B.G. Before Grain Brand

I went to a local pet store today. They carry many healthy brands. The first one I saw was B.G. Before Grain. I've never heard of it before...haven't seen it mentioned here...though I haven't been here long.

I picked up the small can of Chicken wet food to read the ingredients...

Ingredients:
Chicken, Water for Processing

That's it?!? I couldn't believe it. They had a flier, so I took one.
It's made by Merrick. www.beforegrain.com

It states "Before Grain cans are intended for supplemental feeding only and are not intended for use as a complete and balanced diet."

Is it because there are no vitamins and minerals in it? Their dry food has more. Though I'm wondering about the ingredients I bolded. Sharky has said the first five ingredients are the important ones, right? So is this a good brand?

OUR INGREDIENTS (Dry)
Chicken Deboned, Chicken Meal, Potato Dehydrated, Turkey Meal, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols – a source of Natural Vitamin E), Sweet Potato Dehydrated, Dried Egg, Natural Flavor, Yeast Culture, Dicalcium Phosphate, Lysine, Sea Salt, Alfalfa, Salmon Oil, Choline Chloride, Acai Berry Freeze-Dried, Blueberry Dried, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Rosemary Extract, Taurine, Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Chondroitin Sulfate, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Chicory Root, Marigold Extract, Lactobacillus Plantarum, Enterococcus Faecium, Lactobacillus Casei, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Vitamin E Supplement, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Copper Amino Acid Complex, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3, Niacin, Lecithin, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Cobalt Amino Acid Complex, Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate, Sodium Selenite.

I can't speak from experience, but I will tell you that the specialty store where I used to purchase cat food actually steered me away from this brand. I can't remember the details, I'm sorry, but I think she said cats didn't generally like it, she'd heard something negative about it (vague, I know), and very few customers bought it more than once.

Besides, if it's just chicken and water, save yourself some money and feed fresh chicken from the grocery store.

I like the Merrick brand. I have never tried the canned BG since it is not a complete food, but the regular Merrick canned food looks good enough for me to eat. I tried the BG chicken and tuna flavors of the dry, but Kody didn't like them. My daughter's Vizsla loves the dog food version, however. It is a small company based near Fort Worth, TX, and I believe they make a very high quality product (just my opinion). I liked the idea of it because I wanted a grain free food but with not quite as high a protein % as the Evo.

Anne

Take note that the canned food is not complete. If you read carefully, the can does say that it is for supplemental feeding only. I had started one of my cats on it just because my brother had bought it by chance when we "rescued" him. He ate it for a bit but then suddenly rejected it. It's not bad per se, but I don't think it's done as well as Merrick would have hoped. I do like that they make a food with quail. The dry is a complete food though.

My cats wont touch the stuff. My doberman loved it I had a few cans and since the cats turned their noses up, the dobe enjoyed a snack.

I've bought BG before. It's one of the expensive brands here.

I don't feed wet exclusively which is why BG canned will work for me. Kizzy gets the rest of his nutritional requirements from dry food. The BG are used for added protein in my house. Kizzy will eat the quail, and I've heard from others that quail is one alot of cats like.

It is a good dry food, again, above my price range though.

As the OP and others have said....keep in mind that it is NOT a fully complete food, so it works for supplemental feeding only. It doesn't contain the nessecary vitamins and minerals, levels of fat and other nutritional requirements, which is why its only good for supplemental. (good for kitties who get a diet of dry food and the occassional wet food....or kitties who get 1/2 dry and 1/2 wet with the wet being rotated different brands...etc.)

Originally Posted by Snake_Lady

Kizzy will eat the quail, and I've heard from others that quail is one alot of cats like.

It is a good dry food, again, above my price range though.

As the OP and others have said....keep in mind that it is NOT a fully complete food, so it works for supplemental feeding only. It doesn't contain the nessecary vitamins and minerals, levels of fat and other nutritional requirements, which is why its only good for supplemental. (good for kitties who get a diet of dry food and the occassional wet food....or kitties who get 1/2 dry and 1/2 wet with the wet being rotated different brands...etc.)

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I gave Poppy some of the chicken this morning and he ate some of it. I did buy a can of quail also. I'll see if Poppy likes it and if he does it can be a treat every now and then.

I recently added the wet BG (all flavors) to my wet food rotation with my cats and all 5 love it

Ku Ku absolutely loves BG - both dry & wet(can).
I used to buy Wellness but dry food wasn't available one time, I didn't know anything about BG at all but decided to give it a try since the bags & cans were stocked right next to Wellness where all the natural kinds were stocked at. I read ingredients, didn't sound bad at all, so I grabbed the bag, as well as the cans. Ku Ku loved it. Ever since, it's been a staple of her diet.

After reading this thread I decided to give the BG canned Quail food a try. Kody is wolfing it down right now. I did add a little Kitty Bloom supplement to it. He seems to love it. The store I shop at is offering Buy One, Get One free on the BG canned foods right now, so I will go back by there tomorrow and pick up more cans. Thanks for the tip about the Quail!

Anne

Originally Posted by Kody's Mom

After reading this thread I decided to give the BG canned Quail food a try. Kody is wolfing it down right now. I did add a little Kitty Bloom supplement to it. He seems to love it. The store I shop at is offering Buy One, Get One free on the BG canned foods right now, so I will go back by there tomorrow and pick up more cans. Thanks for the tip about the Quail!

Anne

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Wow, that's a good deal. Here BF is quite expensive, but if they had a buy one get one free it would make it alot easier for me

Glad Kody seems to like it

Merrick is considered a very good food. My Vet feeds the BG dry, I am trying to get my carb addicts on it also. I had a Holistic vet also tell me to get the cats on it. It is not as high in fat as some brands, which can be an issue with sensitive cats. Our dogs eat the BG. The canned BG cat food as mentioned is simply supplemental. Merrick also makes some canned food that has veggies in it that is complete. You are on the right track.

my house is not a merrick house ... the dog nor the cats like this BG canned , I have had similar issues with regular merrick ... My boys eat nearly anything but not this ... the dog did like her "snack" of the bg dry

I don't know if my cats would eat the canned, with or without veggies, they don't tolerate change so we do things a little at a time, right now it is moving them off dry with grains and this seems to be easier on them. The dogs eat it because that is what the breeder uses and when they go on the show road it is easier if they have the same stuff. I do know that when my Missy got sick Merrick is the only thing she could or would eat before she died, so I guess it just depends on the animal, but it is a good quality diet.