Is Friskies a good cat wet food brand?

[supermax1943]

My colony of 50+ fixed and vaccinated feral cats thrive on Friskies and they have for 17 years.

I have not had one outbreak of any illness in all of these years. Not One. 

And everyone in the colony is reaching 17 years unless they have died from cancer or disappeared. The 

cancers have been various. Two ear cancers (on very light colored cats) one lung cancer, and one with 

kidney cancer.

They are all fed only Friskies wet and Friskies dry twice a day along with ample fresh water

place in a number of convenient spots.

So, for those of you having difficulty with the prices of cat food, on my recommendation

please don't hesitate to use it. I swear by it. All of the cats eat it and so far no one has decided

to go looking for food elsewhere that I know of. (The majority of the colony live and are fed outside).

Hi Everyone!!! I have been crazy busy and no time to write. Hope everyone is doing well!

 

[supermax1943]

Further note on the Friskies after reading some other comments. 

One of the other things I really like about Friskies is that all of their

coats look super good, and nice bright clear eyes as well.

I really am a super supporter of Friskies.

 

[2cats4me]

 
I think Friskies is decent food . I wish my cats would eat it . I have tried every flavor of the  Pate formulas and they refuse to touch it .  

 ​ I am quoting my own post to update .  Yes I think Friskies Pate is decent food . My cats would never touch it because they were hooked on Fancy Feast but for some reason it started making them sick so I had to stop feeding it . 

I tried a few different brands but they were not that crazy about any them . I tried Friskies Pate again . They love it . They eat four flavors . Have been eating it now for 3 weeks . I am just happy they are eating a wet diet now .   You can buy the most expensive wet food out there but how good is it if your cat will not eat it .

 

[kittynomnom]

No idea, it seems OK, but it's one of only two wet foods my cat will eat, I tried a few different high end organic brands and raw first,, she hated those, wouldn't touch them.  She liked Science Diet Minced Turkey & Giblet Entree a lot, however I could only purchase this at the vet and it's expensive.  I found they had a Friskies turkey and giblet pate at the supermarket and the ingredients looked similar so I bought some for her to try and she loves it.  However it seems this is Friskies most popular one as it's often sold out or in low stock, occasionally I've been forced to buy another Friskies flavor and she won't eat them.   The Science diet one looks and smells similar to the Friskies, and she likes both.  I also feed her a little science diet glucose management now, although she prefers wet food, but this is the only dry food she seems to enjoy so far, it's very expensive but i had bought it for my angel who had diabetes caused by steroid treatment.  Her previous owner said she wouldn't eat wet good and only ate whiskers or chef dry food, but i found she didn't really like it that much, and I don't think these dry foods  are very healthy anyway, so I tried different higher quality dry foods, some she would eat for a while and then go off, so far the Science Diet Glucose Management is the one she likes most.  She's very fussy, she won't even eat cooked chicken or fish, but there is something about the Turkey and Giblet pate style wet foods she loves  She's had a few owners prior to me, being 7 years old when i adopted her a few months ago, so I don't know what she's been used to eating in all that time.  She's been almost exclusively eating this food now for five months and she is very healthy and active.

Ingrediants of Science Diet Turkey and Giblet Entree: 

Water, Turkey, Turkey Giblets, Liver, Salmon, Corn Starch, Meat By-Products, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Powdered Cellulose, Rice Flour, Wheat Flour, Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken Liver Flavor, Chicken, Soybean Meal, Guar Gum, Dicalcium Phosphate, Locust Bean Gum, Calcium Carbonate, Brewers Dried Yeast, Caramel Color, Choline Chloride, Carrageenan, Potassium Chloride, Taurine, Iodized Salt, DL-Methionine, Calcium Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Zinc Oxide, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin, Manganous Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin, Biotin, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Sodium Selenite.

Ingrediants of Friskies Turkey & Giblet Pate:  

Meat by-products, water sufficient for processing, turkey, poultry by-products, fish, poultry giblets, rice, artificial and natural flavors, salt, guar gum, calcium phosphate, added color, potassium chloride, carrageenan, magnesium sulfate, taurine, choline chloride, thiamine mononitrate, Vitamin E supplement, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, niacin, calcium pantothenate, copper sulfate, Vitamin A supplement, manganese sulfate, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, biotin, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, potassium iodide. D-6061

 

[bonepicker]

 ​ I am quoting my own post to update .  Yes I think Friskies Pate is decent food . My cats would never touch it because they were hooked on Fancy Feast but for some reason it started making them sick so I had to stop feeding it . 
 
I tried a few different brands but they were not that crazy about any them . I tried Friskies Pate again . They love it . They eat four flavors . Have been eating it now for 3 weeks . I am just happy they are eating a wet diet now .   You can buy the most expensive wet food out there but how good is it if your cat will not eat it .

When they hate it you can go back to fancy feast, cats are funny

 

[donutte]

My cats have eaten it for years, and have done well with it. I just bought 200 cans of it the other day because it was on sale, and I got $20 off if I got $100 worth of stuff. So with tax, I got 200 cans for $87.50. Not shabby.

 

[thegreystalker]

That's a fantastic deal for Fancy Feast, Donutte.

There are varieties of Friskies that some cats will like and will provide good nutrients to cats.  The Friskies 'Cat Concoctions' Chicken Liver Dinner works for us.  Fancy Feast Turkey & Giblets is one of my cat's go-to flavors.

 

[crosbycat]

Just tried Mariners Catch, cats loved it way more than the expensive ones I have been buying but I have a lot of concerns about the ingredients. I read ingredients for seafood and fish flavoured friskies since I have a cat who may be allergic to chicken, they all contain chicken by products along with the fish.
Still feed expensive dry food but hugely confused about cat food brands, so many different opinions

 

[sherrymyra]

I feed wet Friskies and have since I got her as as kitten 2 years ago.  I feed the pate flavors.  Rotate about 5 of them.  She loves them and is healthy.  Hair is shiny and smooth.  Recently started adding some dry for her evening meal mixed with the wet and some added water. I tried Wellness canned way back and she would not touch it.  

 

[cjcovington]

 Several people have mentioned their cats having a shiny healthy coat.  I've noticed my cat's hair is softer & silkier in just a week of feeding her Friskies, PLUS there is less shedding. It's also very affordable, and she loves it. 

 

[vanessa temple]

My veterinarian put my cat on a Friskies diet. She recommends Friskies regularly for its nutritional value and how well cats tolerate it. The flavors I'm allowed to feed my cat, because they're low in calories, are Turkey and Giblets, Liver and Chicken, and Ocean Whitefish and Tuna (all pate, the shredded varieties have more calories). Each day I open a large can and cut it into three equal pieces with a butter knife. Three times a day I take out a section, add a few tablespoons of water and mash it up in her bowl with a fork. This gives my cat more water in her diet, which is essential for felines, as well as making her feel fuller longer. My cat is very happy on this diet. Her coat is beautiful, she has an abundance of energy, and she's very content. I know people are wary because of how cheap Friskies is (I was too at first), but it's a great food. Stay away from dry food. Besides it's low water content, it contains many more carbohydrates than cats need. It also creates foul smelling stool compared to the stool of a cat who's on a wet food diet. My cat is finally at a healthy weight thanks to this diet. I also recommend setting strict feeding times, if you're able to do so. Always consult your veterinarian about what food to feed your cat. We want our fur babies to live long, healthy lives!

 

[Willowy]

The flavors I'm allowed to feed my cat, because they're low in calories, are Turkey and Giblets, Liver and Chicken, and Ocean Whitefish and Tuna (all pate, the shredded varieties have more calories)

Actually, the shredded varieties are a lot lower in calories (around 130 per can vs around 170-187 per can for pate). But are also higher in carbs, lower in protein, and have less meat. So the pate flavors are a better choice all around, I just didn't want you to get tripped up by thinking they're lower in calories . You can also try the Mixed Grill and Country Style Dinner flavors; they're similar in calorie count and ingredients to the ones you mentioned.

 

[nansiludie]

I feed it along with other wet foods. I mainly stick to the Friskies Turkey and Giblets pate and every so often get some ocean fish or mixed grill. I can get the larger 13oz economy sized cans for $1 at Dollar Tree and also at walmart too. I find I can feed three cats easily from one of those larger sized cans.  Its not a bad food at all for the price. And in all the years I have fed it there has never been a recall on it to my knowledge.

 

[milky07]

I feed friskies wet iam wonting to get him off the dry food to i also can get the 13oz can of friskies at the dollar store dollar tree, or dolarramma

 

[thegreystalker]

It's all dependent on one's preferences; what appeals to you (and the cat) and what you wish to avoid.

Friskies suits some cats perfectly well, and of course the prices fit many people's budget. I initially fed my gal various Friskies recipes but have since limited her Frisies menu to a couple of pate's; Poultry Platter and Cat Concoctions Salmon. In my opinion Nestle Purina manufactures other brands that are superior to Friskies and do not cost that much more than Friskies, when they are on sale. I am talking about True Nature. With Friskies, I do not mind Meat By Products ingredients, but not for an every-day menu.  True Nature has MBP content but it is relatively far down the list of ingredients. Also, I don't want her to eat artificial coloring every day, which is why I limit her Friskies recipes.

 

[sargon]

Friskies is best described as "acceptable food if you are on a tight budget", and if that's what your budget is, it is a solid choice.  From what you said in the original post, price isn't your main concern, so I suggest trying an assortment of quality canned foods to see if you can't get one that your cats both like, but obviously you need to give your cat what works best for them.    

I am still kicking myself for getting a big bag of nature's variety instinct, thinking my cat liked it, and discovering that she really STRONGLY prefers Solid Gold indigo moon and Young Again.

 

[judi golden]

My new kitten was eating Friskies shreds at the breeders place, and so I bought some just to make an easy transition for him, thinking I might switch to another food.  But he LOVES, and I mean LOVES that food.  I did mix a little fancy feast pate in with the shreds last night, and he seemed to like that just as much, so maybe he just loves food in general.    Glad to hear that it is a solid food choice going forward if I end up on a budget.  I am always wondering if a lot of the fancy cat foods are a scam, or if they really do provide some benefit, but I am not sure if anyone has real data on that.  

 

[marc999]

 
I have tried feeding my two kitties Friskies in the "tukey & giblets" because it was the best out of all the rest in their line. Admittedly, I got it because it was cheap and I've heard others say it's what their cat only eats. In my case, however, I was feeding my 2 then healthy kittens Merrick and Wellness canned foods mostly, and feeding 2 kittens that are ravenously hungry, I needed to curb costs. In my experience, every single time they ate Friskies, they got loose stools. They didn't seem to like it as much as the Merrick or Wellness, either, but I was shopping a lot at Petco then, too. It was later when I really looked more in-depth about their ingredients that made me reconsider Friskies. This is their current Turkey & Giblets recipe ingredient:

Meat by-products, water sufficient for processing, turkey, poultry by-products, fish, poultry giblets, rice, artificial and natural flavors, salt, guar gum, calcium phosphate, added color, potassium chloride, carrageenan, magnesium sulfate, taurine, choline chloride, thiamine mononitrate, Vitamin E supplement, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, niacin, calcium pantothenate, copper sulfate, Vitamin A supplement, manganese sulfate, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, biotin, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, potassium iodide. D-6061

So then I asked myself, "what are meat by-products" and "poultry by-products"? And found this (and several more, but can't remember them all):

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-industry-exposed/euthanized-pets-dog-food/

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/choosing-dog-food/animal-by-products/

http://healthypets.mercola.com/site...e-quality-of-pet-food-ingredients-part-2.aspx

Yeah, a bit shocking. But there's also coloring, artificial flavors, and menadione sodium bisulfite complex (another ingredient that is worrisome), so I decided no more Friskies for my two. It could also be that the quality of Wellness and Merrick vs. Friskies is so different than what they're used to made them get the runny stools, but after seeing what it really contains (or possibly contains), I decided firmly against it. 

On another note, Dr. Lisa Pierson mentions this regarding by-products:

So, really, I think it's a matter of personal opinion. By-products are not as benign as we would like to think, so if you can, getting higher quality foods into your pets are ideal. However, I know we all cannot possibly afford this route. We ALL love our pets dearly, and yet if there's a financial struggle, I wouldn't personally sweat on it. Feeding dry, by-product meals is still way better than letting an animal starve.

Hope this helps you some. I know many folks here are much more open-minded about feeding Friskies, 9-lives, Fancy-Feast, Whiskas, etc., and this IS a good forum. I just couldn't not discuss what it really means, though, but I'm not putting anyone down if they do. What we choose to feed our pet is dependent on our current needs, priorities, resources we have, etc, but I did want this site to be a place where folks stay informed about what these companies incorporate into our pet food.

I believe people should use their own judgment and question what / where their information comes from. 

I am critical by nature, thus I questioned the links you provided.  

Do you realize that the video in the first link you provided was from a 1998 (hence the poor video quality) interview, that you linked to in this 2015 post?  

Reference: Herschel Pendell - past president of AAFCO, interview by King 5 Seattle Washington.  Thus, the accuracy of that information was stale dated by ~ 17 years, at the time of your reference. 

That's the unfortunate nature of the internet, people tend to believe what is presented as current and/or fact. 

This is a prime example of fear mongering and frankly the mods of this website should curb such activity. 

 

[thegreystalker]

Remember, things such as chicken giblets and chicken tail are poultry by-products, but both are heartily enjoyed and served on millions of human dinner plates around the world.  They are certainly more than suitable for cat food.