Best of the worst kind of situation

Which is better??

  • Blue Buffalo Wilderness

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Blue Buffalo Carnivora

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Instinct

    Votes: 4 100.0%

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    4

klunick

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Reading all the post about how important good nutrition is for cats and they need meat (no grain). I really want to do better with Boone and Gracie than I've done with others in the past. Since I got them in May, I fed them Blue Buffalo Wilderness Kitten wet and dry. This week, I started transitioning them to Blue Buffalo Carnivora because it says it's 95%-96% animal protein including organs and cartilage. Then I see something on here that Instinct is rated #1 for cat nutrition. I am soo confused! :sigh:

I know people on here aren't fond of at least the Wilderness or Carnivora because it contains certain bad things. I don't really remember comments about Instinct and whether or not it was more favorable. I guess what I am asking is... between Wilderness, Carnivora, and Instinct, which is better? Wilderness and Instinct are more in my price range of what I'd feel comfortable letting my husband know I pay for kitten food :lol: . Carnivora and Instinct don't have flavor variety packs like Wilderness does.

What I'm asking is which of the 3 is the best (knowing full well that most think neither is all that great)?
 

Talien

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Of the 3 I'd definitely go with Instinct, that was my go-to before discovering Tiki Cat. But the interesting thing about Instinct is their frozen raw food is actually less expensive than the canned stuff, so if Instinct canned is in your price range you might want to look into their frozen raw, which chewy carries. But if you are only looking at canned then Tiki Cat is both better and less expensive than Instinct, the only thing I don't like about Tiki Cat is most of their flavors are fish.

Specialized Kitten food isn't necessary if you're feeding them something that states it's balanced for all life stages, it will give feeding instructions, usually feed more to Kittens and pregnant/nursing females, but you don't need to worry about having to transition from Kitten food to adult.
 
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klunick

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Of the 3 I'd definitely go with Instinct, that was my go-to before discovering Tiki Cat. But the interesting thing about Instinct is their frozen raw food is actually less expensive than the canned stuff, so if Instinct canned is in your price range you might want to look into their frozen raw, which chewy carries. But if you are only looking at canned then Tiki Cat is both better and less expensive than Instinct, the only thing I don't like about Tiki Cat is most of their flavors are fish.

Specialized Kitten food isn't necessary if you're feeding them something that states it's balanced for all life stages, it will give feeding instructions, usually feed more to Kittens and pregnant/nursing females, but you don't need to worry about having to transition from Kitten food to adult.
Ok, thanks. I will check out Tiki Cat too.
 

LTS3

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if Instinct canned is in your price range you might want to look into their frozen raw, which chewy carries.

Chewy and most other popular online sellers don't sell frozen raw food. Shipping a frozen product can be costly and then there's the concern of a box, even with ice packs and such, sitting in a hot delivery truck for hours or sitting outside the home in hot weather until you can unpack it.

I feed the NV Instinct frozen raw and some of the canned. I feel it's a good brand. Weruva and Soulistic are also pretty high in protein.

It's fine to rotate brands, even brands that may not be very high protein.
 
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klunick

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Chewy and most other popular online sellers don't sell frozen raw food. Shipping a frozen product can be costly and then there's the concern of a box, even with ice packs and such, sitting in a hot delivery truck for hours or sitting outside the home in hot weather until you can unpack it.

I feed the NV Instinct frozen raw and some of the canned. I feel it's a good brand. Weruva and Soulistic are also pretty high in protein.

It's fine to rotate brands, even brands that may not be very high protein.
Ok, thanks for your input. It's so hard trying to be a good cat Momma. :) Much easier when the cats hated me and I just bought whatever brand of grocery store food was on sale that week. I have almost a month's supply of the Carnivora left to use but next autoship, I might try the Instinct and swap out each brand to see if they prefer one over the other. So far, it's split. Boone likes the Carnivora (but I think he just likes food in general) and Gracie seems to prefer the Wilderness.
 

Talien

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Chewy and most other popular online sellers don't sell frozen raw food. Shipping a frozen product can be costly and then there's the concern of a box, even with ice packs and such, sitting in a hot delivery truck for hours or sitting outside the home in hot weather until you can unpack it.
I used to get instinct frozen raw from Chewy, it was shipped packed with dry ice in an insulated box.
 
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klunick

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I will probably just stick with dry and canned food instead of going the frozen raw route. Next auto ship from Chewy was 9/13 so I substituted Instinct in. I will still have plenty of the Carnivora to swap back and forth to see if Boone and Gracie prefer one over the other. I think Carnivora is strongly in the #3 position of what I'll feed them just due to price. (Yes, I know you get what you pay for but almost $100 for a month's supply of wet food is a bit much).

Hey Talien Talien what is the density of the Instinct wet food. Carnivora seems more dense than Wilderness and Gracie wasn't a fan. Is Instinct a dense wet food?
 

Talien

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I will probably just stick with dry and canned food instead of going the frozen raw route. Next auto ship from Chewy was 9/13 so I substituted Instinct in. I will still have plenty of the Carnivora to swap back and forth to see if Boone and Gracie prefer one over the other. I think Carnivora is strongly in the #3 position of what I'll feed them just due to price. (Yes, I know you get what you pay for but almost $100 for a month's supply of wet food is a bit much).

Hey Talien Talien what is the density of the Instinct wet food. Carnivora seems more dense than Wilderness and Gracie wasn't a fan. Is Instinct a dense wet food?
I'm not sure, I never really fed the Instinct canned to my Cats, I was looking at it but discovered the frozen raw was less expensive so I went with that instead. I know chewy carries both brands of canned and they have the nutritional information listed so it should be easy enough to compare them there.
 
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klunick

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I'm not sure, I never really fed the Instinct canned to my Cats, I was looking at it but discovered the frozen raw was less expensive so I went with that instead. I know chewy carries both brands of canned and they have the nutritional information listed so it should be easy enough to compare them there.
I was comparing ingredients but I don't know what makes it thicker. For all I know, Gracie isn't a clean bowler with Carnivora because the thickness fills her up faster than Wilderness. That isn't necessarily a bad thing as long as her belly is getting full. Boone on the other hand is a bottomless pit and finishes whatever Gracie leaves behind so she doesn't even get a chance later to eat if hungry.
 

Talien

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I was comparing ingredients but I don't know what makes it thicker. For all I know, Gracie isn't a clean bowler with Carnivora because the thickness fills her up faster than Wilderness. That isn't necessarily a bad thing as long as her belly is getting full. Boone on the other hand is a bottomless pit and finishes whatever Gracie leaves behind so she doesn't even get a chance later to eat if hungry.
Oh, you mean the actual mass and not the nutritional density. I know instinct doesn't use thickeners or binders (meaning no gums, carageenan, agar, etc.) so it should be like cooked ground meat in broth.
 
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klunick

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Oh, you mean the actual mass and not the nutritional density. I know instinct doesn't use thickeners or binders (meaning no gums, carageenan, agar, etc.) so it should be like cooked ground meat in broth.
Yes, that is what I meant. Just couldn't find the wording. :lol: Sounds like Instinct might be the ticket. More expensive than Wilderness but not as expensive as Carnivora. Better ingredients than Wilderness too probably as it's higher in protein. I have never been a label looker (for humans or pets) but since joining this forum, I've tried to be better at what my babies are eating.
 

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It's been a while since I used Instinct but I think I remember it being pretty loose.

I once bought a bunch of cans of a higher-quality brand on clearance, and it had such a firm texture that I had to mash it up and add warm water before any of the cats would even look at it. I think I know why it was on clearance!
 

LTS3

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I used to get instinct frozen raw from Chewy, it was shipped packed with dry ice in an insulated box.
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Looks like the NV frozen raw bites are the only frozen raw food Chewy sells. I buy the frozen medallions which aren't sold online and only one local pet store sells it.

NV used to email coupons for their products on occasion. I don' t think they do anymore but you could ask.
 
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klunick

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Looks like the NV frozen raw bites are the only frozen raw food Chewy sells. I buy the frozen medallions which aren't sold online and only one local pet store sells it.

NV used to email coupons for their products on occasion. I don' t think they do anymore but you could ask.
I will look into the coupons. Thanks!
 
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klunick

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It's been a while since I used Instinct but I think I remember it being pretty loose.

I once bought a bunch of cans of a higher-quality brand on clearance, and it had such a firm texture that I had to mash it up and add warm water before any of the cats would even look at it. I think I know why it was on clearance!
That is what I have to do with Carnivora. I don't do the water but it does take some effort to mash it.
 

Talien

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Looks like the NV frozen raw bites are the only frozen raw food Chewy sells. I buy the frozen medallions which aren't sold online and only one local pet store sells it.

NV used to email coupons for their products on occasion. I don' t think they do anymore but you could ask.
Yup, it is. I've also only seen the medallions at a local pet store, but they stopped selling it and now their freezer is full of Dog food with just one shelf with Cat food.

Yes, that is what I meant. Just couldn't find the wording. :lol: Sounds like Instinct might be the ticket. More expensive than Wilderness but not as expensive as Carnivora. Better ingredients than Wilderness too probably as it's higher in protein. I have never been a label looker (for humans or pets) but since joining this forum, I've tried to be better at what my babies are eating.
Well, if you want to balance cost with quality then it's hard to beat Tiki Cat. It's better than Instinct and costs less, but again, what I don't like is most of their food is Fish. There's a few Chicken varieties which is what I get for my Cats, but the other flavors are either mixed with Fish or Chicken. Your Cats might like it though, you definitely won't have to mash it or break it up.
 
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klunick

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Yup, it is. I've also only seen the medallions at a local pet store, but they stopped selling it and now their freezer is full of Dog food with just one shelf with Cat food.



Well, if you want to balance cost with quality then it's hard to beat Tiki Cat. It's better than Instinct and costs less, but again, what I don't like is most of their food is Fish. There's a few Chicken varieties which is what I get for my Cats, but the other flavors are either mixed with Fish or Chicken. Your Cats might like it though, you definitely won't have to mash it or break it up.
Cost is only a concern because I think Carnivora is way too expensive .
 
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klunick

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After changing my auto ship order about a thousand times over the last week, I decided to do Carnivora wet and dry and Instinct wet for variety. Probably Carnivora for breakfast and Instinct for dinner.

I like the protein variety with Carnivora but think Boone and Gracie will appreciate something different for their other meal since I only feed wet twice a day.
 
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klunick

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Finally got my order of Instinct Kitten wet food. I added to my Chewy autoship so it took a while to come. Interesting thing happened though.

My normal food piggy wasn't too interested and my normal non-clean plater not only ate all of hers but also some of Boone's.

May just have to feed Boone the Carnivora and Gracie the Instinct and they can figure out amongst themselves if they want to switch for some variety.
20200916_174253.jpg
 
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klunick

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Day 2 with Instinct wet food and we have TWO happy campers tonight. :woohoo:
20200917_180119.jpg
 
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