Blue Buffalo for cats

[Taz_Zoee]

I feed BB to my dogs and reading through this thread I started thinking about switching my cats over to it. I feed Purina One dry and Friskies wet (1/8 of a can each weekday morning). I know that's not the best food. But then I saw that you aren't supposed to free feed BB. Is that what I understand?? Cuz my kitties have dry available to them at all times (they are both at good weights).
And I got some coupons from AvaJoy that I could use too if I switch.

[happylabs]

I feed BB to my dogs and reading through this thread I started thinking about switching my cats over to it. I feed Purina One dry and Friskies wet (1/8 of a can each weekday morning). I know that's not the best food. But then I saw that you aren't supposed to free feed BB. Is that what I understand?? Cuz my kitties have dry available to them at all times (they are both at good weights).
And I got some coupons from AvaJoy that I could use too if I switch.

Here is the email I received from the company when I inquired about it:

"Thank you for taking your time to contact BLUE.

Because BLUE is so rich in nutrients, we recommend 3-4 weeks of transitioning. This allows enough time for the digestive system to adjust to the new food without causing a sensitive stomach. Signs of a sensitive stomach are soft to loose stools, gas, and sometimes even diarrhea or vomiting. You should start off with 25% BLUE to 75% old food for one full week. In the second week increase to 50/50 for another full week and so on. By the fourth week, you should be able to use 100% BLUE. At any time you increase the amount of BLUE and notice a change in stools or gas occurs, lessen the amount of BLUE and slow down the transition a bit. Every pet is different. Some may take to the food right away and others will take longer. Age, breed, exercise and what they were eating previously can all play a role in how long it may take for their system to adjust.

A pet's system will eventually work itself out however this could take as long as a few months if not done slow enough. Not often, but in some cases the food may be too rich for your pet. This usually happens when they have any intolerance to an ingredient in the food. If you feel that maybe your pet may need a proper transition, it is never too late to do that. Also, make sure to follow the feeding guidelines on the side of the bag as overfeeding can cause digestive issues. You will notice that we may require a less amount a day than other foods. Make sure not to free feed our food. There are only natural preservatives in our formulas so once exposed to the air it will not stay as fresh. Stay away from canned foods while you are trying to transition as this may only add to the sensitivity of your pet's stomach. I hope this helps. "

[Taz_Zoee]

That is interesting. So I guess I won't feed the cats BB. They are used to having food available at all times. I couldn't free feed Taz back in the day, but I only put a tiny bit in his bowl twice a day (or when he "asked" me to).
Maybe I can find another better (than Purina and Friskies) food that is okay to free feed.

Thank you for the explanation!

[katladyd]

I have free fed BB for years and my kitties have had no ill effects. You just don't put as much in the bowls. Believe me, it doesn't stay in the bowls long at my house!

[krazyaboutkatz]

I've never tried BB but I do find it interesting that they say not to free feed your cats with it. I couldn't free feed my 8 cats even if I wanted to because some of them would eat all of the food so the others would never get anything. I do understand about slowly transitioning a cats food but I've run into the problem of my cats loving the new food so much that they only eat that and then leave their old food. For some odd reason my cats now refuse to eat Wellness Core dry so now I've switched again to Merrick's Before Grain Chicken dry. They all seem to really love it but in the beginning some of my cats did tend to have looser stools and they will also sometimes have some gas. Alani & Blaze are now also on this food because they weren't doing well on the Chicken Soup For The Cat Lovers Soul Light dry formula. They both have very sensitive stomachs so they'll always have some loose stools every now and then. I'm just glad that I can now buy only one kind of dry food that everyone loves to eat. I buy it at Pet Club and right now they're having a sale on it for only $17.99 a bag so I bought 3 bags. Normally it's $22.99 but Petco and some other pet stores sell it for an even higher price. They didn't like the Before Grain canned so I'm sticking with Wellness canned. Good luck with the new food transition.

[katladyd]

What we go through in multi-cat households to find a food everyone will eat! Mine love the Wellness wet, but not the dry and will turn their noses up at BB canned, but love the dry. Oh well.

[AvaJoy]

Everyone PLEASE, for the health of your cats, go to www.catinfo.org and read what this vet has to say about feeding dry food. It was designed for the convenience of humans and is NOT in the best interest of what cats should eat. She even has an essay on how to wean your die-hard-dry-food-insistant cats OFF of it. Very entertaining . . . she says if they cry and beg and you can't take it anymore, leave the house for awhile! Do not give in to their demands. Cats need their hydration WITH their meal. Ideally, cats should ingest what a mouse is . . . fat, protein and fluid. Cats don't go stalking, hunting or chasing after "crackers" in the wild which is what dry food is, essentially. If you eliminate dry food from their diets there is an extremely good chance that they won't come down with renal issues, diabetes, and other conditions that commonly afflict cats as they age. I only wish I discovered her website years ago, for the health of my many cats. She has it all logically and sensibly figured out, so please visit her site and you will glean much knowledge!

[Taz_Zoee]

But doesn't feeding only wet food make for teeth issues? I've always heard dry is better for their teeth.
I should be fine since I feed mine both wet and dry.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Everyone PLEASE, for the health of your cats, go to www.catinfo.org and read what this vet has to say about feeding dry food. It was designed for the convenience of humans and is NOT in the best interest of what cats should eat. She even has an essay on how to wean your die-hard-dry-food-insistant cats OFF of it. Very entertaining . . . she says if they cry and beg and you can't take it anymore, leave the house for awhile! Do not give in to their demands. Cats need their hydration WITH their meal. Ideally, cats should ingest what a mouse is . . . fat, protein and fluid. Cats don't go stalking, hunting or chasing after "crackers" in the wild which is what dry food is, essentially. If you eliminate dry food from their diets there is an extremely good chance that they won't come down with renal issues, diabetes, and other conditions that commonly afflict cats as they age. I only wish I discovered her website years ago, for the health of my many cats. She has it all logically and sensibly figured out, so please visit her site and you will glean much knowledge!

Thanks for posting about this. I actually already know about this website because the lady from Finnegan's rescue group e-mailed me this info. She also told me that we should feed cats mainly all canned and only feed them a small amount of dry. She said to treat the dry like potato chips. All of my cats do love canned food so this isn't an issue. Unfortunately both Alani & Blaze always get diarrhea after eating canned food. They love it but it doesn't love them. I do give them some nonfat chicken broth every night so they can get more moisture in their diet. I also feed my other 6 cats both canned and dry. They get fed 4 small meals a day and get canned & dry for 2 of the meals and only dry for the other 2. I like feeding grain free dry and canned but I can't afford to feed them only canned. If I only had 1 or 2 cats then I could but not with 6. I have noticed that when Storm & Ziggy did eat more canned that they had more teeth and gum problems whereas Pearl & Sky who used to eat mainly dry didn't. I know that some breeds do have bad genes for teeth and gums but it seemed like when Storm used to eat mainly dry a long time ago that his teeth and gums were healthier. I've heard from some that dry hurts their teeth and from some that canned hurts their teeth so who knows.

[AvaJoy]

Dr. Pierson (www.catinfo.org) states that even the cheapest generic canned food is healthier than the most expensive, high end dry food. As for dry food cleaning teeth this seems to be a falacy. Cats usually just swallow the kibble whole anyway without much crunching. Ideally we should be brushing our cats' teeth to prevent decay. I haven't tackled that yet, but have thought about needing to try it.

[Catty1]

After two of my cats had dental surgery, there was an information session with the tech, which is great. Each time I got a small bag with a cat toothbrush and paste. Two of my cats were adult rescues who had never seen a toothbrush, and I adopted another from the HS who was 10 years old. I think the tech saw my unintended expression of total skepticism.

She did ask if I used an additive in their drinking water. I do. It's called Biotene and I get it from my vet. I add it to the fountain whenever I add/change water.

They are on mostly dry with wet added in the morning...they all eat the Urinary diet as Oscar needs to be on it. I'll go look at the website and get more info. I am sure my kitties would LOVE wet food all the time!