Warning to all pet owners out there. My wife is a sucker for marketing. BB markets their products really well as high quality ingredients. She decided to switch our cat's food from Science Diet to BB about 3 months ago. I took my dog into the vet and while there, I asked them their opinion on BB for cats. They said they do not recommend it. They have seen crystals in cat urine which they believe was caused by the BB food. Of course, not all felines are affected, but the numbers are there to justify staying away from it. They also said that BB markets their food as 'high quality,' however (I don't remember exactly how the vet said it), BB hasn't been certified by certain institutions like other pet food has and that their claim of 'high quality' was purely just the claim of BB (ie, marketing). We switched back to Science diet after we finished the first and only BB bag. 3 months later I took the cat in to the vet because he has been pissing all over the house. He has crystals in his urine now. Coincidence? Maybe, but I doubt it. He now has to eat a certain type of Science Diet forever to keep the crystals from reoccuring. So, stay away from Blue Buffalo. Plenty of other quality pet food out there.
I thought I saw a blue buffalo in the summer of 1967, somewhere in Pasadena, but assumed it was a figment of my enhanced imagination. Go figure! Obviously, I should have seen a blue cat.
It's tough because your talking about a very specific scenario with a bunch of speculation from a Vet and yourself about a specific problem and what is causing it. It doesn't exactly sound like definitive research. It's like me saying my dog got cancer and it was eating Blue Buffalo...so it must be the Blue Buffalo because my dog didn't have cancer when it was eating Science Diet.
They said they see crystals a lot in cats that eat BB. My cat got crystals not 3 months after eating it. If your vet tells you not to do something, you probably shouldn't do it - they're the expert. Sure, maybe more research is needed. But, if you're at the store and you can choose from the dozens of pet food brands, I'm suggesting staying away from BB. Do what you want, but I tend to listen to warnings.
Vet gave me a list a long time ago with 3 brands of dog food she reccommended. Science Diet was on that list. Been buying it ever since.
Unless Science Diet has changed the formulas for its products in the last few years it = ****. They still using corn as one of the top three ingredients? Blue Buffalo is a good brand for dogs and I assume cats. According to my vet, veterinarians get precious little training regarding nutrition. Many of them also push particular brands (see the giant displays in the office?). I suspect they are financially compensated for doing so. Check the label on the food. The more meat products at the beginning of the list the better. Corn = don't buy. Grain = I would pass. Meat, meat, meat as the first three ingredients would be the way I would go. Then again, my dogs eat only raw meat. My cat would too but he is a picky devil so I let the gf handle him.
I don't have a cat. I understand where you are coming from. But, the next cat owner could say they have been using Blue Buffalo exclusively for years and never had an issue. I'm not saying there isn't truth in it. It's just not exactly hard science at this point. It sounds more like speculative cause and effect. If your Vet says he's seen it over and over and over again to the point that he/she formulated this opinion, then maybe it has some merit to it. Even then, it could still be something else. It seems like further grounds for a study which maybe your Vet should write a white paper about to get going. Nobody likes crystals anywhere except...in crystals.
http://www.purinaveterinarydiets.com/healthandnutrition/myths/detail.aspx?name=CornFiller They could put '5% unicorn horn per serving' on their label but that doesn't make it true. Dont get sucked in by marketing. I say that ironically as I insert an article on corn from Purina's website. lol
I know what you mean. I just felt like posting this as a warning to future feline owners. If you have no bias towards any food, I would suggest staying away from BB. Simple as that. I'm sure in most cases they would be fine, but not worth the risk if you're not already a BB believer.
Ingredients listed on a pet food product actually are accurate or Uncle Sam visits and shuts you down. Do your research and use common sense. A cat is a carnivore and should therefore eat meat or meat-based food. That isn't marketing.
i don't claim to know more than a vet but nothing solved my dog's skin allergies and doggie breath until i switched him to the raw diet. there's some good kibble out there though like taste of the wild and evo. science diet? bleh. you're talking about cats. so, nevermind. although i agree with dave, cats should be eating meat too.
So now I got to worry about dry dog food killing these fools?? Damn man, what's safe anymore? Fukkit, I'm feeding my dog Spaghetti tonight, screw your Science Diet!!!
That's what I thought when I first read the story. Especially with the "has to eat a certain type of Science Diet forever" part. Worth looking into, certainly, but ask around. Don't just take one vet's word for it.
vets do get paid to push certain brands. my dog used to throw up often in the morning, but I switched to BB and she doesn't do it any longer. vet said she's healthy
My former vet told me fancy feast was good for my cat and that they need that or similar foods to mimic what they would eat in the wild. I told her cats in the wild only live 6-7 years... she didn't have an retort for that.
