CORE has a higher protein content.

As far as the rest of your questions...I suggest you purchase one can each of a good cross section of brands/flavors and then let the kitties choose what they like. You can decide you want to feed BG but they may not eat it. Some folks here get torqued up over fruits and veggies...I'm not one of them as long as it's a high end food. The amount that's in the food is minimal and it certainly won't hurt them.

 

I agree with the above poster. All of the brands you mentioned are very high quality, however your cat may not be into all of them, so don't go and stock up. I would try one of each brand then go through a few flavours to see which they prefer.

 

I tried for about 3 months to get my girls to eat ANY high-quality wet food and went through virtually every brand that exists. The one that was most successful was Wellness Core chicken, turkey & chicken liver. They didn't like any of the regular Wellness flavors, they wouldn't touch any of the Merrick BG flavors, and I didn't bother with the other Merricks for the same reason you hesitated to buy them. I think that what they object to in the grain-free foods is that those foods have a lot more bits of bone. They like smooth-textured food.

I hope you have better luck than I did!

 

The kitten I'm fostering likes CORE and BG. She's also eating regular grain-free Wellness without complaint.

Maybe it's because she's a kitten but she doesn't seem to be picky.

I don't mind fruit/veggies either as long as the foods are primarily protein. The fiber can't hurt.

 

Thanks for all the feedback! The Wellness online prices are basically the same as buying Fancy Feast at the supermarket, so I just wanted to be sure that even the cheaper Wellness is better nutrition than Fancy Feast. I want these two to eat a variety of good foods so they don't get picky!

The kittens came to me from the shelter eating Fancy Feast wet and Science Diet dry, but they have been very good about trying new foods. They've been eating CORE kitten and a few of the BGs with no problem, so I picked up a few more flavors to try this week before bulk ordering online for better prices. I hope the kitties don't miss their occasional scoop of pumpkin for fiber since the Merrick has veggies already

 

Before Grain and Regular Merrick flavors are both in my rotation. My cats both *LOVE* them. Yeah, the regular has some unneeded stuff but they seem to be good quality with fairly decent ingredients for the price.

I feed the regular flavors mixed with Evo for a little variety and to stretch the evo a bit.

The BG I feed straight.

 

Go ahead and mix 'em up. The wet food that is, not the kibble. If you feed kibble it's not good to mix and match because digestive upset can occur.