Questions about Blue Buffalo Wilderness Dry Food?

I've got a nagging question about Blue Buffalo Wilderness Dry Food that I'm hoping members here can help me with.  I searched the forums, but didn't find a thread that addressed my specific question.

My cats have been on a combination of various wet foods and Wilderness Indoor Chicken Dry food for about 5 years.  At Archie's last check up, the vet mentioned that she has seen quite a few cats with urinary tract infections that are on Blue Buffalo.

A web search turned up lots of antedotal info about links between Blue Buffalo and urinary infections in cats.  Unfortunately, most of the info I've found doesn't distinguish between the regular varieties of Blue Buffalo and Wilderness.  From my reading of the label, the Wilderness varieties seem to be quite low in ingredients that are typically associated with UTI.  It's one of the reasons that I chose this brand.  That and it is grain free and lower in calories than some other brands. 

I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with the Wilderness variety and UTI?  And if I need to transition to a new dry food, what grain free, low calorie options should I consider?

Any help or insights will be most appreciated.

I've never fed Blue Buffalo, but they have been associated with several recalls, and there are definitely better dry foods out there if you can afford to feed them. I don't like the Blue has fillers starting as the fourth ingredient. 

Here's a good list of dry foods. I feed Orijen as well as Ziwipeak air dried (not on the list but excellent food). The author of that list states that BB isn't included in her "best of" foods because it's high in carbs  (28 – 40%).

Remember if you decide to change their dry food to mix the old food with the new food so they don't get upset tummies. Good luck!

My mom fed this to her cat Chester and has fed it to him for the past 5 years. I just recently got her to switch to grain free wet (he only eats weruva now) and some raw. Chester is 10 and has been in amazing health.. but I do not feel that this was because of the Blue Buffalo Wilderness, I think it was by chance and genetics. What I'm saying is that Chester never had any UTIs but I'm not sure what I can attribute that to.

I agree with Missmimz about Origen and Ziwipeak, although I personally don't feed them myself. I also am an advocate for Acana, which is a less expensive branch of Origen. The little dry food I do feed occasionally is Earthborn Holistic Primitive Feline, I think it is really good and Ghibli can't resist it. I also  love the size of the really small kibbles. 

missmimz said:

 
I've never fed Blue Buffalo, but they have been associated with several recalls, and there are definitely better dry foods out there if you can afford to feed them. I don't like the Blue has fillers starting as the fourth ingredient. 

Here's a good list of dry foods. I feed Orijen as well as Ziwipeak air dried (not on the list but excellent food). The author of that list states that BB isn't included in her "best of" foods because it's high in carbs  (28 – 40%).

Remember if you decide to change their dry food to mix the old food with the new food so they don't get upset tummies. Good luck!

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Thank you.  I will see if our speciality store stocks those brands.

missmimz said:

 
I've never fed Blue Buffalo, but they have been associated with several recalls, and there are definitely better dry foods out there if you can afford to feed them. I don't like the Blue has fillers starting as the fourth ingredient. 

Here's a good list of dry foods. I feed Orijen as well as Ziwipeak air dried (not on the list but excellent food). The author of that list states that BB isn't included in her "best of" foods because it's high in carbs  (28 – 40%).

Remember if you decide to change their dry food to mix the old food with the new food so they don't get upset tummies. Good luck!

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I second all this, we feed both Orijen and Ziwipeak. Ziwipeak isn't listed on the dry food list but is listed as 2nd tier for the "all foods" list (in the author's opinion, quite impressive since it's being compared to raw/canned foods).

My sister in law feeds BB to her cats, and they're both in great shape. I think it's one of those issues where you'll hear a lot of anecdotal evidence one way or the other, BB isn't a terrible food by any means, but there are probably healthier foods that could be offered at a similar cost. And as missmimz said, if your budget allows it Orijen is a big upgrade.

Based on all the research I have done, and being obsessive compulsive when it comes to my cat, it was a lot. It is my opinion that Orijin is one the best dry cat foods on the market. If reducing carbs it the main goal, consider a high quality canned food or better yet a commercial raw food 

Zed Xyzed said:

 
Based on all the research I have done, and being obsessive compulsive when it comes to my cat, it was a lot. It is my opinion that Orijin is one the best dry cat foods on the market. If reducing carbs it the main goal, consider a high quality canned food or better yet a commercial raw food 

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I've tried weaning my cats off of dry food.  Archie was one of 5 strays that I fed for a time, before inviting him to join our family.  He became addicted to dry food during that period.  When I tried to cut out kibble, he rebelled. I should have hung tough, but I gave in to his demands.  So, I supplement wet food with dry.  I know that kibble isn't ideal, but it's a compromise.

Thanks for your suggestions.  I swung by the speciality pet store today; they sell Orijen but not Ziwipeak.  I picked up a bag of Orijen Cat and Kitten - I gather that is their "regular" food.  The store also carried Orijen Red; it was $35 a bag - out of my price range.  The regular was about $24, only a few bucks more than Blue Wilderness.  I mixed up some remaining Blue with the Orijen.  So far, so good; Archie and Lucy ate it right up.  Time will tell.  If they continue to enjoy it, I'll make the permanent switch.  Thanks again for everyone's help. 

RickR said:

 
Thanks for your suggestions.  I swung by the speciality pet store today; they sell Orijen but not Ziwipeak.  I picked up a bag of Orijen Cat and Kitten - I gather that is their "regular" food.  The store also carried Orijen Red; it was $35 a bag - out of my price range.  The regular was about $24, only a few bucks more than Blue Wilderness.  I mixed up some remaining Blue with the Orijen.  So far, so good; Archie and Lucy ate it right up.  Time will tell.  If they continue to enjoy it, I'll make the permanent switch.  Thanks again for everyone's help. 

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Good luck! My cats all love Orijen and have been on it for years. I don't feed the red because it gives one of my cats tummy issues. 

It seems like Blue Buffalo is over priced for what is in the food. I give my 4 cats 1/4 cup of dry in the morning along with wet food in the evening. I usually use Orijen or Acana and buy it in the 15 lb. bags. It's still expensive, but it saves me alot of money when you figure out the cost difference between a 5 lb. bag and a 15 lb. bag. I would feed exclusively wet, but I have one cat who is a dry food junkie.