# Blue Buffalo Freedom Indoor Adult Cat Food



## Spiky_Floof<3 (Jun 21, 2019)

I feed this to my hedgehog, and I know that a lot of other people do as well. I also realized that one of the ingredients is peas. I know that these are bad for hedgehogs, so I am wondering if this is an okay food to keep giving her? I think it is okay, but just wanted your insight on it...... 

I pasted the ingredients below

Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Tapioca Starch, *Peas*, *Pea Protein*, Potatoes, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Menhaden Fish Meal (source of Omega 3 Fatty Acids), Pea Fiber, Powdered Cellulose, Flaxseed (source of Omega 6 Fatty Acids), Natural Flavor, Choline Chloride, Calcium Sulfate, DL-Methionine, Potassium Chloride, Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Calcium Chloride, Dried Chicory Root, Salt, Alfalfa Nutrient Concentrate, Taurine, Calcium Carbonate, preserved with Mixed Tocopherols, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Vegetable Juice for color, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin (Vitamin B3), Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, Blueberries, Cranberries, Barley Grass, Parsley, Turmeric, Dried Kelp, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Copper Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Copper Amino Acid Chelate, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), L-Lysine, L-Carnitine, Biotin (Vitamin B7), Vitamin A Supplement, Manganese Sulfate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid (Vitamin B9), Dried Yeast, Dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, Dried Aspergillus niger fermentation extract, Dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, Dried Bacillus subtilis fermentation extract, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite, Oil of Rosemary.


----------



## Ria (Aug 30, 2018)

What's in peas to make them unsafe?


----------



## Spiky_Floof<3 (Jun 21, 2019)

I'm not sure, I just looked it up and it said

Carrots, peas, green beans and sweet corn are also recommended veggie treats for your hog. Hedgehogs have very small mouths and aren't terribly good at chewing hard veggies, so carrots should be shredded, and peas and beans can be steamed.

African Pygmy hedgehogs must not eat peas as they are thought to be dangerous to their health. Peas can upset the calcium phosphorous balance, because of the higher amounts phosphorous they contain. Too much phosphorous results in loss of calcium in the hedgehog's body and can result in painful bone damage.


----------



## Ria (Aug 30, 2018)

But that's the same with mealworms and people still feed those weekly. So I can't really see a difference between that and peas.

If the overall phosphorus and calcium are good then theres no problem with feeding the food that contains them.


----------



## Spiky_Floof<3 (Jun 21, 2019)

Yeah, I saw another thread on here and it said that they were okay so thanks!


----------



## Marijna (Nov 20, 2020)

I feed Blue Buffalo Freedom Indoor Adult Cat Food to my Hedgies too! it is one of the best foods that you can give your hedgie, and I think they meant that peas arent the best because they could choke on whole raw peas. In this food though, it is all blended together, and is completely fine.


----------



## FinnickHog (Dec 1, 2014)

Peas aren't inherently bad, the problem is that they can be difficult for hedgehogs to digest. I've been out of the hog game for a while, but assuming nothing major has changed, processed peas as an ingredient in a food mix are okay, they're just not the best possible filler available. Obviously no filler is preferred, but that can be hard to find, especially in foods designed for animals that can digest peas without issue. It wouldn't be considered a filler ingredient for a dog, as peas can provide at least some nutritional value for them. For hedgies on the other hand, their value is greatly decreased. Does that make sense?


----------



## zc114 (Dec 6, 2020)

I saw some reviews online on some websites and on Amazon that some Blue Buffalo cat food are killing cats, due to an ingredient change. I'm not sure what this means for hedgehogs, but after hearing this, I stopped considering Blue Buffalo completely.


----------

