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As a cat owner, it is important for you to take the feeding of your cat seriously. This is the only way you can be sure that it will stay well nourished. In reality, it’s not as easy as it seems. This is because there are hundreds, if not thousands, of cat food brands in the market making it hard to choose the right one. Worse yet, is that many of these formulas falsely claim to have sufficient nutrients.
Blue Bistro Beef Bourguignon (wet) is a cat food formula loved by many cat owners. This formula is advertised as having real pieces of beef dipped in succulent sauces. The formula also contains veggies and greens such as broccoli, carrots and peas that are quite nutritious for cats.
So is this the most nutritious formula to feed your feline friend on? Find out below.
Ingredients in the formula
Beef, Beef Broth, Water, Chicken Liver, Dried Egg Whites, Peas, Natural Flavor, Potato Starch, Guar Gum, Calcium Carbonate, Sodium Phosphate, Carrots, Broccoli, Tricalcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin Supplement (Vitamin B2), Niacin (Vitamin B3), d-Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Biotin (Vitamin B7),Folic Acid (Vitamin B9), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Cobalt Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Sodium Selenite,Potassium Iodide, Choline Chloride, Taurine, Basil.
A closer look at the main ingredients in the formula
Beef
Beef is considered to be a higher quality ingredient. It is an excellent source of animal protein and contains many other nutrients that are very important for a cat to survive and thrive. Since this is not in “meal” form, that means this ingredient still contains all of its moisture content prior to cooking. Once fully cooked, most of this ingredient will have evaporated due to its high moisture content. That means, even when this ingredient is ranked highly, it will usually only provide a small percentage of the overall protein in the food. There is no dismissing this ingredient, though. It is high quality and we are pleased to see it listed.
Beef Broth
Like other types of broth in cat food, beef broth is used as a flavor enhancer and source of moisture. It is considered to be a better ingredient to use than plain water. While not especially nutritious, your cat will probably appreciate the enhanced flavor and there are no known health risks associated with this ingredient.
Water
As you might expect, water is mostly added for moisture and cooking purposes. It does not add any nutritional value to the food.
Chicken Liver
Here is another ingredient you probably wouldn’t want to see on your own dinner plate, but most cats seem to enjoy the taste of liver. Uncooked liver, or liver in very high quantities, can actually be toxic to cats. However, in this food, it is clearly provided well within safe limits. In fact, this ingredient is a pretty high quality ingredient overall. It provides a good source of vitamins, minerals, proteins, and other nutrients your cat can benefit from.
Dried Egg Whites
Egg whites are eggs that have been separated from the yolk. They provide a high amount of protein while at the same time, contain low amounts of cholesterol. Egg whites also contain a number of other nutrients such as potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, copper, zinc, and iron. Overall this is a nutritious ingredient without much of a health risk.
Ingredients of interest
Peas
Peas are becoming more and more common in pet foods today, especially those listed as grain-free, holistic, or natural pet foods. While peas are certainly not grains, they serve much the same purpose. It mostly acts as a filler and a cheap way to increase the protein percentage of the food. However, cats receive almost no nutritional value from peas. Since cats are obligate carnivores, they require proteins from meat based ingredients. There is very little research that has been performed on the long term effects of cats consuming peas. We do know that peas can cause runny poop or digestion issues in dogs, but the full effect on cats remains a bit of an unknown. At best, this ingredient will act as a filler and will not provide much nutritional value, if any, to your cat.
Natural Flavor
The term “natural flavor” is extremely vague and can mean just about anything. In human foods, natural flavor is usually MSG or some similar flavor enhancer. When pet food companies are asked what is in their “natural flavor ingredients, they usually refuse to answer. There are a lot of things in the world considered “natural” and they almost all have a flavor. Such generic terms can be indicative of poor quality ingredients. While that’s not always the case, the fact is, we don’t really know what this ingredient consists of and that is worrying.
Potato Starch
Potato starch is starch extracted from potatoes and is usually only included to assist with the consistency and texture of the food. Cats generally do not receive much nutritional value from this ingredient, although it may sometimes aid in proper digestion.
Guar Gum
This ingredient is also sometimes called guaran. It is primarily the ground endosperm of guar beans. The guar seeds are dehusked, milled and screened to obtain the guar gum. It is typically produced as a free-flowing, off-white powder. This ingredient is mostly used to thicken the food and give it more texture. It is an FDA-approved, all natural GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) ingredient used by the food and cosmetic industries. It also is used to improve the shelf life of the food and helps lower the glycemic index of food. Many cat food companies claim this ingredient also aids in digestion and weight loss. There is some minor debate about the benefits of this ingredient with some claiming negative impacts, but in general, this is thought to be a relatively non-nutritious yet safe ingredient.
Is this an allergy causing formula?
Judging from the list of ingredients in the Blue Bistro Beef Bourguignon (wet) cat food formula your cat is unlikely to suffer from any allergic reactions. You should, however, make sure to go through the ingredients to make sure it doesn’t contain any other ingredients your cat may be allergic to.
Harmful ingredients to watch out for
Sugar
Cats do not require added sugars in their diet. When sugar is added to cat food, it will greatly enhance the overall taste of the food. This can even cause some “addiction” issues making it very difficult to switch from a sugar laced food to a non-sugar laced food. Sugar can have the same negative health effects on cats as we see in humans including weight gain and diabetes, which is very common in adult cats. There is no positive nutritional benefit to adding sugar into any cat food.
Chemical preservatives
Often times, chemical preservatives are added to pet foods in order to increase their shelf life and reduce chances of bacterial growth. Unfortunately, these preservatives can potentially cause long-term life threatening health risks for many cats.
Conclusion
Blue Bistro Beef Bourguignon (wet) is without a a great cat food. This is because it is rich in minerals and vitamins from the veggies as well as other nutrients. Also, it has no allergens hence no likelihood of causing allergic a reactions.
