Fancy Feast Rejected

Status
Not open for further replies.
Hmm. I have to take a look at whether we have new or old labels, but recently, Basil has begun to just walk away from FF Turkey and Giblets.

I went with FF after going through Janet and Binky's charts and pulling out the foods that, in addition to being 5% carbs or under, are also not horribly high in fat. I figured the closer you could get to approximating the profile of a mousie for dinner, the better. So, I eliminated EVO and Wellness for their very high fat. I do have a list of what I cam up with which I can try to clean up and post here.

I also noticed that Basil, and now his sister Rosie, will not touch Merrick Cowboy Cookout. Toward the end, if they ate it at all, they picked around in there and left behind these little gray cubes. Those cubes are in some other Merrick flavors as well and get rejected from those flavors also. Wonder what this all means...
 
I would be very interested to see what "list" you have come up with. Mocha is snubbing her FF turkey and giblets and I don't know where to go from here. She tried wellness before, both turkey and chicken, and wouldn't touch the stuff. She does like the special kitty MC we feed her, but I don't know how their turkey and giblets are. I mean, is it kinda like junk food for them?
 
I am posting this with the warning that it uses both the old and new Janet charts. And it really needs looking at again. But it is what I have been going by for now. FYI, some of these brands, i just can't find. Anything that was in Janet's charts that is not here, I left out usually for too much fat to match the mouse profile. And it was kind of arbitrary where I drew the line.

Friskies
Flaked with Tuna and Egg in Sauce 50 45 5
Flaked with Tuna in Sauce 53 41 6
Kitten Ocean Whitefish Formula 49 47 4

Merrick
Cowboy Cookout 52 42 5
Surf N Turf 49 47 3

Sophisticat Adult Supreme
Flaked Tuna Dinner 51 44 5
Supreme Beef Dinner 47 49 4
Supreme Ocean Whitefish And Tuna Dinner 49 50 2

Sophisticat Pouches
Beef And Gravy 48 50 2
Chicken Dinner And Gravy 43 57 0
Mixed Grill In Gravy 47 51 2
Ocean Whitefish With Tuna In Sauce 52 45 2
Tuna And Sauce 48 50 2

Triumph pouches
Mixed grill in Gravy 47 51 2
Beef in Gravy 48 50 2

Fancy Feast
Cod, Sole & Shrimp Feast 52 46 2
Filet & Pate Beef & Chicken Feast 46 47 6
Flaked Salmon & Ocean Whitefish Feast 52 43 5
Ocean Whitefish and Tuna Feast 49 48 3

Pro-Plan
Kitten Salmon & Ocean Fish 47 51 2 0.3 330 95
 
I also dug through my closet and found a few cans of the "old" FF. Kitty ate it happily for breakfast -- and it wasn't even his favorite flavor!

I'm sorry, but if Nestle/Purina is telling us they didn't change something, they are lying. The question is... what?

Everyone in Lantus Land already knows I'm a world-class worrier... ;-) But I really want to know if they have shifted production to China. If the flavor has changed, that's one thing. But if it is now made in China, I would be delusional not to question the safety of the food. Fooled twice, shame on me.

FYI, I feed FF only because it's low carb, and my diabetic kitty was willing to eat it. I'm going out today to scour grocery shelves for old formulas, and to buy samples of other foods to transition to.
 
Re: Fancy Feast Update-March 9, 2010 From Company

Jean and Charcoal said:

I used to use a soap called "Cashmere Bouquet" and it had the greatest clean smell to it, and many years ago, the company decided to change the product. I have never been able to use it since.

I hate these companies that say they have 'New and Improved" products!!! Like does that mean that what we were using or eating before was 'garbage'??? UGH.... I am steamed!!!!

Jean and Charcoal (GA)

OT: Jean, I'm with you on the Cashmere Bouquet. My paternal grandmother always used it, so the smell reminded me of her. I would buy it and use it just to smell her. All of a sudden, it changed. I was nearly despondent over soap! It was like she passed away again.

When they changed Coke, I was despondent as well. Now, I buy the Mexican Coke when I can find it. Real cane sugar like the old days!
 
I e mailed purina the other day. I got the standard response back from them, apologizing for mochas lack of interest, but they assure they have not done anything that would cause a cat to not eat their food. I e mailed them back and asked about how the labels used to say made in the USA and now they say printed in the USA, and where is their food made at now. I will see if they respond
 
Meanwhile, Kitty ate the "old label" food I scavenged from the market today.

So ALL of our cats are being driven away by an insignificant shift in mineral content??
 
Meanwhile, Kitty ate the "old label" food I scavenged from the market today.

So ALL of our cats are being driven away by an insignificant shift in mineral content??

Hi Kathy,

Yes, but how do we KNOW that this is just a shift in mineral content??? What if it has something to do with the 'wheat gluten' again, that was tainted from China, and all the foods that were poisoning folks' cats a few years ago, and cats were dying; well, what if we are giving our cats something that might take a while to make them sick, and we don't know what it is??? That is my concern.

Think I will run to my supermarket to see if they have any more of the old cans of FF. UGH.... there MUST be something else we can buy that is not bad for our cats. I think our furbabies are a lot smarter than we might give them credit for. Sometimes I do believe they have a much keener sense on what they are eating that may have something inherently wrong with it.

Jean and Charcoal (GA)
 
Jean, that is EXACTLY my fear.

Purina's response makes me think that they do not understand: they lost my trust permanently.

Maybe it is just a mineral change, and the kitties are rejecting it because it's different. Or maybe the production process is out of control and there's something wrong with the food. How do I know? I certainly won't trust them.

I will not feed the new FF to my kitty again. I was lucky to scavenge several weeks' worth of old-label food from the local pet store and some supermarkets. In the interim, I will experiment with Wellness and other brands that have been recommended.
 
Buddy's numbers started to go up out of no where...I just read this whole thread! He eats FF and I'm not sure when we started the new cans but I'm gathering that people are seeing higher numbers on the new cans of FF. Has anyone settled on a new brand of food. My vet suggested Nature's Variety Instinct...

Has anyone who saw numbers increasing switched to a new brand and started to see numbers regulate again?????
 
I called the Purina Customer Service number located on the can.

The representative indicated that "slight ingredient realignment" is the standard terminology they use when they make any changes to the formulation. On the new cans, they have removed one mineral and added two others. No other changes were made.

When asked about the change in terminology from "Made in the U.S.A" to "Printed in U.S.A" . . . she said that the change was made to meet documentation requirements and that the "Made In" claim only needs to be included on the label if the product is manufactured OUTSIDE the U.S.A. (inferring, of course, that the food is still manufactured in the U.S.). I'm not sure that I buy that explanation, but whatever.

I asked whether any of the ingredient sourcing had changed, and she said she didn't know. I am actually curious about that.

I'll probably call back again and see if I get any different answers.
 
noting, tho janet knows this because i discussed it with her, that the reason Purina said it would be difficult to do more than a few flavors is that their staff nutritionist has to go to each individual product group to get them to work out as-fed values, which is the standard we use here to determine content.

when i got updated nutritional info about a year ago from them prior to the latest change, i specified the exact flavors i was looking for (all the gluten-free varieties except seafood). i believe it took about 2 months for them to collect the updated info from the different product areas and then send it to me, and that was after turning it back twice because they were in guaranteed-value rather than as-fed format. just copy the column heads janet uses for the FF flavors on binky's food chart so the nutritionist knows which values you're going for. after i went thru all this, janet still did not accept the updated info i gave her so you might want to ask her what was lacking. i do have a google spreadsheet of the prior as-fed values on binky's chart, and the updated info prior to the latest change, for certain flavors (gluten free and nonseafood), and printouts at home of the ingredients in each such variety (where they're not using a catch-all like "natural flavors") as of last year prior to the current changes in ingredients.

frankly, if we're seeing changes in FF, i'd be pretty sure friskies varieties are also being changed, because they're made by the same company, nestle purina.
 
When asked about the change in terminology from "Made in the U.S.A" to "Printed in U.S.A" . . . she said that the change was made to meet documentation requirements and that the "Made In" claim only needs to be included on the label if the product is manufactured OUTSIDE the U.S.A. (inferring, of course, that the food is still manufactured in the U.S.). I'm not sure that I buy that explanation, but whatever.

Being able to state that a food is produced in th US is a business asset. It is regarded as safer. Given the melamine tragedy of 2007, a pet food company would have to be crazy to REMOVE an asset from its label.

So, no, I don't buy it. And in fact -- I won't buy it, literally, anymore!
 
The FDA Amendments Act of 2007 includes requiring changes to pet food labels. The act itself just said:
SEC. 1002. ENSURING THE SAFETY OF PET FOOD.
(a) PROCESSINGANDINGREDIENTSTANDARDS.—Not later than
2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary
of Health and Human Services (referred to in this title as the
‘‘Secretary’’), in consultation with the Association of American Feed
Control Officials and other relevant stakeholder groups, including
veterinary medical associations, animal health organizations, and
pet food manufacturers, shall by regulation establish—
(1) ingredient standards and definitions with respect to
pet food;
(2) processing standards for pet food; and
(3) updated standards for the labeling of pet food that
include nutritional and ingredient information.
Deadline.
Regulations.
21 USC 2102.

with no specific requirements specified. The following 2008 page discusses getting input to the new requirements :

http://www.petfoodindustry.com/ViewArti ... x?id=21800

I do note that the new label specially says: "Manufactured by Nestle Purina St Louis Mo(zip code that I can't read) USA". To me that is clear that it is manufactured in the USA. If it said distributed by Purina that would be different. Here is an excerpt from an FDA requirement:

Manufacturer's Name and Address
The "manufactured by..." statement identifies the party responsible for the quality and safety of the product and its location. If the label says "manufactured for..." or "distributed by...," the food was manufactured by an outside manufacturer, but the name on the label still designates the responsible party. Not all labels include a street address along with the city, state, and zip code, but by law, it should be listed in either a city directory or a telephone directory. Many manufacturers also voluntarily include a toll-free number on the label for consumer inquiries. If a consumer has a question or complaint about the product, he or she should not hesitate to use this information to contact the responsible party.

from (says updated March 2010 so they may be the new requirments):
http://www.fda.gov/animalveterinary/res ... 047113.htm
 
Larry, the OLD label said: Manufactured by Purina ...and... MADE IN USA.

The new label says: Manufactured by Purina ... and... LABEL PRINTED IN USA.

I'm not sure that "manufactured by" is an indication it was PRODUCED IN the USA. Following the information you provided, all it means is that Purina is RESPONSIBLE for it. Neither "manufactured by" nor "produced by" indicated where the product was actually made. It just means that the Purina company is manufacturing it -- but it doesn't indicate where. Since melamine was introduced into food primarily in China -- correct me if I'm wrong -- I prefer food made in the U.S.

I can't imagine any positive reason for this change.

Put that together with the fact that numerous cats are refusing to eat it -- suddenly -- and I get suspicious.
 
"Produced in USA" would really not provide much more information than "manufactured by (A USA company). ALso, the "Manufactured by" is required now.
 
Kathy,

I really have to agree with you, that when we saw on the label "Made in USA", that was very reassuring, at least to me, although maybe I am being naive, but I too am going to stop buying FF for my Ketchie.

Is Wellness or Natural Balance canned foods better to feed our cats? I can't afford anything expensive, but if Ketchie is not going to eat the FF anyway, I am just throwing the food away, even as the other cats don't want to eat it if she doesn't touch it.

Ketchie is not eating very well today, and I am getting nervous as I have just been through a terrible time with her and the Interstitial Cystitis that she has. I had her to the vet's four times a couple weeks ago, and she just seemed to be feeling better, but she is not eating very well now. UGH...

Thanks for any food recommendations that anyone might have.

Jean and Charcoal (GA)
 
I have taken my Friskies back and now have my crew on Sophisticat. They seem to be ok with it so far
 
ceil99 said:
I have taken my Friskies back and now have my crew on Sophisticat. They seem to be ok with it so far

Could you tell me whether you're using the cans or the pouches?

Larry, I'm sorry if I seem testy. I'm just very upset about this. When you work so hard to improve the health of a diabetic cat, and the food suddenly stops appealing, it's a major barrier.
 
Re: Fancy Feast Update-March 9, 2010 From Company

Beth and Simon said:
"A few of the "Classic" varieties will have changes to some of the guaranteed analyses."

I sure don't like that statement.

My cats have been eating the food with the new labels without any problems, but Simon's numbers are increasing....I hope this is just coincidence.


Buddy's numbers are increasing too. I just bought a whole bunch of the old cans and I'm seeing what happens over the next week with his numbers...I bet they go down...
 
We also bought old-label cans. Kitty's numbers are about the same, but he is eating with much more of an appetite. I'm not washing his plates of food down the drain1
 
Kathy and Kitty said:
We also bought old-label cans. Kitty's numbers are about the same, but he is eating with much more of an appetite. I'm not washing his plates of food down the drain1

If what I think is going to happen happens, I'm going to need to find a new food fast...I'm looking at Sophisticat, Special Kitty or Raw...I seriously hope it's not the food but then again I hope it is...at least it will give me some answers...
 
I got an e mail back from purina. I asked if the food was made in the usa still or not, based on what the label used to say, and what it says now.

Thank you for contacting Nestlé Purina PetCare Company.

We appreciate your response. While some labels stated this in the past, due to spacing it was removed when the label was redesigned. We can assure you that Fancy Feast canned products are still produced in the USA, with the exception of two "flaked" varieties which state a "Product of Thailand" on their labels.

We hope you will find this information helpful for your use.

Again, thank you for visiting our web site

Mocha is still snubbing her nose at it, but is gobbling down the special kitty (wal mart brand) like nobodys business.
 
Some technicalities:

- A GUESS: I'm not a lawyer, but it's my understanding that "made in" and "produced in" are different statements legally. The latter involves being "put together" in the US, with parts that may come from elsewhere. Kind of like saying a shirt is produced here, even though the cloth, the buttons and the thread come from China.

- But they had room to say that the LABEL was made in the US? I know there are union issues about saying something is printed in the US, but there's a little symbol for that.

I guess I am just all out of trust.

I'm glad Mocha enjoys the new food! Maybe we'll try that next. No more Fancy Feast.
 
As a FYI - One of the Flaked varieties that was made in Thailand was the Ocean Fish Feast flavor. I saw some old label cans of it at my local Petsmart and went to pick up a few for Yittle because its one of his "I won't eat anything but I WILL eat that" flavors. We use it for special treats after rough days (vet visits) or when he's snubbing his food and we're not sure if he's really sick or just being picky etc. Well I popped open one of the cases and about half the cans had the little stickers on them that they sometimes use for coupons etc. The stickers said that sometime between now and summer of 2010 they will be discontinuing that flavor but that there would be plenty of other great flaked fish flavors for my cat. It also had a coupon for I think it was $1.00 off 24 cans. Needless to say I bought all of the cans that had the coupon on them, plus a few more.

So double-reason to stock up on old cans of that flavor if your cat loves it. Oddly, cans that had a 1 month later sell-by date on it did NOT have the coupons or notice (I popped open a few cases to check), and the other flaked flavor that I think is made in Thailand (Fish & Shrimp) didn't either.
 
I do know one thing. The older labeled cans 'SMELL' much better to me when I open them, than the newly labeled ones of the same flavors. I only have a few of the new labeled ones left, but I am not going to buy anymore, unless I find nothing else that Ketchie will eat. And that is a dumb statement, as she won't eat the new stuff anyway, so I guess I should be hunting for the old labeled cans as fast as I can.

This is all very disconcerting to say the least.

I did get three coupons in the mail from Purina for a total of 6 free cans! Whoopdee doo!!!! I was never writing to them to get free cans of food. I really think they believe that some folks are squawking about the food so they will send out free food coupons! UGH....
 
It's true, they think throwing coupons at you will make you go away. I guess it's nice that they care enough to do even that, but I wish they understood that what we really want is safe, tasty food for our furbabies.
 
Long time no post. Sorry about that!

In any case, I too have noticed a change in the FF. Seymour's numbers are all out of whack. I notice that when he eats the Gourmet Chicken (the one with the bright pink label) his numbers go up. This is the one he eats most often as beef gives him loose poo and so does fish. He is better with the Turkey & Giblets. He's basically a Hoover and will eat anything and hasn't turned his nose up at any flavors. However, his sister has. She just really hates any FF I buy.

I'd like to switch the food to another brand but am not sure which to choose. Friskies gives Seymour loose poo; 9Lives I used to feed, but then noticed a yucky smell too; walmart brand is ok, but they rarely have more than 1 flavor in stock if that. I also tried wellness which they turned their noses up at. What else is there to try? I would consider EVO but might have to hunt to find it and I'm not sure if that's a good option due to the higher fat content.

Thoughts?
 
Sophisticat brand seems to get Cat Seal of Approval -- at least, from SOME cats! :-D I don't know where it's made, though.

Friskies is also made by Purina, I believe, so no surprise that it is creating the same issues.
 
mocha has changed over to eating special kitty (wal mart brand) turkey and giblets with no problems at all. She inhales the stuff, and licks every compartment in her auto feeder spotless every night. And while it used to cost us 13.00 a week in her FF, the special kitty, because of the larger sizes and price difference, only cost us 3 something for the week.
 
I cannot comment on how foods affect Squeak's bgs, but I can say that I have 2 very picky cats. They started out on FF and got picky, I moved to Superstore brand which is almost the same and they got picky, to friskies and they got picky, and now on sophisticat and they are getting picky. Honestly, I think that for my household, it is just my picky cats. And they won't eat Wellness or raw....They'd much prefer dry thank you very much....
 
I posted this in the other thread too.. but wondering if the FF cans are labeled differently than the Friskies cans? My Friskies can says this:

Mine expire oct 2011 & the code/lot # is 92891161 L13851337. Also says manufactured by Nestle Purina Petcare Company, St Louis MO 63164 USA.

It did say further down, that it was printed in the USA.. but also said manufactured by them in MO, USA.
 
Trying other foods with my cats....

Today, March 19, I spent over an hour with a magnifying lens in Petsmart looking at the backs of labels on the different foods. Guess I looked pretty dopey, even the manager asked if he could help me, but I told him I was just looking around. He said to take my time.

Gee, I don't take this much time to look at foods I eat. Anyway, I am really getting more and more disappointed with Purina foods. Plus several of the other main foods are not too great either. I bought some Sophisticat, two cans of Nutro food, one can of Blue Select I think it was called, and I did find some FF in the old cans, and got some of those.

Petsmart does not sell the Wellness, or Organix, or Natural Balance. I might try to get to a Petco one day and try one or two cans of that stuff. But they are all too expensive for me to keep up with.

I could kick Purina, for doing this to our poor cats' foods!!!

Below is an interesting website I found tonight while doing some 'food research'.


http://www.bornfreeusa.org/facts.php?more=1&p=359
 
This is kind of OT for this thread, but last night I went out & helped TNR some kitties outside the shelter. There were 3 others there with me. We got on the subject of cats.. and the one guy there has been there longer than I have.. and he remembered Cher! He was glad to know I was the one that took her in.. and was VERY interested with my raw/wet food speech too. He seemed to really wonder about the wet vs dry. I told him the simplest thing I've ever done, and it's just common sense: Check the ingredients on the label! He asked about Science Diet, and I said, "It's all crap! Read the label!" So I think I at least got through one person last night in regards to wet. One of the ladies has an older kitty that is having kidney issues & has a bladder stone. She says her cat LOVES the pate Friskies, but only feeds it on occasion. I told her to seriously look into it.. especially for the older kitties.. they need the extra moisture for their kidneys & other organs.

I had just gone to Petsmart before that too, to look at food & get some more Friskies while it's on sale. I thought it was weird that lots of the dry foods & stuff were all turned around.. so you could see the back of the labels instead of the front of the bag. I was wondering if someone from here had been through there! LOL Or at least someone with J&B food chart. ;-) On my way out though, I was looking for some cheap dry dental treats for Misha, and it seemed like EVERY label in the store was turned around! So not sure if an employee was doing that, but it was very weird, and even had me looking around, wondering if some weird promotion or event was going on. lol
 
Hey, that's funny, Steph, about the turned around bags. I turned my bags and cans back to the way they were, though, so it wasn't I. HAHA! Plus I live in Maryland!

That link I added on my last post was very interesting but nauseating as well. I did NOT ever think that pet food companies could use ALL of the remains of animals that are slaughtered, for humans or other animals. They can even use (and this is really horrible) the FETAL remains from other animals, to make into dog and cat food!!! UGH, and double UGH!!!! That just really did me in. I was getting sicker feeling by the minute when I thought of how these big conglomerate companies are just out to make big bucks for themselves!

My sister told me last night, that she went to a Dollar General Store and was looking at their brand of "Listerine" (not the name brand) and she figures that this is how these companies get away with not putting "Made In USA" on their bottles. She said the off beat brand of Listerine said "Not made by the manufacturers of Listerine". But, it did NOT say where it WAS MADE!!!

I figure that as long as it says "Manufactured by the USA", it could be made in China, or Mexico, or Thailand, or anywhere that the US has a manufacturing plant that is owned by the USA. In other words, they could be using whatever they get in those countries for ingredients, and our poor animals get the 'raw end of the deal'. So sad....
 
Some people may be putting more faith in the phrase "manufactured in USA". I could not find a definition for food but did find the definition for cars in:
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/maninfo/newManf.pdf

That document defines the "vehicle’s manufacturer" as "i.e., the actual assembler of the vehicle". I.e. means "that is to say; in other words ".

If that definition applied to food, then Manufactured in the USA would only mean that the ingredient were assembled (mixed and canned or bagged) in the USA not that the ingredients were from USA sources. In the business work, definitions are very important. What we think does not count, only the legal definition counts.
 
My 16 year old Siamese, Moka, has been radomly vomiting after eating the new Fancy Feast canned food. He has been on FF for years, and never had this problem before. I bought him some Friskies prime fillets - not quite as high protein as FF, but close, and that seemed to stop the problem Still have a "case" of the new label FF, so tried beef tonight, and he threw up clear liquid within a short time after eating. I found some old label FF and will give him that, cautiously, but I don't think I am a FF customer anymore. Anyone seeing this symptom?

Sylvia
 
Hi Sylvia,

Yes, I believe others have had this problem, but also the fact that their cats are refusing to eat this new labeled food. I have spoken and written to Purina about this problem, and they keep 'assuring me' that even though the food does not say it is MADE IN USA, that they are telling me it still is. I believe that as much as I believe a cow can jump over the moon! If it IS made in the USA, then they have done something drastically different with it. I will not be using the new labeled FF food for my Ketchie any longer.

I am even having trouble with the cats not wanting to eat the newer labeled Friskies foods too. I feel like there is something really strange going on, and I don't think this many of us are just 'paranoid' about these changes that Purina/Nestle has made to their cat foods. If our cats won't eat it, or they vomit or get sick in other ways after they eat it, something has to be very wrong.

Have you been able to find any of the older cans of FF at any stores around you? I tried to find as many as I could, but I have in between tried to feed Ketchie some other foods, and it is not 'catching' on too well with her.

Take care! I hope your Moka will be okay and that you can figure out something else that he will be able to tolerate well.

Jean and Charcoal (GA)
 
Hi!

I had wondered why some of the labels have changed. My diabetic kitty, Roscoe will only eat a few of the cans mentioned. She'll eat the Friskies: Ocean Whitefish, SD - Salmon, SD Turkey & Giblets, Beef and Chicken, Beef and Liver, and that's about it. We also will feed her FF Elegant Medley's as a fill in when she won't finish all of the above mentioned foods. She usually throws up with the Country Style Platter, when she use to love it. Try not to feed that one to her. She will not eat the Mixed Grill or the Supreme Supper anymore. She is very finiky about the Merrick. Blue Buffalo was on the recall list, so I'm very hesitant about giving her that one or any of the others that were on that list. Why won't these companies own up to where they are made? I'll give her 9-Lives Chicken Dinner and Ocean Whitefish. What else is out there?
 
I have one non-diabetic that will throw up and then begin scratching his face raw on anything that contains wheat in any form in...as well as having 2 diabetics, one of which is diet controlled and one of her way there. So dry is definitely out here, as well as not a single one of my 13 cats in total will touch the 'high' end stuff...which with 13 to feed is fine with me and my wallet. :-D However, every one of them loves Walmart's Special Kitty. I feed the Mixed Grill, Chicken and Liver, Whitefish and Tuna, and Turkey and Giblets. Now recently Special Kitty did change their recipe but as far as I can figure out is the only change is the addition of Brewer's Yeast, which is actually used to help maintain and lower blood sugar levels. And Ms. Musette (my insulin dependent kitty) is now running lower on her numbers than she was on Friskies..so far it has been a win-win for us!

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top