that due to her age, plus the amount of moisture is better. However there are certain ingredients that cats should avoid, in both dry and wet.

Here is a site I found that was helpful. It gives you the pros and cons (though it seems to promote raw).

Plus you have the link on the left called 'Best Cat Food.'

The other site is

http://www.naturalcatcareblog.com/2010/12/the-7-best-natural-commercial-cat-foods-so-far/?utm_source=Natural+Cat+Care+Blog&utm_campaign=2f4e8e655f-Mid-august+update&utm_medium=email
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by: Steven in Winder

Your vet is a very skilled person and has to have vast knowledge of many different animals systems. Unfortunately, many vets are ignorant. Especially the moron who recommended ANYTHING from Purina!!!

There are many quality brands of food. Eukanuba, Science Diet, Iams etc., are not on that list. Blue makes a high quality food.

The fact that you're mixing up your cat's diet can be good or bad depending on whether or not your cat is indoor or outdoor. When you mix up an indoor cat's diet, many times they will get the runs. When they lick to clean, it's a perpetual bacteria machine and you get a mess from one end of the house to the other.

My outdoor ferals get raw chicken, raw beef cubes, Friskies and Meow Mix crap, dry and wet commercial cat food (I'm not a bank).

My indoor Weegie gets Wellness Salmon and Deboned Turkey Meal (plenty of salmon oil, just open the bag and smell the food).

Many vets say that a cat should get their water from the wet food they eat. B.S. My cat has no problem drinking from and playing in his Drinkwell 360 fountain every day.

Too many good brands out there. Wellness, Blue, Natural, Precision, Solid Gold, Look at the labels CLOSELY!! They tell the story.

Ground corn or corn gluten meal? Brewers rice? Chicken by-products? Put the crappy bag back on the shelf!

Don't fall for fresh fruits and vegetables falling from the sky like in the hokey Beneful commercial. They give a flying $h*t about your cat! They only care about the almighty dollar.

Commercial foods are sometimes better than a cat starving, but they are much better off taking down a squirrel, bird or lizard. That's where the REAL protein is and THEY know it! We don't want them to harm other animals though so feed the ferals the commercial garbage but add real raw beef and chicken to the bowls.

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