New and old Friskies labels

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Heather and Raja (GA)

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I uploaded the pictures of the old labels and new labels I marked an O on the old labels and an N on the new labels

If you've got any ideas on how to make the pictures clearer let me know, I don't have access to a scanner.

Sorry it's kind of out of order, I'll work with it some more tomorrow and try to fix the pictures so it's a little easier to read.

http://photobucket.com/friskielabel
 
Heather,
Are those from Friskees Pates, or from Fancy Feast?
What I posted was this:


She told me that there had been no changes at all with Fancy Feast Classics, but that Friskees had recently started putting magnesium phosphate in their pate flavors.
Click to expand...

She didn't say that the ingredients to Friskees had not changed. She said that FF classics had not changed. She said that magnesium phosphate had been added to Friskees (replacing manganese phosphate I think), and I did see that difference when I compared old to new.

Now, she did not say that other ingredients had been changed, nor did she say that had not. She might be guilty of sin by omission, but I wouldn't agree that what she did say was BS.
 
They are from Friskies. I would say what she said was BS because she told you that what was changed was magnesium phosphate when if you look there is a few differences in the two labels.

Unless I'm wrong but I read cat food labels like human labels. The ingredients go from highest to lowest and if you read the two labels there are a few differences where they have switched things around, like guar gum, they added choline chloride, and they switched other ingredients around. To me that's not just adding magnesium phosphate to the recipe

To me those are big changes and according to what some of the others have said it's apparently a big enough change in their cats, as well as mine.
 
I believe you are correct about the order of "most" to "least", like human food.
Agree also that the changes affected lots of kitties, which is what prompted me to call them in the first place. I personally walked away from the phone call satisfied for 2 reasons - A) because my main concern was FF rather than Friskees, because Bob was eating nothing but FF, and heading towards remission at the time, and I sure as heck didn't want to have to find another food when that one was working so well for him. And B), because the magnesium vs. manganese, given the information I got when I looked up the side effects of magnesium, fit well with the symptoms that everyone was describing. So in my mind, mystery solved. All the side effects could be explained by just the one change she mentioned. I didn't pursue it any further, because I personally didn't feel it necessary. And actually there was a C) for me....because my other kitty was eating just Friskees Pates, and fortunately, he didn't experience any ill effects.

I did also encourage anyone who had concerns, or continued to experience problems, to contact them personally, which is the advice she asked me to pass on.

I understand your frustration completely. And in your place, I'd call Purina and ask to speak with Ashley (and call her on it if you think she misled or lied about it). IMO, she answered the questions I asked, and I passed on the info. I don't know if the cats that were having problems still do, or if the owners switched because of the problems. Maybe bring the issue back up again and find out if people are still having the same symptoms? Some of them may have already called Purina and found out some more information.

Carl
 
I do plan on contacting them but I just don't see it going anywhere.

Like I said before I had to call them before about moldy food and they did give me coupons but I highly doubt they will change the formula back to the old one.

I've got to do my research and find something else, and just like you I have a cat who's hopefully heading towards remission and she's also a very picky cat so I've got to find something she and the other one will eat and wont mess up her BG

It's frustrating when they change something that works just fine. I see this with human products as well and it's maddening but much worse when you're talking about food for a diabetic kitty.
 
In total agreement with all you just said.
Next time I am in walmart, assuming they have the new "improved" Special Kitty Turkey and Giblets, I'm going to buy a can just so I can do a side-by-side comparison with the old recipe cans I have on the shelf. And before I buy any more, I'll look at what's different and see what I can learn about the new ingredients before I buy another can.

I think to be "fair" to all the manufacturers of cat food, I doubt if any of them realize how critical this stuff is to diabetic cats, and even if they do realize it, we're such a small pct. of their market, that from a purely business standpoint, I doubt they really care. (I understand why stuff like this pisses us off.) Not saying that's right, but that's reality. At that level, all they care about is the bottom line, and the "new improved" formula probably puts a penny or two per can more into the profit column, which equates to millions of dollars a year. They aren't feeding dogs and cats. They're in it for the money.

Unfortunately, the people we reach on the phone exist to handle questions and complaints, and there's probably a "company line" folder on their computers that supplies standard answers to standard questions. We aren't talking to nutritionists when someone answers the 1-800 line. We're talking to hired help who are paid to pacify.

Which brands can't (or won't) your gal eat? Maybe we can figure out something else that will work.

Carl

Carl
 
Hi, Everyone ~

Yesterday I put out some of the new label Friskies Pate Turkey & Giblets Dinner. One of our cats, Bob (non-diabetic), took one bite, backed away from his dish, and actually ran out of the kitchen. And this is our cat that will eat nearly anything. He's always liked the old Turkey & Giblets Dinner. I'm throwing out all of our "new" Friskies pates now because I just don't trust what's in those cans. So far, our six cats are all still eating the new Fancy Feast pates, but, of course, after reading other members' comments, I'm very concerned about those too.

My husband suggested that we obtain an annual report for the Pet Food (or Cat Food) Division of Nestle-Purina to find the name or names of senior level managers/executives to direct our concerns/complaints/bad experiences to. Just emailing the contact on the Purina web site is not likely to get much action, other than some free coupons (which really annoyed me even more :-x ).

My husband also mentioned that he thinks we'd have more clout if we all joined together to write to Nestle-Purina. There are many members of FDMB reporting problems with both Fancy Feast and Friskies. And a lot of us have multiple cats plus our diabetic ones. This might be worth considering. Any thoughts?

Eva
 
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