There is no reason for a cat food to be colored, except to make it appeal to cat parents. Potatoes are not biologically appropriate and may cause digestive upset. It is not a biologically appropriate ingredient for cats, and is a filler ingredient to boost fiber purina pro plan cat food content. Turkey meal is a concentrated form of turkey, and is considered a high quality ingredient. While it’s not very nutritional and doesn’t compare well to grains in some cases, there’s likely not enough of it to cause any digestive issues for your cat.
The first ingredient in many cat foods is a meat byproduct. This Blue Buffalo variety, however, is free of chicken or poultry byproducts altogether; its first ingredient is high-protein deboned chicken. Whole grains and veggies are also included, providing antioxidants and vitamins. Also on the list is taurine , L-carnitine , and omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids .
Kittens need dense foods that provide all the calories, amino acids, fats, and vitamins required for healthy growth. This Blue Buffalo Carnivora Woodland Blend recipe has an excellent nutritional profile, with a variety of different whole meat and animal ingredients. One simple test for cat food purina pro plan cat food quality is to look at the first five ingredients and ask whether they’re things that cats would normally seek or eat in the wild. With a lineup of chicken, chicken broth, water, turkey, and chicken liver, Blue Buffalo’s Wilderness Wild Delights wet food passes this test with flying colors.
It’s free of artificial colors or potentially harmful preservatives. And it contains several species of probiotic bacteria, promising to support better digestive health. This prompted a recall of all their canned dog food, all cans of their blue buffalo cat food Spa Select canned cat food, all dog treats, and Blue Buffalo Spa Select Kitten dry food. After discovering that the manufacturer had allowed melamine contamination, Blue Buffalo severed their relationship with American Nutrition, Inc.
Additionally, they also have other natural ingredients like kelp and barley grass. A fish and chicken recipe, this is a truly premium kibble, with a range of quality meat ingredients and a price tag to match. Its main protein sources are deboned chicken, chicken meal, and menhaden fish meal – similar to the previous recipe we reviewed. Unfortunately, these ingredients are followed by a medley of starchy plant ingredients, including brown rice, barley, and oatmeal.
The easiest way to check if your cat’s food contains everything they need to thrive? With so many plant-based protein boosters, and a low protein content to begin with, we believe this is mostly a plant-based cat food, which is not biologically appropriate for your cat. This recipe includes a number of other ingredients, but once you get down this far, none of them will be in large enough quantities to make a real difference, except for the added vitamins and minerals. If you want to upgrade your food from the cheap junk that litters the shelves of most pet stores, both Wellness and Blue Buffalo represent a step up in quality . You can certainly find better foods than either of these brands, but they won’t be cheap or easy to track down. Both foods are on the pricier end, especially if you’re shopping at chain pet food stores.
As Editor in Chief of ExcitedCats.com, Christian is thrilled to be a part of the pro-feline movement. The foods are similar in almost every regard, from philosophy to ingredient quality, and you can’t really go wrong with either one. We prefer Wellness by a whisker due to its superior safety history, but Blue Buffalo seems to have learned from the mistakes of its past. Blue Buffalo and Wellness both use natural ingredients as much as possible, they both list meat as their first ingredient, and neither uses any cheap fillers or additives.
If you feed your cat a raw food diet, then you need to be very careful about how long the food is out because of the growth of microbes that cause bacteria. Cats do not derive any energy from dietary fiber, however, fiber is still considered beneficial for the smooth transit of food through the digestive system. Sources of fiber in dry cat food include whole grains, rice hulls, bran, and beet pulp. IAMS Proactive Health Indoor Weight and Hairball Care is specifically formulated for the well-being of indoor cats. With chicken as the first ingredient, the formula is designed to help support your cat’s muscles and to provide them with the energy they need to play.