Blue Buffalo Weight Control Cat Food: Reviewed and Ranked

Written by Judie Sigdel
Updated: December 9, 2022
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Is your cat fat? If so, you’re not alone. More cats suffer from feline obesity than any other nutritional disorder. If your cat is 20% or more over its normal body weight, it’s clinically obese. The implications of obesity range from reduced desire to engage in physical activity to serious health conditions including osteoarthritis, hip dysplasia, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Switching to a weight control cat food, like any of the Blue Buffalo Weight Control cat food options, can help your feline friend shed extra pounds, improve their quality of life and reduce their risk of developing certain health issues. Before you select or alter your kitty’s diet, it’s important to consult with your veterinarian, who can help you select the right weight control cat food based on their age, health issues, and other factors. And if your veterinarian recommends Blue Buffalo Weight Control Cat Food, which is available in a variety of formulas, here is everything you need to know.

  1. Blue Buffalo True Solutions Fit & Healthy
    • Dry cat food
    • Formated by veterinarians
    • Natural weight control formula for cats
    • Real ingredients, never artificial
    • Formula helps cats feel fuller for longer
    • Includes antioxidant-rich LifeSource bits
    Check Chewy Check Amazon
  2. Blue Buffalo True Solutions Canned Wet
    • Wet food
    • Veterinarian-recommended formula
    • Chicken and poultry byproduct-free
    • Enriched with vitamins, minerals and nutrients
    • L-Carnitine helps your cat maintain its ideal weight
    Check Chewy Check Amazon
  3. Blue Buffalo Hairball & Weight Control
    • Ideal for cats who struggle with hairballs
    • Made from natural fiber sources and protein blends
    • Contains only natural ingredients, plus antioxidants, vitamins and minerals
    • Contains no byproducts, artificial flavors or preservatives
    Check Chewy Check Amazon
  4. Blue Buffalo Wilderness Dry Cat Food
    • Grain-free formula ideal for cats with allergies
    • Helps control hairballs
    • Protein-rich formula helps maintain lean muscle mass
    • Free from artificial ingredients and preservatives
    Check Chewy Check Amazon
  5. Blue Buffalo Freedom
    • Grain-free and gluten-free for cats with allergies and food sensitivitis
    • Unique blend promotes immune health
    • Made with natural ingredients and no byproducts or fillers
    • Promote healthy digestion and weight management
    Check Chewy Check Amazon

#1 Overall Best: Blue Buffalo True Solutions   

Our choice for best overall weight control dry cat food for adult cats is Blue Buffalo True Solutions Fit & Healthy.

Blue Buffalo’s Fit and Healthy cat food is formulated by a team of veterinarians and Ph.D. animal nutritionists to help manage your cat’s weight naturally. Its proven ingredients feature real chicken, healthy whole grains, and the finest natural ingredients. This delicious formula is enhanced with vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients, provides moderate calories, and is made with L-carnitine to help your cat achieve and maintain its ideal weight and enriched fiber to help your cat feel full longer. 

This science-based weight-control cat food contains no chicken (or poultry) by-product meals and no corn, wheat, soy, artificial flavors or preservatives. It is formulated with delicious, wholesome ingredients, including fruits and vegetables to help manage your cat’s weight naturally and antioxidant-rich LifeSource Bits. 

Ingredients:

  • Deboned Chicken
  • Chicken Meal
  • Pea Protein 
  • Barley
  • Powdered Cellulose

Some products in particular that we like include peas, sweet potatoes, carrots, blueberries, cranberries, barley grass and parsley, all of which help manage your cat’s weight naturally, and L-Carnitine, which is clinically proven to support your cat’s ideal weight.

The primary complaint was that some people’s cats didn’t like this food and refused to eat it.

Pros and Cons of Blue Buffalo True Solutions Fit & Healthy

ProsCons
This food was formulated by a team of veterinarians and animal nutritionists to help cats lose weight.Some buyers’ cats didn’t like this food and refused to eat it.
It features real chicken, healthy whole grains, and other natural ingredients.
This recipe is enhanced with vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients.
It provides moderate calories and includes L-carnitine to help your cat attain and maintain its ideal weight.
This formula is also enhanced with enriched fiber that helps your cat feel full longer and Blue Buffalo’s proprietary LifeSource Bits, smaller, darker kibble that contains vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that help cats thrive.
In addition to deboned chicken, some ingredients we like include peas, sweet potatoes, carrots, blueberries, cranberries, barley grass and parsley, all of which help manage your cat’s weight naturally, and L-Carnitine.
Best Dry Food
Blue Buffalo True Solutions Fit & Healthy
  • Dry cat food
  • Formated by veterinarians
  • Natural weight control formula for cats
  • Real ingredients, never artificial
  • Formula helps cats feel fuller for longer
  • Includes antioxidant-rich LifeSource bits
Check Chewy Check Amazon

2. Best Wet Adult Cat Food: Blue Buffalo True Solutions Fit & Healthy Natural Weight Control Adult Wet Cat Food

Blue Buffalo True Solutions Fit & Healthy Natural Weight Control Adult Wet Cat Food, Chicken is our choice for the best wet weight control formula for adult cats. This veterinarian-recommended formula was developed by Blue Buffalo’s team of veterinarians and Ph.D. animal nutritionists for cats that prefer wet food. 

Unlike many other canned cat foods, Blue Buffalo never uses wheat as a thickener in their wet foods. True Solutions science-based cat food has no chicken (or poultry) by-product meals and no corn, soy, artificial flavors or preservatives. 

What it does have is delicious, wholesome ingredients, starting with high-quality chicken and including fruits and vegetables to help manage your adult cat’s weight naturally. It’s enriched with vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. And it features L-carnitine, which is clinically proven to support your kitty’s ideal weight. 

Ingredients:

  • Chicken
  • Chicken Broth
  • Chicken Liver
  • Potatoes
  • Whitefish

Standout ingredients we like are carrots, cranberries, green beans and L-Carnitine, all of which help manage your cat’s weight naturally.

With cats being the finicky creatures they are, it should come as no surprise that some reviewers reported that their cats wouldn’t eat this canned food.

Pros and Cons of Blue Buffalo True Solutions Fit & Healthy Natural Weight Control Adult Wet Cat Food

ProsCons
Blue Buffalo never uses wheat as a thickener in their wet foods.Some cats won’t eat it.
This veterinarian-approved recipe includes no chicken (or poultry) by-product meals and no corn, soy, artificial flavors or preservatives. 
This weight-loss cat food features high-quality chicken, fruits, and vegetables to manage your cat’s weight naturally.
This wet recipe is enriched with vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients, including L-carnitine, which is clinically proven to support weight loss.
Standout ingredients we like are carrots, cranberries, green beans and L-Carnitine, all of which promote healthy, natural weight loss.
Best Wet Food
Blue Buffalo True Solutions Canned Wet
  • Wet food
  • Veterinarian-recommended formula
  • Chicken and poultry byproduct-free
  • Enriched with vitamins, minerals and nutrients
  • L-Carnitine helps your cat maintain its ideal weight
Check Chewy Check Amazon

3. Best for Adult Cats with Hairballs: Blue Buffalo Indoor Hairball Control

If your indoor cat needs to lose a few pounds and has a tendency to develop hairballs, Blue Buffalo’s Indoor Hairball Control & Weight Control Natural Adult Dry Cat Food, Chicken & Brown Rice is just what the veterinarian ordered. 

It’s made with natural fiber sources, including cellulose and psyllium seed husks, to help control hairballs. And it’s formulated with an optimal blend of protein and calories to help your feline friend achieve and maintain their ideal body weight. 

This premium cat food features only the finest natural ingredients, including delicious, protein-rich, deboned chicken, wholesome whole grains, and veggies. It also contains Blue Buffalo’s exclusive LifeSource Bits – a precise blend of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals carefully selected by holistic veterinarians and animal nutritionists to support immune system health.

It doesn’t contain chicken (or poultry) by-product meals, corn, wheat, soy, artificial flavors or preservatives.

Ingredients:

  • Deboned Chicken
  • Chicken Meal
  • Brown Rice
  • Barley
  • Menhaden Fish Meal (source of Omega 3 Fatty Acids)

Standout ingredients include powdered cellulose and psyllium seed husks, which help control hairballs, and fruits and veggies like peas, carrots, blueberries, and apples, which help manage your cat’s weight naturally.

Some reviewers reported that their cats wouldn’t eat this recipe. A few said that it did not prevent their cats’ hairballs.

Pros and Cons of Blue Buffalo Indoor Hairball Control

ProsCons
This recipe includes cellulose and psyllium seed husks to help control hairballs and the optimal blend of protein and calories to help your cat attain and maintain their ideal weight.Some cats refuse to eat this food.
This formula features deboned chicken, whole grains, veggies, and Blue Buffalo’s LifeSource Bits, special kibble that includes a precise blend of nutrients your cat needs to thrive.Some reviewers said that this food didn’t control their cat’s hairballs.
This recipe doesn’t contain chicken (or poultry) by-product meals, corn, wheat, soy, artificial flavors or preservatives.
Standout ingredients include powdered cellulose and psyllium seed husks, which help control hairballs, and fruits and veggies like peas, carrots, blueberries, and apples, which help manage your cat’s weight naturally.
Best for Hairballs
Blue Buffalo Hairball & Weight Control
  • Ideal for cats who struggle with hairballs
  • Made from natural fiber sources and protein blends
  • Contains only natural ingredients, plus antioxidants, vitamins and minerals
  • Contains no byproducts, artificial flavors or preservatives
Check Chewy Check Amazon

4. Best Grain-Free: Blue Buffalo Wilderness High Protein Grain Free, Natural Adult Indoor Hairball & Weight Control Dry Cat Food

If your cat is allergic to grains, has IBD or another inflammatory condition, your veterinarian may recommend a grain-free diet. Finding a grain-free weight-control cat food that also controls hair balls may sound daunting, but Blue Buffalo Wilderness High Protein Grain Free, Natural Adult Indoor Hairball & Weight Control Dry Cat Food, Chicken checks all the boxes.

This grain-free hairball control cat food is formulated with a unique blend of natural fibers to help eliminate hairballs and carefully balanced calories and fat to help achieve and maintain an ideal body weight. It’s packed with more of the chicken cats crave to help build and maintain lean muscle mass and contains Blue Buffalo’s exclusive LifeSource Bits, a precise blend of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals carefully selected by holistic veterinarians and animal nutritionists, to support immune system health.

Contains no chicken or poultry by-product meal. No artificial preservatives and no corn, wheat or soy.

Ingredients:

  • Deboned Chicken
  • Chicken Meal
  • Turkey Meal
  • Tapioca Starch
  • Pea Fiber

Ingredients like peas, sweet potatoes, carrots, cranberries and blueberries help manage your cat’s weight naturally, while powdered cellulose and psyllium seed husks help control hairballs.

Some pet parents said that their cats vomited after eating this food. A minority of customers said that it was too expensive.

Pros and Cons of Blue Buffalo Wilderness High Protein Grain Free, Natural Adult Indoor Hairball & Weight Control Dry Cat Food

ProsCons
This recipe is ideal for cats that are allergic to grains, have IBD or other inflammatory conditions, need to lose weight, and are prone to hairballs.It may cause digestive issues in some cats.
It includes a blend of natural fibers to help eliminate hairballs and the right balance of calories and fat your cat needs to achieve and maintain its optimal weight.It’s expensive.
This formula includes chicken to build and maintain lean muscles and LifeSource Bits, a precise blend of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals in delicious, crunchy kibble form.
Contains no chicken or poultry by-product meal. No artificial preservatives and no corn, wheat or soy.
Ingredients like peas, sweet potatoes, carrots, cranberries and blueberries help manage your cat’s weight naturally, while powdered cellulose and psyllium seed husks help control hairballs.
Best Grain-Free
Blue Buffalo Wilderness Dry Cat Food
  • Grain-free formula ideal for cats with allergies
  • Helps control hairballs
  • Protein-rich formula helps maintain lean muscle mass
  • Free from artificial ingredients and preservatives
Check Chewy Check Amazon

5. Best Grain-Free, Gluten-Free, Preservative-Free: Blue Buffalo Freedom Grain Free Natural Indoor Weight Control Adult Dry Cat Food

Blue Buffalo Freedom Grain Free Natural Indoor Weight Control Adult Dry Cat Food, Chicken features high-quality ingredients in a recipe carefully formulated by holistic veterinarians and animal nutritionists to help your cat attain and maintain its ideal body weight — without grains or gluten.

This formula contains Blue Buffalo’s BLUE’s exclusive LifeSource Bits — a precise blend of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals developed to support immune system health. Blue Buffalo cat foods are made with the finest natural ingredients enhanced with vitamins and minerals. They never contain chicken (or poultry) by-product meals, corn, wheat, soy, artificial flavors or preservatives.

Blue Buffalo Freedom Grain Free Natural Indoor Weight Control Adult Dry Cat Food, Chicken promotes healthy digestion and healthy weight management with carefully balanced proteins, fiber sources, and fats. 

Ingredients:

  • Deboned Chicken
  • Chicken Meal
  • Tapioca Starch
  • Menhaden Fish Meal (source of Omega 3 Fatty Acids)
  • Potato Starch

Ingredients like peas, sweet potatoes and blueberries help manage your cat’s weight naturally, while powdered cellulose helps control hairballs.

A handful of reviewers said that their cats wouldn’t eat this recipe.

Pros and Cons of Blue Buffalo Freedom Grain Free Natural Indoor Weight Control Adult Dry Cat Food

ProsCons
This cat food was formulated by holistic veterinarians and animal nutritionists to help your cat lose weight and keep it off — without grains or gluten.Some reviewers reported that their cats wouldn’t eat this food.
This recipe includes Blue Buffalo’s LifeSource Bits, the precise blend of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that your cat requires in the form of smaller, darker kibble.
None of Blue Buffalo’s recipes contain chicken (or poultry) by-product meals, corn, wheat, soy, artificial flavors or preservatives.
This delicious formula promotes healthy digestion and weight management with the precise balance of proteins, fiber, and fats that your cat needs.
Ingredients like peas, sweet potatoes and blueberries help manage your cat’s weight naturally, while powdered cellulose helps control hairballs.
Best for Indoor Adult Cats
Blue Buffalo Freedom
  • Grain-free and gluten-free for cats with allergies and food sensitivitis
  • Unique blend promotes immune health
  • Made with natural ingredients and no byproducts or fillers
  • Promote healthy digestion and weight management
Check Chewy Check Amazon

Choosing the Best Weight Control Cat Food: What to Look for

The best weight-control cat food starts with a recipe that’s formulated by veterinarians and animal nutritionists to help your cat lose weight gradually, usually one to two percent of their body weight per week. It should include lean animal protein such as deboned chicken, natural ingredients like L-Carnitine, which is clinically proven to support your cat’s ideal weight, and antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables. and be enhanced with vitamins and minerals. It should not contain chicken or poultry by-product meal, artificial preservatives, corn, wheat or soy. Finally, it should address your cat’s other health concerns, such as hairballs and food allergies.

The Different Types of Weight Control Cat Food: Pros and Cons Compared

When selecting the best weight-control cat food for your feline friend, there are a few things that you should consider.

  • Wet or dry — Wet (canned) cat food is usually more expensive than dry. Also, it can spoil once it’s been opened. But if your cat prefers one type over the other, try to find a weight-control version of that type so you don’t overwhelm them with changes when they begin their new diet.  
  • Healthy vs. unhealthy ingredients — Select food from a major brand that you can trust to help your cat lose weight in a healthy way with lean animal protein, ingredients like L-Carnitine, which has been clinically proven to support your cat’s ideal weight, fruits and vegetables, vitamins, and minerals. Avoid products that contain chicken (or poultry) by-product meals, corn, wheat, soy, artificial flavors or preservatives.
  • Non-specific vs. specific to your pet’s health needs —The perfect weight control cat food is the one that meets all of your cat’s specific health requirements. If your cat doesn’t have health issues other than needing to shed some weight, a high-quality cat food formulated only for weight control will be fine. If your cat has food allergies, such as to wheat and gluten, or health issues like hairballs, be sure to select one that addresses these requirements as well. 

Our Criteria and Experience: How We Chose the Best

In our experience, all of the Blue Buffalo Weight Control Cat Food formulas reviewed above help overweight cats shed excess pounds because they’re delicious in addition to being scientifically formulated to work. As one reviewer reported, “My cats LOVE this food and went right for it from the get go. This is saying something, since in some cases they (especially one of them) can be wary of new foods, and even hesitant to eat them at all. So, they definitely give it two paws up, very obviously liking the fragrance and flavor.”

In addition to helping them lose weight, buyers said that these formulas solved their cats’ digestive issues, with comments like, “My cat used to have bad gas, since my vet recommended this food, we have not had any issues,” and “I had changed from Blue Buffalo to another grain-free brand with higher protein content. After a while, one of my cats started throwing up and the other was constipated. So, I switched back to Blue Buffalo weight control formula and within one week the first cat stopped throwing up and the second became regular again and started running and playing as he did before. There was also a noticeable difference in their coats which looked healthier and shinier. I’ve learned my lesson. I’ll never switch from Blue Buffalo again.”

Reviewers also appreciated the fact that Blue Buffalo Weight Control Cat Foods are formulated with ingredients that make their kitties feel full so they eat less. As one stated, “If you are looking for real low fat, then there are other options out there. This formula seems to be created with fullness in mind (fiber), and L-carnitine.”

Up Next…

About the Author

My passion is writing about animals. I’ve published articles on pet parrots, birds, and small animal care and reviews about pet food and products. I have an ever-evolving aviary and menagerie that has included cockatiels, parakeets, conures, European starlings, a chukar partridge, guinea pigs, dogs, and cats. I’m also the author of Faith without Labels: a Guide to Eclectic Spirituality.

Blue Buffalo Weight Control Cat Food: Reviewed and Ranked FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) 

Is Blue Buffalo Weight Control good for cats?

Yes! Blue Buffalo Weight Control Cat Food formulas are formulated by veterinarians and animal nutritionists using lean animal protein and healthy, natural ingredients like fruits, vegetables, vitamins, and minerals. They also include ingredients that are clinically proven to support a cat’s ideal weight such as L-Carnitine.

Which Blue Buffalo Cat Food is best for weight loss?

Our top choice for overall best dry weight control formula for adult cats is Blue Buffalo True Solutions Fit & Healthy Natural Weight Control Adult Dry Cat Food, Chicken. It’s the ideal weight-loss and maintenance formula for cats that don’t have any other health concerns such as food allergies or hairballs. Blue Buffalo also offers a variety of formulas that address specific health concerns.

Does Blue Buffalo cat food have fillers?

Blue Buffalo cat foods never contain chicken (or poultry) by-product meals, corn, wheat, soy, artificial flavors or preservatives.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us? Contact the AZ Animals editorial team.