Hello there!
I was wondering if anyone could tell me if the Blue Buffalo Blue Basics Limited Ingredient line is a good choice for cats who have IBD? Specifically, in my case, a 14 year old kitty who has IBD.
Thank you so much in advance! ❤️
im not a vet. and have no experience with blue buffalo (too many recalls over the years). but when my cat was having ibs issues. When i switched to grain free, it solved the problem pretty quickly.
Just to throw this out there. I recently found a smaller company called Weruva that makes some really good wet food. Top quality. If you want to check it out.
@christopheriuliano Thank you! 🙂 I appreciate your reply and recommendation. <3
@Crystal, sorry about the late reply! So, first off—I'm not a vet, but I'll do my best to give you an answer based on my understanding of this topic. Please, please talk to your vet if you have any additional questions or need information specific to your cat's diagnosis.
I wouldn't generally recommend this line as a solution or even superior option for cats with IBD, but it could be an improvement—it really depends on what you're already feeding him.
Even Blue Buffalo's "limited ingredient" diets tend to contain a lot of ingredients, whether they're wet or dry, and some of those are ingredients that may be inflammatory or comparatively difficult to digest. For instance, their Turkey & Potato dry cat food contains pea protein, which is not an ultra-bioavailable source of protein. It also contains turkey meal, which is also generally considered a less bioavailable source of protein compared to something like "deboned turkey" or "turkey liver".
So with all of that in mind, I would lean for a recipe that contains clearly-named meats, doesn't contain a lot of meals or plant proteins, and which has a very, very limited ingredient list—think one or two main ingredients. If your cat is open to wet food, you can find some good options from Hound & Gatos, Feline Natural, and Tiki Cat. If you need more recommendations, you might appreciate our article on the best cat food for cats with IBD.
As Christopher mentioned, Weruva is another promising option. And while it's not for everyone, and you may want to consult a vet to be safe, I have heard very good things about raw food and IBD. The site IBDKitties has a ton of valuable information on the subject of nutrition for IBD.
Finally, has your cat been formally diagnosed with IBD? I would want to make sure she or he doesn't have any other issues that may call for a different treatment plan/diet.
I hope this helps!
@mcrustawildernesscat-com Hi Mallory! I appreciate the time you took to answer my question more than you know! I have recently purchased a variety of different wet foods from the brands you and Christopher recommended and the article on the best cat food for cats with IBD. I'm keeping my fingers crossed my baby, Jasper, likes at least one of them. She can be a little picky sometimes. I'm new to All About Cats but have already watched all of your videos and have read plenty of your articles and I just want to let you know how grateful I am for all of the research that you do. It's all been incredibly helpful. ❤️
Oh and yes! Jasper was formally diagnosed with IBD a few years ago. I've only recently become more enlightened when it comes to cat nutrition and would like to improve her diet where I can. She is the love of my life and deserves the best. ❤️