What is going on with friskies canned cat food

We give Friskies cat food a rating of 2.5 out of 5 stars.

This cat food brand is known for being inexpensive and very tasty. Even pickier cats seem to accept this food without much of a problem. However, to keep their costs low, they generally use low-quality ingredients. As far as quality goes, their food is usually on the lower end of the spectrum.

Introduction

They are one of the oldest pet food brands out there, but is Friskies a good cat food? They were founded in 1934, which was only a few decades after the pet food industry began to take off. Initially, they focused mainly on dog food. Cat food was nonexistent at the time, while dog food was beginning to get a food hold.

Beginning in the 1950s, the company started making specialty dog food entirely designed for puppies. This was a new and revolutionary idea at the time. Accidentally, the food was also appropriate for house cats. However, most cats didn’t like the taste of the puppy food and wouldn’t eat it.

Shortly afterward, Friskies began producing a cat-only food. The start was very slow, though. At first, the company only sold the food on the West Coast of the United States. The brand was one of the first to start producing cat food.

At a Glance: The Best 5 Friskies Cat Food Recipes

Friskies Cat Food Reviewed

Where Is Friskies Cat Food Made?

Friskies is a subset of the Purina brand, which Nestle owns. Most of the Friskies recipes are made in Purina facilities with all other Purina foods. Most ingredients are sourced from the United States, according to the company’s website. Some hard-to-find ingredients are sourced from other companies, including rabbit and duck.

What Recipes Does Friskies Cat Food Have?

This brand has quite a few recipes and product lines. Some are designed to be used as treats, such as their Lil’ Soups broth line. Their widest variety is in their wet food. They have chunky wet food, pate shredded wet food, pate and gravy wet foods, and tons of others. There is just about every kind of wet food imaginable in this company’s arsenal.

They also offer six varieties of kibble, which are all quite similar. This company has come far since the 1950s and now provides just about every sort of food you may want to provide your feline.

Does Friskies Use Quality Ingredients?

In most cases, no, Friskies does not use quality ingredients. They are often considered a “budget” brand, though you can usually find better cat foods for a similar price. This seems to allow them to get away with using extremely low-quality ingredients.

While meat is typically the first ingredient, it is typically inferior quality, like “meat by-products.” This is mystery meat. If the company wanted you to know what the meat was, they would have listed it.

Most recipes also include plenty of fillers, including rice and corn. Even their wet foods contain quite a lot of carbohydrates, which are not a healthy choice for most cats.

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A Quick Look at Friskies Cat Food

Has Friskies Ever Been Recalled?

Friskies is a subset of Purina. Purina is one of the biggest cat food companies in the world. They make tons of food, so you can expect them to have higher recall rates than other companies. The key is that the recalls should be low when compared to the amount of food they produce. A company that produces a small amount of food but recalls it often should be checked carefully. Larger companies have a bit more leeway as they produce more food.

Purina has had plenty of recalls. However, they have not had more than you may expect from a large company. Many of their recalls are also minor, which is something to keep in mind when checking recall information.

Friskies, in particular, has had very few recalls. They did a voluntary recall in 2011 because of potential salmonella contamination. However, there were no reports of any illnesses that were attached to that recall. This shows us that the company is watching their food and isn’t afraid to act in the best interest of their customers.

Reviews of the 3 Best Friskies Cat Food Recipes

The pate-style of wet food seems to be one of the most popular that Friskies makes. The Friskies Classic Pate Turkey & Giblets Dinner Canned Cat Food is one such recipe. While this recipe states that it is a “turkey” flavor, there isn’t much turkey. The first ingredient is “meat by-products,” which translates into “mystery meat.” By-products aren’t necessarily harmful, but the source of the by-products should be listed. Otherwise, there is no telling what the meat is.

Turkey is included as the third ingredient, though the second ingredient is only water. Poultry by-product is the fourth ingredient. This is an example of a good by-product ingredient, as the source of the by-products is listed. Poultry giblets are then included as the fifth ingredient. This food is relatively high in protein, which is especially appealing because of its inexpensive cost.

This recipe does include everything your cat needs to thrive. It is a 100% balanced meal. Because it is wet food, it can also help keep your feline hydrated. While this is true for all wet foods, some cats particularly benefit from this feature. It also includes all the added vitamins and nutrients your cat needs, including taurine for heart health.

Calorie Breakdown:

Friskies isn’t as well-known for their dry food, but it is gaining in popularity. Friskies Indoor Delights Dry Cat Food is one of their better-known recipes. While it states that it contains chicken, salmon, and cheese, it doesn’t contain many of these ingredients. Firstly, ground yellow corn is the first ingredient, which is an obvious filler. Corn gluten meal is the second, which isn’t much better. This is a high-protein food, but it isn’t from meat, making it lower-quality than other options.

Chicken by-product meal finally shows up as the third ingredient. Salmon meal is exceptionally far down on the ingredient list, along with cheese powder. In other words, the ingredients of this cat food are incredibly low-quality.

The macronutrient analysis shows this low-quality ingredient selection as well. It is extremely low in protein and fat, which are the two things cats need to thrive. Instead, it is pretty high in carbohydrates.

On the other hand, this food is very inexpensive. It is nutritionally complete, even if it is low in protein and fat. If you need to keep your costs low, this may be a solid option—even if it isn’t the best. It does include things like omega fatty acids and can help promote a healthy weight for indoor felines.

Calorie Breakdown:

Friskies Tender & Crunchy Combo Dry Cat Food is another popular dry food by this company. Many people state that their cats love this cat food, which is why it is so popular. It does appear to be quite tasty at the very least. However, the ingredients are pretty sub-par.

The first ingredient is ground yellow corn, while the second ingredient is corn gluten meal. Neither of these ingredients is high-quality options. They are some of the lowest quality ingredients manufacturers can use. Chicken by-product meal is the third ingredient and is decently high-quality. However, we would have liked to see it as the first ingredient. There aren’t any more instances of meat in the first five ingredients.

Meat and bone meal occurs as the seventh ingredient, but this is considered low-quality meat. This formula is also relatively low in protein and fat. These are the two main macronutrients felines need, so it is a bit strange that this recipe is low in those two nutrients.

This is a 100% complete diet for adult cats. It contains antioxidants to support your cat’s immune system, omega fatty acids for an enhanced coat, and plenty of vitamin A for vision health.

Calorie Breakdown:

What Other Users Are Saying

Many people said that their felines loved the flavor of this food. For whatever reason, this brand seems to make delicious food. Perhaps it’s because that’s what they were mainly concentrating on when they began making cat food, to begin with. Cats of all sort seem to like it, including those who were described as picky.

Those that left negative reviews were primarily concerned about the ingredients. As we’ve previously stated, they’re all pretty low-quality. Most of this brand’s food contains artificial ingredients, low-quality filler, and poor meat choices. Many people were disappointed by the quality.

Some were also upset that the price fluctuated so much. It made it difficult for them to budget their cat food, as there was no telling what the price would end up being at any particular month. There were also reports of cats becoming sick after eating this recipe. However, we cannot figure out if that is because of the recipe itself or because the owners incorrectly switched the cat over to the new diet. Even very high-quality cat foods can cause problems if the cat’s diet is suddenly switched.

There seem to be some reports of problems with specific batches, though no recalls were issued. There are also no reports from the FDA of any bad batches. However, the sheer number of people complaining about 1157, 1159, and 1161 batches has made many users question the food’s safety. As of now, there is no current investigation on this batch, and Purina claims the foods are 100% safe. For now, these rumors must be taken with a grain of salt.

It also seems that the “batch” numbers aren’t the batch numbers at all, but facility or processing numbers. Either way, there is no definite conclusion regarding these numbers at this time.

Conclusion: Is Friskies A Good Cat Food?

Friskies isn’t one of the best cat food brands out there. They are known for using low-quality ingredients, like corn and rice. The first ingredient in their food usually isn’t meat, and when it is, it is a low-quality meat cut, like meat by-products. However, their food is widely reported to be very tasty and accepted by picky felines. Plus, it is incredibly cheap when compared to other foods.

For its price point, you may be unable to find better food than your feline will happily accept. In these circumstances, Friskies may be your best option. For most cat owners, though, you may want to look elsewhere for cat food.