Is Friskies a good cat wet food brand?

terestrife

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My cat normally eats natural balance, wellness, and newmans own organic food. But my mom bought Friskies for the new cat we have.

And now my cat Kitty wants the Friskies food, she will eat her own, but it takes her hours. But she ate the Friskies, in literally a few minutes, which is something she never does.

Elsa doesnt want the Friskies, and only wants my cats more expensive food. XD

Anyway, is the Friskies brand any good? it worries me how inexpensive it is.
 

pinkdagger

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Friskies isn't a bad brand. It's not grain free, but the grain it does have is among the lesser of evils (rice flour). It's still about 45% protein and 2% carbs, which is good - it's just that the ingredients aren't very specific, and it contains some less than ideal gums (guar gum, carageenan - some members choose to avoid foods with these ingredients), so unless you're concerned about the byproducts the cats are eating or a cat has a specific protein sensitivitiy, it's usually not an issue. Friskies wet is actually one of my regular rotation canned foods because it's well accepted by the cats, readily available, and quite affordable.

Friskies and Fancy Feast are two wet food brands that are actually relatively good and budget-friendly and quite a few other members feed it to their cats too.
 
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denice

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I give my kitties the occasional can of fish more as a treat and I give them Friskies usually salmon pate.   I know there are people here whose main food is Friskies and I think it is a very good choice for the price range it's in.  It's one of the foods I usually list when people need to keep costs down.
 

felineempathy

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My latest experience with Friskies: I picked up a can, looked at the ingredients, saw by-product, put it down, and walked away.

It is a cheap food.  Approximately 59 cents + tax at Petco here in Washington State.  I'm guessing it's that cheap because it has by-products, wheat gluten, wheat flour, and corn starch.  Get rid of those ingredients and the food will probably be better quality.  It's guaranteed analysis checks out though.
 

xcourtney3

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My latest experience with Friskies: I picked up a can, looked at the ingredients, saw by-product, put it down, and walked away.

It is a cheap food.  Approximately 59 cents + tax at Petco here in Washington State.  I'm guessing it's that cheap because it has by-products, wheat gluten, wheat flour, and corn starch.  Get rid of those ingredients and the food will probably be better quality.  It's guaranteed analysis checks out though.
If I'm looking at this correctly, the pate does not have wheat gluten, wheat flour, and cornstarch. The pate is the one most people feed. 
 

felineempathy

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If I'm looking at this correctly, the pate does not have wheat gluten, wheat flour, and cornstarch. The pate is the one most people feed. 
Oh the one I was talking about was the one I specifically picked up and looked at.  I guess I'll look at the pate.

Edit: I'm not so sure about the Pate either.  It still has by-products along with carrageenan.
 
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emandjee

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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:
 
This is an area of controversy.  However, by-products have a much worse reputation than they deserve.   By-products are normal parts of a carnivore's diet and consist of some very nutritious organ meats such as liver, spleen and kidney.  On the other hand, by-products can also include feet and feathers which are of very low biological value.  The problem is that it is impossible for the consumer to determine the quality of by-products contained in any food and the quality can vary with each company and batch of food.

As just stated, by-products that end up in cat food include very nutritious items but they also contain organs that have been deemed  "unfit for human consumption".   Organs that show signs of disease such as cancer or infection are 're-routed' from the human meat market to the pet food market.   The fact that cats eat by-products in the wild cannot be disputed.  However, by-products that are consumed fresh 'on the hoof' are not the same as those that have been designated as unfit for human consumption.  Therefore, the two situations are not entirely comparable.

The whole issue of by-products or no by-products is a personal one.  We also have to pick our battles with our cats.  For instance, many cats love Friskies, 9-Lives, and Fancy Feast varieties that contain by-products and we all know how picky cats can be and how important it is for them to eat - especially when they are ill or are diabetic and must eat on schedule.

On a personal note, my parents' cat has eaten only Friskies canned food since he was rescued from the euthanasia list at our local shelter when he was 5 months old.  Tyke is now 15 years of age and is in great shape. He still runs up and down the hallway at the speed of light.

On a favorable note, at least by-products:

  1. are not hyperallergenic if coming from an animal the cat is not allergic to,

  2. do not contribute a carbohydrate load to the food, and

  3. are of animal origin - not plant origin.
It also makes much more sense to include some animal-derived by-products in a carnivore's diet than it does to add potentially hyperallergenic, high carbohydrate grains like corn, wheat, rice, or soy.  Note that soy is also a thyroid disruptor.
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.
 
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xcourtney3

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I've been feeding Friskies for ~9 months now and my cats both have soft, shiny coats and a ton of energy. They've never had loose stools or smelly stools. They poop less on this food, too. So it definitely varies by cat. 
 

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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 .  
 

denice

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I don't have a problem with any and all by-products.  I think that is putting what we feel about our own food onto our kitties.  When a cat, any cat in the wild, eats their normal prey they are eating what we call by-products.  I have read the horror stories about what goes into commercial pet food but if true, which I am not convinced they are or they are greatly exaggerated, it could be in any pet food.
 

snugglecat

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I feed my 6 feral cats dry food and Friskies canned food. They all love it and it's what I can afford. They are are healthy looking with shiny coats, all I can say it is works for us. Every Sunday they do get a special treat of a better canned food just so they can have something different once a week.
 

neenee

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I feed my rescue Friskies she seema to like it, I've tried the more expensive brands and got mixed results with Nina...so I went back to Friskies, for me it's affordable, Nina likes it and her fur looks so much better shinier and softer...
 

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Friskies Tasty Treasures is the only canned cat food I can get my finicky cats to eat so they get a can every morning:D . Wished they liked the quality foods but it's not a reality for us:nod:
 

felineempathy

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So what specific Friskies recipes do people feed and recommend?  Which ones would you say are the best of the best of Friskies?  You walk into Petco and there are a lot of different kinds of Friskies recipes.
 

jeff1

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is friskies good for 4 weeks or older? I got it, but haven't feed it to my kitty yet. 
 

xcourtney3

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Friskies website and can says:

"100% Complete & Balanced for growth of kittens and maintenance of adult cats."

So yes it's fine for your kitten
 

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Thnx i will try giving her some with milk and see how it goes :)
 
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