Anybody have thoughts of Blues new Carnivora?

[trudy1]

I just received their new email on blue buffalo new Carnivora which is “supposed “ to be close to raw.

Thinking trying it. Opinions?

 

[Azazel]

Well, it's either raw meat or it isn't. Can't really be 'close' to it.

 

[LTS3]

The new Carnivora line is "prey based feeding" What is Prey-Based Feeding? The food is high in protein from multiple sources (meat, organs, eggs, etc). It is regular dry and canned food, not raw.

Blue Buffalo Natural Pet Food & Treats

The #1-selling natural pet food in Pet Specialty, BLUE Life Protection Formula® for dogs and cats, is made by Blue Buffalo. Natural, healthy dog and cat food that tastes delicious. The difference is in the ingredients we use and don't use. Love them like family. Feed them like family.

bluebuffalo.com

It seems ok except it does contain veggies / fruit and gums and some form of fish is in all the food.

 

[Azazel]

Do predators do any other kind of eating besides “prey-based?”

Sorry to be critical but I’m just over these marketing gimmicks. They really think consumers are stupid.

 

[She's a witch]

They do say that their dry food contains some raw: “this blend derives 90% of its protein from 11 different animal sources including fresh, raw and dried chicken, turkey, saltwater fish and duck.“ but then this raw is not reflected in the ingredients. I’m guessing if they'd use some raw freeze dried ingredients, they’d want to mention it on the list. What other "raw" could be in the dry food? Unless they meant they used raw before cooking it....

They say their dry food doesn’t contain peas, but it contains lentils- cmon, it’s almost the same No potatoes, but tapioca? This is not nice.

I’d say wet has pretty decent ingredients but has three kinds of gums, including carrageenan, which is no go for many cats. And fish, as mentioned. But what I really don’t like about their canned is the way they list their ingredients, as "primary ingredients" and "other", which makes it even more difficult to guess how much pumpkin&carrot they include and if more than any meat ingredients.

But overall I think it's a good trend that bigger companies start making food that is of a slightly better quality and mention the need for meat only diet for cats - I'd hope that whoever sees that, will start making their own research and will end up with a better alternative.

 

[trudy1]

I guess maybe my question should have been is it better than others on the market now? Speaking mainly of the dry kibble.

 

[Kat0121]

I guess maybe my question should have been is it better than others on the market now? Speaking mainly of the dry kibble.

Is it better than the low end brands? Yeah it is. Is it great? Not really. Look at the price tag. I think it's not very good for what you're getting. It has a lot of fish in it and a lot of stuff that cats just don't need. IMO Blue in general is overpriced for mid grade at best quality.

Blue Buffalo Carnivora Woodland Blend Grain-Free Adult Dry Cat Food, 4-lb bag - Chewy.com

Ingredients
PRIMARY INGREDIENTS: Deboned Chicken, Dried Chicken, Deboned Turkey, Chicken Meal, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Tapioca Starch, Chicken Liver and Hearts, Dried Egg Product, Dried Tomato Pomace, Fava Beans, Gelatin, Deboned Duck, Flaxseed (source of Omega 6 Fatty Acids), Natural Flavor, Lentils, Dried Pollock, Dried Sole, Dried Halibut, Dried Cod, Fish Oil (source of Omega 3 Fatty Acids), Potassium Sulfate, Choline Chloride, Turkey Liver, Dried Pork Liver, Dried Chicken Liver, Dried Tuna, Dried Sardine, Chicken Cartilage. ESSENTIAL NUTRIENTS AND OTHER INGREDIENTS: Dicalcium phosphate, Salt, Minerals (Calcium Carbonate, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin (Vitamin B3), Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Biotin (Vitamin B7), Vitamin A Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5)., Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid (Vitamin B9)), Dried Chicory Root, Taurine, preserved with Mixed Tocopherols, Turmeric, Blueberries, Cranberries, Apples, Blackberries, Pomegranate, Spinach, Pumpkin, Carrots, Dried Kale, Sunflower Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, L-Carnitine, Dried Kelp, Barley Grass, Parsley, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Yeast, Dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, Dried Aspergillus niger fermentation extract, Dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, Dried Bacillus subtilis fermentation extract), Oil of Rosemary.

Here's what I consider to be the best dry food of all. Dr. Elsey's. it's not THAT much more expensive than the Blue but look at the difference ingredients wise. Dr. Elsey's cleanprotein Chicken Formula Grain-Free Dry Cat Food, 6.6-lb bag - Chewy.com

Ingredients
Chicken, Dried Egg Product, Pork Protein Isolate, Gelatin, Chicken Fat (Preserved With Mixed Tocopherols), Flaxseed, Natural Flavor, Salmon Oil, Potassium Citrate, Calcium Carbonate, Fructooligosaccharide, Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin Supplement, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Acetate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid), Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Calcium Carbonate, Manganous Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Sodium Selenite, Cobalt Carbonate, Ethylenediamine Dihydroiodide), Potassium Chloride, Mixed Tocopherols (Preservative), Taurine, Salt, Rosemary Extract.


No fruit, no veggies, no beans. Cats don't need that stuff and their bodies can't use them. These ingredients end up in the litter box. My cats ate Science Diet dry in the shelter before I got them and the smell from the litter box could have knocked a buzzard out of the sky. I put them on a mostly wet diet with Dr Elsey's dry to supplement (Lilith insists on having some dry) and NO smell. Sophie will nibble on it from time to time but much prefers wet food.

So to make a long story short, if you're looking for a higher end dry (especially if that's all you feed) I highly recommend Dr. Elsey's over this. They used to offer samples of the dry and wet foods. You can ask them if they still do. They will likely send you some. Food | Dr. Elsey's

ETA: If you use Amazon's subscribe and save, you can get this food even cheaper

 

[klunick]

Reading posts on this site about how important meat is to cats, I decided to try the Carnivora for both wet and dry. Boone and Gracie had been on Blue Buffalo Wilderness since getting them in May. I mixed in the old dry with the new dry. They ate it like normal. Got the wet food yesterday so I gave it a try for their dinner meal. Unfortunately, I missed who ate what but one bowl was empty and one had most of it still there. It was probably Boone who ate all of it. The boy can eat!! The other bowl eventually got eaten.

I accidentally bought about a month's worth of wet so it will last a while but I'm just going to get them the Wilderness again. The Carnivora dry was a little more expensive but the wet was A LOT more expensive and they didn't devour it like I expected. I guess they weren't as carnivorous as I thought they'd be.

 

[trudy1]

Never did try the blue wilderness stuff. Went with merrick instead. Just hate feeding them any of this stuff. Their fountains need to be cleaned every few days just to get rid of the red dye stains! Terrible

I feed a mixture for dry of blue “kibble” and merrick. Various fancy feast gravy lovers for wet balance. I have seven cat rescues so pretty expensive but then I don’t smoke, drink or play golf so guess it’s kinda like a hobby...ha!

 

[klunick]

Reading posts on this site about how important meat is to cats, I decided to try the Carnivora for both wet and dry. Boone and Gracie had been on Blue Buffalo Wilderness since getting them in May. I mixed in the old dry with the new dry. They ate it like normal. Got the wet food yesterday so I gave it a try for their dinner meal. Unfortunately, I missed who ate what but one bowl was empty and one had most of it still there. It was probably Boone who ate all of it. The boy can eat!! The other bowl eventually got eaten.

I accidentally bought about a month's worth of wet so it will last a while but I'm just going to get them the Wilderness again. The Carnivora dry was a little more expensive but the wet was A LOT more expensive and they didn't devour it like I expected. I guess they weren't as carnivorous as I thought they'd be.

Update... it is Gracie who doesn't like the Carnivora. I think it is a texture/density issue. Wilderness is kind of creamy in texture with a thin density. Carnivora is thicker which apparently she doesn't like.

 

[klunick]

Update... it is Gracie who doesn't like the Carnivora. I think it is a texture/density issue. Wilderness is kind of creamy in texture with a thin density. Carnivora is thicker which apparently she doesn't like.

Update to the update... both were clean bowlers today (although Boone might have helped Gracie finish hers a little). Just took Gracie a little longer to adapt. I am still going back to Wilderness though. They both liked it and it's less expensive.