Here are our thoughts on this brand of food, compared with our own favourites, Solid Gold Indigo Moon which the foster cats are eating, and Taste of the Wild which our own cats are eating. Both brands we know many of you have tried and liked because of our endorsement. Let's see how Addiction Salmon Bleu measures up.
One of the key benefits is that Addiction Salmon Bleu is made of salmon meal and smoked salmon, which provides Omega 3 fatty acids as a nutritional benefit. While Omega 3 is not an AAFCO necessary nutrient, it promotes healthy skin and coat and prevents shedding, thus less hair balls too. We have found that when the cats are on Addiction Salmon Bleu, their coats are shiny. This is good news for those of you who have cats that shed a lot.
Another good point about this food is its kibble shape. It is shaped like a 3-pointed star. Why kibble shape is a good point is that this shape of kibble has more abrasive action when your cat is chewing, which means cleaner teeth. Most cats don't chew their kibbles enough, resulting in puking, or bad teeth. Addiction Salmon Bleu's kibble shape helps in this regard. It is good for mature cats who often regurgitate their food due to a weaker digestive system. It is also good for teething kittens.
We also feel that Addiction Salmon Bleu is very suitable for adult and senior cats because its crude protein level is at 35%, which is a healthy level for seniors, adults and kittens. Kittens should have more protein though, so do supplement their diet with canned food for additional protein.
Taste-wise, we find that the most of the cats prefer the taste of Addiction Salmon Bleu! Unfortunately the cats are now back to their usual diets because we have finished the bag that was donated by The Water Dish.
Here is a video of our cats and the foster kittens trying out Addiction Salmon Bleu for the first time.
Now, what is not so great about this food?
One downside to this food is that it does not have probiotics. It does have natural fibre in the form of berries, but compared to Taste of the Wild which contains 3 strains of healthy digestive bacteria, Addiction Salmon Bleu has none at all. This is also true for Solid Gold Indigo Moon. For young kittens and senior cats, the impact will be that poo may be soft and diarrhoea may occur. Adult cats won't suffer much for the difference unless they have sensitive stomachs. In order to feed this food and make sure that your cats' digestion is well-maintained, we recommend that this food be fed with probiotic supplements. Recommended probiotics supplements include Azmira Acidophilus, Solid Gold Seameal, or Multidophilus from GNC (meant for humans, give half the human dose).
Our other grievance about this food is that it only comes in a 4lb size. Not so good if you are a multiple-cat household like us. This means we are unlikely to switch to this food permanently, save for the occasional treat when we add some to their regular diet for variety, because 4 pounds of kibble won't go very far in our foster home! But some owners do like buying smaller bags for easier storage, and small bags as Addiction Salmon Bleu does comes resealable, which means no need to transfer into air tight containers. We reckon the 4lbs-only quantity is a downside only for those who have more than 2 cats. Or you can choose to buy this food once in a while to add small quantities to your cat's current diet for variety.
In any case, do remember that when changing a food brand, do so very gradually, slowly mixing in the new food in increasing quantities daily. A sudden change, even if it is a good brand of food, will likely cause digestion problems such as diarrhoea.
Addiction grain-free kibbles also comes in a venison formula. (We tried it before, only our picky Sayang loves it!)
