List Price: $49.99
Sale Price: $42.99
Today's Bonus: 14% Off
Con:
-More expensive than the fanciest *Common-brand* stuff
-Only found in Pet stores, not grocery stores/Wal Mart/Target
Pro:
-Cats eat less, but still seem to enjoy it the same.
-"What's that smell? Oh a cat JUST pooped" doesn't smell anymore!
-Cats pooping less?
-Cats tendency to eat foreign objects has greatly lessened?
My mother mentioned trying Blue Buffalo (she'll randomly try different brands sometimes). She said she noticed that the cat box was "less stinky." She said she liked it just for that reason. Then she commented that it seemed like the cats were eating less food (they get as much as they want 24hrs/day). She wasn't sure if that was temporary or unrelated or what. I told her that maybe there is less junk-filler in the food, so they don't feel the need to eat as much.
My own cats, kittens eating *Common-Brand* canned cat food once a day with all-you-can-eat dry *Common-Brand* One, all had pica. That is to say, they loved to eat foreign objects. It wasn't related to stress. I had weaned them off of the canned cat food as they got older and had upgraded the quality of *Common-Brand* they were getting 2 times. (Out of guilt)
After mom's story, I tried out the natural foods aisle and spent hours and hours reading labels. I decided to try Blue Buffalo Sensitive Stomach. I suspect it is just as 'special' as their other versions, (if you compare the ingredients and the company's explanations on the bags), but now I'm afraid to try regular (just in case). That "Whoa! Oh, stinky! A cat just pooped and didn't cover it up" smell faded away with this food. (It could also be a slow response to the lack of canned food but in my mother's case, she has always fed dry). *Our litter boxes are in the living room, so yes, you always notice.
The hunt for random-junk-to-eat has definitely died down. Used to be that sitting on the couch before hiding our shoes was a mistake, often taking about 10-20 min for you to suddenly realize the cat had eaten 2-3 inches off your shoelace. EVERY TIME. It was like they spent their entire life waiting for shoelaces to appear. All sorts of things you never realized had rope, string, or ribbon would be quickly found and eaten. Plastic, loose carpet fibers, paper, etc. They still do it, but it has reduced a LOT. Could be a natural aging process, but the vet had said that tendency isn't a kitten-phase, and "if your kittens do it, they'll probably do it for life. Some cats are just like that." (These are all siblings.)
The cats also defecate less. I don't know if this was an age thing or not. I use a cat fountain, so they do drink and thus urinate a lot.
My cats don't seem to care either way about the taste. Like the foods before, they eat it randomly. When fresh food is added, they are more likely to eat some immediately. When a new bag is opened, they get excited. (It's that animal-fat smell that they spray on all dried foods, because evidently the cooking process makes all dry food tasteless, and it's the animal fat smell that makes them eat. So keeping it in a seal-able container is key for all food.)
The pieces are very small, which I figure is good for cats, who never seem to chew their food much anyway. Also, the small size probably increases the tasty-fat-spray to gross-insides ratio.
There are smaller cold-processed pieces mixed in, they tend to sink to the bottom of the bowl, but they still get eaten as the bowl gets more empty. They don't seem to be avoiding them on purpose. Cold processed is good for nutrients, because the heating process for dry food basically destroys nutrition. (Like over-boiling your vegetables very similar to our own canning process)
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