Is Blue Freedom or Blue Basics better to try for a cat with a sensitive tummy? I really want to get him off that vet diet Royal Canin with the crappy ingredients but every time I try he goes back to the diarrhea. (and yes I transition slowly).
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Blue Buffalo
- Thread starter misty8723
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Which Royal Canin are you using. Is it dry or wet? Go to Chewy.com, find it, scroll down and read the ingredients. Then go to the two Blue foods you are interested in and read the ingredients. Compare if you can. I always opt to go to a WET food as the basic food and dry food only as dessert or snacks.
I do know the Royal Canin foods are highly addictive to cats. I'm not sure what they use but it does seem they use a lot of pork in their foods, so when I was transitioning one who came addicted to it, I added a little fresh bacon fat to his food and that helped. I don't normally eat pork or bacon so I cooked it just for him. I had the Royal Canin Sensitive Skin and he loved it and was getting fat on it. He's a dry food addict so it was hard to get him on half wet and half dry. I used to put the Royal Canin in with some wet food and kind of mash it up to help him transition.
If your has a sensitive tummy, you need to figure out if he's sensitive to certain ingredients in whatever other foods you were feeding that the Royal Canin does NOT contain, or if it's a specific protein, such as chicken, that he is sensitive to. Looking at the Blue Buffalo Freedom dry food, I see a lot of things in there I dont like either.
I do know the Royal Canin foods are highly addictive to cats. I'm not sure what they use but it does seem they use a lot of pork in their foods, so when I was transitioning one who came addicted to it, I added a little fresh bacon fat to his food and that helped. I don't normally eat pork or bacon so I cooked it just for him. I had the Royal Canin Sensitive Skin and he loved it and was getting fat on it. He's a dry food addict so it was hard to get him on half wet and half dry. I used to put the Royal Canin in with some wet food and kind of mash it up to help him transition.
If your has a sensitive tummy, you need to figure out if he's sensitive to certain ingredients in whatever other foods you were feeding that the Royal Canin does NOT contain, or if it's a specific protein, such as chicken, that he is sensitive to. Looking at the Blue Buffalo Freedom dry food, I see a lot of things in there I dont like either.
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I agree with switching to an all wet diet using LID foods.
Dry foods contain more carbs and starchy fillers, which can irritate a touchy tummy. The wet food will also keep a cat hydrated and full using much less carbs, preventing a slew of health issues such as diabetes, kidney problems, urinary blockages, and obesity.
Merrick LID is a good quality and simple, easily digested food that I recommened. The Blue Buffalo Basic wet food is also good. Natural Balance makes an LID wet but it is of iffy quality.
Dry foods contain more carbs and starchy fillers, which can irritate a touchy tummy. The wet food will also keep a cat hydrated and full using much less carbs, preventing a slew of health issues such as diabetes, kidney problems, urinary blockages, and obesity.
Merrick LID is a good quality and simple, easily digested food that I recommened. The Blue Buffalo Basic wet food is also good. Natural Balance makes an LID wet but it is of iffy quality.
Yes I think Merrick LID is a good choice too. BB is garbage food, skip it.
That bolded phrase is the key point for feeding a cat with a sensitive stomach. In our case, a cat has a problem with potato, a very common filler ingredient. Wet foods with simple recipes--preferably without carby ingredients or carrageenan--are the easiest place to start. I admit that there aren't a lot of those foods, but the combination of high-protein and low-carb is what fits cats best anyway. And Fancy Feast pates, which are very available, are a very decent place to start! (With a sensitive stomach, I'd also avoid fish but FF does have a bunch pates without fish, too.)
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Swanie gets wet food, predominantly Fancy Feast Pates. Turkey seems to be an issue, and he doesn't get the fish flavors. However, he's on a weight loss diet and if I fed him only Fancy Feast based on the calories he needs (per the vet), he would have to eat 11 ounces. I can't even get him to finish one 3-ounce can in a day (spread over multiple feedings). So he gets some supplemental dry food (Royal Canin Gastrointestinal HE) in the evening. I really worry that he won't get enough to eat and get that whatever it is that can kill a cat.
The other issue I have is Cricket, who will not eat wet food of any variety - I don't care if it's the most expensive premium brand or the junkiest junk food, she won't eat it. And she is a grazer, so I have to leave some out for her to eat at night as well. When we went looking for another cat (who became Cricket) I was really planning on transitioning both of them only canned - but they told me up front that Cricket would never eat canned and was that a deal breaker? - turns out it wasn't.
Oh, and I've compared the ingredients, I have never liked the ingredients in Royal Canin (dry or canned), but whenever I try to switch him off it he goes back to diarrhea.
The other issue I have is Cricket, who will not eat wet food of any variety - I don't care if it's the most expensive premium brand or the junkiest junk food, she won't eat it. And she is a grazer, so I have to leave some out for her to eat at night as well. When we went looking for another cat (who became Cricket) I was really planning on transitioning both of them only canned - but they told me up front that Cricket would never eat canned and was that a deal breaker? - turns out it wasn't.
Oh, and I've compared the ingredients, I have never liked the ingredients in Royal Canin (dry or canned), but whenever I try to switch him off it he goes back to diarrhea.
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I have one with a tetchy stomach as well. She's currently on Royal Canin Hypoallergenic dry and Hills z/d wet (I've tried switching to the Hills z\/d dry this week with not so favourable results).
In the past she's done pretty well with Applaws chicken (however in Australia it's only 50% meat content, not 80% like overseas so I'm not sure how that would go).
Sadly she seems to do best on things like Royal Canin. I can't explain it, they just work for her (she did really well on the Royal Canin Oral Care sensitive and the Sensitive).
Oddly, she gets worse with wet food. I'm a pro wet feeder (believe in balance, both wet and dry but more wet than dry) but it just doesn't work with her. Too much wet = runny upset tummy.
In the past she's done pretty well with Applaws chicken (however in Australia it's only 50% meat content, not 80% like overseas so I'm not sure how that would go).
Sadly she seems to do best on things like Royal Canin. I can't explain it, they just work for her (she did really well on the Royal Canin Oral Care sensitive and the Sensitive).
Oddly, she gets worse with wet food. I'm a pro wet feeder (believe in balance, both wet and dry but more wet than dry) but it just doesn't work with her. Too much wet = runny upset tummy.
I have had a lot of problems with blue buffalo, wet, dry and treats. And since have been reading bad things about BB. I drive myself reading about healthy foods for my furbabies and natures variety, hounds and gatos, lotus are the ones I keep reading good reviews on.
My cats love blue buffalo wilderness and freedom, along with their treats too.
