Blue Buffalo Tastefuls (Wet) Review

The Blue Buffalo Tastefuls wet product range is made up of 22 recipes which all receive the Cat Food Advisor rating, 4 stars.

Made from high-quality natural ingredients like real chicken and no corn, wheat or soy, this range is formulated to support your cat’s lifestyle.

The table below shows each recipe in this range including our rating and the AAFCO nutrient profile: Growth (kitten), Maintenance (adult), All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.

Recipe and Label Analysis

Blue Buffalo Tastefuls Adult Cat Tender Morsels Chicken Entrée in Savory Sauce wet food was selected to represent the other products in the line for a detailed recipe and nutrient analysis.

Ingredients Analysis

The first ingredient is chicken. Chicken is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of chicken”.¹

Chicken is naturally rich in the 11 essential amino acids required by a cat to sustain life.

The second ingredient is chicken broth. Broths are of only modest nutritional value. Yet because they add both flavor and moisture to cat food, they are a common component in many wet products.

The third ingredient is water which adds nothing but moisture to this food. Water is a routine finding in most wet cat foods.

The fourth ingredient is chicken liver. This is an organ meat sourced from a named animal and thus considered a beneficial component.

The fifth ingredient is dried egg product, a dehydrated powder made from shell-free eggs. Eggs are easy to digest and have an exceptionally high biological value.

The sixth ingredient is natural flavor. According to AAFCO, natural flavors are ingredients derived from plant, animal or mined sources, not having been produced by or subject to chemically synthetic processes nor do they contain any additives or processing aids that are chemically synthetic.

The seventh ingredient is potato starch. Potato starch is a gluten-free carbohydrate of only modest nutritional value to a cat.

From here the list goes on to include a number of other items. But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to affect the overall rating of the product.

This recipe contains four notable exceptions.

First, brewers dried yeast which can be a controversial item. Although it’s a by-product of the beer making process, this ingredient is rich in minerals and other healthy nutrients.

Fans believe yeast repels fleas and supports the immune system.

Critics argue yeast ingredients can be linked to . This may be true, but (like all allergies) only if your particular cat is allergic to the yeast itself.

In any case, unless your cat is specifically allergic to it, yeast can still be considered a nutritious additive.

What’s more noteworthy here is that brewers yeast contains about 48% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this cat food.

It contains carrageenan which is a gelatin-like thickening agent extracted from seaweed. Although carrageenan has been used as a food additive for hundreds of years, there appears to be some recent controversy regarding its long-term biological safety.

The article, The Carrageenan Controversy, published in Scientific American, does a good job of addressing this topic.

Next, taurine, an essential amino acid for cats associated with the healthy function of heart muscle and eye sight, and is crucial for maintaining good health in cats.

We view the presence of Taurine in this recipe as a positive addition.

Lastly, fish oil. Fish oil is naturally rich in the prized EPA and DHA type of omega-3 fatty acids. These two high quality fats boast the highest bio-availability to cats and humans.

Depending on its level of freshness and purity, fish oil should be considered a commendable addition.

Nutrient Analysis

Based on its ingredients alone, Blue Buffalo Tastefuls Adult Cat Tender Morsels Chicken Entrée in Savory Sauce looks like an above-average wet product and is high in protein too.

The dashboard displays an excellent dry matter protein reading of 50%, a fat level of 22.2% and an estimated carbohydrate level of 19.8%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 47.8% and a mean fat level of 20.9%. Together these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 23.3% for the overall product line, alongside a fat-to-protein ratio of 44%.

This means this Blue Buffalo Tastefuls (Wet) product line contains above-average protein and below-average carbs and above-average fat when compared to typical wet cat food.

Has Blue Buffalo cat food been recalled in the past?

Yes, Blue Buffalo has had a few recalls. The most recent cat food recall was in November 2015, when a small number of Blue Kitty Yums cat treats were recalled due to reports of propylene glycol.

In 2007 there were also multiple cat food recalls. Blue Buffalo Blue Spa Select canned cat food and Blue Buffalo Spa Select Kitten dry food were both recalled in April due to Melamine.

The other recalls were for the following dog products:

• Blue Wilderness Rocky Mountain Recipe Red Meat Dinner Wet Food (March 2017)
• Blue Buffalo Homestyle Recipe Healthy Weight, Chicken Dinner With Garden Vegetables (February 2017)
• Blue Buffalo dog food cups (February 2017)
• Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula Fish and Sweet Potato Recipe (May 2016)
• One lot of Cub Size Wilderness Wild Chews Bones (November 2015)
• Blue Buffalo dry dog food (October 2010)
• Blue Buffalo Blue canned dog food and dog treats (April 2007)

You can view a complete list of all cat food recalls since 2021 here.

To stay on top of any cat food product recalls, sign up for our free email alerts, here.