Friskies, Purina cat foods recalled for Salmonella contamination
Nestlé Purina PetCare Company is recalling approximately 870 bags of dry cat food shipped to Colorado, Idaho and Oregon. This is being done because the product has the “potential” to be contaminated with Salmonella. Only the following products with both the “Best By” date and production codes shown are included in this recall:
| Product Name | Bag Size | “Best By” Date & Production Code* | Bag UPC Code |
| Cat Chow Naturals Dry Cat Food | 6.3 lb. | AUG 2012 10331083 13 | 17800 11320 |
| Friskies Grillers Blend Dry Cat Food | 3.15 lb. | AUG 2012 10381083 06 | 50000 08450 |
| Friskies Grillers Blend Dry Cat Food | 16 lb. | AUG 2012 10381083 06 | 50000 57578 |
*”Best By” Date and Production Code is found on the back or bottom of the bag.
Pets with Salmonella infections may exhibit decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, pets may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever and vomiting. Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.
For further information or to obtain a product refund, please call Nestle Purina PetCare toll-free at 1-800-982-6559 weekdays 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Central Time, or visit www.purina.com.
Not quite the end of the story
Normally, I would end the article here.
As someone who feeds and cares for cats, I feel it is my duty to give you my opinion of these two Purina brands whether you like it or not.
But, before I do that, I would like to apologize beforehand for offending anyone who buys Purina pet foods, because I am sure to do just that.
Like many of you, I bought Purina before I knew better. And now that I know better, I want to help others discover the reason not to buy these pet foods (and pet foods like them).
My objection lies with one simple premise: Cats are obligate carnivores. They are not meant to eat grain. Period. Full stop. Therefore, when I see grain-based cat foods with ingredients like the ones in these brands, I shudder.
As example, the first five ingredients of recalled Friskies Grillers dry cat food are: Ground yellow corn, corn gluten meal, ground wheat, chicken by-product meal and soybean meal. In other words, crap, crap, crap, crap and more crap.
The first five ingredients of the recalled Purina Cat Chow Naturals are equally unhealthy: Chicken meal, corn gluten meal, soybean meal, brewers rice and animal fat.
The last time I checked, cats are neither herbivores or omnivores. Therefore, what consumers who buy grain-based pet foods need to know are two, very simple things: One, they are wasting their money and two, they are very likely unknowingly harming their cat’s health with a species inappropriate food made up of mostly grain by-products.
There, I said it. I hope you understand that my goal is only to help animals, and if all you can afford is a low quality, inexpensive pet food I understand, but may I suggest supplementing their diet with meat, poultry, and eggs that you yourself eat.
Source: Nestlé Purina’s recall notice
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120 Comments
Lori Will
My cat only eats one kind of cat food friskies gravy pink bag. Dry. He won’t eat anything else. But there is Red40 in it. My cat is having issues with skin. And scratching a lot it stopped but it comes and goes. Please help me out is it the food.
Deb Christian
My cat “Radu” passed away after eating Purina Senior Essentials 7
Glenda Hladki
We bought friskies variety pak for cats. Is it normal for green pieces to be in can? I opened 2 cans and put in garbage.
Susan k Miller
Thanks for sharing this information with me. I have recused 8 cat’s and if I haven’t read this about the recalled of cat food my calls might have been Dead .
bonnie miller
i have always fed my animals friskies now they turn away what cheap can cat food can i buy
Dee Salono
Good… No, GREAT! Job!!! Honest, direct, to the point, No Nonsense advice re: proper cat diet & nourishment. Anyone “offended” by such a degree of caring and expertise might as well just make haste to the local carnival, toss al ping-pong ball, win his//herself a disabled goldfish, restrict its habitat to a dollar store beer mug… and feed (or over-feed) the poor thing a diet of Bavarian Pretzels topped with non-Kosher rock salt. I’ve got two adopted, wonderful, long-haired domes-
tics. I’m appreciate this cautionary tale. Diets loaded with grain, wet or dry variety, just don’t make sense. So say I. So say my boys, ‘Smelly Cat’ & ‘Chandler Bing.’ Never caught them passing on the chicken and breaking into my 12-grain bread supply — whereas, I’ll take the Bavarian Pretzels any day, any time. A huge THANK YOU this author.
… “What are they feeding you? … It’s NOT your fault” …
Angela D Parker
My cars are very sick afterxearing Friskies canned food. 12-30-2020
Thomas Marvin
https://www.change.org/p/joseph-r-sivewright-make-purina-recall-tainted-friskies-cat-food/psf/promote_or_share – FaceBook Link for latest problem with Purina Canned Cat Food.
Tom Marvin
Here is the link out of Facebook. They are looking for 1000 signatures. https://www.change.org/p/joseph-r-sivewright-make-purina-recall-tainted-friskies-cat-food/psf/promote_or_share
Maggie Joy
What flavors of Friskies wet food have been recalled in 2019? I cannot find the answer as of right now. Thank you.
Deborah J Zemlock
I have been feeding my 9 feral colonies both Friskies canned pate’ and Purina Complete Cat Chow. Over the past several months, I have had quite a number of cats just vanish. Now, in the past week, I have had 3 cats die within 24 hours of eating the canned pate’. Something is wrong with it. I don’t know what else could be cause all these deaths, at different locations.
Jose Allen
I left a large amount of Friskies pate with extra gravy when I went on a business trip.
I came back to find three near starvation (two are dead now and one is on the verge of death) I have spent two months clearing up puddles of diarrhea but in the last two days the remaining cats have had more normal poops. It has been a difficult time. Some people had the same problem with Friskies but I cannot find batch numbers anywhere in online recalls. I feel so bad (apart from the cost) if I destroy the remaining cans.
Kim
I think we should all get together and get this brand of food off the shelves if it’s hurting our animals I’m sick of cleaning up my cats vomit but I tell you this in the cat does die from this this company will hate me for the rest of the life I will sue them
Linda Callazo
Omg- I just went through the most traumatic experience due to Purina pro plan! What happened to your babies?
Linda
Kirsten Larkin
My cat died yesterday after eating some friskies canned food. Now her kittens are orphans and my baby lovebug, Kittybare is gone forever. A brand I’ve always trusted has not only made me feel like an idiot, but I’ve lost my wonderful sweetheart as well. Wish I had the money for an autopsy. Then I’d take them out in court.Nestle is a messed up company and until now I was unaware purina runs under them. wtf.
Deborah J Zemlock
I just have had several cats die after eating Friskies pate’ also. I didn’t have money for an autopsy, unfortunately, but the Friskies food was all they had in common.
Stephanie bentivegna
I buy friskies canned food and Purina cat chow gentle stomach. I’ve tried so many cat food brands, canned, dehydrated,raw, homemade, ect. They will literally only eat friskies and the Purina gentle. I know it’s not good quality food, but my cats won’t eat anything else. They literally would rather starve. I waited two days of giving them different brands (weruva,orijin,BFF,Primal,Fromm,wellness,stellanchewys ect) but they went on a hunger strike and I caved. They’d Literally rather starve than eat anything other than friskies. I even tried mix friskies with it. I’m at a loss and I apparently own the most stubborn cats ever. I can’t believe I’ve been out witted by a bunch of fluff balls.
Kim
That’s how my cats are two They are spoiled brats I rather give them what they will eat then to waste money on food they won’t eat
steven sarkett
I buy the Purina outdoor blend dry food, Also the 32 count box of wet food, about 10 boxes per week. I want to know what is in the wet food, if it gets on my hands, it burns my skin. I dropped some in the yard and it the next day there was a big black spot in my yard where it killed the grass
Ralph
Meow mix has been great for us. Purina gave our cats the craps bad including throwing up so we stopped giving our cats purina.
IRVIN R . Rzepinnik
I have a cat named boo, he has been my buddy since my mom died in2009. I fed him friskies dry and canned food, now he has intestinal cancer. Noticed he would paw at the food like cat litter.Hes at the vets now, with a terminal prognosis,they done exploritory surgery on him.He”s the best ,smartest,cat,I’ve owned,he would greet me when I got home with head to head buts,came when I whistled for him no matter far. He ‘s been like a son,dog.Smart to the tee. NOW I’m gonna loose him, I lost my parents, wife, kids,I’m the only kid as well. Boo is only 8 yrs old.Bombay cat. It was nice comming home to someone after being single/divorced after twentyfive years. I really cant take much more of this. People to you to get a pet,now what. Watch my best friend die of cancer,why is’nt there a cure yet.?. Why do people put crap in food, and expect us to eat it. Let us watch them eat it, on T.V. what is good for the goose is good for the gander. If its bullshit dont feed it to us or our friends. You are what you eat,not substitues,fillers,preservatives,etc. Get a grip on whats bad, cheaper isn’t always better. Take pride on in what you do, and give it your best for man ad his best friend. Knowwonder why so many are dying, reasurch is not being done just guestaments. Look up rendering,meal. Then look up the movie Soilent green made in the seventies,and watch it. They waste nothing!. I’ve seen it, up close.
Carla Bennett
I got some new treats, Friskies Party Mix Puffs, Island Delight. Gave about 7 to my cat this morning and she just threw them all up, in a bunch of pink saliva, which must have been their red dye. Goodbye all Friskies, and thanks a million for this column, Mollie,
Stephanie
I’ve been feeding one of my cats friskies shredded turkey and cheese. I’ve literally tried every food known to man. Raw,dehydrated raw, high quality canned, weruva ect, homemade. But she will only eat this particular can of food. I’ve been trying to wean her off dry food (orijin regional red) very good food but no dry food is good for cats. I’m at my wits end, friskies is literally the only thing shell eat. Shes very healthy although she has pododermatitis aka pillow foot. I’ve caved for now. I can’t believe I’ve been bested by 6lb.cat. I’ll keep looking though, I don’t know who is more stubborn, me or her!
Tammy Houp
Why don’t they take this poison off the shelves and putt this company out of business. Just because their just animals to them doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t be just as careful! Our cat was chunky and healthy the day before yesterday. Tuesday we ran out of food and my husband went to the dollar store and got a small bag of purina friskies seafood sensations. They didn’t have the regular dry food that he eats so that’s why he got just a small bag of the friskies. If we had known that there was a problem with the friskies we never would have bought this poison! Our cat ate this and yesterday he started vomiting. He wouldn’t even get up and move we had to carry him to the sofa. He wouldn’t drink water or anything he didn’t poop or pee. We got up this morning and he still hadn’t used the bathroom or drank water. We immediately got on the phone to the vet. He was in a lot of pain and he passed away before we even got off the phone! If we had been aware that there had been problems with their cat food we would never have fed this poison to our precious cat! He was a part of our family he slept on my sons chest every night. This company needs to be put out of business and their products taken off the store shelves! They have made enough money from killing precious members of our family! I’m gonna blast this company every where I can! I can’t bring my cat back but maybe if I make ppl aware it could save their pet! Ppl please speak out about this problem!
Jamie Wheeler
Purina Cat Chow recently killed 5 of our sanctuary cats & over 50 others were throwing up blood. To date Purina has denied our claim & states their food is safe. Kastaway Kitties in Middle Tennessee.
Sharon
Omg my cat just went thru this for a week of vomiting and not eating or drinking we got him hydrated intravenously and force fed him and a week later he is doing better, we were feeding him friskies canned pate and that was the problem. We reported to Purina corporate and filed a report with the FDA. THERE ARE SEVERAL PISTS ON CONSUMER AFFAIRS ABOUT THIS HAPPENING FOR THE MONTHS OF MAY AND JINE 2018.
Sharon
My cats have started throwing up also. One had bad diarrhea this morning. I had just started a new case of Friskies Paté a couple days ago they are turning their noses up at it. Something is wrong with this cat food for sure! ?
Linda Callazo
I’m sorry for your loss- what an awful situation! We had a similar near death experience with our cats and after researching the horror stories on Purina/Nestle I will NEVER give them another dime. They are nothing short of ANIMAL KILLERS and they should be shut down! Pls reach out to me if you want to compare notes & again, sorry for your loss.
Akira
My kitten’s only a couple months old. She eats EVERYTHING, both human food and cat food, and has never once gotten sick. I get her friskies wet cat food once last night (only half a can) and this morning her eyelids were exposed, she was meowing like crazy, and she had explosive diarrhea for nearly half the day. I don’t think I’ve seen her pee not once today either. Gonna hope the poor kitty feels better tomorrow.
Stephanie
It could be a coincidence. If she hasn’t gone to the bathroom or is urinating very little, that’s a bad sign. Could be urine crystals, uti or bladder infection. My cat had a UTI and her third eyelid suddenly became exposed literally overnight, and was urinating only little amounts at a time.
Roger
I bought Friskies chicken in gravy for my cats and the one cat that would eat it developed explosive diarrhea. I have a sick kitty and I feed him Instincts, a cat food my vet recommended that is 95% meat and 5% other. It costs me 150 dollars a month just for that cat but its worth it. I will never by Friskies again.
Stephanie
When giving new types of foods it’s pretty common for cats to get diarrhea. You have to switch food very slowly. But your right, friskies really isn’t a great brand. Instinct is good, my cat used to love it but the pet store I go to quit carrying it for some reason. My cats love earthborn chicken cacciatore and weruva paw lickin chicken. Weruva is a great brand, it’s all human grade food.
Ryan
Yes its true, my cat was eating royal canine since we got her, and then like a week ago we gave her friskies ( the yellow bag ) and her hair on her neck started falling off. :( now shes taking special vitamins and medicines.
george devos
I lost one of my five cats (and two more got sick but recovered) right after I started a new bag of Purina indoor. They were all healthy before and all ate the same food so I strongly suspected the food. After reading all the reports of sickness and death related to feding Purina, my suspicions are strong enough I never would feed it again. Purina is an old line trusted brand that has become part of a cold ruthless profit driven conglomerate. The brand no longer deserves the trust we had for so long.
anna
I have feed all my cats purina dry food….the blue bag….they have all lived till 20 and 23 was my oldest who past away in august….my three cats now have been in purina beyond ni corn soy or wheat….they have been healthy ….I think there’s more going on then people accusing this cat food….I do believe that canned food causes mist cats to get the shits!! I feed them weruva canned cat food….as a treat which is the best
Bethany
Hi…please feed your little fur ball more wet food..not just as a treat. They really need the moisture from wet food (not water). In fact they really are not supposed to eat any dry cat food at all (they are carnivores) but most people can’t afford it (myself included). So please make sure to incorporate wet food as meal instead of a treat to keep them healthy and their bodies functioning properly. They can get a lot of serious health problems if you leave it out :)
Virginia mckillip
Please guit killing our pets and quit lying to us
gayle
I have fed my cats Purina cat chow for over 40 yrs…. one cat quit eating an drinking an hid under the dresser.. refused to come out.. took her to the Vet.. $300.00 later.. after they flushed her system an rehydrated her.. she is feeling better now.. am now having more cats puking foam an undigested dry food.. I wonder why dont the Vets know about the food we are buying an that is bad.. I had no idea that Purina had problems.. I never saw it on the news.. is it all a cover up hush hush thing? How come this food is still on the shelves? I love my cats, they are my family.. how can this be OK to sell bad food? I cry for others that have gone through this.. lost there pets an the high cost of Vets.. Its wrong.Please get this info on the news an all web sites an to all Vets, so we can stop more cats from suffering.
SHARON CROCKETT
yes! urgent ! pleased stop selling the bad purina dry cat food asap plus the purina friskey can cat foods was molded in my cat died from eating it friskey purina sheds can cat food I lost my cat lucky crockett becaused he ate & had a seizure in died in my lap on july th.20th.@11;30pm.& he wasn’t even 2 years old @ & he was my cancer cat trying to help me not to haved to get thee throat cancer surgery since I can’t talk .but I don’t think all would liked to watched your cat suffer & pain in watch him died in your lap either he was so bad that he couldn’t hardly meow in didn’t wont to leaved me I couldn’t drived In the vet.wasn’t open on a sun.or that late inall killed 1 pet .pleased also take your can alpo dog food offed the shelvevs asap! since the last can I open in good thing I looked before I ‘llmost feed himthat to him it has worms in magnets inside them.& your company could had cost me another pet .same aged too .in you’ll’ ve to text me or voice mail me @ 1-740-358-9286.pleased.inthe last can cat food was friskey shreds& my cats fravorite was anything with chesse in it dry catfood or can it didn’t matter..but all killed by babby enough it was a cat I safe hi when he was thrown out on the countyline on west 62 & brinkhven,ohio 43006 like a bag of trash & he was nothing but skin in bones he’s so hungry he’s trying to eat a rotten tomato & a rotten halbronero pepper which cats don’t touch exspealliy a kitten
margaret
it is the same thing that is happing to my cat. so what do you feed your cat?
lilly
I purchased a bag of friskies grillers for my furbaby Black Knight he’s never ate this brand of food before i usually cook for him . The first night after eating this product my baby cried out as if he was so much pain and ran to me to Vomit it was chunky red and brown. He continued to do this all night I’d rub him to relax him and continued giving him fluids throughout the night. The next day the vomiting was less frequent and was now clearish yellow probably due to the fact the only thibg he has on his stomach was water he did not want to move or be bothered so i continued to keep him hydrated that evening i made him one of his favorite meals baked chicken chunks and gravy he slowly ate but atleast it was progress. Today he is a lot better his appetite is back and he just wants to lay up under mommy all day.
Eric Winchester
My cat just died have been feeding him friskies dry cat food. He got a blockage in his bladder from a bad diet, and his kidneys and liver were starting tongive out, had arithmianin his heart, we had to put him to sleep. The vet said it was his diet.
autumn
I’ve fed my sons cat this and now she has liver failure
Anonymous
I’ve fed my sons kitten this now her liver is failing
Anonymous
My 4 yr. old cat just died this morning of no apparent reasoning. I fed him frieskies. SO Ssd
SHARON CROCKETT
THAT IS WHAT KILLED HIM IT KILLED MY CAT NOT EVEN 2 YEARS OLD @ BUT HE DIED ON A SUNDAY NIGHT THE DATE WAS THE 20’F THS MONTH THAT FRISKY CAN & DRYIED CAT MOSTLY THE CAN ONES WITH THE CHEESE &IT GETS MOLDED SO NO ONE PLEASED FEED YOUR CATS THAT STUFFED EVERY AGAIN IF YOU OPEN UP THE CAN CAT FOOD & IT STINKS THROW IT AWAY PLEASED SAVED YOURS ANIMALS & I LIVED AT 231 STATE STREET BRINKHAVEN,OHIO 43006 IN I SHARON CROCKETT CAN’T FILEDA CONPLANT SINCE I HAVE THROAT CANCER & CAN’T TALK TO GOOD NOW .
Karen
This is very interesting and alarming to me because I fed my cats canned friskies for five years and I’ve been asking my one cat, “Is your meower broke?” She sounds like she has laryngitis. This is the best, smartest, most beautiful kitty I’ve ever had and she sounds hoarse and pathetic.
Pingback:
Deborah Wood
Vet confirmed kidney failure for my cats in three locations…same symptoms….some recovered after changing food, some did not. Friskies Dry cat food, surf n turf, grillers, seafood. I’ve reported it to all the above agencies. I hope they carefully remove the food bags that match the upc and other codes I reported. They need to be more accountable. I dearly loved the animals I lost. March-April 2015 Dry Friskies Cat food.
Anonymous
Just switched from a popular dry cat food to friskies…..all 13 of my cat are sick and one is dying….April 7th 2015……I cannot afford to buy new food but I had to destroy all five 22 lb bags of
assorted flavors of Friskies dry cat food…this is as INHUMANE as holding a gun to their heads…..please take it off the shelves!
Faith
This entire ‘purina’ post/blog is a joke..I feed my horses purina food..yes I agree SOME are bad..however the way you are picking people apart and making them feel like crap, crap and more crap for feeding cats purina is a joke..you have a few errors and maybe a few facts and go on and on about the food..I also have 4 cats that eat purina along with people food and they are extremely healthy and happy…(my vet feeds his cat blue buffalo mixed with purina)
Jennifer
We have gotten Kit a Koboodle for 6yrs plus and I cats turn up their nose to other food. Well our indoor cat is throwing it up now and wont eat. I can not see to find a recall. Is there?
Maria
Is there a recall of Friskies can food?
Cindi
Couple weeks ago 1 of 3 cats got sick – been choking ever since (only feed Friskies) – thought fur balls? A few days later another cat has shown same signs and then my 3rd cat had same symptoms. Checked in cats mouths and see nothing. Something is definitely wrong – suspecting the food. More so cautious now after losing 4 cats with Melamine in cat food a few years ago – a very sad and costly experience.
Cindi
UPDATE:
Stopped feeding Friskies to all 3 cats last week and all symptoms have stopped. Obviously a problem with the food.
whitley
OH NO!!! So i have 2 babies! Azraelia 1yr and Silky which is only 6months. Ive always fed them both friskys. Azraelia loved it and always has since the day i found her and the same with Silky since i found her. Well i feed them the dry stuff all day everyday. The pouchs i buy once or two a month. Well i bought some last week. Gave them a pouch the night before last. I though it smelled alittle strong but i had a cold so… well after 10mins which is when they r finished eatting i came back in the kitchen to find that Silky finished hers but Azraelia didnt even take a bite. Well if Azraelia ever has any left Silky devours it. Well neither of them would touch the food in azraelias bowl. Then yesterday Silky starting to walk around acting strange and meowing loud as if she was in pain. By last night less than 24hrs later she is throwing up food. Today no food all day same pain and cant even keep water down. What should i do? Should i wait a few days and see if it passes or what? Sounds like the food right???
Renee
No get to the vet! Your cat needs fluids and they will likely give an injection of Prilosec.
Please don’t wait.
Renee
Debbie
I have been feeding my cats Purina for many years. I usu. mix it with water ~ most of them like that better. They are all healthy and robust. This year I had some kittens die. The vet said that Feline Leukemia and feline aids diseases are running rampant this year. Countless cats all around the neighborhood were dying, and most of them never tasted Purina because it is too expensive to buy in our small town. If the cats are fixed, then they have had their leukemia shots, and at least won’t contract that. The cats fight and spread the diseases.
Should we be so quick to blame the catfood?
Bondo Bill Mercier
In an Addendum to my earlier comment, In addition to Friskies Canned and Dry cat food and TEMPTATIONS Cat Snacks, I also feed my Cats Chopped Fresh cooked Rotisserie Chicken that I prepare myself every day, plus Canned Tuna suitable for Human consumption, and Canned Mackerel also for human consumption. Most all of my Cats live to be between 12 and 23 years old. I have one Cat since about 1.5 years old that has Aids and is on his way to the Rainbow bridge soon, but he’s 14 years old now and to date has lived a very active life as an Indoor/ outdoor cat. I also have 3 Cats with FELV Leukemia, Luck must be in my Corner.
Bondo Bill Mercier
I generally feed my 16 Cats Friskies Canned Foods and also as a fill in I feed them FRISKIES SURF N TURF Dry Cat food with Great results so far. One day my wife brought home FRISKIES GRILLERS DRY CAT FOOD to try. My Cats didn’t like it and I complained there was too much RED DYE in it and was staining what ever I put it into for an Eating plate. When Cats spilled Saliva into the food it would look like Blood, and I would start checking to see if any cats were injured. I found None, but the Red Dye would stain everything it touched. I Dumped the remainder of product and never bought it again.
Renee Retton
My cat became violently I’ll after eating Friskies shredded beef. Vomitting, abdominal pain….Three trips to the vet in 2 days and nothing turned up. Funny though, my other cat didn’t eat the food and didn’t get sick. Before I realized the issue, I put the food out again, & again wouldn’t eat it. They have been eating this for years. My cat has never been sick like this & very similar reports are on the Internet- same symptoms. Never again!
Jessica
Renee, we are going through this with my cat right now. Very healthy 11 year old cat, very active, etc… She had horrible vommiting & we took her to the vet twice in 2 days. Then she started with diarrhea & would not eat. We have always fed Friskies. Now my other cat is having diarrhea as well. The only thing I could pinpoint was an issue with the food. After doing a search, I am seeing a ton of this lately, from October & November 2014. Starting now I am going to change their food. Hoping no permanent damage has been done :-( I will update here if changing the food fixes her issues but wanted to comment my problems since I am seeing it so much.
Renee
Jessica, I slowly switched my cats over to blue buffalo basics. They get canned as a treat. No issues but my eldest does get gastritis & GERD. Vet said 10mg of famotadine when he gets bad. Seems to work well for us.
Hope your cats OK.
CB
I purchased a 12 pack of Friskies 5.5 OZ canned for our cat. Within two days we noticed the cat box stunk bad. Than he had crap stuck to his fur!
I took him off the Friskies and cleaned the box twice in two days. Third day everything was good. We had noticed before the crapping bout he was not acting right. Seamed tired but did not sleep much either. Etc.
We feed him a combo of dry food and wet food as a treat.
He was thrown from a car into our yard in late fall during very cold weather by some jerk. Who a few weeks latter threw another weeks old kitten into our yard again. It got run over the same night!
All that aside he was near starvation. He finds comfort in the presence of a small amount of dry food we put out for him to eat a little at a time.
My son insisted on only Science Diet cat food which the cat soon disliked the wet canned food. But he still ate the dry food by the same brand.
I switched to Iams brand for dry food latter because of shopping locations and somewhat the price.
He eats it well but is seamed to hard of a crunch for a kitten. That started me on the date code search and here I am. All our recent cat foods products were purchased at Walmart?
Now after reading about recalls and stuff I knew from my parents decades back like ash content. Now I feel like all the food sucks!
kathy dicker
I would like to know why the small cans of friskies wet cat food smell like bad meat n my cats won’t eat it the big cans so far are okay but the small cans don’t really thinking of changimg wet food this not all of a sudden it has been ongoing problem with the small cans for almost a year thought it was my imagination but while living at daughter’s over the winter she said the same thing
Mollie Morrissette
I can’t answer that question. I have a couple of theories, but they are not important. What is more important is that you are feeding Friskies to your pets at all – in any form. It is one of THE WORST quality pet foods on the market. It is absolute garbage. There are plenty of healthier alternatives.
Kits
One thing that I found helpful
when my male cat developped crystals was to mix apple cider vinegar in with his food. The vinegar will dissolve the crystals in his urethra, unblocking it, and allow him to urinate without straining. No need for surgery, steroids or Rx drugs. I highly recommend you look into homeopathic treatments for the crystals, as well as changing your cat’s diet.
I saw a noticable difference in my cat within 24 hours, and the problem was completely cleared up in 3 days.
Good luck!
Donald
My 3 year old cat died in January as a result of eating Friskies.His bladder became impacted with crystals to the point of not being able to urinate.He later went into kidney failure.I am still having a tough time getting over his death,but it will not be in vain.
Mollie Morrissette
I would check for vitamin D toxicity of the food. Otherwise, what I can tell you is what I learned years ago (my reason for starting this blog) was the same thing happened to me years ago (read the About Mollie page), the main cause of urinary obstruction is because of a diet of kibble.
Cats were never ever meant to eat dry food. Period. I don’t care how expensive the food is. That is the short story. Their urine becomes too concentrated because they are in a state of constant dehydration. Watch out for canned foods, all the big cans are lined with a toxic chemical – BPA.
Mike
Molie, and the 2nd worst cat food is Friskies wet, sheds and filet’s type in gravy.
I am happy to report my cat survived his bout with it. 6 days in the hospital on IV, came home on Monday and still recovering. We are having to give antibiotics 2x daily, 1x daily steroid shot. The vet has him on a prescription diet. Crystals caused by Friskies were the issue.
The manuf replied to my complaint. Customer Service took all the can info, apologized and then had the nerve to offer coupons. We refused. Will never buy a product from Purina again.
Mollie Morrissette
I couldn’t agree more! I hate to be so harsh – but it really is awful stuff. Thank God (or your vet) that your kitty survived, however, I would urge you to do research on that “prescription diet” the vet has your kitty on. I don’t know the brand, but I have a pretty good idea which one it is. I’m not suggesting to take her off it, though. Just know that they aren’t all they’re cracked up to be…Go to truthaboutpetfood.com, Susan has all the information. Try taking them to small claims court. Susan just wrote an article about that too. Coupons? Assholes. Typical of Big Pet Food.
Mike Sabot
We just ran into problems with Friskies shreds and filets in gravy. Our indoor cat came down with explosive liquid stools after eating it for less than a week, we switched him to the Pate and his stools return to normal. Our outdoor cats were not so lucky. One vanished, persumed dead, a second is now in the vets with renal failure, we don’t know if he will survive. The vet said he had been having liquid stools The 3rd cat doesnt like wet food so he ate very little of it and is fine. The only commonality was the food. I filed a compaint with Purina-Neslle and have yet to hear from them.
Dave
My cat started to have issues with Friskies wet canned cat food. He was violently throwing the food up from deep inside. Bought two other brands of wet food and he ate them with no problems. Called Purina who reimbursed me for the cans I bought and also the FDA. I got the feeling that no one from either place cared if there is cat food that could be or is killing cats on store shelves.
Mollie Morrissette
Did you take the cat to the vet? Often the FDA prefers that for backup information. You should also report it to your state’s consumer complaint coordinator (see sticky post). In the future, I would avoid Purina pet food in general because Friskies is one of the lowest quality pet foods on the market. Buy the best you can afford or make your own. There are many other brands that are better than Friskies.
Jess
What catfood would you recommend??? I tried many brands and Friskies was the only one my cats would eat,,,,
Mollie Morrissette
Well, considering your budget…you can start by switching to canned food.